Assembling an AR-15 rifle from scratch is possibly one of the most rewarding things a gun owner can do and it’s also one of the best ways to learn how your new rifle functions. One of the best reasons why many love to get a firearm in the AR platform is that it’s so easy to customize that anyone can build their rifle to their own preferences that’s because plenty of AR-15 key components are standardized and therefore interchangeable.
Building your first AR-15 rifle can be a daunting task and fortunately for you, we have put together an AR-15 magazine release installation guide to help you understand one of the processes involved in putting together your first rifle. Building an AR-15 is not as hard as people think and you’ll likely never want to purchase a complete rifle again once you finish assembling your first rifle.
The AR-15 rifle consists of two main pieces: the upper receiver and lower receiver. In our article today, we will be focusing on the AR-15 mag release upgrade of the lower receiver assembly.
How to Install an AR15 Magazine Catch
Before you begin any installation, you need to fist position the AR-15 lower receiver vise block into the bench vise and placed the lower receiver onto the vise block. Once everything is in position, you can grab your magazine catch, button, and spring for installation.
Next, you’ll need to place the catch into the left side of the lower receiver such that the threads on the long part is going into the receiver. Now, take the magazine catch spring and install it from the right side of the receiver by sliding it over the threaded portion. Use a finger to hold the magazine catch on the left side of the lower receiver to keep the spring for pushing it out before spinning the magazine catch button clockwise till it catches the treads of the magazine catch. This step can be quite tricky since the spring will cause some resistance, but you’ll just need to be a little patient and you’ll get it.
After you’ve spun the button a few times, you should feel like you’ve run out of room. Then here’s where having a pencil nearby will come in handy. Use the rubber eraser end of the pencil to push the magazine button from the right side of the lower receiver so that the magazine catch protrudes on the left side. Use the pencil to maintain pressure and spin the magazine catch clockwise until you can feel it making contact with the pencil eraser. You can take your time here and be careful to not scratch the lower receiver, especially when spinning the magazine catch.
Now you’ve completed the installation of your mag release and you need to perform a function test to check everything is working properly. To do so, insert an empty magazine and press the mag release button. If it stays in, the mag catch works and if it drops when you press the release button, the mag release works.
Factors to Consider when Building Your AR-15 Rifle
The AR-15 platform was designed to be taken apart, put together, and combined in many different ways according to the owner’s preference. Here are some of the key features of an AR-15 rifle:
Modularity
The AR-15 has standardized parts where other manufacturers create similar parts based on the same designs which means that you can pick your favorites and combine them with other parts made from different manufacturers.
Materials
99% of AR-15 lower receivers are made from aluminum since they’re known to be exceptionally durable, light, and inexpensive. They’re also much more readily available and easier to work with compared to steel. Nonetheless, there are three types of aluminum lower receiver construction:
Cast Aluminum
Cast aluminum is made with a slightly oversized mold filled with aluminum that will later be cut down to its final dimensions by a CNC machine. This is the cheapest type of lower and it’s also possibly the weakest type.
Forged Lowers
Forged lowers are cast lowers that are hammered or compressed to increase their strength. The crystalline structure derived through hammering makes the material stronger.
Billet Aluminum
Billet lowers are carved from a block of aluminum and this process creates tool wear and waste. However, This method ensures minimum waste and lower initial investment. On top of that, an aluminum that’s cut from raw stock designed for strength is much stronger.
