Computalotapus
31 January 2014, 06:10
Getting into the Black Rifle Community on a Budget
We all know the saying “You get what you pay for!” and “Buy once cry once!”. These statements are true in everything you do in life. But just because something is inexpensive doesn’t mean it is poorly made. Doing your homework before you make a purchase can save you a good chunk of money and you are still able to come home with a quality product.
There are all different kinds of people in the Black Rifle community. There are those that can drop two grand easily in one order, then there are those who can pick up pieces every weekend. Me personally I have to save throughout the month to pick up the pieces I want. I am not knocking anyone or complaining we all have worked hard to be where we are at in our lives. I really enjoy building and shooting my rifle and look forward to building and shooting many more in my life. I am the type of person that has other things going on and the rifle is the lowest priority when it comes to funding. This doesn’t mean I skimp out and buy the cheapest part available to make it complete though.
Planning
Your biggest money saver if you are going to build a custom rifle is planning. Do your research, make sure you list out every single part that will go on the project. I start with a OneNote document and break my project down to upper and lower receivers. For each receiver I then break that page down into tabs for each part that is required, from here I list possible manufactures for the parts I want. Once you have a list of the manufacture’s parts you can start breaking it down by vendors. Give yourself options when it comes to vendors but always try and purchase from a reputable vendor. The options you give yourself can save you money when it comes time to buy the part, you never know someone might have a sale running or a discount code available. The money you save can go to getting the next part.
Research
Now that you have a list of the stuff you think you might want from the manufacturers that you have picked out, and the vendors you might buy from, it is time to do your research. My first stop is the forums, I utilize the search function to see if any of the parts I have picked out have had a review done by anyone, if no review I simply ask. While waiting on a reply I go to each vendor sight and read the reviews from their sight if available. This will give you some insight to how well customer service is at each location, you can even pick up on how fast delivery of the product is executed. If you get no answer on the forums or there are no reviews available on the vendor sight your next step is to inquire via email or a phone call. Now the great thing about the inquiring step is that you get to talk to an individual at the vendor or the manufacturer, someone who is knowledgeable on the part/s in question. With the market being very vast majority of the places you are calling/emailing are going to be small to medium business (working class America) so give them time to respond they are very busy. From my personal experience with manufacturers and vendors these personal interactions lead to a wealth of knowledge on products and sometimes spending time leads to a discount but not always.
Building
The order in which you build your rifle is completely up to you. I have found starting with the lower and moving to the upper I feel like I see progress happen quicker. Building the lower is the less expensive of the two and usually the money you save waiting on deals for the lower parts can help you with purchasing the more expensive upper parts. If I had to list which parts I think are the most expensive in the build process I would list barrel, rail, optic, bcg, trigger, and lower receiver. Those are your big ticket items for pretty much every build. Do not skimp out and just pick up the cheapest part. You can find great quality parts at a reasonable price for pretty much any type of rifle you are building. Be patient as you wait for your funds to be in place where you can purchase the next part. Do your research and look for the deals. Talk to the people that know. This community if filled with people who want to help you become better at whatever aspect you choose to follow inside it. I have yet to run into someone that I haven’t liked and everyone that my wife and myself have talked to has been 110% helpful
If anyone else has a different way I would like to hear how others plan and budget their builds.
We all know the saying “You get what you pay for!” and “Buy once cry once!”. These statements are true in everything you do in life. But just because something is inexpensive doesn’t mean it is poorly made. Doing your homework before you make a purchase can save you a good chunk of money and you are still able to come home with a quality product.
There are all different kinds of people in the Black Rifle community. There are those that can drop two grand easily in one order, then there are those who can pick up pieces every weekend. Me personally I have to save throughout the month to pick up the pieces I want. I am not knocking anyone or complaining we all have worked hard to be where we are at in our lives. I really enjoy building and shooting my rifle and look forward to building and shooting many more in my life. I am the type of person that has other things going on and the rifle is the lowest priority when it comes to funding. This doesn’t mean I skimp out and buy the cheapest part available to make it complete though.
Planning
Your biggest money saver if you are going to build a custom rifle is planning. Do your research, make sure you list out every single part that will go on the project. I start with a OneNote document and break my project down to upper and lower receivers. For each receiver I then break that page down into tabs for each part that is required, from here I list possible manufactures for the parts I want. Once you have a list of the manufacture’s parts you can start breaking it down by vendors. Give yourself options when it comes to vendors but always try and purchase from a reputable vendor. The options you give yourself can save you money when it comes time to buy the part, you never know someone might have a sale running or a discount code available. The money you save can go to getting the next part.
Research
Now that you have a list of the stuff you think you might want from the manufacturers that you have picked out, and the vendors you might buy from, it is time to do your research. My first stop is the forums, I utilize the search function to see if any of the parts I have picked out have had a review done by anyone, if no review I simply ask. While waiting on a reply I go to each vendor sight and read the reviews from their sight if available. This will give you some insight to how well customer service is at each location, you can even pick up on how fast delivery of the product is executed. If you get no answer on the forums or there are no reviews available on the vendor sight your next step is to inquire via email or a phone call. Now the great thing about the inquiring step is that you get to talk to an individual at the vendor or the manufacturer, someone who is knowledgeable on the part/s in question. With the market being very vast majority of the places you are calling/emailing are going to be small to medium business (working class America) so give them time to respond they are very busy. From my personal experience with manufacturers and vendors these personal interactions lead to a wealth of knowledge on products and sometimes spending time leads to a discount but not always.
Building
The order in which you build your rifle is completely up to you. I have found starting with the lower and moving to the upper I feel like I see progress happen quicker. Building the lower is the less expensive of the two and usually the money you save waiting on deals for the lower parts can help you with purchasing the more expensive upper parts. If I had to list which parts I think are the most expensive in the build process I would list barrel, rail, optic, bcg, trigger, and lower receiver. Those are your big ticket items for pretty much every build. Do not skimp out and just pick up the cheapest part. You can find great quality parts at a reasonable price for pretty much any type of rifle you are building. Be patient as you wait for your funds to be in place where you can purchase the next part. Do your research and look for the deals. Talk to the people that know. This community if filled with people who want to help you become better at whatever aspect you choose to follow inside it. I have yet to run into someone that I haven’t liked and everyone that my wife and myself have talked to has been 110% helpful
If anyone else has a different way I would like to hear how others plan and budget their builds.