To make it as fair as possible (we were both convinced that the other would cheat), we set up some ground rules for our contest.
“El-Cheapo” Build Rules:
- Lower must be “stripped.” No pre-assembled lowers.
- Upper must not have barrel installed. May purchase with ejection port cover and forward assist installed.
- If the part belongs, it must be used. e.g. if the barrel isn’t threaded, a muzzle device isn’t necessary or if there’s no space for a forward assist, then one isn’t necessary.
- Components must be available to the general public. No “buddy deals” and no home-made parts.
- No auctions – firm prices for parts only (sale items are ok).
- Shipping and tax are not included (this is to normalize our efforts in two different parts of the country).
- Must fire two 30-round magazines without a malfunction (including locking the bolt to the rear after each magazine)
- Must be able to shoot a 10″ group at 50 yards using bulk/commercial ammo.
- Cheapest complete rifle that meets ALL of the above rules wins.
Neither of us thought that we could build a rifle which conformed to the rules above under $500. We were wrong. Within a couple of weeks, Jason and I were finished and compared prices before range-testing. Jason broke the $500 mark with a total build price of $449.69. I was able to break the $400 mark, however, and built my rifle for $378.54.
Here are pictures of my entry into our “El Cheapo” contest:
Despite mine costing less, we needed to confirm each rifles’ ability to function on the range. After-all, even though mine was cheaper, if it didn’t function and Jason’s did – I’d lose. Here is some video I took of the rifle at my local indoor shooting range:
My rifle functioned flawlessly! This means that I won a competition with no prize. 🙂
To be fair, I knew that I wasn’t going to keep my rifle. I said on the podcast that I’d give my rifle away whereas Jason intended to keep his. Therefore, where I went as cheap as physically possible in an effort to win even if my rifle was obnoxious (it is), Jason went cheap as possible for a rifle that he’d like to have and keep.
For your reference, at the bottom of this post is a build-list of the components we used in case you’re interested in building your own. We both heavily used PrimaryArms.com and Jason found some great deals on Palmetto State Armory and I found some on Wise Arms. My secret to finding the lowest prices? I used slickguns.com to search for parts and then sorted by lowest price!
As noted above, I am giving my rifle away. I decided to start a contest on Facebook which ends on December 15th, 2016. You can enter the contest by either making a donation to the Sua Sponte Foundation or by leaving a review for the Long Range Shooting Handbook. Read more about the contest and ENTER HERE.
Jason’s Build | Ryan’s Build | |||
Lower Receiver | $50.00 | Layke Tactical Blem Lower | $42.99 | Tennessee Arms Co Hybrid |
Lower Parts | $44.99 | brownells complete lower parts kit | $37.99 | Wise Arms |
Buttstock | $49.99 | Primary Arms Rifle stock kit | $39.99 | Target Sports Full stock kit |
Upper Receiver | $67.99 | Sota Arms | $39.95 | Anderson Slick |
BCG | $79.77 | Primary Arms Complete bolt carrrier group | $74.99 | DS Arms |
Charging Handle | $12.99 | Primary Arms Anderson charching handle | $12.99 | Anderson |
Barrel | $79.99 | Palmeto State Armory | $69.99 | Wise Arms |
Gas Tube | $8.99 | Primary Arms Gas tube | $8.99 | Radical |
Muzzle Device | N/A | $6.32 | A2 Flash Hider | |
Handguard | $26.99 | Amazon 7 inch hand rail with barrel nut | $18.95 | Sniper Mini 4″ |
Sight/Optic | $17.99 | Amazon red dot sight | $8.40 | NcStar Red Dot |
Gas Block | $10.00 | Lake tactical | $16.99 | MAS Defense |
TOTAL | $449.69 | $378.54 |