< Back to the Main Site

Author Topic: My first AR-15  (Read 2650 times)

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
My first AR-15
« on: July 23, 2010, 07:16:39 PM »
Put it together last night but the bolt didn't come in until today.  Not counting the tools I bought for it I have right around $1000 in it.  It's a lot for a first time AR but I decided to go all out and buy top quality stuff, at least on the parts that really matter.  I probably could have gotten it cheaper by buying a pre-assembled upper, but this way I got exactly what I wanted.

Some of the goodies:
Bravo Company upper receiver & bolt carrier group
White Oak 18" stainless SPR barrel
Charles Daly lower
Stag lower parts kit
YHM 5C1 flash hider
YHM folding front sight/gas block
Cut down A2 carry handle rear sight
Midwest Industries SS 12" handguard

Eventually I'lll put on a 1-4 variable scope of some kind and get a folding rear sight.  I also plan to get a QD sling swivel for the handguard and cut off the sling swivel from the front sight.  No, the upper really isn't purple, my camera just sucks.  Can't wait to get it to the range tomorrow.






« Last Edit: July 23, 2010, 07:25:45 PM by bkoenig »

Offline Dan W

  • NFOA Co-Founder
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2007
  • Location: Lincoln NE
  • Posts: 8143
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2010, 07:31:29 PM »
Did you have your barrel coated? Sure looks black in the pics

BTW I love the  18" rifles

ETA: how's the trigger?
« Last Edit: July 23, 2010, 07:35:40 PM by Dan W »
Dan W    NFOA Co Founder
Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.   J. F. K.

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #2 on: July 23, 2010, 07:46:31 PM »
I just painted it with some high temp paint for now because I didn't like the shiny look.  I'm going to duracoat it dark grey eventually.  I could have left it bare until then but it's easy to remove with a little brake cleaner.

The trigger is pretty good, actually.  A little creep but better than most stock AR triggers I've tried.  I was going to send it to Bill Springfield for a trigger job but I think I'll leave it alone.  If I get crazy I might drop an aftermarket trigger in there some day.

Offline Dan W

  • NFOA Co-Founder
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2007
  • Location: Lincoln NE
  • Posts: 8143
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #3 on: July 23, 2010, 08:14:36 PM »
I have modded the grip retainer screws on my two with GI fire control groups by adding an extension pin to reduce the creep to a minimum.

You can also buy a setup for about $20 online

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f42/ar-15-drop-trigger-adjuster-20-shipped-54690/
Dan W    NFOA Co Founder
Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.   J. F. K.

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2010, 11:08:56 PM »
I've seen that mod.  I'm a little hesitant to play around with the trigger much on my own though.  I've done trigger jobs on other rifles before but I'd like this one to be bullet proof, so I'm thinking of leaving it as is.

Offline SeanN

  • NFOA Full Member
  • **
  • Join Date: Jul 2009
  • Location: Omaha, NE
  • Posts: 535
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2010, 01:59:35 PM »
Nice rifle! Think I saw it on ARFCOM first.  ;)

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2010, 04:06:24 PM »
Yep, I posted it there too...

I shot it the last two days and it's looking like it will be a good shooter.  I sighted in at 100 yards today and was getting about 2 - 2.5 MOA groups with iron sights and reloads (60 grain Sierra HP, 24 grains H335).  I forgot my sandbags at home, so I had to use my range bag for a rest.  With optics and a decent rest this thing should be very accurate.

Offline Famous556

  • Lead Benefactor
  • **
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Close enough to Omaha for the convenience, far enough away to avoid the draconian laws
  • Posts: 137
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2010, 11:29:15 PM »
Very nice!!!  I'm interested to see how well she will group.  Nice job!
Human life and limb preservation specialist

Offline Wildgoose

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • NFOA Full Member
  • **
  • Join Date: Nov 2008
  • Posts: 304
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2010, 05:41:06 PM »
Congrats on getting her done. You made pretty good time concidering budget issues and doing a total parts build. I coped out on mine by only doing the lower myself and buying a prebuilt upper. Looks great!
Iam going to try to finnaly get to the CMP match at Ikes this week end. Up until now something has come up to keep me from using my AR for what I got it for.

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2010, 05:57:45 PM »
I was hoping to get to the CMP match this weekend too but we're going to Kearney for my Father In Law's birthday.  I'm having the same problem as you, other things keep getting in the way.

Offline bkoenig

  • Gun Show Volunteer
  • Powder Benefactor
  • *
  • Join Date: May 2009
  • Location: Lincoln, NE
  • Posts: 3677
  • Aspiring cranky old gun nut
Re: My first AR-15
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2010, 08:19:18 PM »
By the way, since you didn't build yours from scratch now's your chance....you can use my tools and build a SBR AR-15 to go along with those shorty AK's of yours.