Please help me make sense of all of this AR-15 talk

[lucky4034]

Quick breakdown/background...

-New to AR-15 platform
-Building PSA lower this weekend (1st ar)
-Limited budget, but I want as many options as possible without sacrificing too much quality....
-love tinkering and learning
-I'm all about exploring my options​

I've been looking at some of the options for uppers compatible with AR platform. I know that I can purchase dedicated uppers for all kinds of different calibers and from my understanding they will all work fine with the lower I plan to build. I know for sure that I will want the capability to shoot .22lr for plinking and will also want AT LEAST 1 other larger caliber for bad guys/Nazi's/zombies etc.... however, I see no point in purchasing a dedicated upper for each caliber I may want to shoot if I can purchase conversion kits at %30 of the price.

The problem is that I'm a newbie and don't fully understand what all my options are and the pro's and con's associated with them.

My newb plan:

If I understand this correctly, I can purchase a standard 5.56/.223 AR Upper from CMMG or PSA to shoot 5.56 and .223.

Then I can purchase a .22lr conversion for plinking and a .300 Blackout barrel should I want to throw some heavier rounds in pure sexy silence.​

????AM I RIGHT????

Can anyone explain some of the pro's of con's of going this route rather than spending a small fortune in a bunch of dedicated uppers to do the same thing?

Also... .458 socom looks like fun. How would that fit into this equation? (I know... for a newb I'm getting WAY ahead of myself... but what do you expect from a newb)


All help and input is greatly appreciated.... I'm just an excited new gun owner that wants to do it all, but is too green to know where exactly to start.

Thanks,

-mike

 

[Newbomb92]

I wouldn't want to swap barrels from 5.56 to .300blk. For that I'd go with dedicated uppers. For shooting .22, get the conversion kit.

 

[malern28us]

Seriously. One thing at a time. Doesnt matter caliber, just focus on one thing at a time. You might find that it provides its own direction

 

[Blackduck21]

It sounds like you plan to be a plinker without a specific goal like long distance, tactical, or hunting. Build a 5.56 and get the conversion. Much easier to get rid of if you want to upgrade or you find out its not for you.

 

[esrice]

If I understand this correctly, I can purchase a standard 5.56/.223 AR Upper from CMMG or PSA to shoot 5.56 and .223.

Then I can purchase a .22lr conversion for plinking and a .300 Blackout barrel should I want to throw some heavier rounds in pure sexy silence.​

????AM I RIGHT????

Yes, you are correct.

However, swapping barrels isn't a quick option, so most guys would choose to still go with a dedicated .300BLK upper.

I'd recommend starting with a 5.56 upper. Then later get the .22 conversion bolt. Then after that build a .300BLK upper.

 

[sgreen3]

Definitely start out slow since its your first Ar. Just get ya a nice 5.56 upper and play around with it for while. Then move into some of the other things, you may end up getting a little overwelmed with trying to do it all at once. Not to mention a really light wallet as a result of it

 

[Donnelly]

One problem that you might notice if you choose to go with a 22lr conversion kit instead of a dedicated upper: barrel twist rate. The standard AR15 upper usually fires the 5.56 or .223 round. Most of these barrels have a 1:7 or 1:9 twist rate. You might find that you are not getting the accuracy that you want if you just use a 22lr conversion kit as the twist rate is really too fast for the 22lr round (common 22lr rounds are 36, 38, or 40 grains). Most dedicated 22lr uppers are 1:16 twist rate. This will provide better accuracy with 22lr ammo.

 

[lucky4034]

Probably going more the tactical route.... I'd like the .22 conversion to keep the cost of practice down.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Dont mind me...just listening in

 

[warhawk77]

I just got done with mine and up until now I had only handled 2-3 AR at the gun shop.

I built a PSA that was ordered in bits over months. The lower kit they offer is nice and I put mine together in about 45-60 mins with no experiance I just watched some videos on this site GunTech : How to Build An AR-15 Video - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS I didn't use all the special tools I just bought some punches in the right sizes. It would have been easier with the tools but they are not needed.

I hear if you want to make the 22 conversion the PSA lower kit works great for that. I will be doing the conversion in the next few months so I will know for sure.

I agree with the post above go with a 5.56 upper to start with. After you see how easy it is I bet you will be wanting to build more.

 

[lucky4034]

Yes, you are correct.

However, swapping barrels isn't a quick option, so most guys would choose to still go with a dedicated .300BLK upper.

I'd recommend starting with a 5.56 upper. Then later get the .22 conversion bolt. Then after that build a .300BLK upper.

Thanks for the input... it seems that most are recommending just building or purchasing a dedicated 300blk rather simply purchasing a barrel. This is helpful to know. If it is a really tall task, then I don't mind putting the 300blk to the wayside for awhile.

 

[lucky4034]

One problem that you might notice if you choose to go with a 22lr conversion kit instead of a dedicated upper: barrel twist rate. The standard AR15 upper usually fires the 5.56 or .223 round. Most of these barrels have a 1:7 or 1:9 twist rate. You might find that you are not getting the accuracy that you want if you just use a 22lr conversion kit as the twist rate is really too fast for the 22lr round (common 22lr rounds are 36, 38, or 40 grains). Most dedicated 22lr uppers are 1:16 twist rate. This will provide better accuracy with 22lr ammo.

This is exactly the type of input Im looking for. Barrel twist is definitely a term I'm running across as I do research, and I understand the idea... but its very helpful to see that one of the cons of a conversion kit will be decreased accuracy.

Originally sacrificing a little accuracy was probably a non-factor because I planned to use the .22 simply as cheap practice. However, the more I begin to open the pages of the "gun world" I have begun to find things like Appleseed shoots, which sound like a lot of fun, so I know for a fact that i will want to have a reliable .22 should I be able to start to attend events like this.

However, I'm considering adding a ruger 10/22 to the top of my "Wants" list, so there is a lot to consider. lol

Thanks for the reply

 

[lucky4034]

I just got done with mine and up until now I had only handled 2-3 AR at the gun shop.

I built a PSA that was ordered in bits over months. The lower kit they offer is nice and I put mine together in about 45-60 mins with no experiance I just watched some videos on this site GunTech : How to Build An AR-15 Video - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools - BROWNELLS I didn't use all the special tools I just bought some punches in the right sizes. It would have been easier with the tools but they are not needed.

I hear if you want to make the 22 conversion the PSA lower kit works great for that. I will be doing the conversion in the next few months so I will know for sure.

I agree with the post above go with a 5.56 upper to start with. After you see how easy it is I bet you will be wanting to build more.

Thanks for the link... that is definitely re-assuring as I plan to pick up all the lower parts from my FFL on Thursday and will want to put this thing together probably Sunday if I get a chance.

Did you order the punches from Brownells? or do they carry similar tools at Menards/Lowes?

 

[esrice]

Thanks for the input... it seems that most are recommending just building or purchasing a dedicated 300blk rather simply purchasing a barrel. This is helpful to know. If it is a really tall task, then I don't mind putting the 300blk to the wayside for awhile.

If you simply wanted to switch (permanently) from 5.56 to .300BLK then a new barrel is all that would be needed. But since you want to swap back-and-forth, a dedicated upper just makes more sense.

A helpful tip would be to purchase QD mounts for your accessories, so that you could save some money by swapping them back-and-forth from upper to upper as well. Things like optics, weaponlights, VFGs, slings, etc.

 

[lucky4034]

If you simply wanted to switch (permanently) from 5.56 to .300BLK then a new barrel is all that would be needed. But since you want to swap back-and-forth, a dedicated upper just makes more sense.

A helpful tip would be to purchase QD mounts for your accessories, so that you could save some money by swapping them back-and-forth from upper to upper as well. Things like optics, weaponlights, VFGs, slings, etc.

I see, that makes sense. Can you help me with the acronym 'QD'... I haven't even started to look into accessories yet. (though obviously they will be on the docket at some point)

thanks

-mike

 

[esrice]

Can you help me with the acronym 'QD'...

Absolutely. QD stands for Quick Detach, and is used to describe a method of mounting that can be done quickly and easily.

For example:

Here are two mounts for an Aimpoint Micro (a red dot optic).

The first (Daniel Defense) is a good mount, but you must have a screwdriver to install and remove it.

The second (LaRue) is also a good mount, but it has a QD lever that allows the user to install it and remove it very quickly, and without any tools.

The benefit of QD accessories to someone who has multiple uppers is that you can switch the accessories onto different uppers quickly. Otherwise you're stuck with dismounting everything one-by-one, or buying multiple accessories to go on each upper.

 

[lucky4034]

Awesome info... you've just narrowed my future accessory searches in half

 

[figley]

If you don't want to spend a small fortune, don't go down this road.