One word of caution though, be sure to lay out all the parts if you can. Either have a picture of the parts or label them because when you buy a lower parts kit they come all mixed in together with no rhyme or reason to their order. Mine came in three different little bags, one containing all the springs, one having the pins, and the other having all the trigger group parts. On accident I used a take down pin detent on the selector switch and almost sheared it in half. I was wondering why I couldn't switch it from fire to safe until I looked through my parts and found the right one.
As for the upper receiver, Everything went smoothly but I did had some issues with the parts I ordered. My upper receiver was stripped so I had to install the forward assist and ejection door assemble which was a piece of cake. I also had a Badger Ordnance Tac Latch to install that gave me more grief than expected. I think I had more trouble with that roll pin than anything else. I almost gave up on it but it all worked out, and I am glad it did because having that Tac Latch makes charging the bolt pretty easy. Like I said, everything was going fine until I started to mess with the barrel and gas system. The barrel nut took a lot more torquing that I expected, but once it was on it was on. I hope I don't have to mess with that for a long time. Once that was installed the only things left were the gas block/tube and muzzle device. Those parts were the last parts to arrive so I was pretty eager to finish the build. I installed the gas block and then went to attach the gas tube and I was missing the roll pin. I checked all my bags and boxes and either it wasn't shipped with the gas tube or gas block, or I unknowingly tossed it. This turned out to be the biggest problem I had, which in retrospect wasn't the biggest problem you could have putting together an AR. I called all around town to the local shops and I found one shop that had them. I went and the gunsmith was pretty rude saying that he would have to see the gas block to make sure it fit and he charges at least $25 for gunsmith work. Why the hell would I pay someone $25 to install a 0.30 cent roll pin? I took my upper receiver in to the shop to see if he would bring one out to the counter to see if it fit but he wasn't in that day and none of the other people working there would go into his shop to look. If you work in a gun store shouldn't you know something about gun parts, especially the AR platform? Anyway, they lost some future business from me and anyone who asks me about them. So I was heading home and decided to make a detour to a chain outdoor store and as luck would have it, they had a complete pin replacement set for sale. It had every pin you could think of that an AR needed. Needless to say I got my gas tube roll pin and a back up set of pins.
After that drama I am happy to say that everything is assembled and ready to go. It is looking like it might snow here in the next few days so I do not know when I will be able to get out to shoot it. I am going to ask around to see if there is an indoor range that allows rifles without having to use frangible ammunition. Since I have a compensator with lots of tiny gas ports, it is not a good idea to shoot frangible ammo because it could break up and mess up the compensator.
Here is a picture of the final product:
It is very balanced and feels very good when shouldered. The center of gravity on it is right behind the front take down pin, so doesn't feel barrel heavy or stock heavy. I think if I stuck with the MOE stock I got with the lower build kit then it might be barrel heavy because the STR stock has a better heft to it. I had a great time researching, shopping, and building this rifle. I can say that I am hooked. This one was a little on the expensive side with all the upgrades but well worth it. My next build will probably be a traditional carbine setup with some upgraded furniture (grip/stock/fore end).
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