$633 budget AR build.

Quick followup to my last post. I believe that most every household in America should own a semi-automatic, magazine fed, standard capacity (20+ rds) rifle. The Founding Fathers envisioned a militia of citizens prepared to rise up out of their homes to defend the nation should the need arise (against threats foreign or domestic, but that's a different discussion), and it's tough to do that without relatively modern firearm technology. (Side note: ARs and AKs really aren't even modern... designed in 1957 and 1946/47 respectively. Wouldn't call a 65 year old car or computer "modern" would we?)

A friend asked about the "cheapest AR I can build" so that he, as the head of his household, could join the ranks of rifle owning private citizens. Now... we want it to run, but within reason I put together a second list to try and cut out some additional cost. There are a couple of places I'll still be recommending a very small cost increase for some upgrade or another, but still wanted to give the lower cost choice as an option.

Completed Upper: $415 Del-Ton 16" Discovered that Del-Ton sells their uppers directly for slightly less and with free shipping, so I'll be getting my upper there now. The one I'm suggesting for my friend has a 16" barrel again, but a mid-length gas system and an M4 profile barrel since weight is not as much a concern as for Mrs. EDG's build. Stuck with the Del-Ton upper over some possibly cheaper choices because they are known for being well-functioning and accurate for the cost.

Stripped Lower: $49.99 Palmetto State blemished PSA is known for selling very nice condition blems. Bud's Gun Shop has some Anderson Manufacturing lowers non-blem for $49.99 with free shipping, but my impression is that their non-blems are probably worse than PSA's blems... I suggest getting Aero Precision's blemished lower for $5.01 more as I have a little more faith in Aero as a manufacturer.

Parts Kit: $49.99 DPMS Lower Kit On sale right now from Brownells for $10 less than usual, a basic mil-spec kit. HIGHLY recommending the ALG parts kit with QMS trigger for $73.99. Even though it went up $4 since I built my list, a $24 price increase to get a better trigger sounds worth it every day. Avoid that awful mil-spec AR trigger at all cost, amirite?

Buffer + Stock Assembly: $59.99 DPMS Stock Assembly A basic, cheap, collapsible commercial spec stock and buffer assembly. Would HIGHLY recommend $69.99 Magpul MOE buttstock kit. Getting a mil-spec tube instead of the commercial for future part interchangeability, and getting an upgraded stock for just $10. I think yes.

Irons: $57.95 Magpul BUS Yeah, it's a back up sight, but the price is right, and you gotta be able to look through something to see the front post.

So there we go. $632.92 for the "cheapest" options. $671.93 even with the couple upgrades, most of that being the trigger. If you can't afford a MSR for less that $700 that you can purchase over time as needed? I dunno what to tell you.

Go to YouTube! Holster review videos coming soon...