AR-15 80% Receiver - Why?

[fritz1255]

I see these for sale at gun shows, and I don't understand the rationale for buying one. They are about the same price as a finished stripped lower. Yes, it saves you the 15 minutes for paperwork and background check, but I'm not sure I see the attraction of having an "untraceable" AR-15.

OK, so I buy one and spend a number of hours machining this thing to the correct contours. I then assemble it with the proper parts to make an entire AR. Fast forward to 2017: Hillary Clinton has been elected president. She has put some kind of drug into the water at Capitol Hill so that both houses of congress totally lose their will and pass any bill that she asks for. It is now illegal to posess an AR-15, among other firearms. BATF pulls out their heretofore super secret database, and confiscates all AR-15's bought legally since they started selling them in about 1967. But I still have mine. Now what? Do I go down to my secret basement range at 3 AM and shoot off a few rounds, hoping the neighbors don't hear? Or do I take it to the middle of my four square mile ranch in Wyoming and shoot to my hearts content, all the while listening for the sound of (black) helicopters? Unless ISIL invades the US mainland or there is a zombie apocolypse, it will stay hidden in a closet.

All kidding aside, I can't see the rationale here unless there is a total societal breakdown and everything goes bad quickly. Help me understand!

[Grey Bearded One]

A few reasons.

Some people enjoy building things.

Some people want to build something that is out of the government's view.

Some people want a ghost gun with a “. . . .30-caliber clip to disperse with 30 bullets within half a second. Thirty magazine clip in half a second.”

Some people build hot rods, some build guns.

[Hodgie]

Some people posses the ability, tools, and want to do their own projects and others are prepping for doomsday. Either way it's always good to have options especially when they are perfectly legal. We are seeing a crap ton of legislation being entered all across the country for total bans with voluntary turn in or state gov confiscation. Having a hidden secret rifle won't be for range fun so I think your logic is flawed on that one.

[daschnoz]

I see these for sale at gun shows, and I don't understand the rationale for buying one. They are about the same price as a finished stripped lower. Yes, it saves you the 15 minutes for paperwork and background check, but I'm not sure I see the attraction of having an "untraceable" AR-15.

OK, so I buy one and spend a number of hours machining this thing to the correct contours. I then assemble it with the proper parts to make an entire AR. Fast forward to 2017: Hillary Clinton has been elected president. She has put some kind of drug into the water at Capitol Hill so that both houses of congress totally lose their will and pass any bill that she asks for. It is now illegal to posess an AR-15, among other firearms. BATF pulls out their heretofore super secret database, and confiscates all AR-15's bought legally since they started selling them in about 1967. But I still have mine. Now what? Do I go down to my secret basement range at 3 AM and shoot off a few rounds, hoping the neighbors don't hear? Or do I take it to the middle of my four square mile ranch in Wyoming and shoot to my hearts content, all the while listening for the sound of (black) helicopters? Unless ISIL invades the US mainland or there is a zombie apocolypse, it will stay hidden in a closet.

All kidding aside, I can't see the rationale here unless there is a total societal breakdown and everything goes bad quickly. Help me understand!

No, I take the gun that they don't know I have, and with millions of other gun owners who have legally owned guns that are "off the books", do what out founding fathers would already be doing.



You must be new here.

[Delkal]

Just so the NSA knows.......I already sold my AR's to some guy on Craigslist and the rest were lost in that unfortunate boating accident.

[Hodgie]

Theres always the age old universal answer for all things firearms related "Ever hear of the constitution mother fucker".

[USMC3531]

some people dont want or like the big roll marks that manufacturers put on the magwell because they want to build a "clone" or to beable to modify the lower without worrying where the serial number is (its illegal to move/deface/destroy a serial number) some want a lower to go with every upper they have for storage purposes. its easier to try different finishes on, since its not a gun ANYBODY can chrome/hydrodip/powdercoat/etc whereas a finished lower needs to go to a shop with ffl. there are alot of reasons

[bogey1]

Having a hidden secret rifle won't be for range fun so I think your logic is flawed on that one.

80% receivers are legal. You can build a semi auto legally. If I'm not mistaken, the only thing that is illegal are finished 80% right hand sideplates that dont have a atf
letter stating they are semi auto only, not full auto.

[JDA58]

its easier to try different finishes on, since its not a gun ANYBODY can chrome/hydrodip/powdercoat/etc whereas a finished lower needs to go to a shop with ffl. there are alot of reasons

Oh shit I never thought about chroming an AR-15 ....Em might not have the shiniest gun at the group shoots no more lol

[762xIan]

I knew a perpetual "tinkerer", saved motors, engines..all kinds of odd and ends. Made a pretty neat and fully functional rotisserie (electric motor, chain drive, gearing) for a large outdoor brick bbq. Took him a while to get it all figured out and working right. He also built a very large crossbow using steel cable and old truck springs, used a hand crank and fired a bolt the size of a broomstick handle. Always tinkering, building and making things...neat guy, mostly self taught.

I asked him why he did these things....."Anybody can go out and buy a rotisserie.....or anybody can go out and buy xyz"

Some people quest knowledge and skills, he was one and there are many like him. There are lots of build your own, AR's are the latest, AK's...make your own receiver flat and put an AK together.

Anybody and go out and buy a receiver.