Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles If you had $650 to spend

Depends on what you are building for. Doorkicking vs precision for instance.

What you are paying for with the high $$ guns is good parts, inspection and warranty. If you build a gun with good parts and it works, you have a good gun. Period.

I'll put my home-assembled competition guns up against smith-built guns any day and in fact I do all the time. They've been good for match wins, the P-100 and Distinguished. If I put them in the hands of someone like Brandon Green I'm sure he'd win just like he does with his AMU-built guns.

Best advice here. Then upgrade as you decide what you want and have the money to do so.

Take it how ever you want.
Just saw this article pop on my news feed
https://www.shootingillustrated.com...ndustries-complete-ar-15-upper-receiver/

If that warms your heart then have at it.

Now I’m all fuzzy and warm. Thank you

That CBC “Mil-Spec” bolt carrier group, isn’t.

I’m going to pick one of these up soon. I like the extra 2” of barrel for hunting, and it’s nothing I’d worry about for defensive purposes either. This has a 5R barrel, and the trigger is supposed to be really nice. I love PSA, but the trigger you’ll get with that kit gun is just a stock mil-spec trigger.

Plus, you don’t have to build it! That nice trigger will work with any upper you buy - or build.

https://i.postimg.cc/W1fgqT8M/20190202-152842.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/t4rtdhqn/20190202-152847.jpg

I had to send my upper back to PSA twice requested money back but nope. 60 rounds the handrail walked forward while shooting. They sent it back with minor damage on barrel. Wont be buying an upper again from them. I know several who have had luck with them, but not me.

I would put it toward a Brownells A1. Light, remember light? Skinny, 20 inch slow twist barrel, high velocity barely stable bullet. Soft shooting, seems to want you to hit. No scope.

Horse shixt.

I repaired three “budget build defensive rifles” this week. You can scoff all you want but when you start dealing in volume trends definitely appear.

Blue,

What kind of problems were you seeing, and after what kind of round counts?

A castle nut that wasn’t staked came loose, trigger springs were installed incorrectly, and one of those stupid exposed gas blocks that hold on a fore end came loose (they always do).

It all happened within about 500 rounds with us, but I don’t know what the round count was before that. I suspect not many.

Saw a PSA choke 3 or 4 times today. Guy said it ran like a champ earlier. I didn't look nor care.

I did something similar a few weeks ago...same PSA build but a 5.56 and I was also impressed with the fit and finish. I had never considered an AR pistol before but I wanted something that I could carry with me on the snowmobile and figured I'd try out the pistol. It's loud, but shockingly accurate (I'm running a Romeo 5 on it) and it'll eat every type of ammo I throw at it.

Ummm, no.

If you buy or build a POS, it is a POS.

And a POS with POS internals & parts MAY run 1,000 rounds & just when when you think it's all good & you need to count on it, it breaks. And you be fooked.

With known, proven parts from a known, proven & reliable source, it will be good when you need it to be good.

YMMV & to each his own.

MM

I thought you were a proponent of the M&P series of AR's from S&W...to be specific, within the OP's parameters of both defense and price.

No. The only one I’d recommend might be the Magpul Edition that has a nitrided 5R barrel with mid-length gas. It seems to be gassed reasonably, and with a blue or red spring and H buffer or the A5 system is very smooth.

If you want resale value, forget about a "build". Get a $550 S&W or Ruger and shoot the snot out of it. There are "builds" all over Armslist that no one will buy because they don't know what parts went into them or what a possibly inexperienced builder did or didn't do properly when putting it all together.

For one of the best values in red dot sights, check out the Holosun on Youtube (although I have a Romeo 1 on my Sig M400 and like it very much). You'll want backup iron sights if the gun is for self-defense because anything electronic can and eventually will fail - make sure they are metal and not plastic. You'll probably eventually want to replace the trigger with something better, and you can buy a good one for under $100 from a number of suppliers - they're very easy to install.

That's all the advice I have: buy a complete gun with a warranty (so you know what you're starting with), get good sights and a good trigger - and shoot a LOT.

Well, I ended up buying that Seekins upper and Seekins BCG and Bolt with the Seekins rail and a 16" Wilson tactical 1/7 twist Barrel And Noveske flash can from KLM on here.
Putting it on an Aero Precision M4E1 SLR DTOM special edition Lower.
Seekins Red lower build kit with ambi safety and extended bolt release.
RRA 3.5 lb 2 stage varmint trigger
Putting a FAB DEFENSE M4 Rifle Survival Butt stock with Built-In 10 rnd Mag Carrier and Fab Defense grip.
Burris 3-9x40 scope on Warne mounts
So much for spending $650,
Be into it for about $1,200 by the time i'm done