Let's build an AR15

[The Shooters Apprentice]

A few years ago Tommag got me hooked on the 6.5 Grendel. At one time I had a pretty nice long barreled upper that I swapped back and forth with a 80% lower I have, but when I moved to alaska that upper turned up missing. I also had a short barreled upper that was a loaner for awhile.

Anyway. I still have a bunch of grendel stuff. Bullets, dies, brass, ammo, magazines, the works, and I tell Tom fairly often that I want to put togther another one and I think the time has come.

I'm not really all schooled up on ARs. I built the 80% I have with the guidance of a friend with a borrowed jig and don't really want to go through the work again, and I've gotten to where I don't really like swapping uppers around and just want to have complete rifles.

I'm thinking I want a 18" barreled rifle. maybe a 20, but I want something that easy to pack, but also pretty accurate for longer shots out to maybe 600 yards.

But lets start with the lower. I'm not on a super tight budget with this, but I also don't have unlimited funds. I want the best I can get for my money without over spending.

Are lowers pretty generic to where I can get away with a cheaper one, or do I need to be looking at spending more money on a lower?

You already know my approach but I'm of the opinion that the lower receiver itself doesn't matter that much, but I've only used 80% lowers. I don't think my 80s are anything special but I've been careful to do my best on them. A trigger group you like is always a good thing. A fixed buttstock yields more accuracy than a collapsible one but what fits you might not fit your better half.
I think the real magic is in the uppers, using quality components and carefully fitting the barrel to the upper receiver. I like the bravo company upper since it's slightly undersized and thermo fitting the barrel to the barrel to it. I've only used the bcm blems since I don't care how it lt looks. Clocking the barrel properly is important so that the gas tube doesn't touch the barrel nut and upper receiver is very important for accuracy.
Although I wouldn't shoot critters at that range, 600 yard accuracy should be childs play with quality bullets such as Berger, Lapua, sierra, etc. The Grendel should stay supersonic out to 1200 yards with 100-120 grain bullets.

[The Shooters Apprentice]

If I had the jigs and all that I wouldn’t be against a 80% but don’t have all the jigs nor do I have a place to make a big mess milling one out. So I’ll just buy a lower.

If I had the jigs and all that I wouldn’t be against a 80% but don’t have all the jigs nor do I have a place to make a big mess milling one out. So I’ll just buy a lower.

Yeah, milling a lower makes a big mess. I only did 80s as a one fingered salute to the feds.

The barrels are important. I have that bartlein barrel I spent $600 or so on, but I see faxon and criterion barrels for $330 or so. I got very lucky on my $135 barrel I bought from numrich, it turned out to be a sabre defense barrel from when the feds shut them down. I wish I would've bought several at that price, it's far more accurate than a chrome lined barrel should be, especially in the pencil thin contour.
Sub moa for $135 was a nice surprise.

I hope I'm not monopolizing this thread, it would be good to hear from others here.

Monopolize away! Some of us here have never had anything but bargain basement off-the-rack specials, and it's interesting to see what all goes into a quality piece.

Monopolize away! Some of us here have never had anything but bargain basement off-the-rack specials, and it's interesting to see what all goes into a quality piece.

In my opinion, a quality barrel and good bedding, hence my love of bcm uppers that have to be thermfitted. You freeze the barrels to shrink them and use a gentle heat source such as a hair dryer on the upper to make them go together. I'm not a snob for handguards, as long as they're free floating.
The only factory carbine I bought was a dpms lite 16 and it would shoot sub moa with my hand loads. I did my standard bench rest stuff to them, turning the necks to make them uniform, uniforming the flasholes, etc. So, I think your bargain basement likely will be fairly accurate with good ammo.
My quest top build an AR-15 that would show well in bench rest never got to that level. Obviously, I'm not in the same league as Speedy Gonzales or Tony Boyer, but I wouldn't be embarrassed at a match. When I used to shoot, quite a few club members would express their surprise at what I could do with an AR-15.
After a good barrel, the most important thing is attention to detail in putting it together, free floating the gas tube is a biggie.

I've had zero problems with the 5 or 6 PSA lowers I've built. I remember reading somewhere that most brands are forged by the same company. I built my first AR in 1994 on a PWA lower and a Bushmaster upper. It's still my go to war rifle.

Some PSA lowers are made by Aero Precision and others by unnamed "mil-spec contractors".

Terry