Picked up a DSA lower today for a reasonable price to start my 9mm AR build (which will take quite a while to finish the way the market is) :-)

Congrats Pete! Which block are you going with?

As long as you have time and a few months to wait, shouldn't be too hard. things are slowly starting to trickle back into supply (that or I'm getting better at finding the parts I want :-))

Not really in a rush but I hope to have most of it together within 3 months (fingers crossed)

Not sure yet. Still trying to make a list (but do have my eyes on the CMMG upper). Is there one that you would recommend?

Here's a moderately priced lower parts kit, minus the stock, for $75
http://www.slickguns.com/product/ar-...parts-kit-7495

Saw that earlier. How are they?

wrong thread post.... :-)

Get out!!

While I have two ARs, aside from shooting them, my knowledge is limited to the breakdown for cleaning.
I am curious as to what it takes to build one and why so many go that route v. buying one from a major manufacturer. Some of the prices on parts I see seem to add up to more than one already built.
What exactly is the list of parts one would need aside from an upper, lower and lower parts kit?

an armorers tool and some roll pin punches. If you want to get it right a torque wrench and a vise and receiver blocks.

Building is fun and you can spend more on upgrades over time without dropping a ton of cash. You need:
Upper
Lower
LPK
Buffer
Buffer tube
Buffer spring
Butt stock
Bolt carrier group
Ejection port cover
Charging handle
Barrel
Barrel nut
Gas block
Gas tube
Muzzle brake
Sights
Various tools

Wow.
What did an upper and a lower go for before this mess started?

Went to Cabelas Monday to see what they might have left. Plus just to kill the afternoon. Surprisingly they had the Tactical Solutions .22lr Glock conversion kit on hand and for my model. $380 though, ouch. So I bought this instead. Sig Mosquito in OD green. Also found ammo locally for it, so I've got my cheapo range plinking setup.

I went with the RRA block but you can go Hahn. Mine is basically a complete RRA built by me. I've gotten lucky with my AR-9, from the research I did I found 9mm conversions to be finicky and take some tweaking to run right. Mine worked when I put it together so I am not doing anymore tweaking to it, for now. I plan on getting the bolt ramped so I can run a Geissele trigger in it.

It's an old read but this is where I got started:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_15/10...mm_AR_FAQ.html

You could still find complete quality stuff for well under $1000. Building takes more time and you get to know your rifle better. I went the build route because I can put what I wanted on it from the get go and not end up with a ton of left over parts that I had no use for, that was the idea. I still ended up with parts that I have no use for, but now they are turning to more rifles.

Too much info/options...my head is going to explode....

Stripped upper and lower were in the $125 to $150 range each. Palmetto State Armory had deals for $79 lowers all the time.

My best advice is this. Buy a lower. That is the "gun" and the controlled piece. If they ban AR's that is the part that will be banned. Manufacturers will still make other parts.

Building really isn't that hard.

Don't know, sorry. Shipping is reasonably fast though. I ordered a LPK and stock from them on 1/3 and it shipped on 1/15. I ordered one from Palmetto that same day, and it still hasn't shipped (but they shipped a 12/31 order to me today, so maybe by Monday the PSA LPK will ship)

I haven't installed the Core15 one yet, and I don't have enough experience to tell the quality just by looking. From reputation, they're decent quality. perfectly fine rifles, maybe a tad overpriced which lends folks to choose other more competitive offerings. But overall, GTG for the right price. Quality on them is fine. Apparently it's a bunch of ex-bushmaster guys running the show over there.



Nice pick up :-)
I've been trying to justify a Mosquito in Black for a while now, but I've got the Ruger Mark III, and I can't talk myself into both at the moment.

Sounds good. Ordered one. Good thing I did since they were sold out about an hr later

What are your guys thought on carry, concealed at a friends house? Wither they are pro guns, semi gun pro or anti guns?