AR Build Diary

By Gabby

As my hand guard was on the verge of going into the anodizing tub, I realized that I might have no place to put accessories. Yes, my upper receiver has a few inches of rail that can hold a rear back up sight and maybe a scope, but where would a put a front sight? a forward grip? a flashlight? The smooth hand guard that I was so excited about has no place for rails to be easily attached, so if I was going to have some on there, holes for screws would have to be drilled and tapped. Being a handy girl I considered doing this myself, and then thought better of it.

Three inches of picatiny rail was attached to the top and bottom of my anodized hand guard after it was anodized and my concern was no longer. But maybe you're thinking, Gabby doesn't a barrel usually have a front sight attached? Yes, I considered that. The A-frame front sight is the standared and many barrels can be bought with this part already attached. It also serves as the gas block, which we will discuss later. However, I've seen this sight on many ARs and AKs, and I just feel it's too military for AC's AR. Also, if I ever put some sort of optic on this gun, that sight can't be folded down.

What suddenly became clear, was that while I could take my time with the parts-collecting process, the design process would have to happen all at once. So as is my nature, I started to draw and here is my masterpiece:


Certain parts are still up for specification, others have to be what they have to be, because other things dictate, but at least now I know where I'm headed.

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