Cost of an AR10 build

M

MGYSGT

New member
Holy moly. I was board and decided to build a 6.5mm Creedmor AR. First thing I purchased was a CNC upper/lower. Sticker shock at nearly $400. I got pretty lucky on the barrel. EAB had some on sale for about $229 and a BCG for $190. JP gas block & tube $75. Handguard $100. Trigger (Hyperfire, also on sale) $129 at joebobs or Palmeto State. I forget which. Buttstock on Amazon $135 (Luth) and then buffer/tube, I forget how much. Lets say $40. . Pretty sure that's $1300.00ish. I can build a regular .223 for about $400 + or -. Just don't understand. Is it because they just are that much more expensive or is it just because they can. By the way, it does shoot very well with 123 gr ELD's. Today at the range it shot a test group at 300 yards of 1.093 inches. It had one flyer. Without the flyer it was .890 inches. Very good for an AR at 300 yards.

Tom
 



'Today at the range it shot a test group at 300 yards of 1.093 inches. It had one flyer. Without the flyer it was .890 inches. Very good for an AR at 300 yards.'

Very good shooting. What scope did you use.
 
It was a Weaver 15X target. I have since replaced it with a 8.5X25 Leupold. Funny thing is, I can't shoot those smaller groups with the Leupold, so I put the Weaver back on and am going to try it again. If the Weaver succeeds again, I will be sending the L back to the maker for a tune up.
 
Everything for the AR10 platform is higher. Plus the parts interchange in the AR10 platform world can get confusing really quick!!

I waited for sales and bought all the stuff for mine. I think it was still $900 but it shoots good and i like it.
 
billet upper and lower sets on an ar-15 are going to be around the same price as that - if not more. you're paying for machine time on a block of metal vs just finishing a forged product. so $400 for a matched AR-308 billet upper/lower you did pretty well on.

i'm sure you did pay a bit of the creedmore tax on the barrel and bolt, but not much really. $150 is scraping the bottom of the barrel for any AR-308 based bcg. Any of the known name brand products are $200 and up.

lets be honest... sure you can build an ar-15 for around $400 if you scrape the bottom of the barrel with every part you assemble it with - but you're not going to build a performance AR for $400. its gonna be a crappy mil spec trigger pack, and a crappy plastic handguard. an even crappier $5 6 position stock that was someones takeoff from a build upgrade. that kinda thing. you may get lucky and get a good barrel on sale for $69, but you also stand an equal chance of getting a turd when you shop at that price point too. sure it'll go bang... but you're probably more likely to get run over by a cargo train in your living room than to go to test drive it at 300 yds and shoot a 1" group. or even a 3" group.

i have AR uppers that i spent >$300 on the barrel alone. but that 223 will also produce cloverleafs @ 100 if i do my part behind the trigger.


my point is - a well put together build is going to be expensive. However your performance alone should make you smile. 1/3 MOA @ 300 yards on an out of the box build is nothing to skoff at! I'd say you done well!
 
Originally Posted By: Plant.Onebillet upper and lower sets on an ar-15 are going to be around the same price as that - if not more. you're paying for machine time on a block of metal vs just finishing a forged product. so $400 for a matched AR-308 billet upper/lower you did pretty well on.

i'm sure you did pay a bit of the creedmore tax on the barrel and bolt, but not much really. $150 is scraping the bottom of the barrel for any AR-308 based bcg. Any of the known name brand products are $200 and up.

lets be honest... sure you can build an ar-15 for around $400 if you scrape the bottom of the barrel with every part you assemble it with - but you're not going to build a performance AR for $400. its gonna be a crappy mil spec trigger pack, and a crappy plastic handguard. an even crappier $5 6 position stock that was someones takeoff from a build upgrade. that kinda thing. you may get lucky and get a good barrel on sale for $69, but you also stand an equal chance of getting a turd when you shop at that price point too. sure it'll go bang... but you're probably more likely to get run over by a cargo train in your living room than to go to test drive it at 300 yds and shoot a 1" group. or even a 3" group.

i have AR uppers that i spent >$300 on the barrel alone. but that 223 will also produce cloverleafs @ 100 if i do my part behind the trigger.


my point is - a well put together build is going to be expensive. However your performance alone should make you smile. 1/3 MOA @ 300 yards on an out of the box build is nothing to skoff at! I'd say you done well!

a BIG +1 to ALL of that!!!!
 
Originally Posted By: MGYSGTIs it because they just are that much more expensive or is it just because they can

They charge more because they can, in my opinion. It's not a cost of materials issue. I’m in the metals business and the raw material is not costing them significantly more to make an AR10, penny’s on the dollar. Same with the machine time, it’s not costing significantly more to make a large frame parts.
 
Originally Posted By: LARUEminatiOriginally Posted By: MGYSGTIs it because they just are that much more expensive or is it just because they can

They charge more because they can, in my opinion. It's not a cost of materials issue. I’m in the metals business and the raw material is not costing them significantly more to make an AR10, penny’s on the dollar. Same with the machine time, it’s not costing significantly more to make a large frame parts.

If you are in the metals business you'll appreciate that scales of economies bring prices down. AR10's cost a fair amount more because of lower volumes, longer machine times, and more material to buy. Typically the AR10s on average will contain higher quality parts than your average AR15. AR10's are a very small percentage of the MSR market and will never be as cheap.
 
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