All posts tagged AR15 Parts

What holster should I use?

Is usually the question we get when people walk in the door for the first time and want us to give them advice for their first gun holster.  There are  more and more people carrying firearms in the Country that before and mostly that is because of the status of the economy. The best mode of carry would probable be inside the waistband because this is where you can get the most access as well easy easy concealment.  Being able to get your firearm out fast enough might be the difference between winning the fight and losing it.

When it comes to home protection I am a big fan of people putting the handguns away and using a shotgun or M4 carbine with a light as a weapon.   Each firearm can be used like a baseball bat, easier to handle  under stress and ballistically both firearms.  You can modify your firearms with Magpul Accessories and customize them to you or your family members.   Many people are transitioning towards the MOE because it does help  lighten your gun up compared to the traditional Quad rails that nobody seems to want to use anymore.

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Gas piston guns, are you going to get a good one for under $1000?

I have some very wise friends and when we first started to see the piston driven AR15s show up on the market “again” about 7yrs ago, it was mostly debates about the AR18, the LWRC piston driven firearms and the POF guns.   I think POF did a good job of staying in the market up until about 2yrs ago.   Now everyone and their dog is making one but I would still caution anyone from jumping in the fire and expecting theirs to be up to what LWRC is making.   The only argument you can make against LWRC guns is probable the H&K 416 variants.

Even with some of the earlier LWRC M6 rifles, there have been some changes, modifications and uprgrades.  I was fortunate enough to have been able to go to the LWRC factory and upgrade on of my LWRC AR15 upper receivers and get the new bolt carrier group without any altering of the firearm I have.  My LWRC M6A2 is a much older version compared to what is out now the barrel life is about 4x’s more.   There are still large variations in piston driven uppers and I got to shoot a Ruger 556 last year and was very impressed with the quality of the firearm, there may be more choices in 2012 and many of them look nice, but will there be modifications or changes to them and getting parts for yours might become harder and harder in 2-3yrs.

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Too much to think about or lots to think about ?

After watching many Youtube videos about what is coming out in 2012 I was mostly bored out of my skull trying to understand why I would bother spending another $2000 for an AR15 that is slightly different than what I already own.   Sure there are improvements but spending $2000 on something that is 5% more of a gun than an AR15 that you already own doesn’t justify the cost.   I am a big proponent to upgrading what you have.   There was a really good article in Swat magazine years ago about improving what you already own and the small things you can do to improve your AR15.   Replace extractor springs, stake screws, lube your gun right and you’ve just improved your gun for less than $150.

If you are looking to make your Carbine a firearm that you can rely on, make sure you don’t over think the configuration and setup.   I understand why people spend $2000 on AR15 upper receivers that have folding front and rear sights, but if you have folding front sights keep in mind that you have one more step to getting your firearm up and running and that is something to seriously think about.   I am a firm believer that people need to adapt to weapons and gear and not always expect to adapt the firearm to them.  Fixed front sights have been around for a long time and I don’t think changing that another thing that needs to be folded or screwed on is worth the liability.

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Lots of people wondering what happened to the LWRC M6AK

We sold off the last of the M6AK rifles a few months ago but people are still calling and asking about them.  I remember being in the LWRC facility a few years ago and it was just at the beginning of the product run.  I was told second hand that the M6AK rifle was made of left over parts from the other M6 rifles and it was a one off product thing.   I have seen a lot of the Smith & Wesson 5.45×39 uppers go out the door with very few complaints, but I never thought it was a great idea to make a gun in 5.45×39 that was a direct impingement gun.  Just too damn dirty if you ask me.

The LWRC guns were all sold out and gone about a year and half after production and that was it.  As far as AR15 complete upper receivers,   The Adams 5.45×39 seems to be the next hot seller.   You will have to replace the spring in your lower so expect to designate a lower for this caliber.  It’s not a good idea to be lazy and not replace the hammer spring on your firearm. The great thing about AR15 uppers is how interchangeable they are but once you get into caliber variations, you probable want to just get another gun.

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Uppers and Lowers and endless modifications, what’s the answer?

The simple answer is get more guns.   The real problem I see with many people that tinker too much with firearms is that they can really mess stuff up.  I remember seeing this with guys that overly modified their 1911s and put springs in the guns that they should not have and they ended up with an accurate POS.   I don’t know how many times i’ve say behind a guy on the firing line that continuously informed me that his firearm was reliable but I’d watch them clear malfunctions all day and they would just blame the ammunition.

In my opinion, that is like watching a guy put tires on a car that are  not the same size and saying the only reason he crashed the car was because when he made the wide turn the tires that were not uniform made him loose control.   Well, stop messing around so much with your AR15 lower receivers and your AR15 upper receivers and make sure that once you get something that is reliable, stop screwing around with triggers and springs.   You are better off with multiple firearms that do different things than trying to push a firearm to do everything.  There is a trade off between reliability and accuracy and rarely does a firearm do both for very long.

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Sometimes it’s not about self-defense and fighting

Sometimes it all about having fun and taking friends and family to the range and showing off your toys.   The AR15 is hands down the number one centerfire rifle that I teach family members to shoot on because the ergonomics and recoil are easy for even an older child to shoot.  Stock adjustability makes the gun an easy fit for the young and old, short and tall.    Sure there are plenty of customizations you can do but if you have an AR15, you already know this.  Some of the AR15s absolutely are better than others and sometimes in different ways.

I have several Bushmaster firearms that I still have fun shooting with but they stay home if I am doing serious training.  I have often looked at picking up some of the Spikes Tactical Uppers if I need to replace the Bushmasters just because the reputation of Spikes Tactical guns is so good.   The real reason people like the Spikes Tactical stuff is because the company seems to have their stuff in order and even their lower parts kits are a great thing to pick up.   The Mid Length and MOE uppers seem to be the most popular versions right now.

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Don’t go crazy but you might want to changer your stuff to MOE

I personally like to keep things simple, the simpler things are with guns and weapons the easier it is to fix.   I’ve found the necessity to having loctite on everything that can be screwed in and I have already had atleast 3 scope ring failures while on the firing range.   I have a few rifles that I have seriously considered taking a welding torch too because they are so harsh on optics and mounts that I just don’t expect them to hold up under long firing sessions.   Some of the gun mounts and accessories that were around a decade ago have probable been put out of business by now.   The whole after market magazines industry has been cleaned up and I have already seen the results at gun shows.

Finding a good Carbine that holds up to what you want it to be only takes a little time, but customizing your guns and knowing how to adapt to those customizations takes range time.   We get people walking in here want to hold magpul accessories  in their hands but it’s not the same as using them on a firing line.   We have several blue rifles in the store with rails on them because it’s really important to the operator to know how the grips feel in certain positions and how their body is going to need to adjust to them.   Positioning your grips, especially the foregrips is something you need to figure out for yourself and know how to adapt even if it feels odd at first.

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Gloves and grips and the AR15

We’ve recently been getting in some tactical gloves from various companies to figure out what we should be stocking in 2012.   There are big differences in the types of gloves we are getting in.  Some are designed for heat resistance and others are basically designed for protection.   One of our favorites so far are the Vickers tactical mid-length gloves which sadly have dried up since Eotac ceased to exist.  These gloves are designed for an operator to cut off the trigger fingers on either hand if the shooter wants to and they will not fray beyond certain points.

Some of the other gloves we are stocking now are the turleskin safety gloves for Law Enforcement protection while searching suspects.   Body armor has improved in many ways and gloves and boots are catching up.   One thing that does change when an operator does wear certain gloves and Magpul accessories have the answer are changes to trigger guards.   If you look at something like an AK, the trigger guards are designed to be very large because most of the individuals using these were wearing thick winter gloves.

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Varmint hunting with military firearms

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.

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You hands are different so change your grip

Everyone has something slightly different about their hands and this has been know to firearm manufacturers for some time.  Many military issued firearms were not very good for people that were below or above average sizes and that has been the norm for a very long time.  Not until the accessorized AR15 have there been so many opportunities to improve a firearm to an operators standards.   To each his own when it comes to which handgun fits your hand, but a good fit can be better if you can use Hogue grips or Magpul grips.

Magpul is king of the AR15 accessory world but Hogue, Packhmayr, Decal and Ergo cover everything else.   If you have to carry a handgun or rifle all year long and live in an area where the seasons change magpul accessories will probable get you covered.  There is not always size variations, but angle variations can mean something too.  There are big differences between the grip angles of a Smith & Wesson M&P, Glock 19 and a Springfield 1911 so not all rifle grips for your AR15 are the same.

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