Spent a little time late last night after work, and this morning ordering some parts for a first AR build. Will probably build this fall or winter when I have more time. Figured I better get some of the parts now, before the election gets more heated and parts become unobtainable. There were lots of sales this holiday weekend, and I'm trying to not break the bank with this build. Ordered an Aero Precision stripped upper and lower and a Ballistic Advantage 16 inch midlength barrel. Got upper and lower parts kits and charging handle coming also. Trying to spread the other parts purchases over a couple of months as the funds become available. Need to decide on and get a butt stock, fore end/handguards, and sights. I have a BCG somewhere, I think Bushmaster, but may get something different. I already have a basic stock and handguard, that I have had around for awhile, so I can at least put it together, even if it is not quite what I want in the end. I was going to do a build a few years back, but because of some issues and personal reasons it never happened. That's the reason I have some miscellaneous parts about. I think I have all the necessary tools, but will need to double check.
I'm not going for a super light weight build, but don't want something that is big, fat, and club like either. Round or oval shaped handguards are readily available if I go that route. The ones I have on hand are fat like the M4 big fat guards, but I want something smaller. From memory, it seems like some of the round hanguards on AR's at the store are trimmer than others. Does anyone know what brand the smaller midlength hands guards might be?
I may go with some kind of free float handguard instead. Again I want something trimmer, and not packed full of rails that make it bigger, fatter and heavier. I'd rather have something that I can add a rail section or put accessories on as needed or wanted. I don't know much about the key lock or M lock rails. Any suggestions for a trimmer sized free float handguard would be appreciated. Will need some sights too, but I haven't even really thought about those yet. The barrel I'm getting comes with a low profile gas block, so any sights will either have to go on the handguard or I will have to use a different gas block.
Any suggestions or ideas on a butt stock? Again I don't want or need something bulky. Most likely I will go with some kind of adjustable stock, but I kind of like the Ace skeleton stock.
A few years back when I was contemplating a build, someone on here (maybe Frank or Tom) mentioned the Military Tech manual on Ar's, M16's and gave the number for it. If someone knows the name and the number of the manual, that would be helpful to me.
Any suggestions or pointers for the first build I'm planning would be helpful and appreciated. Thank you for your help.
Below are links to the major components I have ordered so far.
Upper:
http://aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15-stripped-upper-receiver.htmlLower:
http://aeroprecisionusa.com/ar15-stripped-lower-gen2-anodized-black.htmlBarrel:
http://ballisticadvantage.com/16-inch-556-hanson-mid-cmv-performance-barrel.html