Anyone building AR's from 80% Lowers ?

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by rjburk, May 5, 2016.


  1. rjburk

    rjburk Monkey

    One of the greatest things to me in recent times in the gun world is 80% lower receivers.....Building complete AR15's for pennies compared to a lot of rifles on market is a 100% win-win.....with a few simple tools you can build a bunch of rifles in a small amount of time.....your choice on mild to wild..
     
  2. Altoidfishfins

    Altoidfishfins Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    Never tried 80% lower route. Built a few from parts and 100% machined
     
  3. rjburk

    rjburk Monkey

    no S/N's.....no ppwk......only way to fly.....lol
     
  4. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    witch material is best and why
     
  5. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

    6061 vs 7075 Aluminum: What’s the Difference

    For me, it really does not mean a hill of beans due to the fact that it is the upper with the bolt carrier group and buffer assembly that absorbs the stresses when the weapon is fired. I can remember when one of the manufacturers mad an upper in a strong stainless steel for the short magnum rounds that were being chambered in the AR/10 style platform. It was found that there were no need for the steel uppers over the aluminum uppers.
     
    Witch Doctor 01 likes this.
  6. RouteClearance

    RouteClearance Monkey+++

  7. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    Yes buying face to face is the way to go, I believe what the BATF was upset with Ares, (which has been sold), was that their polymer lowers had a different color of composite so you knew where to mill out. I have 5 of there lowers Aluminum either forged or milled, 1 AR-10 and 4 AR-15, I only got halfway thru one AR-15 lower before I got bored and tired of the aluminum shavings all over the place.

    Did I just say I had 5 unlicensed guns in my possession, ... that was before the boating accident.

    Rancher
     
  8. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I built one, spent a small fortune on the blank, end mills, taps for the buffer tube, drilling jigs, it turned out looking like crap but shoots and it only took me about four months to round everything up and finish it and it only costed about as much as seven or eight stripped lowers.
     
    Wild Trapper, VisuTrac and Dunerunner like this.
  9. azrancher

    azrancher Monkey +++

    AND it didn't have a s/n...
    Rancher
     
  10. Dunerunner

    Dunerunner Brewery Monkey Moderator

    With prices down on complete AR platform firearms right now there isn't much savings after purchase of the 80% lower, the jigs, the router or drill press and the upper assembly. However if your intent is to build a ghost gun, then cost is not an issue.
     
    Tully Mars and oldawg like this.
  11. rjburk

    rjburk Monkey

    the Ares Armor thing has been cleared for quite awhile( old news ).....still in business.....just a witch hunt that did not work....typical government idiots.....most gun guys usually have the tools to do 80% lowers.....jig lasts forever.....bits and end mill last a long time....not much different than buying reloading equip, initial investment and you make your money back if you use them enough...it's not about saving a few bucks, it's about legal un-registered firearms you can build yourself.....I don't consider less than 200 bucks lower/jig/bits a small fortune.....
     
    oldawg and gundog10 like this.
  12. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Why? As an American I will proudly exercise my right to purchase and bear arms. And obviously a lot of other Americans have no issue either. April Marks 12th Straight Month of Record Gun Sales
    Why hide?
     
  13. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    The simple and most accurate answer is "OPSEC." The less ppwk lying around, the more secure the knowledge will be. (Ask the hildebeest about that.)
     
  14. Airtime

    Airtime Monkey+++

    Completing an 80% because you want the experience, enjoy machining, don't want a paper trail and similar are all adequate reasons for doing one. Saving money is Not a reason. I have been casually watching these for over 3 years and much of the time, except for about 5-6 months after Newtown, CT event, a completed lower (typically Anderson or Palmetto) is generally available for similar or often even a lower price than the cheapest anodized 80% lower, never mind the cost of jigs, end mills, etc. There were complete Anderson lowers for $35 each just a couple weeks ago. Tac tends to edify us when these good sales come around.

    AT
     
  15. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    You can buy a kit and a blank receiver and build a complete, functioning AK for less than you can build an 80% receiver, if no serial number is the issue.
     
  16. rjburk

    rjburk Monkey

    you should try that......AK's are way harder to build.....the tools needed to build an AK costs a lot more than a jig for 80% AR.....
     
  17. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Horsefeathers. The only "tool" of consequence is something to upset the rivets, and you don't need that if you do a screw build. I'll admit that starting with a sheet metal flat for the receiver makes it a LOT more finicky than starting with a formed (or milled) receiver, but still possible, even with hand tools.
     
    Tully Mars, kellory and Seacowboys like this.
  18. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    I built maybe 30 or so AKs a few years back. I made a rivet tool out of a set of Harbor Freight bolt cutters, I bought a set of dies to break the flats for the cost of two pre-formed receivers, the U.S. compliant parts are cheap. I have a Harbor Freight spot welder that does a great job of installing the rails, AKs are simple to build from kits and really do not require any special tools, I built my first one using nothing but what was in my tool box. We used to have "build parties" and a group would get together and build several in one evening. Having built AKs from kits and a functioning AR from an 80% receiver, I can definitely state that the AK are simpler, easier, quicker, and the finished product looks a lot better. I don't think there are many of the original members of SM that hasn't built at least a few of these. A few years back, AK kits were everywhere for cheap and we would have build parties. There are a lot of threads on our builds still on SM, here's one: New Builds test fired | Survival Monkey Forums
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2016
    Tully Mars likes this.
  19. gundog10

    gundog10 Monkey++

    This past Christmas I asked for only 80% lowers, LPKs, uppers and all the fixens. My family is a pretty stubborn lot and non of us are happy with the feds overreach and uncontrolled spending. My goal is to build one non traceable AR for for each of my grand kids. If they are traced back to me through illegal search of private records, the snake river took them all.
     
  20. Seacowboys

    Seacowboys Senior Member Founding Member

    Problem that I found with 80% receivers is that 80% is very subjective. The one I got wasn't much more than a block of cast aluminum that sort of resembled an AR lower. Not even the Buffer hole was drilled or tapped and the mag well was solid. It seems that 20% completion involves almost 100% of the actual work to convert them into a functioning firearm. Oh, and the hardest part to drill without screwing it up? The tiny little pin hole that holds the trigger guard. I can never get that one right without messing up the entire casting.
     
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