All posts tagged AR15 Parts

Blowing money or just having fun with a rifle?

There are several AR15 guns that we’ve seen come out that were basically a novelty.   I wouldn’t trust some of the direct impingement 5.45×39 guns with my life because it’s just a flat out bad idea to expect a gun to run on ammo that dirty and in a firearm like an direct impingement AR15 for very long.   Some of the differences in barrel life vary from firearm to firearm and the machining and matching of parts can mean the difference between a hobby gun and a combat firearm.  From my experience putting a gun together properly is a big deal and i’ve seen many imported firearms just not cut it because the gunsmithing and assemble were so bad a firearm like a FNFAL can get a bad image.

Century Arms was notorious for making cheap AKs and FAL amongst other things and there have been some dud companies that made AR15s.  AR15 rifle have improved and there are many guns that can become great hunting rifles with Bushmaster upper receivers that have the configuration that you might want for deer or varmint hunting.   I have a Bushmaster XM15E2 that is the second firearm that I train new shooters to use.  The iron sights on a carry handle and the long 20inch heavy barrel are very good training guns.

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Have enough guns? How about more upper receivers for your AR15?

I don’t think you even need to worry changing calibers if you want something different than a 556 upper.   I’ve seen guys turn an M4 Carbine into a varmint rifle with a snap of two pins on a lower receiver.  The real thing to look out for is changes in calibers, namely to a 5.45×39 upper.   Many times I’ve seen guys skip the hammer spring change and end up with a light strike issue with Russian ammunition. We sold a ton of the Smith & Wesson 5.45×39 uppers a few years ago but for some reason they just don’t seem to be available.

 

The LWRC M6Ak was a one off novelty deal which died a quick death and no word if it’ll ever happen again.
Right  now the biggest selling upper receiver we have are the Adams 5.45×9 uppers.  I had a customer take apart his gun side by side to my AR15 complete upper receivers and compare the piston differences.  There is a difference and I still love my LWRC M6A2 but this gun was a next best thing and a best thing for a 5.45×39 upper.  You still can’t beat the cost of ammunition for these guns and the  caliber does have a better reputation than the 30 caliber AK.   I’ve known guys that took hits from the AK it has so much energy that it just zips through you and the Russians finally caught on that the 5.56 was a better combat caliber.

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Hard to find an upper you like?

We get a lot of window shoppers at our store and the one thing we pride ourselves on is that we are already very competitive with online sales that when people walk out of our store and look it up on Google or Yahoo, there is a really good chance they see our store listed there.  For many gun shops they tend to not make much money off of guns and ammunition that they really need to make money off of other things.  Some of those things like gun accessories, optics, holsters can be marked up 10-15% beyond what an online dealer might have but people are getting frugal with this economy.

Wilson combat magazines are one of those things that you don’t see in many stores but we are one of the best sources online for those.  When it comes to AR15 uppers the Noveske complete uppers are our recent hot sellers and the standard models are flying out the door.  There are many things like this that people want to hold in their hands before they lay their money down and gun grips, rifle stocks and gun accessories are not all that common in a fishing and hunting store.   Stop in our new Broomall PA location for the best source in tactical gear.

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Now carrying the Noveske Uppers

What’s the difference between all of these AR15 rifles that are coming out these days?  The differences is that they are all huge improvements over the AR15 rifles that were around even just 10yrs ago.  Don’t let anyone tell you they aren’t the same.  It’s not all about the Vietnam stories over chrome chambers and ammunition.   It’s not just about lubing your gun right and keeping it clean.  With all of my experience running AR15 rifles, I have never seen one go down because it was dirty.  I’ve seen plenty of handguns go down because they ran dry after about 500rds and the operator claimed it never happened before.

There have been major changes to the way that people operator the M4 Carbine and lighter is the trend as it should be.  The Noveske upper receivers are the newest AR15 Upper receivers in our inventory and these have a very different feel and contour.  Each manufacturer like the Daniel Defense Uppers, LWRC Uppers and the Spikes Tactical have different bolt carriers, different finishes, and even though some are better than others, they are all better made than the early AR15 guns we use to have.

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Check out our new Deal of the Day

It’s actually getting fun learning all of these Social Store features but it’s also funny watching Facebook go public and then turn into a bust.  I have not idea why people just don’t learn from first hand experience.  It’s  one thing do a dumb thing twice but looking at the mistakes made with the housing loan, student loans, credit card loans when the heck do people learn?   When you are on a firing range or practicing with a firearm, you better not make mistakes because mistakes can mean injury or take lives.

Once  thing we have learned while growing our business is learning from mistakes.   Everyone makes them and it’s nice to know that if you send out a wrong size boot most people don’t mind it as long as you quickly resolve the issues.   We are going to be spotlighting some of our AR15 complete upper receivers on inventory and adding more and more tactical gear and accessories to this new feature.  You might want to bookmark our new deal of the day category or just monitor us on Facebook.

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Gas Piston Systems what’s the difference?

I’ll write this blog as the biggest non-expert on the topic,  I know what POF and AR18s are like in comparison to LWRC guns but after that, I have no idea what all of these new piston guns from Ruger, Adams and other are like internally.  It’ll take awhile to have to go through the specifications on them or a tall coffee and a couple hours of watching Youtube video clips.  Some of the reviews are really well done, but takes almost as long to find a good review about a product as it does to comprehend all of the minor differences.  I;ll never forget the time it took me to realize that the terms “hook and loop” closure meant velcro on shirts.

The Metallurgy in making bolt carriers, and barrels has changed so dramatically in the last 7yrs, that I seriously need a refresher course before I can even talk about firearm differences. We have a huge number of backorders for the Adams Upper receivers but I have not had the time to actually take one out and compare it to my LWRC stuff.   I think the only thing I can say about the less expensive piston guns is that the designs may be similar, but I would have to say if saving $300 on an  upper for a proven design means saving anything.

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What do you want in an AR15?

So many people have that itch to constantly modify their firearms, and there is nothing wrong with that, but the one thing that I have constantly seen happen on firing ranges, especially Carbine courses, is people simplifying their firearms and accessories.   The different between a 7lb Carbine and a 10lb Carbine is considerable and you really feel it at the end of the day.  Even the best shot will have trouble keeping up the consistency under stress and physical stress will always occur at some point in the field.  If  you think about it like this, if you had to use a firearm in your home and hold it in a ready position, a double stack 45acp is going to be hard to kept upright on a threat for very long. People with experience in  using firearms always trend towards simplicity.

The trend towards simplicity actually occurred almost 50yrs ago when the Army adopted the M16 and replace the M14.   That was the first major transition towards simplicity and a lighter firearm.   The AR15 complete upper receivers that we sell have very diverse applications.   Some are for designated marksmen applications with longer and usually heavier barrels and then some are for Patrol vehicles and are as short and light as possible.  Right now the Daniel Defense uppers that we sell win the lightest AR15 contest but it’s been too early for us to claim they are as tough as some of the others.

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Finding a gun case for your expensive Carbine

It always bothered me that guys would call off going to the range with me when there was the slightest chance of rain coming down because they didn’t want their gun to get wet.   It’s funny that someone would spend $2000 to get a combat worth rifle and then be afraid they might damage it if it gets rained on.  Most modern firearms can handle the rain and you better get use to the fact that rain isn’t going to ruin it.  If you had a wood stock on your rifle that might be another issue, but people can be far too protective of firearms when real operators know that firearm parts wear out.  Guns get scratched and things come loose and anyone that is that concerned about it probable doesn’t really have a spike in a fight anyway.

One thing that I don’t have a problem with is people getting good gun cases and protecting their guns and gear in storage.  Sometimes rifle optics can double the value of your guns, and some people upgrade their guns with new AR15 complete upper receivers that can further increase the value of a firearm.  Guns, especially M4 Carbines should be rugged and tough and getting good Magpul Accessories on it and tightening them with loctite is a way to prevent problems.   There are some really nice gun cases from Elite Survival Systems like the Covert Operations gun case that has velcro straps for locking down your optics and firearm securely.

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Might be our number 1 seller for M4 Carbine optics

We have 1 of the Trijicon TA31F-G ACOGS in stock and it’s been awhile since we’ve been able to get one of these.   For us to acquire Trijicon ACOGS, especially the more popular ones, it usually takes 2-3 months to ge them in.   There have been some major trends away from having  red reticles on combat optics and the Trijicon sales that we are seeing is backing that  up.   This week we sold over a dozen of these Ta31F-G to civillian and law enforcement entitities.   The new kind on the block is the TA26SG because it is so small and compact.

Having the clarity that Trijicon combat optics has puts them in a different category, but having fixed power optics with bullet comp is what puts them over the top.   There is really nothing to dial in on the Trijicon TA31F-G in stock that we are selling and many like the Triangle and green reticle.   The contrast between these optics against a black background really shows the difference between the thin lines that so many crosshairs have and what having illuminated reticles during the day does.   These optics are very fast for medium and short range engagments but give you a fighting chance against targets beyond 400yds.

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Gun magazines and tactical vests and accessories

Every time you make a modification to a firearm you might have to either learn how to adapt to the the changes with your body or move things around.  I have always preferred to use a standard rifleman grip when shooting an AR15, but I stepped into the M4 Carbine world and messed around with various styles of foregrips.   I tried the Magpul, CAA, and some others that I can’t seem to remember.   I had a folding fore grip that I liked a lot but after about a year of using it, I noticed that it was cracking around the screw that locks it on and that was a real bummer because I didn’t trust the setup anymore.

Recently I started messing around with the Magpul products because we sell so much of them that I ought to start learning about them.  The Magpul accessories for the AR15 are very tough and I have yet to have anything break or crack on me.  All firearm accessories will break if you slam them around enough, but some products out there just royally suck.   One thing that I am in a bit of  a bind about is what to do about light placements.   There are some very unique flashlight mounts out there and they can really move the lights out of the way of your hands and give you more space to move especially during weapons transitions.

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