AR Virgin

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presence

New member
alright, well im still looking for my first AR. running into lots of terms and verbage that i know nothing about. found this ad on my local armslist... now im not saying i necessarily want this gun, but maybe if some nice, knowledgable, patient AR guru has about 10 extra minutes to waste, they can give me a run-down of what all this means...

Palmetto State Armory Upper and charging handle and Core 15 bolt carry group, and the New Frontier Armory LW-15 lower. I took out the gut's out and put in PSA metal part's old gut's come with the gun.
Upper details
Barrel: 16" Chrome-lined, chrome moly vanadium. Chambered in 5.56 NATO, with a 1/7 twist, M4 barrel extension, and a carbine-length gas system. The M4 profile barrel is magnetic particle inspected and then phosphate coated to mil-specs. Barrel is finished off with an F-marked front sight post with sling swivel, standard handguards and an A2 flash hider.
Upper: Forged 7075-T6 A3 AR upper is hard coat anodized black for durability. Featuring M4 feedramp cuts, T-marks, but no logo, these upper receivers are made right here in the USA.
Core 15 BCG details
Magnetic Particle Inspected Bolt (MPI)
Mil-spec Carpenter158® steel bolt
M16 Chrome Lined 8620 Steel Carrier
Chrome Lined Gas Key
Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specs
Gas Key Grade 8 Hardened Fasteners
Mil-spec Staked Gas Key
Tool Steel Extractor Upgrade
Extractor Spring
Charging handle details
Forged T7075 charging handle. Manufactured to mil-specs.
Comes with one mag, MOE forarm, box
No sight

my apologies in advance for being so needy.
thanks!
 
M

Mobuck

Moderator
Sounds like a motorhead describing all the neat stuff inside his engine to someone who only cares that it runs.
Most of that stuff is just the normal specs for the design.
 
M

Metal god

New member
Hey whats up .

I'm no expert but I'll give this a try but Im going to stop typing in 10 min .

Lets start with mil-spec . This stands for military spesifications and generally speaking thats a good thing .

Things you would like to be mil-spec .
upper and lower receiver ,
BCG (bolt carrier group ) The gas key is part of the BCG .
I did not put barrel here cus a mil-spec barrel has a specific contour ( shape ) twist rate and are chrome lined . the military has very specific reasons for these thing and they are not really necessary for civilian use .

Forged - Is a good thing and a must for your receivers IMO

Magnetic Particle Inspected ( MPI ) is a nondestructive test to determine the existence and extent of macrodefects such as cracks in ferromagnetic materials; discontinuities in the material create variations of magnetic field which are outlined by fine magnetic particles. Also known as magnetic crack detection.

What do you want MPI
barrel
BCG

Chrome lined - Chrome Lining is a process where chrome is 'welded' to the steel . This produces a coating that is twice as hard as the steel itself. It prevents corrosion, makes cleaning much easier, and extends the life of the metal .

Chrome lining is almost always a good thing . Some people do not want the bore chrome lined cus it reduces accuracy
 
M

madcratebuilder

New member
The upper is mil-spec from PSA and cost $280 plus shipping when on sale, the BCG is mil-spec and worth $140.

The NFA lower is polymer and has had the LPK changed out. These NFA lowers are about $150 ready to pin to a upper. Polymer lowers have a poor reputation for reliability. The new poly lowers from NFA seem to get much better feedback, lot of guys buying them.

Might be a good buy at $500 but not at $600.
 
P

presence

New member
Great stuff guys, I appreciate it. He was asking 670 for it. But like I mentioned, wasn't really looking to buy this specific rifle. What's up with the gas key(s?) and being staked and whatnot? Are there ARs out there that aren't "staked" properly?
 
M

madcratebuilder

New member
What's up with the gas key(s?) and being staked and whatnot? Are there ARs out there that aren't "staked" properly?
Click to expand...

More so in the past than today but it does happen.

Gas keys with poor staking may come loose and cause a gas leak at the key.

Gas keys that are staked with too much enthusiasm can have the head of the key screw break off, causing a gas leak.

You can DIY staking with a punch or buy a specific tool for staking.

Young Manufacturing makes a premiere BCG, they are not staked and their warranty is void if you do stake them. YM uses the correct sealant and torque numbers with quality hardware. No staking needed.
 
E

Edward429451

Moderator
IMO a guys first AR should be a factory assembled standard model because you know that the factory gets it right. At least most of time, lol. It has a warranty, and are good rifles to learn on and use.

My AR is a standard model Bushmaster and runs great. It's all the AR I'll ever need.
 
R

ripnbst

New member
I built my first after extensive research. Taught me a lot about the platform. I built my bottom half and the top half came complete. The lower can e built with so precisely tools really. The upper not so much. Buy a lightly used one and you should save yourself a decent amount of money.
 
A

Amsdorf

Moderator
I remember my first AR buy...man was I confused!!!

The modularity of the AR is great.
The modularity makes buying your first one a nightmare.

I finally plunged in and bought a Daniel Defense M4V1.

If I had to do it over, I would have gone with a completely flat top AR, with collapsible iron sights, front and rear, but other than that, I've been very happy with it and have added all sorts of bells and whistles.

It's like a lego set for big boys. And a lot more dangerous.
 
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