I want to build an AR...

[JJ.45]

and honestly, I'm not sure where to begin. Can you guys point me in the
right direction. I don't want to buy one off the rack. I am looking for a project.

I do not have one now and am not all that familiar. If you could use small words and speak slowly, it would help.

[longtalltechsan]

First off, if you live in California, some of this info may not apply as they have a lot of regulations I am unsure of. Now, if you live in the free part of the US then buy yourself a stripped lower. Someone just posted a link for some from aim surplus for about $80. You'll have to pay shipping and transfer fees, but hopefully it won't be more than $25 or so. Then you get a lower parts kit which contains the grip, trigger, hammer, and everything to put the lower together. You will also need a stock. There are many options available and you can get them complete with the spring, buffer, buffer tube, and stock. Find some good instructions on line and assemble the lower yourself.

Then you can either build the upper or you can buy a complete upper and put the upper and lower together and you are good to go. There are many sources for uppers. I got mine from ar15sales.com. He sells several brands and has some of the best pricing. This should give you just enough of a start to get yourself in trouble. If you haven't already, you might go to ar15.com and read up there as there is tons of info there. However, many of the people there are pretty unfriendly and look down upon newbies. The people here will help you as much as we can and we have some pretty damn knowledgeable people here.

Hope this helps and good luck.

[PackerfanXD]

Buy a stripped lower. ~$100-$150 Perferably locally. This is the 'gun' part and needs to be shipped via FFL holder if you can't find it locally.
Buy a lower parts kit ~$60. On AR15.com there are informative tutorials on putting the lower together. I just built my first one and it was fun and fairly simple.
Then buy a complete upper and ammo and you are off to the range.

[paintballwannab]

The best thing I've found is to buy a stripped lower as packerfan said, and then buy a rifle kit from somewhere else.

The lower has to go through a FFL, but the rest of the gun can be mail ordered directly to you. By buying a rifle kit it will give you everything you need to complete your stripped lower, but you still get to do the "build" yourself.

I personally like these ones, they come with CMMG uppers:

Parts Kits - FFE

[propellerhead]

Originally Posted by PackerfanXD

Buy a stripped lower. ~$100-$150 Perferably locally. This is the 'gun' part and needs to be shipped via FFL holder if you can't find it locally.
Buy a lower parts kit ~$60. On AR15.com there are informative tutorials on putting the lower together. I just built my first one and it was fun and fairly simple.
Then buy a complete upper and ammo and you are off to the range.

+1

Another option is to buy a complete upper online and a complete lower at a local gun show and connect the two.

[ElrodCod]

Before you do anything you should spend some time at WWW.ar15.com in the "build it yourself" forum. Buy a stripped lower as stated by others and a "lower parts kit". It's relatively easy to assemble using a small hammer and some roll pin punches. Next you can add the stock of your choice. That's pretty easy too. The "upper" is the part that'll require some specialized tools & you probably won't save any money by buying all the tools & parts & doing it yourself. Buying a complete upper is the way to go for a first timer.

[Tally XD]

A good place to start is by reading the AR Forum right here on XD Talk.

Also, check these links that I found with a quick scan of the AR section and using a SEARCH :

First AR-15 Build! MEGA Gator lower

So you want to buy an AR-15 - FAQs

Looking at building an AR15

Favorite place to buy AR stuff

Phase 1 of New Build Complete

Grip's AR build...

Building my first AR

[ForTehNguyen]

I would recommend buying a stripped lower from your vendor of choice and a rifle kit from Del-Ton, Inc. A complete line of AR-15 Rifles, AR 15 Parts and AR15 Accessories.. Their prices and customer service are great. Go to Life Liberty Etc to see a video on how to build a AR15 lower. I would highly recommend getting a RRA 2 stage trigger in the lower parts kit. With a rifle kit all you do is assemble the lower and then mate the upper and lower together. Its a lot more complicated to assemble an upper, have to do headspacing and have special AR15 tools to install the barrel etc. I would also recommend getting a flat top with a detachable carry handle, in the future if you wanted to install optics you have the option of removing the carry handle instead of having a permanent one

[koda-xd]

just passing through

[zipgun]

AIM Surplus has Superior Arms stripped lowers on sale for $79.
AIM Superior Arms S-15 AR15 .223/5.56 Lower Receiver Superior Arms S-15 AR15 .223/5.56 Lower Receiver

Essential Arms lowers are $85 Blank

In almost every case it is cheaper to buy a stripped lower and a complete kit, than to buy a stripped lower, a lower parts kit and an upper separately.

Link to a spreadsheet for finding ar kits
AR15.COM :: Forums :: AR Kits-Spreadsheet-UPDATED 5/12