- Bullets aren't the only projectiles launched from the AR. Springs will fly out of place with great velocity if you aren't careful. Sometimes even if you are careful.
- Having an experienced friend help with the assembly is no guarantee that nothing will go wrong, but it does mean that you will have somebody to share the laughter.
- Some pieces will go in either way. Some won't. The ones that won't are the ones you will try to put in the wrong way.
- Three hands are better than two. Four hands are too many, except when playing bridge.
- When going to your friends house to assemble your rifle, make sure you go to the right house. Showing up on a random stranger's front porch with a scary black gun will get you talked about, even if it isn't fully assembled.
- Iron sights are all you need for an effective rifle, but electric sights are way cool. And expensive.
- The wife who is happy to let you build your rifle for $XXXX will be somewhat less happy to allow you to purchase electric sights for $XXX, unless there are a significant number of pairs of shoes involved.
- Assembling a lower for yourself helps you to understand exactly how the rifle functions. You pull the trigger and the gun goes bang. The bang pushes the bullet out of the barrel into the bad guy, and pushed the thing that holds the bullet back so a new bullet is loaded. Repeat as needed.
- Was that last tip too technical?
- You need to know the difference between a magazine and a clip. A magazine is the thing you read in the bathroom. A clip is what holds your money in your pocket. You can see where the confusion arises.
- You can't sight in an AR while standing on your back porch in the dark while it's raining. Don't let that stop you from trying.
- Some neighbors will hear you trying to sight in your rifle in the dark and rain and call the police. My neighbors come over to shoot with me.
- Cows are more afraid of a barking dog than a booming gun, which explains their position on the food chain.
- While there are several guides on the internet to building an AR-15, mine is the best. Of course, I haven't written it yet, but it's still true.
I want to thank SayUncle for walking me through the assembly process, and by "walking me through" I mean doing most of it while explaining what he was doing, and for letting me shoot his silenced .22 Walther. I've never heard the sound of bullets hitting the dirt before.
I'll have pictures up later.
Next purchase will be a sling.