First AR Build Looking for Help/Advice

Maxpower

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I assembled my first lower with an A2 stock, upper with bolt carrier group and now I am a little confused as to where to go next with regard to the barrel, hand guard and sight options.

I'd like a flip up front sight (and be able to add an optic later) but I am a little confused by which barrel and hand guard I would have to get. Been doing a lot of searching and reading but I still don't understand the mid length/ carbine/ rifle or what barrel I should get to accomplish what I want.
 
the barrel and gastube need to go together, so if you get a carbine length barrel, you need a carbine length gas tube. The different lengths mean where in the barrel the gas port is. 16" typically are carbine, 18-20 can be mid or rifle.

I've heard caution about putting a front site on the handguard if it wasn't free floating as it can twist and ruin your zero. If you get a gas block that has rails to mount a front site on, make sure it's a metal front site, as the gas block is going to get hot from the gasses and ya know, the small explosion in the barrel.

What other questions do you have?
 
Free float hand guard is the easyist method. I like mid west industry's since they use normal barrel nuts. So it helps lining up the top rail. With a free float you can use a longer hand guard on a carbine to get a long sight radius .
I mounted the front sight on my hand guard and it works great.
 
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the barrel and gastube need to go together, so if you get a carbine length barrel, you need a carbine length gas tube. The different lengths mean where in the barrel the gas port is. 16" typically are carbine, 18-20 can be mid or rifle.

I've heard caution about putting a front site on the handguard if it wasn't free floating as it can twist and ruin your zero. If you get a gas block that has rails to mount a front site on, make sure it's a metal front site, as the gas block is going to get hot from the gasses and ya know, the small explosion in the barrel.

What other questions do you have?

I was thinking of getting a gas block with a flip up sight built in, something similar to this Yankee Hill Machine YHM Front Flip Sight Tower . What type of hand guard and barrel would work with this?
 
What DO you want to do with said firearm?

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.
 
Start with what length barrel you want. That will determine the gas system, which will determine your hand guard / float tube options.

I'll go with 16"

What DO you want to do with said firearm?

-Proud to be dad every day, a licensed plumber most days, and wish I was a shoemaker on others.

Put holes in paper at the range.
 
I'll go with 16"

Put holes in paper at the range.

Ok, so get a 16" barrel with a mid-length gas system. The gas block / flip up sight deal you posted will be fine (make sure the inner diameter of the gas block matches the outer diameter of the barrel. 90% of the time it'll be .75 inches.)

Buy any mid-length hand guard or float tune you like.
 
Make sure the 16 inch barrel you buy is mid length . 16 inch barrels can be carbine or mid length. Then make sure your hand guard is mid length.unless you buy one of the longer style free floats made with a cut out for a front sight . Or you can use a micro gas block and buy a flip up sight gads block and clamp it farther down the barrel . I've seen this done alot on carbine length gas systems for a longer sight radius but the barrel profile mite not allow this.

I like Midwest industry's free float hand guards. The one I have uses a normal barrel nut and the hand guard is made in two parts . It's bolted together clamping on the barrel nut .

If your stuck in a awb state it makes it easy to do repairs or swap parts out .
With a pin on muzzle device you can get most gas blocks off since the muzzle device is bigger od then the gas block Id. Not all hand guards would be able to be sliped off .


Are you going to use a piston setup or a normal gas tube? This also effects what hand gaurds you can use .
 
If you are in an AWB state, YHM sells a split low-profile gas block so you can remove it even with a pinned muzzle brake. I've used them on my builds and they work well. The only weird thing is that every one I've tried (2 for me, and some friends), the roll pin hole is super tight, so now I run a needle file around the start of the hole. Otherwise, getting the roll pin in is almost impossible.

If you like the gas block with the flip up sight, go with it. But I'd recommend getting a barrel with a carbine length system, more choices from cheap to expensive, and easier to find. Then get a low-profile gas block and you can put whatever free float handguard you want, as long as you want. You could do a rifle length and have your front sight way down the barrel.

If you go with the gas block with the front sight, that is your front sight forever. If you put the sight on the handguard, you can change it in a year when you want the hot new flip up set that comes out, haha.

Just my opinion though. You'll be good to go with the advise above too, mid-length system with that gas block, midlength handguard. I just like to be able to change things later with the least disassembly.
 
I have a 16" AR with a carbine gas system, low profile gas block, and a YHM mid length free float rail. If you go with a low profile gas block, and free float tube, your handguard can be whatever length you want it to be.


EDIT: post above mine pretty much said all of that. Reading FAIL.
 
I have a 16" AR with a carbine gas system, low profile gas block, and a YHM mid length free float rail. If you go with a low profile gas block, and free float tube, your handguard can be whatever length you want it to be.

EDIT: post above mine pretty much said all of that. Reading FAIL.

True, but he mentioned that he wanted to use that flip up gas block / front sight combo deal.
 
get an adjustable gas block, many good ones out there.

it's tune-able recoil for smooth ops. and it eliminates the over gassing problems on carbine length rifles.
 
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So mounting the front sight to a free float is okay? I am in a ban state. Will a free float tube fit over a permanent muzzle brake?
 
So mounting the front sight to a free float is okay? I am in a ban state. Will a free float tube fit over a permanent muzzle brake?

yes, and yes.

i free floated an extended carbine length YHM handguard over lady atilla's brake and gas block, we used the YHM low profile. she has MBUS sights on it, with the front sight on the tube.
 
To add to the yes and yes, some free float rails don't use the standard barrel nut, and some barrel nuts may or may not fit over a pinned muzzle brake. If you're using a two piece gas block, you don't have to worry about clearing that with the barrel nut.
 
Thanks for the help. Went with a carbine barrel, YHM clamp on low profile gas block, and YHM extended carbine length diamond rail.
 
You'll like it. But I have to admit, with that A2 stock, it's gonna feel really light out front. It's just feel. But I kind of like a rifle to be a little heavy out front. Like this....

But with sabre defense being gone for good, that build will never be copied. it's a 24" fluted heavy varmit barrel, with a jp rifles extended length handguard.
 
So this is the barrel I got
834998.jpg


And the hand guard stops about half way between the deep "notch" on the right side and the next ridge towards the left. It looks a little odd but maybe it is normal? Did I do something wrong?
 
To me it almost seems like it is too short. Here is an example of what it looks like. Most of the pictures I have seen, the barrel is smooth after the handguard up until the muzzle attachment.

img.jpg
 
To me it almost seems like it is too short. Here is an example of what it looks like. Most of the pictures I have seen, the barrel is smooth after the handguard up until the muzzle attachment.

<img src="http://www.northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=76182"/>

That notch is so you can mount a 203. On a civilian rifle you probably don't need it but some people like the .mil look. You can get barrel profiles that don't have that notch if you don't like the aesthetics, functionally it doesn't make a difference.

0M4-M203-TacLight.jpg


Or you could get a longer rail to cover it. I like the longer rails just because they offer a bit more sight radius when using irons.
 
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That notch is so you can mount a 203. On a civilian rifle you probably don't need it but some people like the .mil look. You can get barrel profiles that don't have that notch if you don't like the aesthetics, functionally it doesn't make a difference.

0M4-M203-TacLight.jpg


Or you could get a longer rail to cover it. I like the longer rails just because they offer a bit more sight radius when using irons.

Good to know that it is used for something, not that I could ever use it. I'll have to decide whether or not to keep the current hand guard or get the longer one. Thanks!
 
Yeah mag pull front sight in that picture looks reverse .
Doesn't really do any thing bad and u mite be able to gain .5 inch with on that way . Just a little trickier to hit the release that way.
 
Yeah mag pull front sight in that picture looks reverse .
Doesn't really do any thing bad and u mite be able to gain .5 inch with on that way . Just a little trickier to hit the release that way.

My concern when it's folded down is it just hangs out there and can be caught on something
 
It seems weird to me to have the button in front instead of closer to me but I switched them around. Also going to try the longer rail.
 
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