My kids and boyfriend gave me an awesome Christmas gift - an AR kit. I had to choose my stripped lower. (The one in stock is not one I’d suggest getting as it as the Punisher logo on it, but I love the Punisher and I don’t plan on using my AR for anything but putting holes in paper.)
One of my sons and I spent a couple of hours putting together the AR on the 27th. Let’s just say I had a few choice words for all of the springs and little pegs.
Have you built an AR? What was the most difficult part for you?
I think what we all want to know is. After you finished it, did it try to sneak off all by its self to “boogaloo” without you or was it like mine and @TexasEskimo AR’s and just sat there in it’s safe?
This detent tool on the right for the pivot pin is your best friend. I also keep a few of the whoops kits that has parts that might take flight or springs that could break in the fcg.
The roll pin that goes into the bolt catch I heard from some is tricky. I’ve found no problem installing or removing it with a punch set aside from marking/removing the anodized finished. Easy touch up.
The trigger fcg was fun the first time, after that it’s no problem. I also give a light mist/spritz of silicone on the detent channels in the pivot pin, fire selector, and rear retaining pin to work it in.
Enjoy, I suspect you’ll be getting a few more now that you’ve gotten the bug.
If it’s a 5.56 caliber, check out the cmmg .22lr conversion kit so you can plink with .22lr.
It did just sit there until we got to the range. Then it bit my finger nail off as I pulled back the charging handle. Oops.
And it definitely won’t shoot with the safety on. I may have been a little excited to shoot it and forgot to turn the safety off before my first attempted shot.
That would have been helpful! I did launch the detent pin a number of times trying to figure out how to slide in the pivot pin. We used a punch to hold the detent pin down and slid the pivot pin in. (Think Indiana Jones swapping out of the bag of sand for the skull.) It took a bit, but we got it to work.
I’ll be picking up a detent tool the next time I build an AR… Which may be soon because I love my first one!
I hope I got all of the terminology right! Please let me know if I confused the terms!
Darned defective AR’s perhaps a class action lawsuit against the MSM for raising my expectations that my
AR-15 would fire heat seeking 20 mm rounds at 3000 rps and I could easily sustain 10 seconds of full auto fire. I was expecting a fully autonomous, weapon of war. Just doesn’t seem fair, to raise my expectations like that and my AR just sits in it’s cradle in my safe.
On a serious note, very nice work. Looks and sounds like you had fun with it. Are you going to try and do some more custom work like that?
My recommendation is to buy a cheap vertical foregrip, cheap angled foregrip and a finger stop. Go cheap to figure out what feels right for you first, then buy a better quality so as not to worry about defects.
Great job @Dawn!! I have built many of them, plus the uppers as well. Recently my gal wanted a 3 gun rifle of her own. She purchased all the parts (actually she had won a lot of the parts already), and under my eye built her own rifle (upper and lower from parts). Big smile!!
A few specific tools help, particularly for that front detent pin and spring! Yes, I have fired a few off myself.
Built my first AR about 7 or 8 years ago… The hardest part? Making my hubby keep his hands off it while I was building … he SOOOO wanted to help. I finally made him sit on his hands. On the other side of the room.
MY build! You No Touchy! Just talk me through it. Use your words, man, use your words!!
I thought he’d burst into flames before I got done.
And then… I didn’t love it.
Sold it.
Getting ready to build a new one. decided I needed a theme. Here it is (but will not be this color):
@MarkinMT
That’s my plan too… getting the parts together, gonna have them done at one time so they match How does she like it? happy with the quality and function?
@James -never heard of this site until today. Thank you! Ran across another interesting article on “Everyday Marksman” that paralleled my AR builds over the last 20+ years: DMR. How to build the best bang-for-the-buck AR platform in preparation for the ZA-my worst case scenario. One thing so wonderful about the Armalite platform is its versatility. On a humorous note: AR v. AK.
as I pulled back the charging handle. Oops. 
That would have been helpful! I did launch the detent pin a number of times trying to figure out how to slide in the pivot pin. We used a punch to hold the detent pin down and slid the pivot pin in. (Think Indiana Jones swapping out of the bag of sand for the skull.) It took a bit, but we got it to work.
