Rogue Elite

There are so many configurations and variations with the AR15 that I don’t think the gun is anywhere near going away.   For years people bashed the M16 and AR15 for it’s well known drawbacks but improvements on manufacturing and metal designs has improved the direct impingement design that it’s way above what the M16A2 has been.   Ambidexterous bolt releases and magazine releases has helped keep the gun viable for left handed shooters and now those south paws don’t have to worry about getting more gas blown in their faces than a right handed shooter.

Stocks that are adjustable and can be adapted to left handed and right handed shooting means a more proficient operator.   The Magpul pmags are just a small sample of the extensive magpul product line.  Their gun sights, stocks, and grips are very different and you can easily have 3-4 AR15 rifles that have multiple roles.   Even though the 5.56 round has it’s limits the firearm is completely capable of being a DMR rifle if you have a good shooter and use the right kind of ammunition.

Gun parts wear  out and anyone that does a lot of shooting has to accept that.  You can keep your guns pretty forever if you plan on shooting them.   I remember seeing guys show up at amateur band nights with $3000 guitars and treated them like jewels but couldn’t play for  shit and got upset if they got so much as a scratch on them.   I remember watching a video where David Gilmore from  Pink Floyd was using Fender Telecaster that looked like a dog just got chewing on it, but it sounded incredible.

All firearms can be useful tools or for hobby shooting, it’s up to the user and owner to think about which guns should be rack queens and which ones will get run like a vehicle.   Magpul Pmags are so  inexpensive today if you compare them to what rifle magazines cost 10yrs ago and the Magpul Pmags are 8 times stronger.   We are selling lots of them with the windows although I personally don’t think it matters all that much to have them.   What really counts the most is having plenty of them.  For all orders over $100 we’re giving Free Shipping.

I guess because we’re already so busy at this time of the year the last thing we want to have to think about right after Christmas is learning about all of the new stuff coming in in 2012 that we’ll have to consider buying.   SHOT SHOW is the post Christmas shopping season for people like us and at first it’s fun and eventually it just becomes a business trip.   Out of the hundreds of new products that we’ll be looking at, it’s rare for us to find more than a half a dozen new products that really spark interest.

This year we do  have a wish list, we’d like to see more concealed carry clothing come out and not another clothing company making knock off 5.11 tactical pants.   We’re down to about 4 companies that we carry products for and although each has it’s strong points, we’re overloaded on tactical pants and listening to  our customers frustrations about the constant shortages or lack of product improvements has caused people to keep shopping.  We’ve had products that had good designs but the fit was not very good and people moved on, other designs were good for weekend warriors but for those that jump over fences, the products were failing.  Slight production changes would have sealed the deal, but did anyone listen in 2011?

I admit that I am guilty of buying stuff for myself at this time of year, the truth of the matter is that this tends to be a good time of the year to buy as well as immediately after the Christmas shopping season.  It’s very rare that people give firearm accessories or ammunition as Christmas presents because that can actually be more tedious for a wife or girlfriend than going to Victoria’s Secret and buying items that match.   When it comes to gun accessories on an AR15, you’ll probable have a frustrated female on Christmas wondering if she got you the right item.  Foliage green and flat dark earth aren’t in the Victorias Secret Catalog.

Now that there are different length AR15 rifles and it’s not as simple as the A1, A2 or A3 styles.  You might  be better off shopping for your on AR15 upper receivers.   You won’t find many options for clearance prices, but the used and hardly used guns parts are out there.   Spikes tactical uppers seem to be hot sellers right now because they are reasonable priced and of good quality for those that are looking for a good accessorized or plinking gun.   I’m sure there are people out there that think they are above that level, but Daniel Defense, Colt and LWRC are in another category.

If you’re ready to do some Christmas shopping for your husband or boyfriend, ask them if they need anything for  their AR15 and I’m sure there will be something that they wish they could put on there gun.   Everyone with an AR15 has something that they want to try out or mount.   There are different accessories for different things and recently I got a phone call from a friend that was looking for an AR15 for varmint hunting.   Varmint hunting is something that comes up from time to time and its more about magazines and bullet styles than accessories, but sometimes that might mean rail covers on everything.

I tried the whole folding handguard thing but it didn’t work out too well when I found out that it was cracking.  The Magpul MOE accessories are probable the newest thing that is going to cause the AR15 world to go crazy over.   Everyone put a fore grip on their AR15 and some people never knew why they should do it, now people are realized how difficult it is to shoot with something like that and the Angled foregrips from Magpul give you the best middle of the road option.   The Magpul MOE also cuts out a good bit of weight for someone that cares about that.

People can move entirely too fast when it comes to customizing and AR15 rifle.   I  have seen countless times while attending Carbine courses where people end up just stripping their guns down and finish the courses with flashlights and grips being removed.   One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in recent months is a move away from foregrips.   That whole stance is somewhat un-natural for people although in some people’s minds, it looks cool  so they want to do it too.

The move away from using the foregrips of the past has actually been a move towards getting rid of them or the Magpul angled foregrips.   These Magpul stocks and accessories have really become original as a matter of fact, the MOE stands fro Magpul Original Equipment which very much lives up to it’s name.  Once students got down on the ground or were shooting from behind cover, the protruding gun parts and accessories really got in the way and opened an Operator up to snags and bonking.

I’ve been on bandwagon with LWRC long before we sold their upper receivers and I really have a hard time spending money on anything but.  We’ve been involved with gun builds at various places in the Country and it’s been loads of fun doing it and see people build or assemble their first AR15.   The AR15 is still the next best training rifle after a 22LR bolt action for new shooters.   You can teach range adjustments and get people to learn how to manipulate a firearm that is basically the same thing that most of our standing military uses.

If you are looking to get your first AR15, I would not hesitate to tell you that you really don’t need to spend more than about $600.   I see nothing wrong with people buying something like Spikes Tactical Uppers and slapping it on a used upper receiver or a less expensive gun.   Spikes Tactical Uppers give you a very good starting point with quality parts and a good price point.   If you don’t think you’ll be put on the front line and be shooting 10,000rds a year through your barrel, don’t worry about spending the $2000 on an LWRC.

Remember how long ago it was when an AR15 meant the long 20inch barrel and it was virtually impossible to find an M4 style firearm.   AR15 firearms have come a long way, both the upper receivers and the lowers.   Trying to find a firearm now that does not have staked parts or is not chrome plated is getting harder and harder.   Even the machining on bolt carriers has improved to the point that Direct Impingement firearms are 10xs more reliable than before.  All you have to do is pop the bolt carriers out of the guns and you can feel the difference.

Even the average AR15 now is a minute of angle firearm and can still run like a military rifle.   Barrel technology on your average AR15 upper receivers has doubled and tripled.   I have an LWRC M6A1 rifle that supposedly has a barrel life of about 7500rds but the newer ones are close to 20,000rds.   The bolt carrier group is a  one piece unit and there has been absolutely zero broken parts on it.   Hopefully the only things that will eventually where out anytime soon are the extractor and springs.  It’s always wise to keep some of the basic spare parts around no matter what AR15 you own.

If you know you want a fighting optic on your gun but you don’t know which one to get, well put your thinking cap on and do the Think Think Think that Winnie the Poo does.  Do you want a close up fighting gun for home defense, house clearing or do you want to shoot your reloads through it and do some long range shooting.   There is no such thing as a do it all optic yet, but there are multi-use combat optics.   The real problem you will have if you don’t figure out what you really want is a heavy or bulkier than necessary firearm.

Some combat optics like the TA01NSN-RMR can be very bulky but they are worth their weight in gold if you need something like that.   The Trijicon TA01NSN is a dressed down version of that but can eliminate the need for adding on backup iron sights.  It’s our call if you want that extra backup, but this particular ACOG already gives you a backup option.  I have friends that get MOA with the iron sights on this optic so you’ll have to realize that the gun is as good as you are.

The Spikes Tactical upper receivers have recently become our number one selling upper receivers.   We have done extensive inventory reviews on our product lines and pruned a few product lines out because we got sick of the complaints or returns on them.   From a price and quality standpoint, these are the best bang for the buck.  The MOE upper is also a pretty good deal if you want to get on that Magpul Original Equipment bandwagon.   We’ve been playing with the LWRC lightweight uppers that have the MOE furniture and we’ve been very happy with them also.

The mid-length uppers from Spikes Tactical seem to outsell the others, but since these have been backordered for awhile and we haven’t had the others in stock, it’s been hard to compare them.   The Spikes tactical uppers are now in stock and we have more of them than we had before.   We also have a full inventory of the Magpul MOE stock accessories from grips, angled grips, fore grips and rail options.   Put some thought into what you really want on the guns and avoid too many exchange or returns.   We do get cranky with customers that order a ton of gun parts and then want to return them later.   Restocking fees apply!