The Frankenstein Dutchman AR

by Mike Schoby • July 13, 2011 • 1 comment

I own several AR style rifles, mainly Rock Rivers with a DMPS in .338 federal thrown in for good measure.  For the record, I do not NEED any more AR style rifles, but then again when has need ever factored into a gun buying purchase?  I was sitting in my office the other day, completely minding my own business when I learned that a coworker of mine wanted to sell a couple of stripped AR lowers…cheap, really cheap $55 in fact.  So how could I say no?  He left $110 richer, and I was the proud owner of two AR lowers.

I threw them in my drawer and wondered what I was ever going to do with them.   Like I said, I have a coyote AR, a tactical AR, a big bore pig gun and a large bore built on a AR10 platform…so what to do?  I started scrounging around in my draw and discovered a ATI free-float handguard, then an upper of unknown origin….hmmm I was partway there, now I needed stock, guts, gas tube, barrel, bolt, lower pins, trigger etc…

This got me thinking (never a gooid idea) and my inner dutchman came out.  I wondered how cheaply could I build a AR rifle. Some of my buddies must have bins of parts left over from when they upgraded their ARs.  I wonder what was out there, free for the taking or really, really cheap.  The goal of this project is to make the gun go bang, reliably and shoot a couple of inch groups at 100 yards.  I’m not building a match rifle, just a rifle with left over parts for as cheap as I can.  Unlike the old Johnny Cash song, where I’ll steal parts (don’t discount that possibility yet) I’ll buy whatever I have to, but am going to rely on friends’ throw aways and extras to do the bulk of the build.  I’ll keep ya posted to the progress—it should be fun.

 

In AR-15, Editor at Large, Uncategorized
  • Ron

    I did this with a bow many years back, like before any bow had a amo of 300 fps. or more. This thing had parts from every bow manufacture known to man. Then came test day I screwed the limb bolts in, thought why not go all the way, it might not last more than one shot anyway, well at 90# the bolts poked out the back of the riser, time to stop. I then fired one in the chrono. the guy next to me looked at me with a deer in the headlights look, 319 fps wow. I then took it over to the range where I shot enough arrows to sight it in, and I can tell you I was amazed. I shot this bow for 2 years and killed many game animals with it. The only reason I hung it up is because the limbs started to crack. I wish you luck in the build, you never know it may turn out to be one of your best shooters in the safe. keep us posted.