Build or Buy and why?

[Ridgedaddy]

Having owned a good many ARs throught the past 7 years I think ive narrowed down the way I like to do them. Buying every individual component and assembling it myself.

I find this to be the preferred method as I get to chose every little thing that goes into the rifle down to the types of spring pins I choose. Want "this" barrel and "that" receiver? You can do that. Unlike a factory built gun where numbers become a game and lemons slip out I find that a good home assembled AR is levels ahead most off the shelf ARs.

So elaborate if you will gents, do you fancy yourself a shelf rifle or a home built rifle? And why or why not?

 

[Bedouin2W]

There's a few rifles that I'd buy off the shelf - the SR-15 instantly comes to mind - but I'm with ya on the rest.

Yeah, there's a chance I'd get a sub par barrel from White Oak, JP, or Criterion, but that chance is slim to none. Companies like that don't fuck around when you tell them you're getting wide spreads with quality ammo out of their barrels. Other quality manufacturers are the same.

If you use quality components, assemble them correctly with the right tools, you're going to have a better rifle than the vast majority of compete rifles sold.

 

[Nate Osborne]

I think we've discussed this topic a few times, I'm sure with some searching the other threads will show up. My thoughts in summary:

I have built plenty of ARs, and both the 13.7 and 11.5 I shoot 99% of the time were both builds. They have both had many thousands of rounds through them, including going to classes and not having any issues. That being said, I built plenty of ARs that I made mistakes on. They were learning opportunities, but they were also not rifles I would have wanted to keep in the long term and rely on. There are still things I come across that fits the "I didn't even know what I didn't know" category.

I would personally reach out to someone like @SOLGW about doing a build that has the specific parts you are wanting. You might be able to simply ship them parts and have them assemble an upper to your specs. They might even have some advice that will help you get the best rifle possible. Also, there are now so many more quality companies out there making so many different configurations of uppers and lowers, that I would be hard pressed to think of a rifle I wanted that wasn't already being made by a quality builder already, or was so close that I could easily set it up how I wanted (like replacing a muzzle device, trigger, furniture, etc.)

Buying from a good company is the easy button, @Ash Hess has mentioned that before re purchasing a KAC gun. You pay, you receive, you shoot. No fiddling around required. Building is more time intensive, will have a greater chance of needing to diagnose issues, and may even end up costing more money in the long run. But, if you want to build, and have a knowledge base and tools to do it right, and can work through any problems that may arise, go for it. I'm sure there are many (myself included) that are willing to help with any questions regarding any build you do.

 

[Nate Osborne]

https://primaryandsecondary.com/forum/index.php?threads/home-ar-assembly.5075/#post-30140

Here is a link to the other thread.

 

[SOLGW]

Having owned a good many ARs throught the past 7 years I think ive narrowed down the way I like to do them. Buying every individual component and assembling it myself.

I find this to be the preferred method as I get to chose every little thing that goes into the rifle down to the types of spring pins I choose. Want "this" barrel and "that" receiver? You can do that. Unlike a factory built gun where numbers become a game and lemons slip out I find that a good home assembled AR is levels ahead most off the shelf ARs.

So elaborate if you will gents, do you fancy yourself a shelf rifle or a home built rifle? And why or why not?

We kind of offer that service. We offer a lot of good options on every rifle in a drop down menu.
You can pick quite a bit. But, it's still factory built from us...And backed by us.
For the most part, if we don't offer it you probably don't want it.
Look at our trigger options, muzzle device options, bolt catch options, selector options etc...
We'll handle the engine, you can pick the interior, sound systems, rims etc lol

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[Yondering]

Seems to me it depends on your skills and experience, some guys are fully capable of building something as good or better than any factory rifle, while a lot of others have a vague idea at best of what to do. If you have any doubt whether you're doing all the right things in the assembly process, then it might be better to have someone qualified do the assembly for you, if it's a serious use rifle.

I do think most people fall in the category of those who'd be better served by having the rifle assembled for them, as suggested in that other thead. For those of us who are the exceptions, we know who we are and whether that advice applies to us. Personally, I usually will disassemble a new factory rifle myself to make sure it's put back together the way I want it; there are lots of little "belt and suspenders" tricks/improvements that generally aren't used in full scale production.

 

[Gypsy EDC]

If you have to watch a YouTube video while you're assembling it, don't own a torque wrench (didn't even know you needed a torque wrench)... etc.

Probably better off picking up a quality built factory upper IMO


I have a few home built uppers from back in the day, but at today's prices I don't even bother building lowers.

 

[Gypsy EDC]

And as for the poll,
Yes, all mine were either bought or home built

 

[Ridgedaddy]

Pardon the bad grammar and poll option being incorrect. This was my learning post for the way this forum is setup lol

 

[Kevin.]

I have "built" a few, but when I wanted one that I felt I could trust my life to, I ordered one from SOLGW. The one my kids hunt with, the one my wife hunts with, I will build those. The one people's lives may depend on? Bought it from quality people.

 

[RexMagnum]

After building and finding out what I didn’t know I’ll be building the rest of my rifles on BCM, SOLGW or similars website. I will say that building did give me a better idea of what’s going on inside the rifle. Maybe buy a couple rifles you can train on and know will work then build a cheap one just to know how it works. My home builds are now my dedicated 22 conversion and sim only guns.
Really there’s nothing SOLGW or weapon outfitters or someone can’t build you and you get a warranty.


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[Matt Landfair]

I have attended several armorer courses and built several rifles. I prefer to buy complete or at least a complete upper and complete lower.

Most of my frame of reference is work related and I am firmly against homebuilds as a duty gun (yes there are exceptions).

 

[PatMcG]

I usually build my own lowers since I end up changing everything except the pivot/takedown pin on most factory lowers. I just built my first upper and it wasn’t difficult. I don’t think it’s money ahead for most people. I have almost all the required tools for my job anyway so I didn’t have that added up front cost and I made sure and bought from well respected sources. I’ve also used the platform long enough to understand how and what everything works. It’ll get extra scrutiny before it fills any serious role. It’s easy for people to say they’re like LEGO’s but fact is many dudes can barely change oil in their car and probably shouldn’t be wrenching on something that contains an explosion a few inches from their face.


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[Slim]

Any more I'll go to a product from someone/company where I know *That* item has been assembled and checked correctly.

Yes that pulls a premium, but you know that product is what you paid for and will work.

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[PatMcG]

After building and finding out what I didn’t know I’ll be building the rest of my rifles on BCM, SOLGW or similars website. I will say that building did give me a better idea of what’s going on inside the rifle. Maybe buy a couple rifles you can train on and know will work then build a cheap one just to know how it works. My home builds are now my dedicated 22 conversion and sim only guns.
Really there’s nothing SOLGW or weapon outfitters or someone can’t build you and you get a warranty.


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Warranty. Warranty is a thing and needs to be considered as a financial aspect of a build vs buy equation


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[Hari]

Buy the upper and assemble the lower to your liking. OR better yet have SOLgW make it for you as Mike said if they don’t have it, you probably don’t want it!
I say assemble the lower because it’s so simple a chimpanzee can do it, and you can choose which G$ trigger you want/bolt catches/forward controls/LAW Folder? Etc..
And then BCM /SOLGW sells uppers at very very reasonable prices. In fact SOLGW just had some of their east India bare bones uppers as well as LE trade in Rock River/Troy Railed uppers for an incredible prices!