I recently built my first AR using all budget parts. I picked up a second stripped lower when PSA was selling BLEMs for $29. I figured at that price, why not?

This time I got a slightly better LPK with the Magpul furniture and milspec buffer tube. It’s noticeably nicer. Tighter tolerances and all that. It got me to thinking, where is the balance between cost and performance? What parts should I spend more on and which parts don’t matter at all?

Really, what’s the difference between a $29 stripped lower and one costing $100? It’s just a box to pin thing onto, isn’t it? I’m imagining that money is best spent on the upper and FCG. But that’s a whole new rabbit hole for me. I don’t even know what to look for in a BCG. Basically, my question boils down to is where skimping doesn’t matter and where opulence makes a difference.

Depending on your objectives, I don't skimp on the upper, lower, the BCG, or the barrel.

If long range precision is the objective, then don't skimp on the handguard rail.

I like Aero Precision lowers. They have a set screw to adjust for upper/lower slop. Spike's have always been good as well.

For upper receivers, I choose BCM and recently bought some factory seconds at a good deal. The barrel extension areas are undersized for a tighter barrel to receiver fit, which is better for accuracy.

As far as small part, BCM, Spike's, DPMS will all do just fine for pins and springs. I hear the Geissele SSA triggers are good and a decent price.

For BCG's, I just make sure the maker is reputable and I don't really consider the fancy coatings. I use BCM and toolcraft BCG's.

As for rails, there are lots of options but I only have a Geissele free float rail for mine. My combat AR's don't have FF rails and I use pretty much Magpul furniture on mine.

Tony.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
Basically, my question boils down to is where skimping doesn’t matter and where opulence makes a difference.

Never skimp on the barrel or how it is chambered. IMO this is the #1 item affecting rifle performance.

I really don’t think I ever saved any money building ARs. For lower parts kits, the BCM kits have become my go to as I like the available grip and the trigger is sufficient as a combat trigger. I’ve become I huge fan of the Larue triggers, which for the sub $100 price are fantastic. I’m also a fan of the BCM MCMR handrails. For barrels, I have had great luck with Ballistic Advatage barrels but am reluctant to purchase at the moment due to current QC issues. In fairness, I’ve only ever bought from their premium line with the Hansen profile being my favorite choice. For me, I would say most of my builds have been between $1200 to $1600 before optics. I’ve never set out to build a budget rifle, but probably could for just under $1000 without sacrificing any ability from my more expensive builds.

So far it’s ok to skimp on pins, small springs and buffer tubes. I didn’t think the stripped lower would matter so much as long as there’s no slop.

When I mentioned my budget build up above, the complete gun that I built was $370. All blems and bundles. If I’m going to go over 1k, I’m going SBR.

It seems that the LaRue Tactical MBT-2S Trigger gets great reviews. I’m probably going to go with that for this build. I’ll probably buy a complete upper and not bother piecing one together. The choice anxiety is hitting hard.



Thanks for the tips so far.

My two cents for an upper.

Stripped BCM blem upper. Get this direct from BCM.

BCM hand-guard. Get this from Lanbos Armory.

Alternate cheaper hand-guard option would be from KAK industry.

Ballistic advantage Hanson barrel with the pinned gas block. Get this and a Melonite gas tube from BKings firearms.

BCG you can pick one up pretty much anywhere. I prefer microbest, maybe check out wcarmory.

I started using the CMMG minor LPK kits, just pins and such.
Then it gets assembled with a Radian selector, Centurion Arms two stage trigger, Magpul XL grip,
Geissele Maritime bolt catch and either an A2 or A5 action.
What lower it all goes into doesn't matter much to me as long as all the holes line up and are the correct size.

BCG's I don't skimp on.
Quality ones that are on the tighter end of the tolerances are about $160
I like Sionics with the Ocks hardware.
I spent a little more for the NP3 one.
Cheaper than a Radian BCG I bought several years ago and is a much better product.

I have the Radian and a Toolcraft Nitride BCG but don't use them.
They work but Phosphate or chrome/NP3 ones will have tighter tolerances making them more efficient.

I found that instead of skimping, I am patient. I only buy parts when I find them on sale.

I never pay full price.

I agree with the posters above me. Some lowers are better than others, in my experience. I have had a couple Anderson lowers that were good and more that were awful with their production/qc-out spec pin holes, bolt catch area being uneven so that the bolt catch won't even fit in it and is at an offset angle, pistol grip threads not there,etc.. PSA has some good lowers for the price. I am not sure if they do it in house or not though. My opinion,some lowers you just pay for the name. Spike's, RRA, Aero, Bushy- at least the older one I have, all seem to be gtg for around $100.

The uppers, more so the barrels, I will spend a little more for quality and the BCG, again I stick with the ones I noted above, although there are others that are the same or better. Just depends on how much you shoot.

The lower internals are not something to skimp out on, at least the trigger. I have bought a couple drop in trigger kits and can say they are pretty impressive, compared to the standard kit trigger, but again it depends on how much you shoot.

Everything else, you just have to get what works for you.

I always use Seekins or Mega Billet stripped upper/lowers not that they are inherently better but I like the consistency and quality of the fit and mostly the look.

One of my flaws is to err on the high end side, not just for rifle building but for everything.
It can be costly and in some cases not the best value but it is always something that ends up pretty good.

quote:

Originally posted by J387:
… Stripped BCM blem upper. Get this direct from BCM. …

I picked one up. $50.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I recently built my first AR using all budget parts. I picked up a second stripped lower when PSA was selling BLEMs for $29. I figured at that price, why not?

This time I got a slightly better LPK with the Magpul furniture and milspec buffer tube. It’s noticeably nicer. Tighter tolerances and all that. It got me to thinking, where is the balance between cost and performance? What parts should I spend more on and which parts don’t matter at all?

Really, what’s the difference between a $29 stripped lower and one costing $100? It’s just a box to pin thing onto, isn’t it? I’m imagining that money is best spent on the upper and FCG. But that’s a whole new rabbit hole for me. I don’t even know what to look for in a BCG. Basically, my question boils down to is where skimping doesn’t matter and where opulence makes a difference.

On a precision build, don't skimp on the barrel.

You can usually find toolcraft bolts and carriers reasonably cheap.

Personally, I have become a trigger snob and never skimp on the fire control group. Hiperfire triggers are my favorite but there are dozens of options on the market now ranging from good to excellent.

As far as a utilitarian rifle that always goes bang and can be reasonably expected to hit a 10" gong out to 300 yards. I haven't found an AR yet that when properly put together won't do it. Even with the cheapest handguard, a $100 PSA barrel and off the shelf 55gr ammo.

If you want to start hitting smaller targets at longer ranges, or building a tuned race rifle for 3-gun matches. Then it can be advantageous to start spending more coin on specialized/optimized parts.

The one place where I won't go below a certain quality threshold is optics. If a red dot is hanging in a blister pack at walmart or your local gun shop for $50..... it's junk. Same thing with no name magnified optics. The cheapest optics just aren't worth the headache. They won't hold zero.

You don't have to spend a bunch of money to get a decent optic. I have some holosun red dots that have taken a lot of abuse and are working great. I accidentally dumped my 9mm AR off my tailgate onto a gravel driveway. Scuffed up the optic a little bit, it evidently landed directly on the optic. No loss of zero. They are made in China, which I hate. But I can't drop $500 plus on a Trijicon red dot for every range toy I have.

I tend to spend on the BCG and the barrel. If not a budget build, BCM BCG and Daniel Defense, Faxon, or FN barrel.
If budget, Toolcraft BCG and Ballistic Advantage barrel.
I usually go with ALG triggers unless it's a precision build.

Bruce

Thanks friends. I’m still relearning. Now i have some leads on brand names I’ve not previously known.

I like the Aero Precision enhanced buffer tubes.

My next barrel (aside from meme builds) will be a Criterion core profile. I don’t think I have read a bad thing about them.
https://criterionbarrels.com/p...-gas/?v=7516fd43adaa

quote:

Originally posted by Voshterkoff:
…(aside from meme builds)…

What does this mean?

quote:

Originally posted by J387:
... I prefer microbest, maybe check out wcarmory.

I picked up a Microbest from WCArmory.

Builds for fun, impractical. Like clone and retro builds.

I have a billet SilencerCo upper and lower I’ve been building. I spent a chunk on a trigger from Triggertech but man, that thing is sweet. Probably going to use a Wilson Combat barrel.