A hand build can most assuredly be MUCH better than a factory "off the shelf" offering, but you may not be able to afford it.Can it? Sure.
Will it be (vs. mid- to upper- tier ARs)? Almost certainly not.
Do I ever plan to push the one I built hard enough to really know? Not really.
You can shoot 600+ rds through a budget build AR in one day without problems. Not many people will ever do that even with their top tier AR's.Can an AR self build be as good as a factory build?
The weak point is if you want to resell.
Sure, if you assemble it correctly with quality components. Another problem I have seen a lot of times is too many "improved" bling parts on a build that are not compatible. A gun that has lots of bragging The weak point is if you want to resell. If you bought a Custom from Compass Lake Engineering and went to sell it to some Camp Perry competitors, it would fetch a good price. If you put a similar rifle together yourself, it will not bring the same money.
You just beat me to it on resale value.Sure, if you assemble it correctly with quality components. Another problem I have seen a lot of times is too many "improved" bling parts on a build that are not compatible. A gun that has lots of bragging rights on fancy parts that does not run is not much fun.
The weak point is if you want to resell. If you bought a Custom from Compass Lake Engineering and went to sell it to some Camp Perry competitors, it would fetch a good price. If you put a similar rifle together yourself, it will not bring the same money.
I have a pretty sweet LMT you should take a look at .This if you ever want to sell it. When I see built guns in the classifieds, they are rifles I wouldn't even consider buying (and don't get me started on the BCM title just to click on it and find out it's a PSA kit build with two BCM roll pins).
And extra gas tube roll pins lol. I’m either incredibly unlucky, or the alignment on damn near every gas tube is off by just enough to ruin the roll pin it ships with.Buy a good quality barrel, gas block, buffer, buffer spring, fcg, and bcg. The rest is pretty standard as long as it is to spec.
OP, I second tCecil’s motion on buying factory if you only want one. The amount of money you’ll spend on the tools to do it right is only justifiable if you intend to build a few. A set of headspace gauges alone are $60-$70 and literally only serve one function.I have bought 4 factory rifles, a post ban Bushmaster back in the 90's, then a Sig M400 in 2011, a Windham Weaponry MPC, and a Colt 6920 during the early 2010's. The Sig is the nicest of the 4, and the Windham is my favorite. I also bought a 20" Franken rifle, YHM upper on a S&W MP15 lower with a Daniel Defense BCG. It shoots good and I built it up into a pseudo DMR rifle. I learned how to take the factory guns apart, modify them to my particular wants or needs, and then started to build my own.
Since then I have built out about a dozen or so rifles and pistols. I would rather do that than buy factory. I can control the parts and QC how I want and make adjustments as necessary to get them how I want them. I can't really do that with a factory gun without ripping them apart and putting more money into them than I would ever get back out if I ever decided to sell them.
If you plan to only own one, buy a quality rifle from a reputable manufacturer. Learn it's ins and outs and shoot the snot out of it. I will warn you, AR's are addictive and they tend to multiply.
A little secret that makes it very easy. Worth every penny. It's for low profile gas blocks.And extra gas tube roll pins lol. I’m either incredibly unlucky, or the alignment on damn near every gas tube is off by just enough to ruin the roll pin it ships with.
Well…I hadn’t planned to assemble the 5.56 upper for my SBR host just yet but now I have to find out if this thing works…A little secret that makes it very easy. Worth every penny. It's for low profile gas blocks.
GAS BLOCK FIXTURE WITH ROLL PIN STARTER PUNCH AR15, AR10
GAS BLOCK FIXTURE WITH ROLL PIN STARTER PUNCH AR15, AR10 Installing roll pins has never been easier. This Jig allows you to hold the gas block in place whiled inserting the roll pin. Includes: Gas Block Fixture Roll Pin Starter Punchwww.masdefense.com
It does work and will save a bit of cussing.Well…I hadn’t planned to assemble the 5.56 upper for my SBR host just yet but now I have to find out if this thing works…
Wait I thought we were talking about AR’s?…A set of headspace gauges alone are $60-$70 and literally only serve one function.