An Argument for Building your AR 15 Lower Receiver

You’re a California resident and just read about the new bills Gov. Brown recently signed. You now want an AR15 before it is outlawed or massively neutered. While I recommend everyone go out and buy one completely built for the first time, your second purchase “should” be one that you build/piece together. I put the word should in quotes because for me the math just doesn’t add up.

Some of the most fun projects start as a stripped receiver.  This one cerakoted Burnt Bronze
by Los Angeles Cerakote (in my opinion the best cerakoter in the business)

When I first got into guns, I was lucky enough to have a friend who help me avoid over paying or making redundant purchases. I told him what I wanted in an AR15 and he helped me piece one together. I purchased a completely assembled lower from Rifle Gear and a lightweight barreled upper from Bravo Company. Upon receiving both the upper and lower, completing the build was a matter of pulling two pins and piecing the halves together. It worked flawlessly. 

Excuse the poor cell phone pic. I wanted to show how things progress

Even though I kept the upper completely stock, I still bought "upgrades" for my lower: a replacement stock to eliminate wobble, a sling swivel attachment, a Geiselle trigger, new trigger guard, a Raddlock, a new pistol grip, an ambidextrous selector and the list can go on and on.

A Dissipator upper purchased from Palmetto State Armory. 
It's as simple as snapping it together

To be fair, I didn’t NEED any of the upgrades, save for the Raddlock. I replaced them due to a change in preference and/or a desire for refinement. Had I simply bought a stripped lower receiver, I could have saved some money on tax on the initial purchase of the lower/complete rifle and would only spend on components I truly want. Most parts, complete uppers included, come shipped tax free. While California requires the collection of taxes on all gun sales. Assuming tax is 9% in your district, a $1,500 to $2,000 rifle will cost you $135 to $180 in additional taxes. A stripped lower at $100 will only cost you an additional $9 – add a basic punch set of $10, an armorer's wrench for $20 and a friend willing to help you out, you have $96 to $141 to use for ammo or the components you want.

With drop in hand guards, comp, light and a B5 Stock

I understand that building out a lower can be a seemingly daunting task. I was once afraid that if I messed something up, I would put myself and others in danger.  However, as I challenged myself to put one together, I realized the danger really wasn't there. Since my first AR purchase, I have built out 5 other lowers with the components I wanted, no more, no less. The added benefit of knowing the inner workings of a lower was priceless for me (and it was fun). 

The final version. Dissipator on a different lower. This completes the look in my opinion

Although not hard to build, Uppers take a bit more equipment to put together, a solid work bench being one that I do not have the luxury of space to have in my condo. I have been completely happy with assembled uppers coming from Aero, Bravo, Daniel Defense, Troy, Primary Arms and one of my new favorites, Odin Works. Most retailers have a  build for almost every “mission” or spend the money to have Randy from AR15barrels.com assemble uppers parts together for you. That’s what I did for my 6.5 Grendel build. I hope this post was somewhat helpful and shed some light on some of the benefits of building out your lower.  

Here is one of my favorite YouTubers, NSZ85. I have used this video as a reference to  build all of my lowers. Here he uses a vice and AR receiver vice block and punches. While beneficial to have, it is not completely necessary (makes it a lot easier though).