Building a budget AR?

Are you building a budget AR?  I sold my DPMS and would love another AR so I'm thinking of starting a new project.

"Operation: Budget AR"

There is no time frame involved so it really comes down to just waiting for good deals.

Part one is the lower receiver.  Guess how much I found it for?

$50!

Granted, it's not a brand that most of us have heard of but I'm thinking abou it.  What are your thoughts on SI Defense?

SI Defense $50 Lower Receiver: SI Defense

Thanks to EveryDay, No Days Off for the find.

AR15 For Sale

View the listing: http://www.gunlistings.org/view-listing.php?id=4921

**UPDATE**

Here is a mini slideshow I just made on my iPhone: http://animoto.com

I'll add more info to this later (and more pics) but I have a slightly used DPMS Panther Classic 16. 16" barrel with upgraded quad rail handguards (still have original too) and original solid butt stock.

I'll have to check but I think I've only put around 700-900 rounds through it and cleaned after every time. I also have the original manual and cleaning kit as well as some other cleaning products I'll throw in.

Includes original hard case and two 30 round magazines (standard mags). I have added a subdued US flag on the stock but that can be removed (I'll try to get a picture of it).

It has a carry handle with elevation and windage adjustments built into the upper receiver. I can also throw in a box of 20 rounds. Oh, this rifle accepts .223 and 5.56.

Let me know with any questions or to make an offer. Thanks!

Video:

View the listing: http://www.gunlistings.org/view-listing.php?id=4921

Preparedness

This certainly is prepared!

via OpFor

Line of sight

Wanting an AR-15 but not being able to spend a ton of dough, I had to get creative. Not really, I just bought the cheapest one of a good brand I could.

I went with a DPMS Panther Classic 16. Being an entry level model I got some things that I didn't want but you know what, you can change everything later. The important thing is really the lower receiver.

Some things that came with my rifle are the plastic handguards, A2 solid butt stock, and carrying handle integrated into the upper receiver.

Wanting to add sights later (holographic or red-dot though I'm leaning towards red-dot) I had to think of my options.

- Buy a new upper with a flat top rail (expensive and wasteful right now)

- Put my sight on the carrying handle (looks bulky and carrying would be awkward)

- Put the sight on a quad rail handguard system either on top or on side

My first upgrade was a quad rail handguard from Ops Gear; I'll post pics later.

I just haven't seen anyone elses AR with a sight AND the carrying handle... till the other day. Watching a video on YouTube of Sarah Palin shooting an AR (simulation), the soldier/instructor had an interesting setup. And I think I like it.

So, this is what I'll be going for. Check it out.

What do you think? It looks as if it's even setup for co-witness (correct term?) with the iron sights. That's an Aim Point I believe and that's the sight I've been looking for.

What I like about the above setup is that the carrying handle is still accessible and the overall profile is steal very clean. Probably as clean as you can get with having a handle and sight on board.

I'm keeping my eye out for others with carrying handles and sights. If you see one, let me know.

Stay safe.

Camping in North Carolina

My inlaws have land down south and we all spent some time camping there. The inlaws are no strangers to firearms but they haven't fired an AR-15 before and I thought they would get a kick out of this. So I got 500 rounds from Cabelas (before it got really hard to find) and we burned through 98% of it. But it was worth it, a real fun weekend. Here's some pics and vids.

30 Rounds Rapid Fire AR-15

18 Rounds Rapid Fire Marlin .22LR

10 Rounds Rapid Fire Sig Sauer Mosquito

Brother in law slingin' brass

Me in front of the shelter I made with my new Gerber LMF II

Flash Hider Comparison

While looking for a flash hider for my AR, I heard that Vortex may be the best all around (quality and cost).

I found a great thread on AR15.com and here is a pic for an example.

Read more here: AR15.com

The proof is in the pudding

Sigboy, thanks for the comments:

"No pictures, no prrof.

Pmags are awesome, but they don't fit in every mag pouch.

What is wrong with your original pistol grip?

I'm not a fan of collapsible stocks.

Quad rails are cool.

Anything else?"

Hah, really funny. Ok, I got proof. I'm working on getting some higher quality pictures and video but this is the best for now. Actually the video was shot on my iPhone.

In direct response to your comments...

I've heard pretty great things about the PMags and played with one from a fellow AR owner. They looked slick and felt normal to load.

Nothing is wrong with the pistol grip but I've seen online a few more ergonomic ones that looked like they had a soft sticky rubber feel. Also, I thought about getting the forest green furniture for the stock, grip, and handguards but I'm not sure if I will yet or not.

Collapsible stocks... well, I like the one I have now, which is just a full on permanent stock but if I were to go with a collapsible I like the Magpul's over the standard M4. The one I have is kinda cool too because it has a little compartment for cleaning supplies or maybe even a small survival kit or something. But the collapsible would be good if different people use my rifle, being able to adjust more properly.

But I certainly want to get a quad rail handguard. No accessories right now to put on there but I'll put some on later. Also, they look way way better than the stock plastic handguard.

Looking for AR15 ammo?

You have to check out AR15.com. They have a great little list with people reviews. Very helpful, virtually priceless. Here is a sample of what it looks like but take the jump and head on over to AR15.com.

AR-15 Builder

Over at the Firearm Blog I saw a link about an interactive AR-15 builder. How cool! You can customize it any way you want. So I thought I'd try it out last night. I made a few examples, from sand colored Iraq ready AR's to full automatic with 100 round drum SAW style AR's. Check it out, and build your own!

"Tactical Sniper"

"SWAT"

"Standard Iraq"

"Special Ops"

"AR-Sniper"

"SAW Mod"

"Old School"

"Lightweight"

"Iraq Marksman"

[Brownells AR-15 Builder]

[TheFirearmBlog]