04-08-2011, 03:58 PM
I think it comes down to a few things:
1) We all have seen a lot of AR's wrenched together by guys who didn't know what they were doing, and then who got VERY frustrated because their rifles shot poorly.
2) The OP has never built one, and didn't mention if he had someone with experience to help him.
3) The fact that building an AR ISN'T just playing Legos. We've gotten that mentality, but just ask any good AR smith what he works on and he'll tell you it is rifles that were put together by their owners.
4) Very few of the top competitive shooters run rifles that they put together. Apart from the fact that some of them are sponsored, the truth is that having all the right tools, jigs, etc. makes a difference.
5) Building anything well is a function of doing it a lot, building an AR for the first time is a set up for problems. If you are careful, and if you are good, and if you take your time, you may build a quality firearm, but we've all seen guys who say they did those things, and still have problems.
6) Information on the internet, (including this post!) is just that, information. Whether it is good or bad is undecided. The only way to find out is by experience, and sometimes that experience comes at a price. There is LOTS of medical information on the internet, but no one smart tries to diagnose themselves, do they?
7) Yes, I have built an AR on my own, both upper and lower. It runs fine, but its a plinker, so thats all I wanted, a cheap plinker. Is it as accurate as my AA built uppers? I don't know, its a 5.56, and I still haven't found the load it really likes.
8) My rifles that I compete with were built by someone who does it for a living, because I want as many variables out of the equation as I can get.
Oops, that's more than a few....got carried away!
1) We all have seen a lot of AR's wrenched together by guys who didn't know what they were doing, and then who got VERY frustrated because their rifles shot poorly.
2) The OP has never built one, and didn't mention if he had someone with experience to help him.
3) The fact that building an AR ISN'T just playing Legos. We've gotten that mentality, but just ask any good AR smith what he works on and he'll tell you it is rifles that were put together by their owners.
4) Very few of the top competitive shooters run rifles that they put together. Apart from the fact that some of them are sponsored, the truth is that having all the right tools, jigs, etc. makes a difference.
5) Building anything well is a function of doing it a lot, building an AR for the first time is a set up for problems. If you are careful, and if you are good, and if you take your time, you may build a quality firearm, but we've all seen guys who say they did those things, and still have problems.
6) Information on the internet, (including this post!) is just that, information. Whether it is good or bad is undecided. The only way to find out is by experience, and sometimes that experience comes at a price. There is LOTS of medical information on the internet, but no one smart tries to diagnose themselves, do they?
7) Yes, I have built an AR on my own, both upper and lower. It runs fine, but its a plinker, so thats all I wanted, a cheap plinker. Is it as accurate as my AA built uppers? I don't know, its a 5.56, and I still haven't found the load it really likes.
8) My rifles that I compete with were built by someone who does it for a living, because I want as many variables out of the equation as I can get.
Oops, that's more than a few....got carried away!