I built my first AR15 back in the beginning of 2016 and was proud of the frankenrifle that I had forced life into. I went cheap and I've found over the last year and some change going cheap is not the way to build a rifle. This time when I built my AR pistol, chambered in 5.56, I took the time to research companies and actually invest in a reliable platform instead of just putting pieces together to make the whole. One thing I will say that helped was speaking with friends that have done this before and listening to advice from others. This pistol is the culmination of what I have learned over the last 18 months. While I didn't go into building with the mindset of "spare no expense" I tried to be as reasonable as possible and find quality at a fair price. I kept myself to a strict budget of no more than $1000 and I came out with what I think is a very solid build that I have no problem trusting with my life or those lives around me. I kept a build list on an Excel spreadsheet to help keep me on budget and give me a practical way to keep up with parts. I'll share the list and the pictures of the complete build. There are some items on the list that I have a "$0" next to, those were either gifted to me or parts that I had around. This was what kept me under my budget. Thanks for looking and let me know if you have any questions! Thanks!