I built my first one because I took a break from racing and was basically bored. I had never liked AR15's or any semi auto rifle in general really. I thought the operating mechanism was stupid and grew up hearing the horror stories from the early Vietnam vets on the history channel. I certainly never really thought I would ever own one and was always really puzzled why they were so popular. I had shot a few but they didn't do anything for me.
I like to challenge my own prejudices so one day I decided I wanted to see what all the hype was about building them so I decided I was going to build one and try to correct all the things I don't like about them. First being the charging handle. I can see the utility of the charging handle for its intended military role, but I just hate it. So I found a bear creek side charging upper on a really good sale. I also hate collapsible stocks so I got an A2 stock. I wasn't sure which direction I wanted to go with it so I ordered a 16" carbine barrel kit from delton with a front sight post, and a 20 varmint barrel from bergara with a 15" tube forend. Figured I would try both and see what sticks.
I decided early I didn't want the front sight so this was the 16" setup with chopped front sight
This was the 20” Bergara varmint barrel weighing 60 ounces
So I learned two things from this, the 16" delton barrel was not accurate enough to be interesting, so I learned I was not going to be entertained with a 3 moa AR15. Secondly the 20" bull barrel was so ungainly and front heavy that I had zero interest in it even though it was quite accurate.
From there I got a couple more 16" barrels that were better shooters, but I really was not into a 16" 223 just because of the muzzle blast and the poor ballistics of the short barrel. So at that point I was still pretty cold on this whole AR15 concept. I decided maybe I would try a different caliber so I decided to try a 300 blackout barrel. I really really loved the 300 blackout. It was accurate, soft report, good thump on my steel plates.
A month earlier I had almost had had enough of the whole thing and was about to sell it all but the 300 blackout upper sparked new interest in me. From there I decided to invest some more money and I bought another upper so I could have a dedicated 223 and 300 blackout uppers. For the 2nd upper I got a 20" fluted ballistic advantage barrel which really gave me the best of both worlds, 20" velocities and report with 16" weight. Its a very accurate barrel and it handles nice. Its a full 2 pounds lighter than the bergara barrel it replaced. I am still not head over heals about it, but its a very effective tool.
So the next step was one day there was some talk on the forums about 7.62x39 AR's vs 300 blackout. I was a big blackout fan at that point and was pretty adamant in my thinking that there was just no reason for a 7.62x39 in an AR15. Well again I like to build stuff and experiment and challenge my own perceptions so I figured I would try one. I ordered a 7.62x39 barrel and put it on my 300 blackout upper. First impressions I was not really impressed. $4/20 is pretty nice as is leaving the steel cases to rot in my field, but the barrel I had only shot 2-3 moa with the stuff which is pretty unstimulating. So I bought two more barrels. The next one was also 2-3 moa and heavy, but the last one is magic. Its a mid weight profile and shoots anything you put in it sub moa. This was the first 5 shots ever put down the barrel with steel case wolf. The top one was the first shot before scope adjustment.
This is with 125 nosler accubonds loaded into steel cases with CFE BLK. Good for 2600 fps.
This gun is absolute love. Its already like an old friend. Its silly accurate with wolf ammo, it runs and runs and runs even when filthy, its very soft on the ears, the ergonomics are perfection for me, what else can a guy want?
I never ever thought I would deer hunt with an AR15 having looked down my nose at people who did for years, but I took it anyway just because I like it so much. Its a great rifle in the deer stand and brush and doesn't mind being wet.
I like it so much I even built a mini version in 9mm (yes I know the brake is upside down on the 20" upper, that was temporary till I got a thread protector for it)
For this year I have a 358 yeti barrel on order with another identical upper, handguard, scope, and mount waiting for it. I expect that will be my go to medium range hunting rifle from here on out.