home gunsmithing – The Backyardsman

A couple days ago I talked about cheap guns and why they’re not as good as more expensive guns – at least if you’re betting your life on one. That doesn’t mean you need to spend $1500 on a Daniel Defense or $2500 on a KAC SR-15 to have a reliable weapon. I decided to try my hand at a home built AR-15 on a budget. Building your own has a few advantages. For one thing, you can get exactly the parts you want. For another, you can spread the cost out over time. The best reason for me is for learning how to do it. If you build your own AR-15, you’ll be able to maintain, repair, and upgrade it yourself. With that in mind, I decided to build a budget AR-15.

Budget, not cheap…

This is a budget gun, not a cheap gun. I did use some cheap parts, but the important ones are high quality. I used Aero Presision upper and lower receivers. The lower parts kit (lpk) is CMMG, and a friend gave me a Sionics enhanced mil spec trigger. The buffer tube assembly is BCM. Barrel is 16″ M4 profile with 1:7 twist, carbine gas, F marked FSB and chrome lined bore. Except for the barrel, all are solid choices based on past experience and mfg. reputation. Since the rest of the parts don’t affect reliability, I used the cheapest ones I could find: generic M4 butt stock, A2 grip, cheap no-name charging handle, and Magpul MOE trigger guard and fore end. I already had the buttstock and charging handle. All in, I’m at about $570 in parts. If I’d had to buy a trigger, butt stock , and charging handle it would be about $100 more.

Just cheap…

By comparison, I could have built my AR using Palmetto State Armory’s (PSA) rifle build kit. For only $399.95 (including shipping) it comes with everything you need to build an AR-15 except the lower receiver. Add $70 or so for a lower and you have a complete AR-15 for less than $500. Not bad for a range toy, but not as good as my $570 (or $670) build.

With the PSA kit, you don’t get a chrome lined barrel. The bolt isn’t 158 carpenter steel. I don’t know who makes their buffer tube, but I do know the BCM tube I used is duty grade – not likely to blow up in my face. The parts in the CMMG lpk (esp. pins and springs) are known quality parts. I don’t know what PSA puts in their lpks. For a plinker or range toy it probably doesn’t matter. For a gun that’s going to be used for self defense, it does – at least to me.

The gory details…

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, but I wanted parts that would work good and last a long time. That can be a tricky with the AR-15 because there are so many choices for parts. AR parts companies seem to come and go on a daily basis. I decided to spend where I needed and go cheap everywhere else. The important parts are the receiver set, LPK, BCG, and barrel. Everything else is easy to replace or upgrade later.

My lower receiver is an Aero Precision A15 for $70. Fit, finish, and function is great and it’s only $20 more than a Poverty Pony lower. I used a CMMG lpk ($40). Again, this is a known good quality piece of kit. For the trigger I cheated – one of my friends let me have a Sionics Enhanced mil spec trigger. If I had to buy it, it would have added $55 to the cost of my rifle. It looks exactly like an ALG ACT I own, down to the casting (forging?) marks on the trigger and hammer. No creep and crisp break. The buffer tube assembly is BCM. For around $60 I like the peace of mind knowing it’s strong enough to not break on recoil and put my eye out.

The upper receiver is an Aero M4. It houses a Toolcraft bcg with an MPI’d and HPT’d Carpenter 158 steel bolt. I used a BCM Gunfighter charging handle because they work well and seem to be break-proof. Gas tube is a Spike’s Tactical melonite piece and my muzzle device is just a standard A2 flash hider. Barrel specs are mentioned above. I did cheap out on the furniture – the stock is a generic M4 and the hand guard is a used Magpul MOE. I still need to get the sight post, pin, and spring for the FSB and a rear sight.

A work in progress…

Even though I haven’t finished this rifle, I already have some upgrades in mind. I know for sure I’m going to replace the butt stock. The M4 I have on it now sucks. My second upgrade will probably be to free float the barrel. In the mean time I just want to finish it and run it hard. Let’s see what breaks and what doesn’t…

Peace out,
porcupine

Build your own gun vs. buying a factory gun

Sometimes you can save money by building your own gun, but usually it’s cheaper to just buy one. I don’t care. I build guns because I enjoy it and I get to make them exactly the way I want them. It’s also a great way to learn how they work. I figure if I built it I can probably fix it if it breaks. If you start with an 80% receiver it can save you from doing paperwork.

OTOH it’s easier to just buy one. To build your own, you’ll need some tools and skills. It’s usually cheaper to buy a factory gun, and it will come with a warranty. So why build your own? Because you’re a Backyardsman, right?

Ways to build your own gun

When you build your own gun, you have lots of options. The cheapest is to get a black powder rifle or pistol kit. You can get a Traditions Kentucky pistol kit for about $175 or their Kentucky rifle kit for about $260. I haven’t built either but they look pretty easy to put together and they get good reviews online. To build one, you’ll need to do a little wood inletting for the metal parts, some minor filing, finish the wood stock, blue the metal parts, and screw everything together. I’m hoping I can build one with my son later this year (after he passes his Hunter Safety course).

The easiest way to build your own gun is putting together an AR15. You can get every part you need online. The only hard part is finding an FFL to do the transfer on the lower receiver for you. You’ll need a few special tools and some good instructions, but putting together an AR is so easy it’s not even really building a gun, more like assembling one. If you want a little more challenge you can start with an 80% lower. My first (and so far only) home built gun was an AR-15. It cost just as much as a factory gun, but it’s put together exactly the way I want. I have over 1,000 rounds through it with zero malfunctions.

My next home built gun is going to be a Glock type pistol built on a Polymer80 frame. The ATF doesn’t consider this to be a firearm so you can order the frame kit without going through an FFL. I got my frame last week and even though it needs some milling, it looks even easier than putting together an AR15. The only problem is the cost – about $200 for the frame and lower kit and $400 for a complete slide. You can buy a brand new factory Glock cheaper than that.

If you’re really good and have tools you can build a custom bolt action rifle or even build your own semiautomatic pistol from scratch.

So get to it – start building

If you like guns, you should definitely build your own gun. At least once. It’s easy (at least it can be) and you’ll learn valuable skills. What are you waiting for? Figure out what you want, find the parts (either locally or online), and start building.