Saw a shop in Boise trying to sell 'custom' ARs with plastic handguards and painted barrels

I was in Boise last week and stopped by a new shop that had a big sign for custom builds. They had a whole rack of ARs with these cheap, shiny plastic handguards and barrels that were just spray painted flat black, not even properly coated. The owner tried to tell me it was a 'tactical finish' and charged a $200 premium for it. That's not custom work, that's just slapping junk together and calling it good. How many shops are out there pulling this kind of stuff on people who don't know better?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_andrew29d ago

Man, that's wild. I used to think a custom gun just meant it looked different, you know? Like a cool paint job or something. But then I saw a buddy's "custom" build fail after a few hundred rounds because the parts were just junk thrown together. The barrel nut was barely on and the gas block was loose. Now I get that real custom work is about how it's put together, not just how it looks.

kareng2729d ago

What did you end up doing about it?

cameroncarr14d ago

Look, maybe the shop is just trying to make a cool looking gun for a decent price. Not everyone needs a duty grade rifle. That "tactical finish" might just be their way of making a basic AR look a bit more unique for someone who wants a range toy. If it goes bang and hits paper, maybe it's fine for some folks. They're probably just filling a different market niche.