About
Every Gun Shop You Love, In One Place
Cold Bore Index is a hand-curated index of gun parts, optics, and builds. We don't sell anything. We find the gear worth buying, tell you what it's actually for, and send you straight to the shop that stocks it.
Why this exists
Buying parts is a mess. The gear lives across half a dozen retailers, listings are written in acronyms nobody explains, and half the "best AR parts" articles online are spun content from people who have never staked a gas key.
If you're building your first rifle, the hardest part isn't the assembly — it's figuring out what you actually need to buy, in what order, and what's safe to save money on. That's the problem this site solves.
What you'll find here
- The deal board — hand-picked parts and optics, each linking straight to the real product page at the retailer, where the live price and stock are shown.
- Build sheets — complete parts lists for eight platforms, from Glock 17 to AR-15 to Ruger 10/22. Every part you need, a running budget, difficulty, bench time, and the one part that requires an FFL clearly flagged. Check parts off as you buy them.
- Field notes — real guides. What "blem" actually means, the $400 AR build that runs, and which lubricants survive an Alaskan winter.
- A glossary — because nobody should have to guess what LPK, MPI, or headspace means while holding a credit card.
How we pick what to feature
Everything on the board is chosen because we'd spend our own money on it. We favor parts with a real track record, honest specs, and a price that makes sense — and we're just as willing to tell you when the cheap option is fine as when it isn't.
We tell you the truth even when it costs us a sale. Our AK build sheet says outright that kit-building an AK is gunsmith work and steers most people toward buying complete and upgrading instead. That's a smaller commission and better advice. Trust is worth more than one click.
How we make money
Affiliate commissions, and nothing else. When you click through and buy, the retailer pays us a small cut. It never changes your price. You pay exactly what you'd pay going direct.
Here's what that buys you: we have no inventory to unload, no markup to protect, and no reason to push a part you don't need. We're paid the same whether you buy the budget option or the premium one — so we just tell you which is right.
What we'll never do
- Sell your email or personal data. See our Privacy Policy.
- Take payment for a placement and pass it off as a recommendation.
- Invent prices, fake discounts, or manufacture urgency.
- Pretend to be a dealer. We hold no FFL — the retailer handles every order, all compliance, and any transfer.
Get in touch
Found a dead deal? Know a part we should be tracking? Think we got something wrong? Email hello@coldboreindex.com. Reader corrections are how this gets better.
Start with the board
Hand-picked parts and optics, each linking straight to the live product page.
Browse the gear →Affiliate disclosure: Cold Bore Index earns a commission when you buy through links on this site, at no extra cost to you. We're not a dealer, hold no inventory, and every order is placed with and fulfilled by the listed retailer.