Thread: AR Build, where to start

Have just finished building one myself. I'd recommend a Greystone Guns adjustable gas block, they run about $160 and are A: low profile so can fit under basically any hand-guard you want, and B: are NZ made, which is cool. Some of the more expensive adjustable gas blocks even have a lever you can adjust by hand in the field, not worth paying more for IMO but they're out there, the Greystone one can be tuned with an allen key, experiment for yourself but it may be a case of, say; turn the screw half a turn out for running without the suppressor and half a turn back in while it's on. It'd be cool to see an adjustable gas block with a numbered dial you can turn by hand like on the SLR, knowing how big the AR market is, especially in the US, there's probably something out there already.

If you look up InRangeTV on youtube they have an interesting, albeit very long, interview with someone from Faxon Firearms talking about modern barrel manufacturing, watching it has sold me on going with a Faxon Gunner barrel for future projects. It's a three or four part interview, about 4 hours in total I think.

Anyway, here's the one I just put together, most of the bits I picked up second hand, new ones through NZAR15 or GunsNZ: Aero lower, Anderson upper, Stag Arms BCG, 16" DPMS bull barrel, Greystone gas block, Hera arms 15" free float rail, cheap butt stock I was given and carbine length buffer tube. Also ASE CQBS can and Aimpoint Pro
The rationale behind it: 16" bull barrel for less POI shift over lots of shooting, and 16" is plenty to get the velocity you need, 1 in 9 twist for versatility but favouring 55-ish grain bullets, full length rail so I can rest the fore-end on a backpack/tree/etc while hunting without effecting accuracy, and so I can hold it nearer the muzzle without burning my hand while doing jungle lane/three-gun style shooting (6'6" = long arms). The gasblock fits nicely under the hand-guard and has been set up for 55 grain SP Belmont ammo through the can, which itself is muzzle-forward, meaning the fore-end can be thinner as the can doesn't need to fit under it. The carbine buffer tube was just what came with it, I kinda just prefer a fixed A2-style stock, and being tall I can get square on to the target and/or shoot with a few layers on using an A2 stock without it being awkward.