Wood AR 15 Build: Introduction

Clark Armory is undertaking a new project.  We are building a “Wood” AR-15. No, it isn’t actually going to be made of wood, it is going to be a high end AR-15 featuring handmade wood furniture. The sketch below is the vision of where we are heading:

"Wood" AR-15 Sketch. Pretty huh?

Here is the “philosophy of use” (using that term broadly) for the build:

1. We want to build a quality AR-15 and show that it can be done without an FFL and are therefore starting with an 80% lower. No one in our organization is a gunsmith nor do we have vast experience building rifles. We do however, have a deep appreciation for quality and want to do our best to build a quality rifle.
2. This rifle will primarily be used for target shooting and as a demo weapon for various types of ammunition. As such, we want it to be approachable for shooters of all ages and sizes, yet capable of performing at very high levels in the hands of an experienced marksman; providing an enjoyable shooting experience for all.
3. We are unashamed to admit that visual appeal is a key part of this build. There are lighter, stronger and otherwise “better” options for many of the components we have selected for this build. This AR-15 however, is intended to be a piece of high performance, functional "art" and therefore a key factor in our component selection (including the wood) is visual appeal.
4. The price point of this build is intended to be at the “Mercedes Level” not the “Ferrari Level.” The components we have selected are without a doubt high end, but there is always a higher level. This is important to us because we didn’t want to build a pie-in-the-sky AR-15 that is completely impractical for 99.99% of shooters.

The Wood AR Build is going to be documented in here in detail as it happens. We are not going to be posting all of these articles after the fact. We will write about the each step and component as we are working on it.

The bulk of the first posts are going to be a discussion of individual components and why we selected them. Much research has gone into this project before any components were selected or articles were written and we want to share the brief version of this research with you.

As you can imagine, researching and receiving the components, writing each article, milling the lower, assembling the components, shaping the wood, final assembly and then testing the rifle is going to take some time. So please be patient and stayed tuned for updates. Our goal throughout the build is quality, not speed and at the end of the project we hope this series is something you can draw upon for your future builds.

In full disclosure, many of the components for this project were sponsored by their manufacturers. We did, however, select all the components prior to reaching out to any manufacturers for sponsorship and purchased components that were not sponsored. We did not want this build to be a mashup of sponsored parts, but did want to invite the manufacturers of the products we had selected to be a part of the build.

Table of Contents (links will become live when the articles are published)

Components:

• Muzzle Device: B.E. Meyers
• Barrel (Gas Block, Tube and Barrel Nut): LaRue Stealth
• Rail: Fortis Rev II 14”
• Lower Receiver: 80% Lower with Fire/Safe Markings
• Upper Receiver: VLTOR MUR
• Stock: Battle Arms Development Vert Stock, Custom Wood Additions
• Grip: Executive Ordnance Professional Sportsman, Custom Wood Grips
• Optic: Trijicon MRO
• Optic Mount: Scalarworks Low Drag Mount
• Back Up Sights: Troy Industries Folding
• Trigger: Geissele SSA-E
• Bolt Carrier Group: FailZero Semi-Auto BCG
• Charging Handle: AXTS Raptor

The rest of the story of the build will be featured on www.BlackWoodUSA.com

The Wood AR-15 Furniture:

• Wood Fore Grip
• Wood Grips
• Wood Stock