Over the years, gun enthusiasts everywhere have been making the switch to the do-it-yourself gun-building tactic in the hopes of having a chance to experience the joy and satisfaction of holding a gun that they had a part in making. For AR-15 enthusiasts, completing a firearm by hand requires the completion of an 80 lower receiver. While many believe that they lack the skills or tools to achieve such a task, the truth is that there are a variety of ways to complete the piece so that you can join the ranks of other DIY gun builders and have a hand in building your very own AR-15.

What is a Lower Receiver?
A lower receiver is a partially completed piece of metal, usually made from aluminum, that requires additional work before it will become a working piece for your firearm. Since it is incomplete, the DIY gun builder will have to know about using standard shop tools before they will be able to complete the item for gun-building purposes.

Legalities and Licensing
Legalities and licensing are always a question in people's minds when they are considering purchasing the pieces needed to build their firearm. As long as you are legally able to buy and own guns in the county, city, and state in which you reside, then you are allowed to purchase the pieces to build your firearm. Be an informed owner and builder and make sure you are familiar with all the gun laws where you reside in case you would ever have to discuss your hand-built firearm.

80 lowers that are built with kits in your home do not have serial numbers and cannot be traced if stolen or lost. As with any guns, once you have completed your very own AR-15, be sure to follow all safety measures and consider storing all of your firearms in a safe.

Since the 80 lower receiver is an incomplete piece and requires that the builder to have special skills and tools in order to be completed, it can be sold, in its unfinished state, without the need of a Federal Firearms License (FFL).

What Needs To Be Completed
An 80 lower receiver is precisely what it sounds – a lower receiver that has only been completed 80% of the way. To finish the other 20% so that it can be used for gun building, the builder will have to use a drill or milling machine to cut a hole for the trigger mechanism and pinpoints. While that might sound complicated, it can quickly be done in an hour, maybe even sooner if you are very familiar with your tools and have a completion kit to aid you.

Tools Needed to Complete Your Lower Receiver
While there are many different ways of going about completing your lower receiver, the basic tools that would be required for this task are as follows: a drill press or milling machine, a variety of sizes of bits, a Dremel tool with grinding heads, a vise, and, most importantly, a lower completion jig kit to make the job of completing your lower receiver much easier. With these tools and some patience, you can successfully follow the instructions in your completion kit to finish preparing your 80 lower receiver so that it is ready to assemble into a working firearm.

Completing Your Lower Receiver
After you have purchased your lower receiver and completion kit, the next step would be completing your receiver so that you can finish your gun-building project. Once you have bought all the needed parts and have gathered all the required tools, you are ready to follow the instructions included in your completion kit to mill or drill out the pinpoints and trigger mechanism hole. Depending on which way you go about completing your receiver, you can expect the process to take up to an hour. Most can do it in much less time, but we always recommend taking your time in order to get perfect cuts. Once you have completed your cuts, you are ready to take your finished lower receiver and add it to the rest of your AR-15 assembly.

After assembling the lower receiver to the rest of your firearm, you can finally join the ranks of gun enthusiasts all around the country that have become DIY gun builders for the pure joy of bringing their customized firearm into existence. Once the project is complete, all that is left to do is safely enjoy what you have created with your own hands.

Questions? Ready to Buy?
If you are ready to purchase your 80 lower receiver or if you have questions before you decide to buy, contact us today, and our team will be happy to help you get started. Our trained staff can support you in choosing the parts that you need to get you in the workshop and working on your very own lower receiver.