Is it supposed to be this way?

[BattleRifleG3]

I just put together my first AR-15 from a kit from Sherluk Marketing.

First the good news:
Everything came that was needed. They assembled the upper exactly to my nitpicky strange configuration (pre-A1 non FA upper, free float handguard, chrome lined heavy barrel). The upper matched the Eagle Arms lower perfectly.

Now the not so good:
Maybe I should have expected that if I had upper custom built and didn't have it refinished, there'd be signs of it being built, ie marks on the barrel from the site being put on after installed on my choice of receiver and my choice of handguard. The ones ahead of the site aren't too major, but the site was clearly wiggled on. Ok, here's a real nitpicky one: the holes on the free float handguard aren't oriented in the center. Is this normal? Now the one that I'm a little ticked about is the pins that hold the upper and lower together. The flat edge head of the front one wasn't perfectly aligned with the slot for the detent. That and either the detent springs were way too stiff and/or the holes they went into were cut too deep, because I cannot push them open like Stoner did in the AR-10 demo video. Was I supposed to trim the springs to fit better? Oh yeah, and the pistol grip screw was too long. I had to dremel that down.
Finish and color match of the parts on the upper made it look like a Century parts gun, ie G3, FAL, or AK. Of course I wanted the specific upper receiver, and chose the lower myself, and actually like the color contrast of grey upper, grey buttstock, and black lower, but everything in front of the upper is a little shabby. I'll post pics if I ever get a digital camera or use a friend's.

So it all went together and the upper and lower seemed to have no problems fitting together. Charging was a bit rough in the beginning, but it started to smooth out a little with lubrication and repeated cycling.

I managed to install the A1 rear site without any instructions, just figured it out myself. Is the "L" supposed to face the rear?

Didn't get to fire it yet, but hope it does ok.

[Circuits]

The pins will be tight until the detents have worn together a bit. Some people choose to cut a few coils, especially on the selector and pivot pin detent springs, just to get easier operation.

Proper assembly uses some moly slide lube on the detent pins, so the parkerized surface of the pins/selector won't scratch the detents and make their action feel gritty.

The L is supposed to face the rear, yes.

The holes of the free float guard should be aligned in a manner you find pleasing, and there is usually a locking ring or jam nut provided with the FF tube so that it will fit in the proper orientation and with the proper torque applied. You might want to adjust your FF tube if it bugs ya.

[BattleRifleG3]

Oh yeah, and the buffer was, well, wierd. When I shook it, something inside seemed to be moving inside. Is that normal too?

[chickrepelent]

Yes sir, your buffer is normal.

[5.56NATO]

"Oh yeah, and the buffer was, well, wierd. When I shook it, something inside seemed to be moving inside. Is that normal too?"

Without that loose part(s) in there, it wouldn't "buff" much.
Buffer parts also have an order of installation, so keep that in mind if you open it up.

[bilbo]

tap the rear detent hole and the safety detent hole for 8x32 set screws. shorten the safety detent to make room for a 1/4" long detent. dremel screw slots in the head of the set screws. Then you wont have to worry about lost detents or springs anymore, and if you cut a little slot, on the right side of the selector, you can use your pocket knife to depress the detent, and not have to remove the pistol grip in order to remove the selector.

[Rew]

I have never had to remove my pistol grip to remove my selector, even on a real M16. WTF?:rolleyes: