Firearms Friday: The Long And Short Of It

These will NOT be mall ninja builds! RIP Barry.

It has been a while since I ventured into the basement, pulled out my tools, and worked on a few projects at my work bench. Even though I have had my own space for the last eight months with all that has happened and all the changes that we have been through, I haven’t been able to find the time to work on the various build projects that I have been looking forward to. However, with a few minutes here and there over the last couple of weeks, I have at least been able to pull all of the parts together for two rifle builds. While they may still be a few weeks away from completion, I wanted to offer a brief glimpse into the plans.

The last few years have seen countless carbine builds so this time around I wanted to change things up a bit. Those interested in budget carbine builds should read through my previous post on the subject which can be found here. The only thing that has changed since that post are the prices listed… I have been able to find many of the parts on other sites at greater discounts from the prices listed. That was, and continues to be, fun but, this time around, I am changing things up quite a lot with the parts that I have assembled. They are still on the budget side but not nearly as price conscious.

The first build addresses the desire for portability. As you might have guessed, this isn’t a rifle build but rather a pistol. This will be my second pistol build but this time I am taking things a step further. While I am not going to go into the details of the build (that is a post for another day) I will say that 7.5” should look pretty good with parts from FAB Defense, Phase 5 Tactical, Law Tactical, and Huntertown Arms. It should make for a nice portable firearm to keep in the bottom of a backpack.

The second build is the complete opposite of the first but, at the same time, it should be a rather nice compliment to the pistol. While not as interesting with regard to the parts used, this 24” rifle should be an interesting one to take to the range to test my abilities. I will start with a simple Brunton optic with plans to upgrade in the future. I am about half way through this particular build at the moment.

The two things that both of these builds have in common are the fact that they are starting with Seekins Precision forged lowers and both have some pretty nice triggers. I am particularly interested in how the latter will perform. While I have used a CMC trigger in the past, this will be my first experience with HiperFire. I also have a POF trigger at my disposal which I am tempted to swap in and try as well.

So those are the build plans for now. Everything is ready to go with parts and tools set aside. Now I just have to find the time to pull everything together and test them on the range. Now that you have read a little bit about my plans, what parts do you recommend using in an AR build (I am well aware of Geissele and hope to enjoy one of those triggers soon)? Who knows, maybe I already have some of them in my plans… you will just have to wait and see.