For budget builds, yes
I recommend a “Reddit Special” if you can afford it. An Aero Precision complete lower and BCM complete upper will give you a high-tier BCM/DD quality rifle for a mid-tier cost. Total will be around $1100.
You can find BCM uppers on r/gunaccessoriesforsale or r/gundeals for less than the $700-800 on most retail sites.
Aero will release an ambidextrous lower soon.
Start with a CDR upper and whatever KP lower is in your budget. With the discount codes, should be about 800 for all of that. Not PSA cheap, but definitely a step up in build quality
It’s what I did. I think it’s very good value, though there’s an argument to be made that you should piece it out and spend lots of time searching for deals each day on a variety of sights to get the most cost efficient build.
That's kinda what I'm doing. I'm one of those people who Sherlock every luxury purchase I make. I wanna just get the complete upper with front and rear sights for a start then I'd likely buy optics in a month or so
I bought and upgraded a smith and wesson m&p to the point that the only original parts were the receivers and buffer tube/castle nut assembly. if I had to do it all over again I would have built it. the PSA stuff will run. nothing wrong with it at all.
my experience is that I ended up building a whole other upgraded rifle plus an ar pistol, and am in process of building a 300 blackout upper for the pistol and an ar9 set up. so there is that...
I'm starting out pretty basic with a lot of this. I just want one that'll run for now and I'm going to upgrade it bit by bit.
In truth I want an AK of some variety but as it stands I'm saving for better housing so I'm going budget on the AR deal.
Trust me I've combed over all of them. I respect ARs but I'm an AK guy at heart. Being ace, certain aesthetics just speak to me. Stamped metal and wood is one of those aesthetics
I recommend stripped lowers from PSA for people looking to assemble their AR from the ground up. A blem lower will run you around $30 and will be perfectly serviceable.
I’d look elsewhere for the rest, though. A lot of PSA’s “sales” are just normal prices elsewhere. Every once in a while they’ll have a legit sale and have something worth actually getting, but a lot of it can be found elsewhere for cheaper or just better stuff for the same price point.
I was looking at a stripped lower earlier and marked it. Do you have any examples of "elsewhere"? I've literally never done any gun shopping online. Kind of a boomer when it comes to that.
Basically, I decide what I want and then reverse search it to find who had the best prices… and then let the rabbit hole drag me where it will.
With my last AR, I knew I wanted Grendel Hunter furniture and a Rainier barrel and that stuff can only be had through their respective websites. So, that really narrowed those parts down. A lot of the other stuff came from Brownells and Cheaper Than Dirt. A few things came from the LGS’s in my area.
It’s all just a bit of hunting and searching… and for me, that’s half the fun. Do research on who’s making good triggers at a decent price, then dig around and see who’s got those triggers at the best price… Oh, these guys have a deal that adds on a Radian charging handle for cheap if I spend another couple bucks. Does that savings offset the extra spending? Let’s see what else they’ve got and see what it does for my budget if I get it here instead of from over there…
Okay I'm familiar with Cheaper than Dirt and Brownells but I've never shopped their stores. Just hear about them. I'll see what I can find.
Side note, I don't know why but I just love the image Grendel Hunter conjures in my head.
I've literally never fired or seen a 6.5 Grendel firearm in person. I've heard a lot of good things I just don't have any gun nut buddies that live close. I'd probably get one after a regular 5.56 build, after I check ammo availability in my area
I've got a 30-30 reloading setup from before I was born. Inherited it from my great grandpa. He loved his Marlin and I love reloading even though we don't use 30-30 as much as I'd like. It's kinda fun for me
When it's in stock, this is a solid budget complete lower
https://www.rainierarms.com/sharps-bros-livewire-ar-15-complete-rifle-lower-receiver-w-o-stock/
I'm no AR aficionado, but I built an Anderson Lower, PSA ept lower parts kit, PSA free floating upper as my first AR and have been running it in local 3gun matches for a year.
No complaints whatsoever. Think I got into it for $450 or $500 with flip up irons. Only issues I had was first time out due to it being under lubricated (AR'S like to run wet) and learning to push-pull the mag to properly seat it.
After a few matches I put a used LPVO on it, offset irons, and a cheap flashlight and mount when I did a night match.
It'll hold about 1" groups at 100 yards and I can ping steel silhouettes at 300. Probably 1000rds through it, No reliability issues except the first time out (oil) and one time it failed to feed one round of some special heavy ammo I was trying to out.
It feels solid and like I can knock it around and get some dirt on it.
For what I do with it I'm completely happy and don't really foresee myself needing anything better for a long time.
Sweet. I knew about the running wet thing and I fully intend to oil the living daylights out of whatever I end up with. Not sure about running matches with one but it is something that's interested me for a while. I'm basically addicted to whenever Ian at Forgotten Weapons drops a match video
I'm shooting my first inrangetv Brutality match in April, so stoked about it.
I definitely recommend looking up and trying some local matches. A lot of them are pretty cheap and you'll learn a lot. Single gun matches like only pistol or only rifle matches are easier to learn the format and how to be safe before doing multi-gun matches.
I'd be kinda excited to do matches of any kind regardless of how I place. I just don't think rural Indiana would have too many but I've been wrong before. Good luck to you in April.
(P.s. sorry it took me a while. Had a long day yesterday)
It's worth doing just cause they're fun. I found that running around shooting stuff with other people was a lot more fun than standing in a lane shooting at paper alone or at cans against a hill.
You might be surprised what's nearby. Check out practiscore.com and search for stuff around you. Also just checking nearby ranges for competitions or leagues, as not every place will put their stuff on practicescore.
Thanks, I'm looking forward to it.
For budget builds, yes I recommend a “Reddit Special” if you can afford it. An Aero Precision complete lower and BCM complete upper will give you a high-tier BCM/DD quality rifle for a mid-tier cost. Total will be around $1100. You can find BCM uppers on r/gunaccessoriesforsale or r/gundeals for less than the $700-800 on most retail sites. Aero will release an ambidextrous lower soon.
I actually didn't even know there were subreddits for that. I'll have to check those out and see what I find. Thank you
I’d say it’s worth checking KE arms when you can. Usually some good deals and/or general public discount codes available
I really want one of those WWSD rifles, a little out of my price range but damn it they look nice.
Start with a CDR upper and whatever KP lower is in your budget. With the discount codes, should be about 800 for all of that. Not PSA cheap, but definitely a step up in build quality
I just checked them after reading. I'll have to wait until I get a new PC it seems. My phone didn't like the website. (Sorry for mobile)
Just use Desktop Mode on your browser. It won't look any better whether on PC or smart phone. Coupon Code: 2A4ALL You may find more at r/inrangetv
I'm not the most tech savvy. I didn't even know that was a thing. Thank you for the code and recommendations
It’s what I did. I think it’s very good value, though there’s an argument to be made that you should piece it out and spend lots of time searching for deals each day on a variety of sights to get the most cost efficient build.
That's kinda what I'm doing. I'm one of those people who Sherlock every luxury purchase I make. I wanna just get the complete upper with front and rear sights for a start then I'd likely buy optics in a month or so
PSA or r/GunAccessoriesForSale if you want to build from parts. a ton of good deals.
I'm on the subreddit now checking them out and I've got PSA bookmarked on my browser. Trying to shorten my usual process of weeks and weeks of debate.
I bought and upgraded a smith and wesson m&p to the point that the only original parts were the receivers and buffer tube/castle nut assembly. if I had to do it all over again I would have built it. the PSA stuff will run. nothing wrong with it at all. my experience is that I ended up building a whole other upgraded rifle plus an ar pistol, and am in process of building a 300 blackout upper for the pistol and an ar9 set up. so there is that...
I'm starting out pretty basic with a lot of this. I just want one that'll run for now and I'm going to upgrade it bit by bit. In truth I want an AK of some variety but as it stands I'm saving for better housing so I'm going budget on the AR deal.
people love the psa aks...look at the blems.
Trust me I've combed over all of them. I respect ARs but I'm an AK guy at heart. Being ace, certain aesthetics just speak to me. Stamped metal and wood is one of those aesthetics
I recommend stripped lowers from PSA for people looking to assemble their AR from the ground up. A blem lower will run you around $30 and will be perfectly serviceable. I’d look elsewhere for the rest, though. A lot of PSA’s “sales” are just normal prices elsewhere. Every once in a while they’ll have a legit sale and have something worth actually getting, but a lot of it can be found elsewhere for cheaper or just better stuff for the same price point.
I was looking at a stripped lower earlier and marked it. Do you have any examples of "elsewhere"? I've literally never done any gun shopping online. Kind of a boomer when it comes to that.
Basically, I decide what I want and then reverse search it to find who had the best prices… and then let the rabbit hole drag me where it will. With my last AR, I knew I wanted Grendel Hunter furniture and a Rainier barrel and that stuff can only be had through their respective websites. So, that really narrowed those parts down. A lot of the other stuff came from Brownells and Cheaper Than Dirt. A few things came from the LGS’s in my area. It’s all just a bit of hunting and searching… and for me, that’s half the fun. Do research on who’s making good triggers at a decent price, then dig around and see who’s got those triggers at the best price… Oh, these guys have a deal that adds on a Radian charging handle for cheap if I spend another couple bucks. Does that savings offset the extra spending? Let’s see what else they’ve got and see what it does for my budget if I get it here instead of from over there…
Okay I'm familiar with Cheaper than Dirt and Brownells but I've never shopped their stores. Just hear about them. I'll see what I can find. Side note, I don't know why but I just love the image Grendel Hunter conjures in my head.
I've had good results with Cheaper Than Dirt, for what it's worth.
If you’re gonna be building a 6.5 Grendel, they’re a damn fine company to use.
I've literally never fired or seen a 6.5 Grendel firearm in person. I've heard a lot of good things I just don't have any gun nut buddies that live close. I'd probably get one after a regular 5.56 build, after I check ammo availability in my area
Ammo can be… frustrating. Unless you get into loading your own. That said, it’s become one of my favorite rifles.
I've got a 30-30 reloading setup from before I was born. Inherited it from my great grandpa. He loved his Marlin and I love reloading even though we don't use 30-30 as much as I'd like. It's kinda fun for me
When it's in stock, this is a solid budget complete lower https://www.rainierarms.com/sharps-bros-livewire-ar-15-complete-rifle-lower-receiver-w-o-stock/
I'm no AR aficionado, but I built an Anderson Lower, PSA ept lower parts kit, PSA free floating upper as my first AR and have been running it in local 3gun matches for a year. No complaints whatsoever. Think I got into it for $450 or $500 with flip up irons. Only issues I had was first time out due to it being under lubricated (AR'S like to run wet) and learning to push-pull the mag to properly seat it. After a few matches I put a used LPVO on it, offset irons, and a cheap flashlight and mount when I did a night match. It'll hold about 1" groups at 100 yards and I can ping steel silhouettes at 300. Probably 1000rds through it, No reliability issues except the first time out (oil) and one time it failed to feed one round of some special heavy ammo I was trying to out. It feels solid and like I can knock it around and get some dirt on it. For what I do with it I'm completely happy and don't really foresee myself needing anything better for a long time.
Sweet. I knew about the running wet thing and I fully intend to oil the living daylights out of whatever I end up with. Not sure about running matches with one but it is something that's interested me for a while. I'm basically addicted to whenever Ian at Forgotten Weapons drops a match video
I'm shooting my first inrangetv Brutality match in April, so stoked about it. I definitely recommend looking up and trying some local matches. A lot of them are pretty cheap and you'll learn a lot. Single gun matches like only pistol or only rifle matches are easier to learn the format and how to be safe before doing multi-gun matches.
I'd be kinda excited to do matches of any kind regardless of how I place. I just don't think rural Indiana would have too many but I've been wrong before. Good luck to you in April. (P.s. sorry it took me a while. Had a long day yesterday)
It's worth doing just cause they're fun. I found that running around shooting stuff with other people was a lot more fun than standing in a lane shooting at paper alone or at cans against a hill. You might be surprised what's nearby. Check out practiscore.com and search for stuff around you. Also just checking nearby ranges for competitions or leagues, as not every place will put their stuff on practicescore. Thanks, I'm looking forward to it.
Quality No, Price, very close.