Quote Originally Posted by poimen View Post
so i'm in the process of building my first AR...looking into the upper parts category. as of now, at the current stage of my life, i don't make it to the range as much as i want to. i also lack the funds to shoot thousands of rounds each time i go out. so for now, the probability of me shooting out a barrel, or wearing out a bcg...so in your opinions, what are the benefits of a $200 bolt carrier group vs a $100 or less bcg?

as far as the barrel goes, i'm finding it "cheaper" to buy an assembled upper from aero than it is to buy all the parts separate and assembling them myself (which is sad, because i really enjoyed assembling the lower and want to do an upper now) am i sacrificing quality and accuracy for going a cheaper route?
I have my own feelings and opinions that in ways mimic what you've been hearing here. First off there is nothing wrong with building if that's what you really want to do. Everything has pros and cons to it. I will concentrate my opinions on the 'build' side because that is what I did (with some help and lots of input from others here).

Basically if you have a specific plan, goal, mission, or configuration in mind--I am on the build side. Keep in mind I derived just as much enjoyment from building the rifle as I get from shooting it. If this sounds like you then don't be scared off of building regardless of how much you shoot on a day to day basis.

I am in this for the sport of it. I am not a cop, warrior, special operator, or any of that stuff. I get my jollies off of learning from others and then seeing that knowledge being put into use. For me, building was part of the hobby. Yes you will probably need some special tools but that's not the end of the world.

Furthering the idea of 'concept' for a rifle you have to decide on a concept. For example I have one that is more of an SPR type that is easily sub MOA and I can ding plates out to 800 yards with it. That one is shot with a bipod, hand loaded match ammo, and all that stuff 99% of the time. The other one I have is a 10.5 SBR and I am not concerned so much with tiny little groups with it. Two ARs with two entirely different purposes behind them.

For building a general back yard plinker you can get good quality BCG for $120 bucks or so. I bought one from Rainier Arms, one from Griffin Armament, and another from Cross Machine Tool. As for barrels...consider it as a 'wear out part' sort of like wind shield wiper blades, but a decent barrel for general use won't be that much. Odds are you won't be shooting full auto fire and all that and you probably won't be reloading thousands of rounds of match grade ammo so that opens up a ton of possibilities barrel wise. For $150 to $200 you can get a good barrel that will fit your needs perfectly. That said with a 'normal' use without doing tons of mag dumps and long heat driven sessions you can get up to or more than 15,000 rounds out of a 'decent' budget barrel. If you go shooting a couple hundred rounds here or there it could be more. Long story short you don't need to worry so much about shooting out a barrel.

Whatever you choose to do, I say stick with things that have a proven record. Especially barrels. The ultra cheap knock off stuff might not be stress relieved or might not even be concentric to start with and yes you will get a cheap barrel but then your barrel heats up and your shots start walking all over the place.

Long story short if you enjoy thinking through a build and learning about stuff by all means do it. I took that route and I am 110% glad that I did. I took my time and learned as I went and it was great. If you don't have patience or inclination to learn about choices about seemingly small things and just want to 'get it done' then buying is a fantastic option too. No right or wrong answers.