Rogue Elite

There is so much back and forth behavior when it comes to accessorizing AR15 guns and and the optics that go on them.  Luckily I was not in the category of people that spent $1000 on optics and then switched to something else later.  I was smart enough and had enough life experience and also a very small amount of money in a bank account so I started off with an AR15A2.   I still believe that after starting a new shooter out on a 22lr rifle preferable a  bolt action, once a shooter can handle a 22lr gun, the AR15A2 is the next best step.

When it comes to not having a  lot of money to spend but you know you want serious equipment, it really comes down to Trijicon, Aimpoint and Eotech.   There are pros and cons of each but none of them will do everything.  Trijicon Rifle Scopes and give you a very wide range of optics for hunting and combat but to this day the Eotech still holds its own for close up fighting and fast shooting.   In close range fighting zero magnification is the best but there are some options like the TA26 which is 1.5x magnification and gives you a light edge over zero mag.   This may mean the difference between identifying a weapon from a cell phone at reasonable close ranges.

There are plenty of guns and calibers out there that are good for specific jobs but they are not very versatile.   Larger calibers may be good for long range shooting but for under $100yds they are beyond an over kill and actually can be unsafe to use.   A good 30/06 rifle is probable now considered to be a medium range rifle now that the 338 Lapua and 50 BMG have seen so much use.   Long range shooting is now about 2000yds longer than it was previously possible for a one rifleman.  Now that the AR15 is king of the rifle world and barrel lenghts, weights and calibers can vary.

The .223 is a very versatile cartridge, it is far more effective than just about any handgun caliber gun especially if you are using the right ammunition.   I have seen white tail deer taken with M4 Carbines and 75Gr hpbt bullets and if you want more range just slap on a any of the new AR15 upper receivers for sale.   The most popular AR15 uppers we sell are the CMMG uppers and the Smith & Wesson AR15 upper receivers.   If you have the money, the Cadillac of the AR15 world are the LWRC guns.

I have stopped using Hoppes gun cleaning solvents for a very long time and it was mostly due to complaints from family members about the smell.  The older I get the more I think about the chemicals that I expose my friends and family too and it is worth considering changing the product lines that you use in for your gun cleaning.  M-Pro7 gun cleaning products are non-toxic and won’t stink up your home.  There is nothing smelly about them and they actually do work.  Carbob will disappear from your bolt carriers quickly.

Wearing gloves for gun cleaning can be a hassle because there are so many small parts on a firearm that it is very difficult to feel them.  Many gun cleaning supplies will work, but like we mentioned above, not all of them are good for you.  Having a safe gun cleaning station that doesn’t expose your kids to lead or other harmful products is a good thing especially now that so many people are testing for it and concerned about it.   Otis has a very inexpensive gun cleaning mat that can be rolled up and put away.

Everyone of us has a closet full of gun holsters and gun accessories that we either took off a firearm or purchased and didn’t like.   The one thing you find out after you start putting gear on is how bulky it is and how uncomfortable it is to wear.   Recently we had a guy stop in our store looking for a tactical vest and liked the Woolrich Elite tactical vests but they didn’t work well with  his firearms instructors protocol and he needed a shorter vest that did not go below the belt line.  Molle gear is really the way to go anymore because you don’t know what you’re going to need all the time.

Not everyone wants to stow a sidearm on their vest and in my personal experience I’d much rather have a sidearm in a leg holster than up near the rifle.  Rifle slings can get caught on your Magpul accessories and there is a reason quick detachable accessories are so important.   Your life can be endangered if you get in a car accident or get caught in a building and need to get out and your gear is what is retraining you.   I’ve seen it many times and I always suggest people consider carrying a strong blade to give you the security to know that you can always cut your gear loose.

There are several firearms out there that don’t have the ability to be accessorized with lights and mounts like the AR15 and stock options are very limited.  My favorite battle rifle is still  the FNFAL and I have gotten MOA out of the gun with very little modification.   Having a good mount and I would consider a mount that is welded on is extremely important with this rifle.  The DSA SA58 has a very good track record for holding up if mounted properly and that means  using loctite.  There is also a lot of truth to not over torquing a screws with firearms because you will find out a few thousand rounds later that the screws are sheered off.

When it comes to stock options, your old G3 or FNFAL does have more options with Magpul.   Magpul Accessories are now the number one gun accessories for AR15s but the Magpul PRS stock is a very good option for making your battle rifle a DMR gun.   The battle rifle has seen a resurgence in use and sometimes going back to proven design and making improvements to its ability to be accessorized is the way to do it.   The FAL has often been over looked compared to the M1A, but that argument has become less and less.

There is more to a Carbine stock than just adjustability and length of pull.   Body armor can make  your standard Carbine feel really uncomfortable and put on a tactical vest and you’re probable a good 2 inches or more shorter on your Carbine stock.   One other thing that comes into play is the amount of play you might end up with if you have a commercial stock sitting on a Mil-spec buffer tube.

Knowing something about your Carbines parts history and if its all Mil-spec is going to be very important if you start to accessorize your parts.  Magpul accessories give you a lot of options for making your AR15 fit you right and adjust to the gear you may be using.   The Magpul MOE stocks and accessories are also something very new and original to consider.

Every time you add on more and more accessories to a Carbine the more weight you will add to the firearm and movement and snagging can occur.  Anyone that knows what its like to wear tactical pants and walk around a kitchen is going to be able to tell you how many times they’ve torn a pocket on a kitchen cabinet or snagged your pants on a door knob.  You will know what I’m talking about if you’ve worn them and if not, do a YouTube search and you’ll see it discussed.   We’ve sold pants to people that torn pockets off their 5.11 and Woolrich Elite pants.

When you change grips or add on flashlights, the same things can occur.  Gun holsters can get sheered off your body going around corners and even Magpul Accessories can do the same thing.   Everyone keeps an eye o n where their optics are but snagging on windows with your gun grips is something that gets learned the hard way.  I’ve seen rifles fly out of peoples hands during live fire shootings because they did not clear obstructions and the fore grips latched on to something while they were backing up.   I highly recommend you look into the Magpul Angled grips.

Nowadays many companies will hit you with restocking fees on gun accessories and in all fairness, the real reason is to deter people from being lazy asses and ordering wrong parts and acting like it was the companies fault something didn’t fit.   Many stock accessories tend to not be drop in changes and some fittings may occur, this is very common for non-AR15 style rifles.   People make mistakes but 85% of time we get a call about a return on a gun accessory its because somebody didn’t know that the gun had to go to a gunsmith or that they need to buy another mount or accessory to fit it.

Many companies also give Free Shipping on an item and if you’ve been a lazy bum and purchased a C-more optic and didn’t know that you needed a $75 mount for it to work on your gun and now you want your money back on the scope, we’ll you’re the person I’m talking about.   If you have a question ask it, if you aren’t sure about Magpul Accessories, the manufacturer of your firearm probable knows best.  Everyone and there dog is putting the MOE stocks on their guns and if you have a question about it, call them up.

Even since the AR15 got shortened down to the M4 Carbine, many in the Military and Law Enforcement have realized that there are ways to improve upon the design for the operators advantage.  No longer is an individual issued a rifle and forced to adjust to the stock length.  I have several World War II Vets and Korean War Vets that have told me that they actually hated shooting the M1 Garand and the BAR rifles.  All of those individuals were  under 5’6″ and it was pretty obvious to me as to why they didn’t like it.  They claimed that they couldn’t hit a darn thing with it, but anyone that is a firearm instructor knows that this is probable true.

Nobody starts a 7yr old kid out with a full size bolt action rifle and expects them to shoulder it, now that we have the M4 Carbine in service the stocks are adjustable.   Not just body size, but the types of things you may be wearing like a vest, armor ect can affect LOP.  Magpul Stocks and Accessories are our number one selling stock accessories and and everything from trigger guards to gun grips can be customized.  Body sizes and preferences mean a world of a difference for an operator to become proficient.

We’ve pruned some of gun magazines accessories down a little bit in 2011 based mostly on which products sold, and secondly on which products we got the least complaints about.  Breakage and fit issues is something we really don’t like dealing with because many of the times it was the customer breaking the part while trying to put it on the gun.  It seems to be better these days because quality control in machining has improved but its not a battle we want to deal with every week when people come back with the same products and tell us the part was broken when they got it, when we know that it wasn’t.

Magpul makes some really nice gun sights for the M4 Carbine and they are in the top 3 category with Troy sights.  There are differences in optics sights and having folding sights vs fixed sights is something that comes up fairly often.  Magpul pmags are in their own category and there is very little reason to think about using anything but these gun mags.   You can actually help camoflauge your firearm by picking certain color variations that help break up the look.  Foliage green, OD green an Flat dark earth as well as Black are available for all of the Pmags.