{"id":89236,"date":"2018-03-08T10:35:27","date_gmt":"2018-03-08T15:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=89236"},"modified":"2018-03-08T10:35:27","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T18:01:42","slug":"build-complete-ar-upper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/build-complete-ar-upper\/","title":{"rendered":"Build a Complete AR-15 Upper in Under 45 Minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Build<\/a>

All the parts you need to build a complete AR upper! Parts and pricing are listed below.<\/p><\/div>\n

As we stare down the barrel (no pun intended) of another potential gun grab\/ban<\/a>, I felt like it was time we take a look at exactly how to keep your AR running indefinitely.<\/p>\n

One thing we learned from the 1994 ban, the components like magazines and lowers will last pretty much forever. In fact, there are very few things on an AR that actually wear out. That said, there are some critical parts that may need to be replaced.\u00a0 Today we are taking a look at those.\u00a0 And as a bonus, I’m going to show you how to build an entirely new upper in under 45 minutes.<\/p>\n

The Barrel<\/h2>\n
\"Build<\/a>

For this new upper assembly, I’m using an ULTRAlight 16.1-inch barrel.<\/p><\/div>\n

First off, the barrel. Most people won\u2019t shoot out an AR barrel in a lifetime, but if you shoot a lot, be prepared for this one. The life of the barrel depends on a lot of things such as coating, materials, and how fast you shoot.<\/p>\n

The 10.5-inch barrels we used in the Army usually lasted between 10,000 and 12,000 rounds. I have had melonite-lined barrels that lasted 45,000 rounds before they shot out. A pretty good judge is 10-20,000 rounds. The nice thing is, your gun will still fire if the barrel is shot out. You just might not be able to hit anything.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, barrel replacement on an AR-15 is one of the easiest tasks there is to do. ARs are like LEGO sets, no real skill required to swap parts. The only thing you might need is an armorer’s wrench, depending on the barrel nut. There are tools that make this process easier, but that is the only one required.<\/p>\n

***Visit ODIN Works<\/a> for Some Great Deals on AR Parts! ***<\/h2>\n

The Bolt<\/h2>\n

Second is a bolt, with an even sketchier life cycle. I have seen them shear lugs around 10,000 rounds and others go 85,000-plus rounds. It is the most common breakage on an AR but still doesn\u2019t happen often. You can score a new bolt for about $40, or an entire bolt carrier group for about $100.<\/p>\n

Swapping<\/h2>\n
\"Build<\/a>

Swapping is easy!<\/p><\/div>\n

Learning to swap a barrel is also a great skill to have, for a variety of reasons. In the current AR panic, you may end up with a cheaper gun. The nice thing is, as long as the upper is built to spec, you can replace everything else.<\/p>\n

The difference between a 4 MOA gun and a .5 MOA gun is pretty much all barrel and barrel nut. As you save up your pennies, you can slowly turn a bargain-bin special into the meanest gat on the block. This is also how you change calibers, one of the best benefits of having a modern sporting rifle. With a base lower, you can easily build uppers in .300 AAC Blackout, 224 Valkyrie, and a variety of other calibers.<\/p>\n

Building the Upper<\/h2>\n

To demonstrate how to swap a barrel, I opted to just build an entirely new upper. A shopping trip to ODIN Works<\/a>, native to Boise, yielded all the parts I needed (see below).<\/p>\n

\"Build<\/a>

The finished product. Was able to shoot .75 MOA in high wind.<\/p><\/div>\n

The point of the exercise isn\u2019t to show you how cool I am with the build skills, in fact just the opposite. I suck as a gunsmith, I make a much better gorilla in a suit. People built my guns for me pretty much until I started to work at GunsAmerica. The only thing I am certified to work on is a Glock, and that is mostly because the armorer\u2019s kit consists of one punch and a razor knife.<\/p>\n

If I can do it, you can do it. I also built mine without using any special tools because I also don\u2019t care about scratches. Using just a hammer, one punch, needle nose pliers, and a crescent wrench, I slapped together a .75 MOA upper in about 45 minutes. This isn\u2019t like\u00a0a 1911 with all manner of hand-fitted parts.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for new parts\u00a0or a completely new upper, ODIN Works<\/a> is a one-stop shop. These are the parts I used in my new ULTRAlite upper receiver.<\/p>\n

Parts and Pricing<\/h2>\n
\"Build<\/a>

223 Wylde ULTRAlite 16.1″ Mid Length Barrel. Price: $290.00<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Build<\/a>

AR15 XCH Charging Handle. Price: $45.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Build<\/a>

FDE O2 Lite KMod Forend – 15.5-inches. Price: $230.00.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Build<\/a>

Mid Length Gas Tube.
Price: $12.00.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Build<\/a>

223 Black Nitride Bolt Carrier Group. Price: $129.00.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Build<\/a>

FDE Billet Upper Receiver-AR15. Price: $179.00.<\/p><\/div>\n

[one_half]<\/p>\n

\"Build<\/a>

Adjustable Low Profile Gas Block. Price: $89.00<\/p><\/div>\n

[\/one_half]<\/p>\n

[one_half_last]<\/p>\n

\"Build<\/a>

ATLAS Compensator.
Price: $99.00.<\/p><\/div>\n

[\/one_half_last]<\/p>\n

Don’t want to build your own upper?\u00a0 No worries.\u00a0 You can always:<\/p>\n

***Shop GunsAmerica<\/a> for a New AR***<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we stare down the barrel (no pun intended) of another attempted gun grab, I felt like it is time we take a look at exactly how to keep your AR running indefinitely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":89239,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[59,7,234,109,72],"tags":[613,132,586,469,626,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-89236","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ar-15-gear-reviews","8":"category-gunsamerica-authors","9":"category-columns","10":"category-gear-reviews","11":"category-columns-gunsmithing","12":"tag-ar-15","13":"tag-buzz","14":"tag-column","15":"tag-gun-control","16":"tag-opinion","17":"tag-r2kba"},"yoast_head":"\nBuild a Complete AR-15 Upper in Under 45 Minutes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As we stare 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Experience:\u2013 U.S. Marine Corps Infantry, Scout\/Sniper, and Recon Marine\u2013 U.S. Army Green Beret, 3rd Special Forces Group (ODA Comms SGT, Intel SGT, SFAUC Instructor)\u2013 Competitive Shooter \u2013 Master-ranked in USPSA Production, experienced 3-Gun competitor\u2013 Tactical Instructor \u2013 Extensive background in teaching carbine, pistol, CQB, and survival skills\u2013 Author \u2013 Fiction and non-fiction works on warfare, survival, and American resilience\u2013 2A Advocate \u2013 Defender of the Constitution and vocal proponent of gun rights\u2013 Outdoorsman \u2013 Idaho-based hunter, adventurer, and father of feral children and dogs","sameAs":["http:\/\/Off-The-Reservation.com","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/x.com\/wayofftheres"],"gender":"Male","url":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/author\/clay-martin\/"}]}},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/thumb_IMG_7136_1024-150x100.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":183722,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89236\/revisions\/183722"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/89239"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89236"},{"taxonomy":"featured","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/featured?post=89236"},{"taxonomy":"hunt365","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hunt365?post=89236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}