Re: I need help building an AR style rifle
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Hollis2010</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Are there any particular brands that you recommend? </div></div>
An upper consists of: upper receiver with forward assist and dust cover, barrel w/ extension, gas tube, gas block, forearm, charging handle, and bolt carrier group. The choice of forearm determines how the barrel is attached to the upper receiver. That is about it...not too complicated. Go to AR15.com and their "build it yourself" forum for more info. Now, regarding your choices.....that is a different matter.
What is your budget and how accurate are you talking?
18" to 20" barrel means a rifle-length gas system and 12" handguard
Do you want a "tacti-cool" upper with a picatinny forearm? Or do you want a round forearm varmint-style upper, which is a little more comfortable to grab and shoot. Do you want traditional iron sights? Pop-up iron sights? What kind of optics? Gonna use a bipod? Will it need a picatinny rail or a sling stud?
Basically, there are a million choices when building an AR and it helps to have a vision of what you want to build. Go to some websites and look at the existing builds and decide what you want. Then you can narrow things down. I"d classify uppers into the following categories:
1. Traditional M16-A2: fixed front sight post, removeable plastic forearms, barrel with flash hider
2. Varmint: bull barrel, tubular aluminum forearm, no iron sights.
3. "Tacti-cool": Picatinny rail forearm, barrel with or without flash hider, pop-up iron sights
For best-of the best, check out the rifles from White Oak, LaRue, Compass Lake Engineering, Noveske, LMT, Daniel Defense, Rock River, and others. Just look at what they have to offer. Hopefully, you will decide what you like.
A good website for upper parts from many different manufacturers is operationparts.com
