80% AR15 Lower Receivers "DIY AR15"

With the gun discussion thread being so popular and the large amount of machinists on here I thought that I would show you guys what I have been doing for the past month.

I live in Maryland... and many of you have probably heard about the gun laws going into effect on October 1, 2013. So for any gun enthusiasts in MD we have until then to grab what we can before the ban and we will be grandfathered in.

After I bought a RRA AR15 I was thinking how can I get as many guns possible before this date. Well I decided since the lower receivers are the part that is regulated i figured I should just buy a bunch of them. Since barrels and parts kits are not regulated, I can still purchase them after the ban and build them at my own pace. Well looking into lowers I stumbled upon the world of 80% lowers

Some of you may already now about 80% lowers but for those of you that don't here is some info I pulled off of a site.

What is an 80% lower receiver?

An 80% lower receiver is a partially completed piece of metal that requires special tooling and skills to be completed, a trigger assembly, and a complete upper to be considered a firearm. Unlike a stripped receiver it is not required to be transferred through a Federal Firearms Licensed holder (FFL).
Legalities
A lot of questions have been raised about how 80% AR-15 lower receivers can be considered non-firearms. We get the receivers milled to the furthest legal capabilities without needing an FFL to transfer them. We’ve also received a determination letter from the ATF stating that the ATF does not view this as a firearm because in order to complete the receiver it requires specialized skills and tooling.


Do I need an FFL to make a firearm?

NO! As long as you can legally own the firearm in the state, county and city you reside in you are allowed to manufacture a firearm for your own personal use. No serial number is required, however it is suggested to engrave a serial number, model and manufacturer on your receiver in case it is lost or stolen.All National Firearms Act (NFA) regulations apply to your firearm. You may create a short-barreled rifle out of your firearm via a BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosive) Form 1 after BATFE approval.


Recommended Tooling

To complete our 80% lower receivers all you need is a drill press or mill. We provide all necessary drill bits and jigs to confidently finish the lower. If you do not have a drill press or mill we recommend checking ebay or cragslist. You can also buy these at most home improvement and hardware stores.

Click to expand...

Here is a demo video of the machining process that is required to finish it.


The best part is..... YOU DON'T HAVE TO REGISTER IT!!!

The important detail is that YOU have to be the one who completes it. Getting someone else to do it or doing it for someone else will land you some big time. It's kind of like the lasers we enjoy so much.

Also you can build the AR15 for cheaper then buying one!

80% Lower with Jig & Drill bits $200
Palmetto State Armory Rifle Kit $479 (it was on sale, they are all out of stock now but lately they have been having kit deals for around $500).

So roughly $700 for a brand new unregistered AR15 :na:

I bet you it wont be long before the government finds a way to make these 80% stuff illegal to.... but until they do take advantage of it!


Now here are some pictures of what I have done








This one is the very first one I did. It looks horrible I know.... I did it entirely by hand drills and dremmel; but it works flawlessly! The other ones I found someone who is letting me use their mill to finish them so they look 1000x better.






Here are some pictures of my builds using these 80% lowers











For those of you who noticed the lasers on the gun.... do you really think I would settle for stock output!
The one is just a C6 with an m140
The other one is a barska glx 5mw that I upgraded to a 100mw 532nm module














I am taking a huge gamble, I have 185 of these 80% lowers with jigs and bits that should arrive at my house on friday. There is a gun show that got moved to sept 21 & 22 which I bought two tables at and I will see if people will buy them up with only 1 week until they are banned in MD. Wish me luck with this gamble I hope it works out.

Let me know if any of you guys have built your own or if I have maybe inspired some of you to maybe give it a shot!


UPDATE 9/13/13

LOOK WHAT GOT DELIVERED TO ME TODAY!

How.much does a typical lower sell for and how much are you looking for yours? I yhink that alone will be a good idea yo.how well yoi will do

At the show I plan on selling a kit for $200 (lower jig and drill bits). This is what you will pay for it online after shipping. The lowers themselves online go for $150 on sale at PSA. I'll be selling them for $140.

Where you really make out is in multiple lower pack. I have done 7 lowers with only 1 jig.

So the price per lower drops the more you buy.

1x lower w jig $200 - $200 per lower
2x lower w jig $310 - $155 per lower
3x lower w jig $420 - $140 per lower
5x lower w jig $640 - $128 per lower

So this really works well for a group of friends they all pitch in $128 each and they go themselves an unregistered lower.

If you buy an ar15 lower online and it is shipped to an FFL in MD you will add $60-$70 for registration and FFL fees. So that means you will need to find a lower under $100 ($100 is a cheap price for a decent lower if you can find it), but for those of us who don't want uncle sam to know everything about us.... its well worth the price.

If anyone on here wants one PM me for laser buddy pricing CONUS ONLY

Impressed! :beer: I really like the look of the matte aluminum finish. For some reason it just makes em' look cool. The lasers are Awesome on there too.

Best of luck with the sales!

~ LB

Very nice, thanks for sharing!

Thanks guys.. I an doing a osram 520nm pistol sight I just don't want to use the one I have it's putting out 140+mW and it would be a waste to chance damaging it. So I'll be buying another one from dtr and I'll have it set at 250ma since it won't have room for heat sinking.





UPDATE!!!!!

LOOK WHAT GOT DELIVERED TO ME TODAY!