AR-15: The Upper

After purchasing the Noveske "blemished" N4 lower, I waited patiently and perused the Calguns forums looking for uppers. I actually missed out on a few - namely a new, unfired BCM lightweight upper for $100 less than retail. It came nearly complete as it included handguards, charging handle and bolt carrier group (BCG). The only thing it was missing was the rear sight.

I was bummed out that I missed the deal, but I continued looking. Then, a few weeks ago, I spotted a LMT upper that came with Magpul MOE carbine handguards and a LMT charging handle. It didn't include the BCG or rear sight, but the price was too good to pass up...and if I can find deals on the BCG and rear sight, I may end up paying less for this than the BCM upper I missed out on. :-)

In addition, I was thinking about upgrading the handguards to Magpul anyway, so getting them with this purchase turned out to be a bonus. Here is the upper and lower put together:

Of course, without the BCG (which houses the firing pin), my AR-15 won't be going "bang" anytime soon. Just as well, since without a rear sight, I would only be able to use it at very close range. Anything long range would be out of the question since I wouldn't be able to aim the AR-15 safely or properly.

Now it's time to find the BCG and rear sight! My AR-15 is coming along nicely.

Cashing in the Rewards Points

Does your credit card let you earn rewards points on your purchases where you can redeem these points for merchandise? If so, I highly recommend joining such a program (if you haven't already) or finding a credit card that offers it.

My wife and I have been using such a credit card and have used it for various items, including a free round trip ticket to Hong Kong a few years back. We recently decided to redeem some of our points (one item for my wife and one item for me) and the following items arrived today.

For my wife, she got the Bose QuietComfort 15 Noise Canceling Headphones:

This is in preparation for our next trip abroad. My wife has a difficult time sleeping on airplanes (as she's a light sleeper) and those 12+ hour flights take their toll. When we get off the plane, I'm okay since I was able to sleep; but not so much for my wife. Hopefully, with these noise canceling headphones, she can get some sleep and we can hit the ground running wherever we find ourselves vacationing.

For me, I selected the SureFire Saint Minimus Headlamp.

I currently have a cheapie headlamp that I use while working/fixing things around the house. While it works, it's not the best made or the brightest of headlamps. After having watched 127 Hours last week, I realized I needed something a bit more rugged and brighter. If you've seen the movie, you'll understand why.

Since I previously redeemed a SureFire E2D flashlight and think it's the best flashlight I've ever owned, I figure that I couldn't go wrong with another SureFire.

While I won't be rock climbing, I figured it'd be handy to have the headlamp for any chores around the house that require some extra lighting. You'd be surprised at how often you need both hands for something and can't really hold a flashlight while working. It'd also be another tool to add to the emergency kit.

AR-15: The Lower

The first purchase for my AR-15 build was the lower receiver.

I decided to purchase the lower first as this is that part that actually gets registered - meaning after purchase from a gun shop or private party transfer, I have to wait 10-days before being able to pick it up per CA regulations.

When deciding on the lower, I was choosing between a polymer/composite lower or a standard aluminum lower. The polymer lower would be lighter and less expensive than the aluminum lower. However, after researching various uppers and looking at their weights, I was afraid that if I went with a lower that was too light, I'd have an AR-15 that wasn't very balanced. Of course, I could go with a lightweight barrel to make the upper lighter, but I wanted something more standard for my first build. Given all these considerations, I decided to get an aluminum lower and proceeded to watch the Calguns Marketplace like a hawk.

After a few weeks of looking I found a Noveske "blemished" N4 lower from a private seller. It's a factory new lower (meaning that it had never been shot) but had a blemish on it that Noveske didn't want to sell as 1st quality. If you're familiar with clothing companies selling "irregular" clothes, this is much the same.

To be honest, I don't even see a blemish on the lower. I compared it to the non-blemished N4 lower that the seller had and could not tell the difference between the two lowers other than the different serial numbers on each.

The lower also came with the following already installed:

• Rock River Arms Lower Receiver Parts Kit
• Magpul MOE Mil-Spec Stock
• Prince50 Bullet Button
• Ergo Grip

I got this complete lower at really good price. However, it had another cost - I sold my Seagull S6 guitar (which had been sitting idle for the past 5 years) and used the funds from that sale to purchase the lower.

It's just as well. I bought the guitar many years ago with the hopes of finally learning how to play a musical instrument. I took a guitar class at the local community college for a semester but never progressed beyond that. So the guitar just sat, until my wife finally convinced me to let go of it this year.

In essence, I gave up on one hobby for another. Although I hope I never have to use my AR-15, I'd rather have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

Building Myself an AR-15

With 2 handguns (the P99 and T3) in the family, I figured it was time to branch out to a long gun. The question was whether I would get a shotgun or a black rifle (aka AR-15).

I initially went shotgun since I was more familiar with shotguns than AR-15s. My first choice was a Benelli SuperNova Tactical. I started looking around the gun shops in the area and on the Calguns Marketplace. However, I couldn't find the exact model I wanted.

All the local shops had a ton of Remington 870 shotguns, but not the SuperNova Tactical. There's nothing wrong with the Remington 870, it's a fine shotty. However, it just did not fit me. I previously shot a SuperNova Tactical at the Raahuages Gun Show last year and it just felt right in my hands. Since I couldn't find it local, I decided to learn more about AR-15s just to keep my options open.

I did a ton of reading (this is my favorite) and watched a ton of videos on YouTube. Let me tell you, I learned a lot about the AR-15. If you're interested in the videos, I can recommend the videos by Midway USA and Brownells (see below for a sample).

What really appealed to me is that I could build my own - I didn't have to purchase a "complete" rifle. I could buy parts piece by piece and slowly put it together. And if I was able to find good deals on quality parts, I could comfortably put together a high quality AR-15 for less than what I would have spent on a complete rifle.

I was sold and decided to try my hand at "building" an AR-15. The next few posts will detail the parts I've acquired and the progress on my build. Stay tuned!