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The madness begins....my first AR15 build

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bkoenig:
I picked up a stripped lower yesterday so I'm on my way.  I'm planning on a flat top rifle, either 18" or 20" barrel.  I really want to try my hand at 3 gun, so it will be geared towards that type of shooting.  Over the next year or so I plan to slowly accumulate parts.  I have another rifle I'm building right now so funds are tight, and I want to take the time to do this right so this build is going to take a while.  I'm a cheap SOB so I don't plan to spend extra for unnecessary toys, but I'm not going to skimp on things like the bolt carrier group and barrel.  I know it would be cheaper to buy a complete upper, but I like to tinker with things, and I couldn't find a complete one that had all the features I wanted.

So, for the black rifle experts, how does this sound?

Charles Daly stripped lower (the finish is really nice on this thing!)
Aero Precision flat top upper https://surplusammo.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=33&products_id=489&zenid=44e11d947a0af50de647d3b7eddc88e6
White Oak 20" CMP match or 18" SPR barrel http://www.whiteoakarmament.com/
BCM or LMT bolt carrier group http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-Bolt-Carrier-Group-MPI-Auto-M16-p/bcm%20bolt%20carrier%20group%20auto%20mp.htm
Miculek Compensator http://www.cactustactical.com/osc/ar15-jerry-miculek-compensator-p-79.html
A2 iron sight cut down from a colt carry handle (bought on ARFCOM for $40)
Standard A2 front sight
Trigger - keep the stock one for now, have a $35 trigger job done here http://www.triggerwork.net/ar15s.html
A2 stock
Model 1 float tube http://www.model1sales.com/item-detail.cfm?ID=FFF001&storeid=1&image=frrefloat.gif&CFID=56770293&CFTOKEN=67680119

Eventually I'll probably go with some sort of flip up rear sight and either an Aimpoint or a Millett DMS scope.  But, that will have to wait until the wife stops being mad at me for getting yet ANOTHER gun :D

AJ_Engineer:
I went the same way, knew I could get a bargain bin rifle or complete upper for cheaper than building it myself, but I don't regret it. Has been a lot of fun building it all. Since you mentioned ARFCOM I don't need to point you there on advice for how to build it  ;). Of course, a downside is I have not skimped on quality and now have a much more expensive rifle than I originally planned for.  :o

Some thoughts I have on what you have listed:
Looks like that is a stripped upper receiver, so you will need to get an upper receiver parts kit (dust cover, forward assist) to go along with it.

I got a lot of Yankee Hill Machine (YHM) stuff in mine that I am building. YHM lower at the fun show in Fremont, then the rest I got online.

YHM flat top upper kit, YHM 16" fluted barrel, low profile gas block were all direct from YHM.
BCM bolt carrier group I have, have not heard of anyone ever having problems. Also got their gunfighter charging handle mod4.

Find out if you need a barrel nut and all of that for your float tube so you can lump it into your BCM order since they have parts like that. I went with a Larue free float tube so it came with what I needed in that regard. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what small parts like that I would need. Same thing with the stock you get, check to see if it comes with the spring/buffer/tube and all that.

I just got a DPMS part kit (only thing I could find in stock at the time) and I will be replacing the grip it came with for something more comfortable, but the rest of it looks all good.

I just ordered the last stuff I needed last night for the rifle. Tijicon TR24 scope, Vortex flash hider, and a nice quick detach bipod setup.

As far as tools, the only tool I used was an "AR15 multi-tool" which has a barrel wrench on one side and a stock castle wrench on the other.

Of course, I have no idea if mine works or not yet. It should, and I'll be testing it shortly. It was a lot of fun to build it.

bkoenig:
Yeah, after looking some more it seems like it's just as cheap to buy an upper receiver with the port cover, forward assist, etc already installed. 

SeanN:
Couple questions for you... What is the end goal of this rifle? It seems you want a precision style rig. Do you want to be able to hit targets out to 600 yards consistently? Further? Are you going to be doing any hunting with it of any kind? Are you looking to go absolute top dollar quality or do you want some kind of balance between quality and price?

I may be able to make some suggestions for you depending on the answers :)

bkoenig:
I want to try 3-gun competition eventually, and probably also use it for some CMP matches.  I know it wouldn't be legal for service rifle competition, but I could use it in the match rifle class.  I could see myself taking a carbine course some day also.  The CMP is kind of an afterthought, though.  Probably no hunting, I have a .223 Savage bolt gun if I ever get around to busting prairie poodles. 

I wouldn't say I'm going absolute top dollar, so something like a Krieger barrel is probably out.  But I don't want to skimp on stuff that really matters, like the barrel and bolt carrier group.

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