Might try building for 3gun, what matters?

[Mick238]

I am not exactly sure if trying to build up a rife for 3 gun over time is a more cost effective way than just purchasing one that is prebuilt but it seems it will defer the cost over time some.

So my quesetion is, What parts are important and what parts are ok to go a little cheaper on. Looking at receivers I see prices from $50 - $350 and possibly more. Is this a part I should need a higher end piece on or will the lower end provide the same function.

Also if you could suggest some good options for the parts that are important so I can start putting together a list of what I will need.

Thank you.

[striped1]

standard forged receiver is fine. $50.00 to $100

I went without forward assist to shave an extra ounce or two.

Free floated barrel - no or minimal rail. I went with SLR solo ultralight.

16 " mid or 18" rifle gas barrel. I went with 18" fluted.

Trigger. AR Gold, Giesselle, Hyper - there are some very good ones out there. See if you can attend a match and try a couple of different ones. Trigger is as important as free floated barrel

If you want to be able to tune it to the ragged edge, an adjustable gas block combined with a low mass carrier group and reduced weight buffer will get you there, but are not needed. If you are just trying it out, I would go standard for those items and spend your money on good glass 1-6x or 1-8x with a 3 gun reticle and a good mount think larue or ADM. Vortex is coming our with a $400 1-6x 3 gun scope that would be perfect on a budget.

Stock - find something that balances the rifle well. There are plenty of options. ARFX is a solid choice used by many.

[WCK]

If you build one you want to go with very high quality parts.

If you are looking to buy a rifle built, an Armalite M15 3GUN 18" would be hard to beat for the price, $1599

I have shot the Armalite M15 3GUN 18", it is a nice rifle with very nice features.

It's pretty light for an 18" barrel rifle.

[dauntedfuture]

The three things that matter most: barrel, trigger and optic. You should spend good money on these three parts, the rest is gravy provided you buy quality parts.

[MickB]

Bushmaster upper and lower, $100 from Brownell's.

Lower parts kit $55

Upper parts kit $15

Charging handle $35-45 (assuming you are adding a extended latch to a std handle, or just buying something like a BCM)

JP trigger, $100

Grip of your choice $25

Bolt carrier group, std, $85

16- 18" barrel, $200-250

Muzzle brake $40-$125

gas block, $50

gas tube $10

handguard, $100-200

buffer tube kit $50

stock $40-85

On the high end, you are looking at ~$1,200

On the low end, you are looking at ~$900

If you pick up deals (or even better, prize table parts), you can get that cost down lower.

Mick

[tnorman]

I built mine for under 1200 & it has all the race goodies except a high end trigger. I used a mil spec trigger with jp springs and a bobbed hammer and it breaks under 4#

[Mick238]

Thanks for the responses guys. I will definitely not be competitive in any event for a long time considering I have yet to compete haha. I'm hoping this is the year but might still require finding someone kind enough to let me use their rifle.

[JimmyZip]

Think if I were to buy another 3G rifle, I'd just buy one off the classifieds here. Just seems there is always a decent rifle on here at a good price, race ready, just send your money with very little wait time.

Just saying..

[sfinney]

To get out to local matched, IMHO you can take a box stock rifle from almost anyone, add a good trigger, and a good comp, and be 90% of the way there. The rest is fine tuning. Optics can be important, but any decent glass is fine if you practice enough, and know your holdovers.

Of course all of this only applies if you aren't a gear snob..... and/or are not trying to shoot at national level. Then yes, you are going to drop some coin to be ultra competitive.

[sfinney]

The Colt in the classifieds right now seems like a good deal to get started.

[co-exprs]

Barrel, trigger and glass is where you should put the extra cash. Any reputable forged receiver set will get the job done. Which ever furniture you like is fine. So long as the handguard is free floated and at least 12" long, you can go inexpensive. Nordic makes a decent handguard for cheap, and their barrels are a good value too. A Burris Mtac is still a good value in scopes, but I think the mount is just as important. Warne makes cost effective mounts which hold zero well.

Another way to go, is to buy a semi complete upper from Carbon Arms for about the same cost as buying the parts separate. Nordic barrel and upper receiver, Carbon Arms handguard and gas block, Dynamic Resistance Comp. Extremely good value and a good place to start for the rest of your build.

Edited February 23, 2015 by co-exprs

[BOOM]

LOTS and Lots of money. Yea, In reality just add 30% more to your budget when its all said a done LOL

[TonytheTiger]

LOTS and Lots of money. Yea, In reality just add 30% more to your budget when its all said a done LOL

^ This. It will snowball, I promise.

[Mick238]

Curious why gas is preferred over a piston?

[ShooterSteve]

This has been talked about a lot in the past, but a piston has more recoil, and shot to shot recovery is slower. Of course there are piston fans out there and I'm sure that they will chime in with points for their side. I honestly think it was a cure for something that wasn't broke.

[Mick238]

I guess that makes sense. What about goofy variations like the ARAK?

[MarkCO]

For accuracy, decent glass in a good mount, a quality barrel, a quality upper receiver and a good barrel nut. Everything else is trimmings. If the barrel nut is crap, or the upper receiver out of spec, or it is not torqued correctly, the rest is an effort in futility.

Barrels, glass and mounts are not that hard to figure out. Comps and triggers are part of a system and there is a LOT of personal preference. Hand guards, and more importantly, the barrel nuts, are all over the map and what looks good and expensive may be no better than a cheap one. You can not go wrong with the JP hand guards, Samson, or the Nordics, which is what we use at carbon Arms, Don't buy a knock-off HG on ebay or Amazon.

With the proliferation of parts recently, I have "re handguarded" more ARs in the past year than I have re-barreled when folks wanted improved accuracy.

[Mick238]

Thanks Mark, I appreciate your input

[Darqusoull13]

Recently there have been quite a few manufacturers coming out with ready to go 3-gun models. You might add a line in an Excel comparison to see if any of those manufacturers have a model that include the majority of parts you're interested in.

If you do build, barrel, scope, trigger are places to pay for the quality items to echo what others have said. If you're going scope, clarity of glass is important but don't forget the reticle. Trigger and scope reticle are things that would be nice to try and feel to see if they work for you. I went with the Burris XTRII 1-5 based on the reviews on this site and the horseshoe-dot reticle.

Unless you want to build a slick side upper or a side charger, there's not too much to gain there. There are lowers with flared mag wells, but unless your club reloads from the belt a ton I can't see that being critical. Filling out the lower, try to find a parts kit that either has the grip/trigger option you want or use the LPK from Shooters Source that excludes trigger/grip so you can choose your own. JP springs also make a mediocre trigger a good trigger.

To answer your second question, DI has less reciprocating mass and less mass out away from the shooter. They also have fewer parts. Having said that, I'm a piston fan because carbon and other crap go out the barrel, not in my action. I shoot my piston gun more because it takes 1/10th the time to clean compared to my DI guns. I don't feel the difference in recoil between the two, both 16" mid-lengths. If you are a piston fan, there are low profile piston systems that are designed to fit under most hand guards as well as low mass bolt options for piston.

[Mick238]

Thank you Darqusoull. I should probably do a little more searching for prebuilt guns.

The cleaning is one reason I was thinking maybe a piston gun would be nice. I'm not sure I'll ever be good enough to notice the difference in recoil between the two. Seems the DI are a little less expensive though.

[MickB]

What makes a bad barrel nut?

A lot of hand guards come with their own flavor of barrel nut, but what about the old fashioned mil-spec barrel nut that the Samson Evo (and other) hand guards mount on?

Mick

[MarkCO]

What makes a bad barrel nut?

A lot of hand guards come with their own flavor of barrel nut, but what about the old fashioned mil-spec barrel nut that the Samson Evo (and other) hand guards mount on?

Mick

Mating ring for barrel not square, material not thick enough to not transfer bending forces on HG, threads that allow differential growth when heated, design that has reduced clamping force due to heating. Those are the big ones.

The old fashioned mil-spec nut is not as good as say a JP or a Nordic style, but when well made and faced square on the mating surfaces, should not degrade accuracy.

[bushmeat]

I had the 15" Samson Evo which used a mil-spec barrel nut.Could never clamp that thing tight enough to stop that from shifting. Could clearly see barrel was bot dead center in the handguard. The HG would even touch the barrel block sometimes. Annoyed the crap out of me. Some guys love the Evo. I went Geisselle.

[bushmeat]

I had the 15" Samson Evo which used a mil-spec barrel nut.Could never clamp that thing tight enough to stop that from shifting. Could clearly see barrel was bot dead center in the handguard. The HG would even touch the barrel block sometimes. Annoyed the crap out of me. Some guys love the Evo. I went Geisselle.