Just bought my first AR... lower.

[Earl Keese]

As soon as you settle for something because it's on sale, the thing you wanted will go on sale everytime.  If I see something on sale, I search everywhere for it to confirm that it's a good deal with shipping added then add little things to the order like gas tubes etc. Shipping will eat you alive a little at a time.
 25% off on an SLR block is pretty good. That brought the price close enough to cheaper blocks to push me over the edge. After Labor Day, what's the next sale opportunity? Thanksgiving? End of year sales are good too, as distributors don't want to carry inventory (taxes) into the next year.

[Earl Keese]

Fwiw, I'm waiting on a Faxon  barrel for my 6.5 Grendel build(grp buy). Should be ready to ship by the second week of August. I'm using a side charging upper that isn't likely to go on sale, so that can wait till I have everything else. If I'd already bought an upper, I probably would have gotten impatient and bought a barrel that didn't quite fit my needs.

[Independent George]

Shipping will eat you alive a little at a time.

Yeah, shipping really ate into my supposed "savings" when buying stuff on sale early on. I'm so used to free shipping on Amazon that I'd initially forgotten to factor that in to my purchases, especially on small items. 

[SlvrDragon50]

Yea, makes sense. I am starting research more though with lightweight BCGs, but I budgeted my build, and it's already at $1300 without super expensive components which is more than I anticipated. Granted, it is without any discounts, but I was hoping to spend $1000 for everything (excluding optics of course).

The lightweight BCGs seem like they'll just push me over the budget too much with the exception of AIM Surplus's $130 lightweight BCG. Starting to read about it though to see if it's durable.

[Earl Keese]

Working the sales will "save" you a bunch of money. Then again, sales tend to lead to upgrades. Just remember this, you won't get your first one exactly the way you want it. No matter how much research you do ahead of time, you'll still want to make changes later. Spend money on good core components like the barrel, trigger, gas block etc. so you have a solid precise shooting gun. Higher performance items like LW BCG's and captured recoil springs can be added later as you figure out how to tune things to your liking. The parts you replace are good to have as spares.

[Independent George]

It helps to keep an Excel spreadsheet of various components, along with the occasional sale prices.

A high-quality, $1k AR is easily within reach, as long as you don't get greedy. There are some great values out there.

Trigger - You can regularly find the LaRue MBT on sale for $99. From what I've read, it's comparable to a Geissele SSA - the trick is that the $99 price is for a 2-3 month delivery period. That's not a problem when taking your time on the build, like you are. 

Upper Receiver - wait for a blemished receivers from Aero Precision. They're a steal, especially if they have an assembled upper; it saves you the trouble of pinning the forward assist. I think they go for something like $70 normally, but if you're patient, you'll have a site-wide sale coincide with a blemished upper. I got mine for $55. I also bought my gas tube, A2 flash hider, and buffer tube with my upper to qualify for free shipping.

Lower Parts Kit - I've seen CMMG kits go on sale at Primary Arms for as low as $25.

Furniture - wait for a sale at Primary Arms. Grip, trigger guard, stock, MBUS sights - I've regularly seen them at 25% off or more. 

Faxon regularly has 10% off sales, but they regularly have unadvertised flash sales like the one I just mentioned. If you can get the barrel & gas block for 20% off or more, that's a huge savings.

[SlvrDragon50]

Yup!

This is my spreadsheet. The $110 upper w/ BCG seems like an insane deal, but it's a normal Toolcraft BCG rather than low mass. The deal seems too good though to not get if just to get a backup BCG.
http://www.monmouthreloading.com/shop/ar15-upper-receiver-bcg-combo/
I am pretty set on the Hiperfire 24C or Eclipse though after reading about it. I know it's adding a big cost, but I think it'll be worth it.

Thanks for the trips.

[WVNed]

My new stripped lower has already been to the range and is a rifle now. I already had the upper though.

[Independent George]

I notice your spreadsheet has two different gas blocks (Battle Arms and Superlative arms). Removing one will drop your current price by $80-$90.

I think you can get it down to close to $1,100 easily with sales; $1,000 will be tougher, but still possible with some patience and luck.

There are a few items you can swap out to drop the price a bit - I'd suggest trying out the standard LPK before deciding on the upgraded parts. I have the XMR2 and a 45 degree safety myself because I apparently have wee itty bitty baby hands; it might not be necessary for you if you're normal sized.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[SlvrDragon50]

I notice your spreadsheet has two different gas blocks (Battle Arms and Superlative arms). Removing one will drop your current price by $80-$90.

I think you can get it down to close to $1,100 easily with sales; $1,000 will be tougher, but still possible with some patience and luck.

There are a few items you can swap out to drop the price a bit - I'd suggest trying out the standard LPK before deciding on the upgraded parts. I have the XMR2 and a 45 degree safety myself because I apparently have wee itty bitty baby hands; it might not be necessary for you if you're normal sized.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Oops, forgot to remove that! Yea, unfortunately my hands are small-medium. I have the Aero Precision LPK in there, but I'm not sure which parts I'll actually need since I'm buying a mag release, safety, trigger group, and pins.

Thanks for all the help. It's been invaluable!

[Earl Keese]

No way I'm paying $60 for a safety. RRA has a great one for $12-15 I think is what I paid. I bought my LPK through Red Barn Armory since they let you pick and choose components. Bought my stock there and a few other things to combine shipping.

[SlvrDragon50]

No way I'm paying $60 for a safety. RRA has a great one for $12-15 I think is what I paid. I bought my LPK through Red Barn Armory since they let you pick and choose components. Bought my stock there and a few other things to combine shipping.

Yea... now that I think about it, I have no clue why people are paying so much for the safeties. I just saw that everyone was buying the BAD ASS lever over on Brian Enos. I did want to get a short throw safety though because the lower is marked as such.

I saw Red Barn Armory. For some reason, I thought their prices were a bit more expensive than other sites, but I'll take a look again now that I know more about the components and prices.

[gnumadic]

The Faxon barrel is out of stock on their website, but I can get the 16" Gunner barrel in .223 Wylde from Optics Planet for around $214 with free shipping (showing as in-stock). An Aero Precision assembled upper from the AP website is $88 with shipping (best price I've seen...as it's $95 from Primary Arms).

Does anyone have any experience/opinions on Ballistic Advantage barrels? They have 16" stainless barrel in .223 Wylde (Tactical Government style) for $195. It doesn't have the nitride coating, but like the Faxon it's also 416R steel. And they are running a promo in which you get a free assembled upper with a purchase over $175 (free ground shipping).

The BA upper is $105 and since they entered into a partnership with Aero Precision in 2015, I'm thinking that the upper is made by AP. So that would be $195 for the BA combo versus the $302 for the Faxon and AP upper. Thoughts?

[Earl Keese]

Red Barn was the cheapest for the stuff I wanted at the time, might not be right now though. I didn't want to buy an LPK, I wanted specific parts. I was buying a stock and stumbled across their LPK deal. I have an Aero brranded BA 16" midlength wylde, it will shoot 1 1/2" @ 200yds with Geco .223 55gr. BA has a good reputation from what I've read. Regarding the Faxon nitrided stainless barrels, I've read that nitriding them adds durability w/o compromising accuracy. Schuyler arms has aero uppers at a good price. I've bought from them and they ship quickly.

[SlvrDragon50]

Monmouth has the best deals on Aero receivers that I've seen. $55 for an assembled upper.
http://www.monmouthreloading.com/product-category/ar-parts/ar15/ar15-receiver/

I've heard really good things about BA barrels, but I don't like that you're paying for a gas block that you're going to be replacing.

That said... Monmouth has an INSANE deal if you want a 16" barrel. $217 for BA 16" barrel, Toolcraft nitride BCG, and assembled Aero upper.
http://www.monmouthreloading.com/shop/ar15-upper-receiver-bcg-combo/