my dad built an armlite....he built a shorty with the colapsable stock and carbine barrel.....saved TONS of money and it functions great.....i never fired groups out of it.....heck i dont even know that i shot that one.....but its simple to build....i think he bought a parts kit and the rest and a manual.....but it saved him alot of money.....he also has on in the a2 configuration i think it is....im not posative on that.....its full size and is what he shot in the marines i guess....i guess that ones pretty dang accurate.....i never shot groups with that one either....id like to one day........i heard they can be tack drivers......building them isnt hard at all i dont think as long as you understand the basics of assembling a gun and everything....and have a smith or someone expierinced check it before firing for the gas pressure, head space and all that fancy stuff.....good luck......they are pretty nice guns if you get a nice one.....i myself cant get over the price either......they are so dang simple....i cant see why they are so expensive.....