Help (clueless girlfriend) build AR15 for boyfriend

[bloodhound]

 ohh by the way if you buy a pre assembled one, you can pay for it but he has to buy it or its against the law. you cant buy a gun for another person and bring it home to him. but you can say hey lets go get something to eat ill drive and then swing into the gun shop and say here we are i hope your hungry!

[h20hunter]

Thats a good point. You can check in with his gun shop and know what type of cash to have on hand. Take him out for dinner first. Then, after his belly is full, take his hand, look deep into his eyes, and say, "Honey, I've got something in mind that you've always wanted but never had". The let him pick out a new gun. Perfect.

[h20hunter]

By the way. Don't get offended that he is actually extremely happy when he finds out that "something special" is a gun, not something else.

[Heredoggydoggy]

ohh by the way if you buy a pre assembled one, you can pay for it but he has to buy it or its against the law. you cant buy a gun for another person and bring it home to him. but you can say hey lets go get something to eat ill drive and then swing into the gun shop and say here we are i hope your hungry!

That's not entirely true--according to law, you can buy a gun as a gift for a family member, a boyfriend or girlfriend without the ATF regarding it as a "Straw Purchase".  This was asked at an ATF seminar recently.  I always thought it had to be strictly a family member, but no.

[micdude]

ohh by the way if you buy a pre assembled one, you can pay for it but he has to buy it or its against the law. you cant buy a gun for another person and bring it home to him. but you can say hey lets go get something to eat ill drive and then swing into the gun shop and say here we are i hope your hungry!

That's not entirely true--according to law, you can buy a gun as a gift for a family member, a boyfriend or girlfriend without the ATF regarding it as a "Straw Purchase".  This was asked at an ATF seminar recently.  I always thought it had to be strictly a family member, but no.

Yeah you can buy your lucky boyfriend a gun    :'(But a gun shop will also tell you the same thing.
If I was my wife/ girlfriend I would get me this  http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=2578

Or you can put together an upper and lower yourself very easily but I would recommend an 18 inch barrel for a good varmint rifle with a good scope. You could also give rainier arms a call they would help you out they specialize ar’s ,but stay away from Olympic arms they don’t have the greatest rep.

[FALFire]

I would suggest this option.

Go to Model One Sales >>> http://www.model1sales.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=79

Select a Complete KIT which will give him everything he needs to build a rifle excluding the "STRIPPED LOWER". He can purchase any of the stripped lowers from any of the hundreds of suppliers around the country or choose one from a local dealer in WA.

This way, you get to purchase a large part of the gift and either of you can choose to purchase for the lower.

I would however, pick his brain and get in detail the options he prefers so he will be one happy man. Keep in mind you can use the pull down windows and select detailed items such as triggers, hand guards aka, float tubes, stocks, chambers in 223 or 5.56mm (slight differences) etc.

Here is how I would build one just for an idea.

First I would start off looking at the Complete Varmint Kit page.
Kit:         Base price   $560.00                               
Chamber:             223
Bolt Carrier:         Standard
Charging handle:  Standard
Carry Handle:       None selected
Butt stock:           M4 6 Position  +$25.00
Barrel:                 20" Stainless Steel barrel, 8 twist, fluted. + $50.00
Trigger:                Rock River Arms Match 2 stage trigger.   + $105.00
Gas block             Low Pro gas block  + $25.00
Hand guard:         Aluminum, free floated, fluted, swivel stud  + $20.00
Pistol Grip:           Ergo Tactical Standard grip  + $35.00
Total cost plus shipping = $820.00

The cost of a stripped lower will be anywhere from about $80 to $250 or so making your investment about $1000 +/- a few bucks.


Doing it this way allows him to partially build the rifle of his dreams which would be the lower and not have to buy the needed tools to assemble the upper. Think of it as a Cake and Eat it too.....There will be a cake ....Right?

[Heredoggydoggy]

ohh by the way if you buy a pre assembled one, you can pay for it but he has to buy it or its against the law. you cant buy a gun for another person and bring it home to him. but you can say hey lets go get something to eat ill drive and then swing into the gun shop and say here we are i hope your hungry!

That's not entirely true--according to law, you can buy a gun as a gift for a family member, a boyfriend or girlfriend without the ATF regarding it as a "Straw Purchase".  This was asked at an ATF seminar recently.  I always thought it had to be strictly a family member, but no.

Yeah you can buy your lucky boyfriend a gun    :'(But a gun shop will also tell you the same thing.
If I was my wife/ girlfriend I would get me this  http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=2578

Or you can put together an upper and lower yourself very easily but I would recommend an 18 inch barrel for a good varmint rifle with a good scope. You could also give rainier arms a call they would help you out they specialize ar’s ,but stay away from Olympic arms they don’t have the greatest rep.

Agree on all counts here.  The main qualifier on the gift rule is that the person you give the gun to can legally buy or own one himself.  No matter who you give the gun to, if he can't legally posses it, you could be looking at jail time.

[AL7345]

ohh by the way if you buy a pre assembled one, you can pay for it but he has to buy it or its against the law. you cant buy a gun for another person and bring it home to him. but you can say hey lets go get something to eat ill drive and then swing into the gun shop and say here we are i hope your hungry!

That's not entirely true--according to law, you can buy a gun as a gift for a family member, a boyfriend or girlfriend without the ATF regarding it as a "Straw Purchase".  This was asked at an ATF seminar recently.  I always thought it had to be strictly a family member, but no.

Yeah you can buy your lucky boyfriend a gun    :'(But a gun shop will also tell you the same thing.
If I was my wife/ girlfriend I would get me this  http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=2578

Or you can put together an upper and lower yourself very easily but I would recommend an 18 inch barrel for a good varmint rifle with a good scope. You could also give rainier arms a call they would help you out they specialize ar’s ,but stay away from Olympic arms they don’t have the greatest rep.

Agree on all counts here.  The main qualifier on the gift rule is that the person you give the gun to can legally buy or own one himself.  No matter who you give the gun to, if he can't legally posses it, you could be looking at jail time.

Thanks all for your clarification here! He has a valid concealed weapons permit, so it will definitely be a legal gifting.

[h20hunter]

Um...I don't mean to make this a big deal but my wife still hasn't gotten a call about the harem. She is wondering why I keep asking if anyone called. This isn't going to happen on its own you know, you are going to have to put a little effort into this. Sheesh.

[runamuk]

Um...I don't mean to make this a big deal but my wife still hasn't gotten a call about the harem. She is wondering why I keep asking if anyone called. This isn't going to happen on its own you know, you are going to have to put a little effort into this. Sheesh.

Omg 

and when she calls exactly how are you explaining it to the wife  ??  we want video of that 

sounds like you have all the info to make an educated decision.....I'd say if he wants to build it himself then the gift certificates or lets go shopping alternatives are best.....if you can get him to tell you exactly what he wants then by all means go get it for him .....

[AL7345]

This is fantastic of you to care enough to come looking for advice for your boyfriend! You mentioned that "he wants to build his own AR" if this is accurate then buying him a n already built gun will not suffice. Building your own custom AR is similar to building you own car. It is your design, knowone Else's.
If you know what type of upper or lower we wants to start with, I would start there. Then maybe gift certificates or funds for the rest. That way you have given him the opportunity to build exactly what he wants, not what is bought of the shelf.
Good luck, and I think it is great you are considering this.

I like this idea. Is there somewhere within an hour or so of Seattle where I can actually go and look at these parts? Is Olympic Arms somewhere that I can do that? I saw someone else here mentioned they don't have the greatest reputation, but another person recommended them.... I checked out their website and see that they back their product with a 60 day return/exchange policy which might come in handy and sounds great - just want to make sure it's as breezy of a process as it seemed like on the site.

[AL7345]

Um...I don't mean to make this a big deal but my wife still hasn't gotten a call about the harem. She is wondering why I keep asking if anyone called. This isn't going to happen on its own you know, you are going to have to put a little effort into this. Sheesh.

LOL! I appreciate the enthusiasm over my gift idea - even though it's no help at all in deciding what to get him!!  I have a feeling he will love being able to post that he's the lucky guy just as much as he will love the gift itself! Nice work calling it a harem though... sound much sexier than telling me to call and ask if I can be her "sister wife" haha

[BlackRidge]

This is fantastic of you to care enough to come looking for advice for your boyfriend! You mentioned that "he wants to build his own AR" if this is accurate then buying him a n already built gun will not suffice. Building your own custom AR is similar to building you own car. It is your design, knowone Else's.
If you know what type of upper or lower we wants to start with, I would start there. Then maybe gift certificates or funds for the rest. That way you have given him the opportunity to build exactly what he wants, not what is bought of the shelf.
Good luck, and I think it is great you are considering this.

I like this idea. Is there somewhere within an hour or so of Seattle where I can actually go and look at these parts? Is Olympic Arms somewhere that I can do that? I saw someone else here mentioned they don't have the greatest reputation, but another person recommended them.... I checked out their website and see that they back their product with a 60 day return/exchange policy which might come in handy and sounds great - just want to make sure it's as breezy of a process as it seemed like on the site.

Olympic Arms is down around Olympia...so probably not too close.  They do have an outstanding reputation though, some people are just highly biased against anything that isn't one of the big name-brand companies (colt, bushmaster, rock river/etc). I own several Oly AR's and theyre fit/finish/performance is better than my other non-Oly AR's...  just my 2 pennies

Rainier Arms is down in Auburn and specializes in AR15 rifles, I dont believe they sell anything but them. Great guys too.  Theres also West Coast Armory out in Issaquah (meh..), and Surplus Ammo & Arms out in Lacey (J&S gun parts too).... Amazing deals at both places, for kits, individual peices, or complete rifles in varying calibers.

Just a thought though, with the caliber restrictions here in WA, you arent permitted to go after any big game with the standard AR15 (in .223)... If you think your boyfriend may want to use it for Deer/Bear/etc... I'd consider the 6.8spc. (.277)  Its a newer caliber for the AR15, meets the WA caliber requirement, and will ultimately be the same cost as any other AR15 rifle you're looking at.  I've built 2 so-far and may never go back to the ol' .223

[jackmaster]

my wife bought me my deer rifle she had heard me talking about it with my dad and bigger than life i un wrap a ruger box and inside was a brand new 30-06 ruger#1 singleshot with a leo 3x9 scope with a safari sling and an ammo sock for the stock, i just about fell the hell out so i gotta believe that even getn your guy a basic  AR15 that he can start building on with some gift certificates he is gonna be as happy as a pig in you know what... . your a hell of a girlfriend he is probably gonna be so happy that he pops the question cause if he dont it sounds like some others on here will...

[dirty24d]

You definitely gotta make sure you post who this lucky fella is lets start a witchhunt and start taking guesses at who it is!!!  but that might ruin the surprise of a lifetime 

whoever it is he's certainly doing something right!!!