All posts tagged Rock River Arms Upper Receivers

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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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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Remember when everyone and an AR15A2?

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.

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