As the previous post said, I am starting this build piece by piece.
I began with an Anderson Manufacturing stripped lower receiver and a CMC trigger group in swap for some screen printed t-shirts to a local FFL.
Let’s start with the lower receiver. This is the only part of the rifle that has to go through a licensed gun dealer for the initial purchase. This is the part that has the serial number on it and requires that you fill out the ATF form 4473 like any other gun out there and submit to a background check.
A shameless plug for the Texas Concealed Handgun License program…when you are issued a license to carry a handgun by the Texas Department of Public Safety, you are vetted by them and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Under Texas law, this takes the place of the required background check to purchase a firearm. As a CHL holder, I pick a gun out, I fill out the form 4473, I pay for the gun and I walk out of the shop with it. They don’t have to call or go online to do a background check on me. That license tells them that it has already been done. I may write a post explaining the licensing program in more detail later. If you want to know more, feel free to get a hold of me.
Anyway, back to the AR15. The lower receiver is, for all intents and purposes, THE GUN as far as the law is concerned. They can’t ship this part to your mailbox. All other parts can be mail-ordered and delivered to your mailbox.
When Byron mentioned that he had an Anderson Manufacturing forged lower receiver, I started looking into them. First, I went to their website and found, among other things, they employ veterans to the tune of around 40% of their personnel. I just like that.
I also found alot of reviews and the vast majority of them were very positive on these lower receivers. The fit seemed to be right on the money and folks were very impressed with the finish. I found the same once I inspected mine. No visible machine marks anywhere and the roll markings are very clean.
So, a forged lower receiver: $59.99 plus shipping and whatever transfer fee your FFL decides to charge you (usually $20-40 depending on who you go to.)
Now, the trigger group, I splurged on this. CMC Triggers are based in Fort Worth, Texas and they boast that their products are 100% Made In Texas. These trigger groups come assembled as a unit. You drop it down in the lower receiver and slide the pins in. They come in both single and double stage triggers, with the option of flat or curved trigger. Their trigger weights are offered in one pound increments from 3.5 to 6.5 pounds and offer choices of the two trigger and hammer pin sizes.
I chose a single stage curved trigger (I don’t understand the appeal of the flat triggers. I wonder how they feel as opposed to the traditional curved trigger…and they look funky…lol) with a 3.5 pound pull weight. You can buy one from Midway USA for $167.50. You can usually find them at about the same price with free shipping on ebay. The founder and CEO of Midway USA is a United States Air Force veteran. I am always happy to support veteran owned businesses and especially ones who contribute toward youth education programs like Midway USA does.
So, so far, here are my costs. In the follow-up post, I will compare what I am spending to what you can get away with spending…
I have spent about $140 more than I actually had to so far. I will expound more on that in the next post but adjust the above figure down to what I really had to spend and it would be around $90 plush shipping and the above mentioned FFL fees. So, around this point, you could only have spent around $110-120.
I am adding another sentence as the last paragraph made the post’s word count an evil number…lol.
Y’all stay safe and keep a round in the chamber…
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