A la carte AR builders

[YVK]

Who do we know for a quality work on AR assembly from customer provided parts? I am in a pre-contemplation stage of getting myself a gaming AR upper built around a relatively short barrel. Thinking a sleek receiver, 13.7-13.9 midlength barrel and a giant pinned and welded gaming comp. Maybe Smoke Composites rail. I know some who build great but they often prefer from their own parts. If I went through with it, I'd need somebody who'd be ok with just building from parts but will be competent enough to tell me if I'm making bad choices.

[Wake27]

John Thomas @ Retro Arms Works is the best. d. Wilson is a solid second.

However I don’t know of any, including them, that will steer you on parts selection. That’s probably best done here and elsewhere, usually those guys don’t like risking providing feedback to their customers because people suck.


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[LJP]

OP, not sure where you’re located, but JoJo’s Gunworks in Southington, CT built my SBR upper with parts that I provided and they are well versed in the EBR.

[Default.mp3]

I've had uppers built by Weapon Outfitters, Dave Laubert of Defensive Creations, and Sionics. Laubert also helped with changing out the handguard on the gun that WO built, as it was a pinned 14.5". Last I checked though, he was super busy and not taking on new work, while Sionics worked for me due to them being local.

[OlongJohnson]

You're a surgeon, right? Buy some tools. Buy the best tools. You can do it yourself easily. There is without a doubt a shop in your AO that can do the P&W well.

[Andy T]

These kinds of projects are usually best done by a local smith. If there isn't one, ADCO firearms has a decent reputation.

[CoGT3]

Can second d.wilson.

Have also used Alex Bohl at Trajectory arms. He pulled an original Larue barrel from an OBR upper and moved it to one of their newer upper/Mlok rails. Kicker was barrel had rifle extension which he reshaped to M4, on a thermal fit upper.

Third recommendation is Steve Adelman at Citizen Arms. He had built me 12.5 and pinned 13.9 556 uppers using Crierion CORE barrels that shoot sun MOA with Wolf gold as well as a complete pinned 13.7 308. Real pleasure to work with, long wait times though.






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[YVK]

He had built me 12.5 and pinned 13.9 556 uppers using Crierion CORE barrels that shoot sun MOA with Wolf gold as well as a complete pinned 13.7 308.

Thnx. I was thinking of criterion core bbl as an option. Not a whole lot of substantiated reviews on those.

[pangloss]

I go through this exercise in my head frequently. I can't decide if I'd rather try a Criterion barrel or a BCM ELW. I'd probably go for. 14.5" pinned and welded though.

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[CoGT3]

They are shooters, especially for a chromed lined barrel. That 13.9 upper actually just made it to him today. Ended up getting a second SF 556 can and it is used suppressed 95% of the time. If you look closely he had to use a few shims to make 16.1” length, more than I liked for heavy can use. He has a 14.5 CORE set aside to put in that upper, shouldn’t need any shims to make length. The 13.9 barrel and matched BCG are going into a new upper he will build that won’t see regular can use. He also matches bolt to the barrels to maximize accuracy and reliability.


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