All posts tagged LWRC Uppers

One thing I learned about SHOT Show 2012

Is that Magpul Industries is the leading AR15 accessories company by far and that will not change anytime soon.  I was watching some of the YouTube recaps of SHOT SHOW 2012, and the guns that I see coming out look like the same old overly designed  handguns and carbines that I will stay away from until they’ve had at least 5 years of service.  Just look at the pattern of recalls and redesigns on the Springfield XD and M&P guns and also the Glock Gen 4’s.   I don’t know why anyone would be the first to jump on a new design until it has been proven on the streets or in military service.

 
I am a big fan of the LWRC gas piston design and even though I love the LWRC REPR, it is a very expensive invenstment, Magpul accessories are even showing up on LWRC guns like the lighweight uppers and that is a great match.   Magpul accessories are the premier AR15 stock accessories. Sig Sauer has a couple new M4 variants and even a new gas piston 308 for about $2000.   Great idea but even my LWRC M6A1 has been through several production changes and the M6A1 I have now is not the M6A1 that are being made.   If you have the money to spend and want to have your first production that’s  your choice, but buyer beware because nothing seems to perfect off of the first run.

Top

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.

Top

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.

Top

Stock length and cheek weld and good shooting

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.

Top

It’s Christmas shopping season, but there’s no laws on buying for yourself

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.

Top

Gun Parts and AR15 accessorizing

Those statements can give some people a stroke, but once you’ve been there and done that, you hopefully have arrived at a happy medium.   Put me down as someone that was not a big fan of the AR15 design because I never understood why a gun was designed without worrying about how much maintenance it needed.   Don’t tell me that Eugene Stoner knew the gun was designed to do what it is doing today.  There was basically a disaster in place when the guns were first fielded and not until recently have the vast majority of AR15 owners realized that the direct impingement gun needs to be generously lubricated at all times to be functional.

There have been many improvements over the internal workings of the firearm from barrels, chamber chroming, gun magazines, improvements on ammunition and even changes to barrel twist have all gun us to where the M4 carbine is today.   The next major improvement with the M4 Carbine and M16 family of firearms is a lighter carbine like replacing your AR15 upper receivers without the compromises in durability.  That is something that has still been unproven with some of the newer lightweight uppers because of the time they have been out, but only time and testing will tell.

Top

Getting bored with your AR15?

It wasn’t until the later 1990’s that the M4 carbine really took hold in the civilian market.   We usually only saw the AR15 A2 on the firing line and that was about it.   Then we started to see the heavy barrels and then the light barrels.   In the last 6yrs there have been so many calibers and manufacturers making the AR15 firearms that I have completely given up on keeping track of them.   There are so many custom AR15 models that it’s really more like asking someone what kind of Legos do they like to build.

I am going to be taking the dive into the AR15 market again very soon.   I recently got to fire a Ruger 556 and was really amazed that Ruger of all people would step into the market, even more so than Smith & Wesson have the guts to make a 5.45×39 AR15 upper receivers.   CMMG makes a darn good version for the money and we’ve sold a ton of those to people that didn’t want to spend $1800 on another firearm.    Once again, the beauty of the AR15 design is that you can put any type of AR15 upper on them and only have a minimal amount of gunsmithing to do if something doesn’t fit quite right.

Top

Drinking the cool aid with LWRC

I have been on hiatus form gun forums for several years due to the fact that they just wore me out.   I think they are great for researching information about products but you still need a really good bull shit meter to know if someone is lying to your or not.   As a dealer, i get stressed out reading about all of the new optics and accessories that are coming out because I know it’s only a matter of time before I get the phone call or email about what kind of adapter or mount someone is going to need for AR15 style X.    I love the industry but all of this accessorizing makes me want to break out a welding torch and just be done with it.   I’ve seen guys with what must have been about 24 or more screwed in components and to think about the odds of those screws coming loose or breaking bothers me.

I recently went back to a gun forum I use to frequent and it was all the same old anti-product bashing that goes on.  It’s almost tribal warfare with gun makers.   LWRC uppers are definitely my favorite upper receiver although I am very much aware of how expensive they are and that it’s debatable about how much of an improvement over reliability they are.   I have not had any parts breakage but I read all of the stuff i can from Pat Rogers and some of the uppers didn’t fair so well a few year ago in tests.   There have been product upgrades and I actually took a tour of the LWRCI facilities last year and had a parts upgrade done to my gun.  The real improvement I see if the gun just darn well runs cleaner and It doesn’t have lube running out of all of the a parts.

Top

So many ARs so little time..

AR 15 Upper receiversEven though the short stroke and other piston designs have come on the market, and these guns all operate much cleaner, the AR15s DI guns that are being fielded these days are far more reliable than the M16A1 that was issued in Vietnam.   Designs and improvements of metalogy has been tremendous and this can be noticed just by feeling the difference between one bolt carrier and another.   Another major point about why the AR 15 guns have caught on is that they are so ergonimically superior to most of the military style guns out there that they are easy teaching tools.   I normally start people out with learning the fundamentals with a 22lr bolt action with iron sights, but when I’m dealing with an adult that is not afraid of recoil, a .223 A2 style Carbine is an excellent staring point.

It seems that every time I pick up another issue of Swat magazine, American Handgunner, Special Weapons, Guns & Ammo ect. that there is yet another advertisement for another company making another AR 15 gun.   The AR15 is now the most mass produced rifle in America and they are as common as a can of Coca-Cola.    I don’t think I can name more than 3 calibers that the AK was made in, but i’ve already lost track of the number of calibers that I have seen the AR15 being made in.   You can get them in pistol caliber carbines and from my experience, they run very well.   I have to admit that I am glad to see that the AR 15 Upper Receivers have taken a giant step away from the direct impingement design that has been so hotly debated.   I am a big believer that with todays technology and the technology that are LEO and Military are dealing with, using a firearm that is such high maintenance, is a waste of valuable time.

 

Top

Downgrade the rifle length and upgrade the caliber

AR15 UppersThere is much to debate when it comes to discussing the effectiveness of the 5.56 round.   When it was originally deployed in the M16A1, the military had issues with the reliability of the gun, but I have heard not one complaint from any Vietnam vet about the lethality of the round.   That was when the military was using a 20inch barrel with a 55gr bullet travelling well over 3000fps.  The bullet is extremely violent at that velocity.   The lethality of the round was greatly diminished when the military started using shorter length barrels and the 62gr SCBT also known as SS109 or M855.   Although it is only 6grs heavier, the bullet is so well balanced that it basically zips straight through a target and the terminal ballistics are not very good below 2800fps which is practically what an M4 shoots it at near the muzzle.

In my opinion and many others that have been to Iraq, the short way to get around the probable is to use a heavier bullet.   The MK262 is a 77gr bullet that although it does not travel as fast as the 55gr or 62gr, it is much longer and tumbles almost immediately after hitting a target.  For close quarters situations I recommend 75gr-77gr HPBT.    One other thing to consider that many in the Special Forces or Civillian area are doing is upgrading their M4 or AR15 Uppers to the 6.8 SPC.   Do some research on which kind of upper configuration  you are looking for because there are  a lot of manufacturers out there.   The CMMG Upper is a quality upper that will get you in the new realm of M4 Carbine upgrades.

Top
1 2 Page 2 of 2