AR-15/AR-10: Build or Buy

Custom or standard; you decide

Should you build your AR or should you buy a manufactured AR? It’s a fun project to build an AR platform rifle.  As with everything, there are trade-offs. This article provides a little background on AR rifles and then works through the trade-offs.

When Eugene Stoner designed the AR platform rifle in the early 1950’s, he likely had no idea that it would become a commercial standard weapons platform. Today, AR platform rifles are the most widely purchased and the most widely customized rifle platform available.

By the way, AR is an acronym and technically it means Armalite Rifle. It doesn’t mean Automatic Rifle and it doesn’t mean Assault Rifle. It doesn’t even mean America’s Rifle, though that arguably is a true statement.

Stoner’s first patent was for the bolt and bolt carrier system which is the heart of AR platform rifles. Patented in 1956 by Armalite, the design was first used in AR-10’s and