Guns: Let's Build an AR! - Part 1

To commemorate the forthcoming Heller opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court (my gut feeling is that we'll have the decision next week), I've decided to once again dip my toe into the vast ocean of AR-15 ownership. This time around, however, I'll be tricking out my own carbine instead of just getting one off the shelf. The whole endeavor can cost a pretty penny, but thankfully, I have a ton of old video games to sell that are now worth a lot more than what I bought them for.

First, you start off with a stripped lower receiver. This is the only part of the rifle that counts as a firearm under federal law - all the rest can be bought through the Web without having to fill out a 4473. I've blogged about this before, and here's my nicely finished stripped lower receiver from Sabre Defence:

Then, you add in your favorite parts kit. Unless you're picky enough to buy specialty trigger pins and such, any parts kit from a reputable source should do fine. This DPMS kit seems good enough for me:

Now the fun starts. The AR is a hobbyist's dream - an open platform with dozens and dozens of choices to suit every taste. Even the grips are now made by a bewildering variety of companies. This particular example is from one of the 800 lb gorillas of the AR-15 accessory world, Magpul. It's the MIAD grip, short for "MIssion ADaptable" (yes, I am aware I just gained mall ninja points, and I am not proud of it :=P ):

Next week - Stock Choices, Upper Options, and Miscellaneous Stuff