[FishStix]

Hey guys,

So I'm not new to firearms in general however I am new to the AR-15 platform. I stumbled across this site looking through various places searching for information. After a lot of research, in no small part thanks to this site, I have decided to build an AR. Before I do this I wanted to talk to you guys as you seem pretty knowledgeable. So here it goes:

Reputable Brands,
Striped lower(Spikes Tac, DPMS?), upper, barrel, buttstock, optics, magazines, amunition, basically anything you need to build and operate a good weapon. Now i know that you get what you pay for. I also know that over time you find places that are better than others. I hate buying somthing and then seeing the same thing for cheeper a couple days later. Now also i dont plan on building just one so everything applies for all situations. Whats best for what, and where can I get it for a good price. Every bit is important to have an overall good outcome

Performance,
What is best for what? More specifically what parts are good for reliability? accuracy? Is there something thats better at one range and somthing thats better at another? How can you cut down on jamming? I want the best bang for my buck and the best outcome especially when I plan on building more than one. How can I get the most accuracy and reliability out of my weapon.

Amunition,
I plan on getting it in .556 however I was reading that there is a drop in accuracy. how much are we talking about here. Aim small miss small? Or it went two feet to the right of that zombie and now your an afternoon snack. What are other rounds it can be put in? is there even a limit? I've red alot about the twist in a barrel. Whats best for what range? How do the grains work? What do they effect? I was told by another sorce to not fire anything under a 65 grain to avoid jamming. Is there any fact to this?

Optics,
I've read some really good things and some really bad things about different types. Sometimes of the same brand. Whats good? ACOG Trijicon? red dot? Iron sights? Hav'nt found anything real clear on it.

All in all I want to be able to fend off the zombies that are coming sometime soon. I've read a lot and know a little but i want to know more. Knowlege is power and I want to know everything I can to make the best decision possible. All of you here seem for the most part to know what there talking about and i would appriciate any help that comes my way

Thanks

[JonM]

Originally Posted by FishStix

Hey guys,

So I'm not new to firearms in general however I am new to the AR-15 platform. I stumbled across this site looking through various places searching for information. After a lot of research, in no small part thanks to this site, I have decided to build an AR. Before I do this I wanted to talk to you guys as you seem pretty knowledgeable. So here it goes:

Reputable Brands,
Striped lower(Spikes Tac, DPMS?), upper, barrel, buttstock, optics, magazines, amunition, basically anything you need to build and operate a good weapon. Now i know that you get what you pay for. I also know that over time you find places that are better than others. I hate buying somthing and then seeing the same thing for cheeper a couple days later. Now also i dont plan on building just one so everything applies for all situations. Whats best for what, and where can I get it for a good price. Every bit is important to have an overall good outcome

Performance,
What is best for what? More specifically what parts are good for reliability? accuracy? Is there something thats better at one range and somthing thats better at another? How can you cut down on jamming? I want the best bang for my buck and the best outcome especially when I plan on building more than one. How can I get the most accuracy and reliability out of my weapon.

Amunition,
I plan on getting it in .556 however I was reading that there is a drop in accuracy. how much are we talking about here. Aim small miss small? Or it went two feet to the right of that zombie and now your an afternoon snack. What are other rounds it can be put in? is there even a limit? I've red alot about the twist in a barrel. Whats best for what range? How do the grains work? What do they effect? I was told by another sorce to not fire anything under a 65 grain to avoid jamming. Is there any fact to this?

Optics,
I've read some really good things and some really bad things about different types. Sometimes of the same brand. Whats good? ACOG Trijicon? red dot? Iron sights? Hav'nt found anything real clear on it.

All in all I want to be able to fend off the zombies that are coming sometime soon. I've read a lot and know a little but i want to know more. Knowlege is power and I want to know everything I can to make the best decision possible. All of you here seem for the most part to know what there talking about and i would appriciate any help that comes my way

Thanks

What your going to get is opinions and many vary.

I like rock river arms stuff atm. Its decent middle of the road. Their barrels are chambered in wylde format kinda inbetween 556 and 223. If i didnt reload my own it would make a bigger difference and i would look for a 556 barrel.

Small parts ive used dpms and rra both.

Acurracy difference firing 223 out of 556 is only relevent for bullseye competition just dont go the other way

Just about any optic works its just a matter of pref. I like low powered post type reticles but mainly shoot open sights i find it faster than dot sights but thats just me. To me optics are for pinpoint shot placement not as a battle sight when your looking for center mass hits.

Just my quick two primer worth others will have different valid pov.

[Quentin]

Hey Fish, I think too much is being asked here for just one thread, this could be an entire forum! Hone it down to a sharp point and I think we'll get somewhere.

[IGETEVEN]

Originally Posted by Quentin

Hey Fish, I think too much is being asked here for just one thread, this could be an entire forum! Hone it down to a sharp point and I think we'll get somewhere.

What he said Fish. ^^^^

[Quentin]

And the very last thing we want to do is get Dexter interested in us!

[mjkeat]

Spikes is a good quality product at a good price.

I'm not a fan of DPMS. You can get more for less $ other places.

Aimsurplus and PalmettoStateArmory have decent prices on parts.

I personally prefer a unmagnified red dot for normal shooting or a scope w/ a bullet drop compensator for going beyond 100yds. ACOGs are nice but the magnification can sometimes get in the way if you don't have a DMR.

I also would rather have 5.56. Allows you the option to use .223 if needed.

[FishStix]

Originally Posted by JonM

What your going to get is opinions and many vary.

I like rock river arms stuff atm. Its decent middle of the road. Their barrels are chambered in wylde format kinda inbetween 556 and 223. If i didnt reload my own it would make a bigger difference and i would look for a 556 barrel.

Small parts ive used dpms and rra both.

Acurracy difference firing 223 out of 556 is only relevent for bullseye competition just dont go the other way

Just about any optic works its just a matter of pref. I like low powered post type reticles but mainly shoot open sights i find it faster than dot sights but thats just me. To me optics are for pinpoint shot placement not as a battle sight when your looking for center mass hits.

Just my quick two primer worth others will have different valid pov.

Opinios are a lot of what I'm looking for just to get a starting point and also to have a little bit more precise idea of what I want. Are there any specific low powerd optics you like? As of now thats more towards what im looking at as well.
Thanks

[FishStix]

As far as the number of questions feel free to answer as many or as little as you want. I am of the opinion that experiance is key. So, if you have a lot of it in say lowers or really any area pitch in. I understand it's a lot. Any help would be appriciated
Thanks

[Dillinger]

Originally Posted by FishStix

Hey guys,

So I'm not new to firearms in general however I am new to the AR-15 platform. I stumbled across this site looking through various places searching for information. After a lot of research, in no small part thanks to this site, I have decided to build an AR. Before I do this I wanted to talk to you guys as you seem pretty knowledgeable. So here it goes:

Okay, good start.

Originally Posted by FishStix

Reputable Brands,
Striped lower(Spikes Tac, DPMS?),upper

A receiver is a receiver is a receiver. I've said it a thousand times. Unless you are going to buy Billet, the receiver itself is just a piece of aluminum that holds all the operating parts in close formation.

Billet - The best & most expensive.

Forged & Cast - 2nd and 3rd, in that order. Both will treat you just fine because you are building on them and not buying the name brand with their chosen components. Pick one that fits your needs.

Originally Posted by FishStix

barrel

What are you looking to do with it? Besides "defend against zombies" because there are a ton of answers to that question, like distance to target, area of conflict, indoor, outdoor, both? Alot of these answers are going to be based on what the end goal is.

You want a 600 yard varmint style weapon with a 20" bull barrel that weighs 13 pounds but will shoot 1 MOA that you don't mind cleaning and maintaining properly? You are looking at a Kreiger or similar product.

You want a 150 yard gun capable of hitting man sized targets in an urban battlefield setting like Somalia? Where you can shoot any type of ammo that you can find and aren't afraid to go a day or two without cleaning it?

You are looking for a standard G.I. profile, chrome lined barrel, which is about the most common one out there.

Originally Posted by FishStix

buttstock,

What do you want to do with it? Target shoot at range or clear rooms?

Originally Posted by FishStix

optics

What do you want to do with it? Target shoot at range or clear rooms?

Originally Posted by FishStix

ammunition

This is going to depend on what rifle you end up building. If you are building a SHTF gun, then military ball ammo is going to be the most common and easy to find.

Originally Posted by FishStix

basically anything you need to build and operate a good weapon

Check out the threads at the top of this section, that is a great place to start.

Originally Posted by FishStix

Performance, What is best for what?

This can't be answered.

Originally Posted by FishStix

More specifically what parts are good for reliability?

The parts are about 10% of the equation. If you don't know what you are doing behind the trigger and maintaining the rifle Dave Lauck could build you a custom gun, blessed by Eugene Stoner himself, and it's not going to help you in 6 months of abuse.

Originally Posted by FishStix

accuracy?

Dependent on what type of rifle you want to build. Again, what ranges are you expecting shoot and what is YOUR definition of Accuracy??

My definition of accurate and yours will be greatly different, of that I can assure you.

Originally Posted by FishStix

Is there something thats better at one range and somthing thats better at another?

Yes. This is the key feature of the AR-15 platform. You build one upper for range and one upper for clearing rooms.

Originally Posted by FishStix

How can you cut down on jamming?

Stop reading advice from other websites that claim the AR is going to jam on you and leave you dead in a ditch.

Know your weapon. That will cut down on a lot of Internet-Mythos.

Originally Posted by FishStix

I want the best bang for my buck and the best outcome especially when I plan on building more than one. How can I get the most accuracy and reliability out of my weapon.

Building your own weapon will ensure this, but you have a cart before the horse issue.

Originally Posted by FishStix

Ammunition,
I plan on getting it in .556 however I was reading that there is a drop in accuracy.

Slap whoever wrote that and put it in print. All ammo eventually drops. On a long enough timeline, or range, everything designed failed.

Originally Posted by FishStix

how much are we talking about here. Aim small miss small? Or it went two feet to the right of that zombie and now your an afternoon snack.

How good of a shot are you?

Originally Posted by FishStix

What are other rounds it can be put in?

Just one based on the barrel, except for the .22lr which can be fired out of the .223/5.56mm with a chamber/BCG conversion.

Different uppers can be built in about 100 different calibers, but they are not universal as one upper.

Originally Posted by FishStix

is there even a limit?

Yes, how much money do you have?

Originally Posted by FishStix

I've read alot about the twist in a barrel. Whats best for what range? How do the grains work? What do they effect?

Yes. Twist rate will determine what grain bullet you end up shooting. Some twist rates are good to handle multiple grains, but every twist rate and every barrel has a "sweet spot" where one type of load that is ideal for that barrel.

Originally Posted by FishStix

I was told by another sorce to not fire anything under a 65 grain to avoid jamming. Is there any fact to this?

Facepalm. No. There is absolutely ZERO truth to that myth. Whoever told you that doesn't know the modern design.




And this is absolutely THE LAST TIME I will answer a question this broad.

[ktmboyz]

WOW great response JD as usual.

Fish the Master has spoken!! read that reply then read it again.. Then start cruising the stickies and picture thread and decide on the style that is going to fit you and what you are looking for. Then start on a parts list.