Budget AR-15 Build – Parts List and Helpful Strategies

In this budget AR-15 build guide, I will go through my strategy to save money and build a budget AR-15 cheaper than buying one complete.

Our team has years of experience with the AR-15 in both the military and from building dozens ourselves. We have also bought a ton of AR-15 parts from about every place imaginable. Our goal is to look for good value, not just something cheap.

This guide will go through the actual parts I used and purchased. Thanks to this hands-on advice, you’ll know how these parts work together and how to assemble them, specifically. This isn’t a vague, one-size-fits-all guide; it’ll show you exactly what to do.

Keep reading to find our tips on how to save money on your next build!

Budget AR-15 Build Strategies

In general, I have found that it is hard to build a budget AR-15 that is of decent quality and cheaper than just buying a complete rifle.

However, over the years, I have found ways to build one that is cheaper, especially if I want a particular feature in the rifle.

1. Decide The Build Purpose

This one may seem obvious, but I have found myself looking through all the different parts at various manufacturers and saying to myself, “That looks cool,” and “I should do that.” I end up impulse shopping, which is the worst thing to do when I want to save money.

When I have a set purpose in mind, it allows me to focus and not get distracted by all the cool things.

For this build, I was looking for a standard AR-15 rifle with a 16” barrel, a free float hand guard, and a basic stock and grip. The point was to save as much money as possible. It had to be reliable, so forged mil-spec receivers were a requirement.

2. Create Your List

Next, I like to create a list of the potential parts I am looking for. I like to make a line item for the upper and lower and go through each part with my preferences. I may want something specific, or I may not really care.

Here is my list for this build:

Lower Receiver:

• Stripped Receiver – Forged Mil-spec, don’t care what brand, Blem OK
• Lower Parts kit – Mil-spec, don’t really care about the brand
• Grip – Standard Mil-spec OK
• Stock – Standard Mil-spec OK
• Buffer Tube – Mil-spec Carbine

Upper Receiver:

• Complete or Stripped – Forged Mil-spec, don’t really care what brand
• 16” 5.56 cal Barrel – I don’t really care what weight or type
• Free Float handguard longer than 13”
• Mil-spec BCG
• Mil-spec Charging Handle

Sights:

• Red Dot Optic from a reputable brand (Sig, Vortex, Holosun, Primary Arms)

Note that I indicated that a ‘Blem” lower receiver would be OK. A “Blem” means that it has blemishes and is sold at a cheaper price than normal.

Usually, the blemishes are small places where the receiver is not coated. They are only cosmetic and do not affect the function. It is a great way to save money on a build.

3. Sign up for Sale Newsletters

While I hate to get a bunch of emails every day telling me what is on sale, it is a great way to find what I am looking for at a cheap price. I like to sign up for the email list of a few companies that usually have the best prices and sell a variety of parts.

This lowers the number of emails that I get and also gives me the best chance to find what I am looking for cheaper.

Here is who I recommend:

• Palmetto State Armory
• Primary Arms
• Battlehawk Armory
• Brownell’s

And, of course, sign up for our newsletter. I will mention anything that I see as a great deal every Friday. You can also check our deals and discounts page, which I update regularly.

4. Be Patient

Now is the not-so-fun part. Patience.

It does require some waiting which can be tough, especially when you just want to get to the range and shoot. But, to save the most money, it is a must. I don’t know how many times I just order something, and a few weeks later, it is on sale.

Keep watching and checking the sale emails for the items you want to go on sale. Typically, I find the best deals around holidays like Thanksgiving or Memorial Day, but some companies will have a flash sale just randomly on items they are looking to get rid of. Some only last for a day or two, so don’t get lazy here.

My Budget AR-15 Build Parts

As I mentioned, I was looking for a standard AR-15 with a 16” barrel and a free float handguard for my build. This was really a test to see if I could build one cheaper than buying an entire rifle.

I started my search in October and had all of my parts about halfway through December. The holiday sales certainly helped my timing here, I will admit. It would be a little harder if I had done this earlier in the year, but still doable, although it would have probably taken longer.

My first purchase was a stripped lower receiver. I went with a forged mil-spec blemished stripped lower from Palmetto State Armory. I noticed it on one of their sales for $39.99. Typically, these are between $50 to $100. It is one of our Favorite Budget AR-15 Stripped Lower Receivers.

PSA has a good reputation, and they make quality stuff. When I received the lower, it only had a few small finish blemishes on the top side of the mag well and down inside the receiver (see photo below). These won’t even be noticeable on the finished rifle, so I was happy.

Palmetto State Armory Blemished Stripped Lower $39.99

Next, I spotted a complete upper on a flash sale at Primary Arms that was what I was looking for. I went with the Radical Firearms 5.56 SOCOM AR-15 16” Complete Upper. This one did not have a BCG or charging handle included and had a sale price of $149.99. These are normally $350.

I really like the looks of this upper and the handguard. There was really nothing out of the ordinary except for a few small blemishes on the outside of the barrel that I noticed. Overall, it was a good buy.

Radical Firearms 5.56 SOCOM AR-15 16” Complete Upper – $149.99 (Regular $350)

A few days later, I noticed Primary Arms had a flash sale on a Precision Defense 5.56 Nitride BCG for $54.99. These are normally $129.99, so half price is certainly a good deal. This is a mil-spec BCG made from 8620 Carpenter Steel and has a nitride finish to boot, so I was pretty excited to find it so cheap.

When I received it, there wasn’t really anything that stood out to me. It is a nice BCG that works like it should.

Precision Defense 5.56 Nitride BCG – $54.99 (Regular $129.99)

Next, I began to search for a lower parts kit. This can be a little bit of a challenge since basic lower parts kits are cheap, but the stock, buffer tube, grip, and trigger start to add up.

I saw a sale from Palmetto State Armory for a complete basic build kit for $79.99. It included everything I needed, including the lower parts kit, stock, buffer and buffer tube, grip, and trigger. It was all basic mil-spec parts, which isn’t amazing but it was cheap!

See our review on the Best AR-15 Lower Parts Kits for other kits that are affordable as well.

Palmetto State Armory Classic Lower Build Kit – $79.99

I noticed that for $99.99, I could have gotten the same thing except with an upgraded B5 Systems stock and grip. Normally, I would have gladly spent the extra $20 since I don’t like the mil-spec stock and grip. But, since the goal was to save as much as possible I went with the cheaper option. Still, you might like the upgrade option:

Palmetto State Armory B5 Systems Lower Build Kit – $99.99

Now, all that was left was the charging handle and optic.

Just after Black Friday, Primary Arms had an XTS AR-15 Mil-spec Charging Handle on sale for $6.99. These are normally $12.99. It is just a basic mil-spec charging handle, which is not my favorite (see our Best AR-15 Charging Handle Guide for our favorites).

Primary Arms XTS AR-15 Mil-spec Charging Handle – $6.99 (Regular $12.99)

I noticed they had a Breek Arms Warhammer Ambidextrous Charging Handle on sale for $34.99 at the same time, but again, I went with the cheaper option. This is another place where you may want to upgrade:

Breek Arms Warhammer Ambidextrous Charging Handle – $34.99 (Regular $44.99)

Finally, it was time to find an optic. My criteria were just a red dot from a reputable manufacturer.

Just after Christmas, I saw that Palmetto State Armory had a Vortex Strikefire II on sale for $99.99. These are normally $169.99. This is a decent red dot that is certainly robust but a little on the large side. It was a great price so I went with it.

Vortex Strikefire II Red Dot – $99.99 (Regular $169.00)

My Budget AR-15 Build

Since I bought a complete upper, all I had to do was put together the lower.

Here are all of the parts before I assembled it:

It took me about 90 minutes to put the PSA lower together with the full build kit. The trigger guard pin seemed a little tight, but everything else went right together.

I used my Real Avid AR-15 Hammer and Roll Pin Punch Set, my Real Avid Bench Block, and my MagPul Vice block. These are essential and really speed up the build time. The roll pin punches really help get some of the tricky roll pins in easily.

I installed the mag release, bolt catch, pivot pin, trigger guard, buffer tube, takedown pin, trigger, and then the grip and safety selector.

Next, I put the BCG and the charging handle into the upper and assembled it to the lower.

Finally, I mounted the Vortex Strikefire II to the rifle and headed to the range.

After zeroing the optic, we fired about 100 rounds through the rifle without any issues whatsoever. Everything functioned like it should and it is a nice, decent rifle. I especially like the handguard and the Vortex Strikefire II red dot has a larger field of view over most other budget red dots.

Overall, here is what I spent total:

Total spent was $431.94, and this includes an optic!

For just the rifle, I paid $331.95, which is at least $100 cheaper than most complete budget AR-15s that I typically find.

So, I found that I could build a budget AR-15 that is good quality cheaper than a complete rifle. It just takes some time, and most importantly, patience.

I did not include a flashlight on this build. However, if you plan to add one to yours we have a budget option in our Best AR-15 Flashlight Guide.

Next Steps

If this will be your first build, be sure to check out our AR-15 Basics guide. It covers all the terminology you need to know. Also be sure to sign up for our Newsletter as we add more guides on AR-15 parts and future builds.

We would like to thank AmmunitionToGo.com for providing the ammo that we used to test this rifle at the range. We used Fiocchi M193 5.56 ammo for most of our testing since it is a standard NATO round.

Now, take a look at our other Self Defense Guides and Reviews for more AR-15 related guides.