Lately, I'd taken up a growing interest in firearms and decided to purchase an AR-15. I'm sort of a cheap-o, so I went with the DIY route. Basically, the AR-15 is divided up into two parts - the reduced and upper receivers.

The lower receiver is made up of 3 main items:

1) Stripped lower receiver - basically a chunk of metal with holes and openings, no moving parts
2) Lower Parts Kit (LPK) - contains most of the parts you'll need to accomplish the reduced and assemble the trigger, trigger guard, hammer, magazine catch, and bolt catch
3) Stock - all of these vary in styles, from fixed A2 style to 6 position collapsible stocks

I discovered my DPMS stripped lower receiver at an area gunshow. I would strongly suggest that you check out a weapon show before ordering online/locally. Usually, there are several decent deals around and you won't have to cover the FFL transfer fee as you would if you bought it online. In addition, the only part that is regulated by the us government could be the stripped lower receiver. Which means background checks and laws apply to lessen receivers the exact same way they apply to totally completed rifles, pistols, etc. On the plus side, after you have the stripped lower receiver, you are able to order/buy the rest of the parts without any hassle and have them shipped straight to your door.

For the reduced parts kit and stock, I went with DPMS skeletonized ar 15. This is because I acquired a good deal at SportsmansGuide.com on the parts and I was trying to keep things as cheap as possible. I ended up paying $50 shipped for the LPK and $50 shipped on the 6 position stock.

Putting the reduced receiver together is not very difficult, however it could possibly get frustrating at times. I used this guide from the AR15.com forums from start to finish. I will suggest that you print out the guide first, lay your parts out as shown in the diagram, then begin assembling the lower. No special tools are needed, however, you would want to involve some punches to punch in the roll pins. You can just get the typical pin punches, no dependence on specialized roll pin punches if you intend to save some cash.

I started putting together the reduced without any punches, however when it came time for you to punch down the trigger guard roll pin, I was wishing I'd one. Trying to improvise, I used my Swiss Army multifunction tool to hammer in the pin. After at the very least 15 minutes, I'd finally gotten the pin in, but left the trigger guard all scratched up from my barbaric hammering. Not just that, but when you yourself have to operate a vehicle the bolt catch roll pin in, you'll wish you'd a punch. There's inadequate clearance involving the pin and the rifle to McGuyver something to operate a vehicle the pin; you need to make use of a punch! Other than that, the remaining process went fine. Only thing is, I'll need a CAR wrench to tighten down the stock, but it should be too large of an issue.