Rogue Elite

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.

Sometimes we get a new product from a company that just flat out blows away the previous production line, but recently we have noticed that our most consistent selling M4 Optic is the Trijicon TA01NSN ACOG.   This is probable the most practical setup without over complicating the system and putting higher mounted parts on the already high sitting combat optic.   The Trijicon TA01NSN has backup iron sights for close up fighting.   For those trained with iron sights, nothing gets you back to the basics and away from glass optics that those metal or composite posts.

One of the best things about the ACOG system is the optics come already mounted.  We have all witness some shooters have a really difficult time with long range shooting because the optics they are deploying are not leveled properly.  The Trijicon TA01NSN like it’s fellow ACOGS can come on a carry handle or it’s only mount.  Nothing to adjust with the optic like you have to with scope rings, these optics are already leveled and once they are sighted in they can be removed and should remained zeroed.

The newer Eotech gun sights are all being made with the power buttons on the left side and not in the back.  If you have the older models, you’ll probable have some issues like I did with the Eotech Magnifiers.   I had to leave a bit of a gap between mine just so I would be able to get  my hands in between them to turn it off and on.  The way my present M4 Carbine setup is, I can still use the older models, but It should does make it easier to just use your left hand them (if you are right handed) to turn the power up and down.   The magnifiers really make a difference, but its one of those never ending responses  I get about “Couldn’t I just have got an ACOG for that price?”

Sure you could, but you’ll have a lot of trouble using a Trijicon ACOG in short ranges.   If you look at the ranges most engagements take place in, there is almost no need for magnification.   A few friends of mine that were in Iraq said the Trijicon ACOGS they had came in real handy to spot wires from roadside bombs.   The Eotech sights you the widest field of view of any optic I know of and that makes rapid engagements of multiple targets very easy and fast.  Getting the first hits in is more important that how tight your groups were.

I have been using one of these on my LWRC M6A2 for several months now.  It’s taken me awhile to get to where I am at with using it, but it was a learning experience.   When I first looked at these I was trying to decide if I should get an Eotech magnifier or the Mako magnifier.   I figured I would start out with the higher end and work my way down.  The first thing that hit me was the cost of the Eotech 556 I have and the Magnifier were the same as some of the Trijicon rifle scopes that I have been looking at.

I’ve learned to keep my guns in a configuration that they are meant to be in, and M4 carbine is meant for close up fighting so why turn it into a long range shooting weapon.   Eotech gun sights are my favorite for close fighting but there are major drawbacks to using them at medium ranges and in low light environments.   The magnifier gives you that medium range visibility and  helps ID targets and become more effective at hitting targets. with the flip to side mount, it takes a second to go back to close range shooting.  Definitely worth it in my book.

I have definitely evolved in my tastes for firearms over the years, but all of us have a starting point and grow from their.   I have always had a lot of respect for Russian semi-autos, because they just don’t have the maintenance issues that many European firearms have.   One of the biggest draw backs to the SKS and AK style rifles is the scope options.  These firearms were never really meant to be shot with optics and with something like the SKS, the mounts are usually part of the top of the bolt covering and once you take this off for cleaning, the rifle will loose it’s zero.  I know a few people that have welded mounts on SKS rifle because they used them for hunting.

The SKS can make a good medium range DMR gun because it can be more accurate than an AK and it’s longer flatter design is easier to shoot off the ground.   The Trijicon rifle scopes that I like for the AK though are the Trijicon TriPower optic this isn’t like the Trijicon Acogs.  This give you 3 options for illumination, one for daytime use and power regulation, low light use and one with a battery backup.   Getting this mounted on an AK gives you a better optic than what you find at gun shows and with Trijicons reputation on combat optics, you’ll have nothing to worry about.

We got another large shipment of the LWRC M6AK upper receivers and some of these orders have been a couple weeks backordered.   A lot of the AR15 market is about accessorizing and my eyes hurt from just looking through the AR15.com website for product info.   After awhile,  I have to wonder what kind of life some people have to constantly attach and mess around with their firearms.  Sure it can be a hobby to work on a firearm, but nothing beats knowing how to fight.   I’ve seen so many guys with $3000 worth of gun and accessories that never leave the 5oyd range and  like to talk about accuracy, meanwhile, if I talk about what a Mini 14 can do at 300-600yds, I’m somehow over stepping myself.

Rifle optics has a lot to do with the job at hand and more rifle scopes tend to be able to really only do 1 or 2 tasks.   You are either close quarters fight, medium range fighting, or long range engagements.   And there may be a modification or accessory that can get you one of the other ones.    LWRC uppers have folding down front and rear sights on all complete upper receivers.  I have always preferred the ability to switch to iron sights and front posts never bothered me for optics, but now  that so many optics are zero magnification, folding front sights down may, depending on your tolerances, inhibit some visibility.

There are now so many things you can do to a firearm that you better be real careful that you think things through before you find out at the wrong time that  your guns and gear don’t match up very well.  One of the most common problems I am starting to see on the firing line while watching defensive weapons training with handguns is this.   Operator replaces the front sight on his handgun to a slightly higher version, gun fits in holster.   When the operator walks onto a firearm line and tries to quickly pull the firearm out, the front sight snags on the holster on the way out and the gun spins forward out of the operators hand, and then flies forward.

The obvious issue with gun holsters is adding on laser grips, something like the Crimson Trace Laser grips may mean tweaking your holster or having to buy a new one, be real careful about the gun sights though.  Many holsters don’t give you the specs on what kind of sights it will tolerate and this is something you’ll have to do on your own.   Lasermax laser grips will not be an issue due to the fact that there is nothing protruding out

We get so many phone calls asking us basically asking us to tell people how to dress themselves when they get out of bed in the morning.   Maybe 5% of the questions we get asking about tactical clothing and concealed carry clothing are about how someone will look in the clothing once they put it on.   The same goes for gun holsters.  People often ask us how they feel and how well they are made and all of this really comes down to your personal preference.  I can give you a calorie count for every food item you eat, but you gotta tell me if you liked eating it.

Going through your house and pick out the type of clothing that you can wear all year long is probable impossible for you unless you live in a desert or the North Pole.  Just like we need rain coats when it’s raining and winter coats when it’s snowing, we need gun holsters and clothing for changes in weather and seasons.  Most people don’t carry a shoulder holster when they are living in t-shirt and flip flop land and nobody is going to tell you that you have to wear a leather holster in 100F temperatures.   You have to find what feels right and works for you and then think about another scenario for the other things.