Gunsmithing the AR-15, Vol. 3: The Bench Manual Paperback – August 30, 2016

Glanced through it and saw good things for owners. Gave to a friend.

Great book, full of information.

I bought Gunsmithing the AR-15, The Bench Manual by Patrick Sweeney on Amazon. It arrived in a timely manner with no damage. I have volumes 1-4 of The AR-15 and volumes 1 and 2 of Gunsmithing the AR-15 by Patrick Sweeney. This is by far the best of them all. It is listed as a companion volume to Gunsmithing the AR-15 Volumes 1 and 2 but if you don't already have them you don't need them. This book contains more information and in much greater detail than the others. I have always wondered why they never published book like this one with so many people building ARs from parts. This book covers building a custom AR-15 from parts using and comparing some of the most popular brand components side by side. There are step-by-step instructions on replacing and upgrading every single part on the AR-15. He goes into detail about each part and explains not just how, but why. It is well written, easy to understand with a sense of humor.

I rated this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it’s advertised “For the casual shooter or first-time owner…” whereas the dialog is for someone more familiar with guns than what’s contained in the previous quote. I have been around guns all my life but only as a casual shooter plunking at targets. I am not a hunter either. Lately I have gotten more serious about shooting and have set up a range on my property. So with this background I started into this book. While I catch most of it there are times when I get stumped by the terminology (every sport and hobby has their own set). An example is the acronym MOA. Without researching it I would guess that’s “Minutes of Arc” or something similar. Maybe this book is not intended for someone like me but it’s not advertised that way. That being said I will still get a lot of use out of this book as I do intend tailor the gun to my specific needs.

Good book on understanding the AR platform.

Excellent book. Worth every penny. Even if you already know how to build ARs. I would still highly recommend this book. He gives all the little secrets you can only learn from years of experience. He also makes it a fun easy read. This isn’t just another step by step book. It goes much deeper in theory and thought.

The book was very informational on all aspects of AR gunsmithing.

Much better than I thought it was going to be. I love the author's sarcasm and the insights he provides into the reasons for doing certain things rather than just telling you what to do. This is not a step by step builders book but, gives you better information that will aid in parts selection. If you want a builders guide, just go to Brownells.com and watch the videos.