Just picked up my first AR15, what to do now?

[SSN Vet]

I would suggest that you put 1,000 rounds through it b4 making any modifications.

Don't spend your money and chase the AR dream, just to keep up with the internet commando Joneses.

 

[holdencm9]

I would agree with mostly everyone else to shoot it a lot before you do any mods. The reasons are plenty:

1. WW, as I understand it, is the former Bushmaster. So it should work out of the box, but in case it doesn't, you may need/want to upgrade parts like the extractor just to get it to function reliably.

2. Even before putting any optics on, you should learn to shoot it well with the iron sights. The reason your irons flip up is so that they can be used as a backup to an optic. But a backup is no good if you are no good using it.

3. You may make mods you don't actually need/appreciate. Or worse, buy something you DIS-like.

So far on one AR, the M4-style I have done nothing but add a Vortex Strikefire red dot, with MBUS. On my middy, I still have detachable carry-handle irons with magpul forearm, grip, and stock. The irons weren't very precise on the carbine which is why i went to the optic. The irons on the middy are much more accurate. And I like the magpul grip. The stock is also nicer because it rattles less, but that doesn't really bother me per se on the other one. It just is the way it is. The magpul forearm allows for easy attachment of vertical foregrip and light mounts, neither of which I will add anytime soon, but down the road it is nice to have the option. Mostly I just like the way they look.

However you decide to do it, enjoy it!

 

[meanmrmustard]

Even a sling depends on use. Should he get a two point, one point? Which one?



Really? I find this statement to be woefully over broad. Is a geissele SSA trigger mall nija tacti crap? Is an improved grip? How about replacing a rattling CAR stock with say a UBR or a CTR? If it is a gun to be used for SD/HD is a light that one understands the how and why of using mall ninja crap? If one uses a hand stop or a VFG to index off of and facilitate a consistency of a certain shooting grip is that mall ninja crap? Is a battle comp or a Smith Vortex? Is a sling? I can tell you that a sling can be an extremely handi piece of gear for a number of different uses. It facilitates easier transitions to a pistol. It is also really nice if you need to use your hands to do something. Each of these things, and many others, can be a very useful additions to a rifle. They may also be something that one doesn't need or even want.

Again it depends first on intended use. Once that is identified then one can determine if it really aids in that task or if it is just in the way/extra weight, adds to much extra complication or is not durable or reliable enough for the task. One can also assess if one knows how to use the equipment in question. What is a wise and wonderful addition for one person might not be for another. However, to say anything beyond optics is mall ninja crap is a pretty inane statement. It is even more absurd when the OP hasn't even stated what the intended use of the rifle is.



First Mr. Vickers has actually lost a lot of weight recently. He isn't fat now and so if you want to attack him for no apparent reason you need to come up with something else. Second calling someone "fatty" is not particularly highroad. I'd hope its not something you'd say to his face and it isn't something you should do hear. Third, Vickers has probably forgotten more about the AR platform than you or I know combined. I can guarantee you he has put in WAY WAY more time training, etc than everyone on this thread combined. I would also wager my bottom dollar he can shoot and run an AR better than you can. If not you are in the wrong business as he makes a good living training folks. I know he can do it better than I can. Fourth, the guy has done a lot for his country, including going into harms way. He is a person that doesn't just deserve a certain amount of decency and respect but has earned it. When Mr. Vickers talks about fighting with a rifle it is based on MUCH more than just theory. I'm not saying you need to mimic his shooting style (no matter how much merit there is to it) but it is really uncalled for to needlessly be disrespectful.

I'm entitled to my opinion. I didn't attack a member, so you probably should relax. I'm sure he's quite knowledgable, I watch his stuff as much as time allows. But, my observation is my business.

 

[meanmrmustard]

If it were my site I might probably ban you for this.

Then I'll consider myself lucky.

Pretty hard to ban me, with no rule broken. My observation of someone's shooting style or weight doesn't matter. Off topic, yes. Ban worthy? I'd hit the rule section to find out. Ban me or not, doesn't change that I don't like shooting like Vickers, and last I checked, he was "hefty" (more PC?).

 

[meanmrmustard]

Bad mouthing Mr Vickers, especially about the AR platform, doesn't make you sound like you know what you're talking about.

Who said I was trying? I don't shoot like he does? Is he better?

Sure.

Doesn't have anything to do with what I know being right for someone else, it's what works for me. The comment about his weight was off topic, but I think I've covered that already.

 

[Cosmoline]

I'd second the idea that you should modify based on your personal needs. Shoot it, and if it's working good for you it's working good. No need to fiddle further.

Appleseed, the military manuals and further training are also excellent ideas. The great thing about AR's is that there's a mod for just about any need, but you'll have to see how it works for you personally before you know whether you need something or not (beyond the really obvious items like a light for a HD carbine).

 

[meanmrmustard]

That is something I wish I had more time for (Appleseed).

 

[readyeddy]

I would get a brass catcher if you plan on reloading your brass.

 

[Girodin]

I'm entitled to my opinion.

You are entitled to your opinion, particularly about shooting styles. Whether it is worth anything is a separate issue but I digress. I'm curious as to how you have decided that your style is better, but I don't want to drive this thread further off topic. You remind me of the guy on the second season of top shot that just knew his cup and saucer pistol grip was better for him than anything any of the accomplished and very proficient pistol shooters could possibly show him.

You are even entitled to your opinion about whether a person is a "fatty" (of course it would help to know whether the person is actually fat or not). There is a difference between being entitled to your opinion and being entitled to go around acting like a child calling names and disrespecting people and not having anyone call you on it.

I didn't attack a member, so you probably should relax.

How do you know Mr. Vickers is not a member here? Further Vickers is a guy I'm certain more than just a couple people here either know or have dealt with so don't be surprised if people are annoyed with you, for no apparent reason I'll add, disparaging him.

I'm sure he's quite knowledgable, I watch his stuff as much as time allows.

You must watch very very very little of Vickers "stuff." He lost the weight probably a year ago at least. Often people that spout off are not au courant, so no surprise I guess.


No one took you to task for shooting differently than he does. If your way worked best people would be all over it, instead of the way pretty much all top shooters shoot. They took you to task for needlessly attacking a good guy, and doing so on the basis of something that is not even true.

But, my observation is my business.

It ceases to just be "your business" when you post it on a public forum. Further, I'd point out again the outdated observation is not the issue, its your classes conduct.

Pretty hard to ban me, with no rule broken.

I would say it falls under the catch all of "contrary to the above policies, or to the mission of The High Road . . ." Moreover, the rule prohibiting personal attacks has nothing in it that limits it to a member who is a party to the thread, or to members at all. It would seem axiomatic that going out of your way to call a guy like Vickers a name is not appropriate here. I guess not.

The comment about his weight was off topic, but I think I've covered that already.

And in all that "covering" it there was glaringly no apology for needlessly being very rudely towards someone who deserves a little respect. Interesting, and rather telling.

 

[meanmrmustard]

I've no reason to apologize, unless of course Larry Vickers is a member here. In which case, I implore him to PM me to receive said apology. Otherwise, I owe you nor anyone else an apology.

I watch the snippets on YouTube, so maybe you're right, and its outdated. Also, I'm American, I don't speak French. I must be déclassé?

Rather telling, indeed sir. You aspire to be a mod someday. Until then, I glaringly implore you to jump back on topic. I called myself on being just the opposite. I'm beginning to think you may just like to hear yourself type. In which case, type away, and bring yet another thread down for beating dead horses. So he's not fat, super. I don't shoot like he does, ok. Lets talk about something more to your liking, such as AR accssoires, no?

P.s... People still shoot cup/saucer?

 

[JustinJ]

Put whatever you want on it. If you want to make it the ultimate tacti-cool rifle go for it. Don't bother yourself with the "mall ninja" comments. The vast majority of those who pretend that they need carbine training despite the fact that the gun will never be used for anything besides paper punching are the real "mall ninjas". Realistically, the skills needed to use an AR for home defense are quite basic. 100' plus yard groups and fast mag changes have nothing to do with home defense. On the other hand, if you want to improve your shooting skills because you enjoy it, then again, go for it. The point is, almost everybody here shoots, collects, builds and accessorizes AR's primarily for fun. So just do whatever brings you the most joy.

 

[hentown]

I'd add a good trigger/hammer mechanism. I'm currently using the 2-stage RRA NM and JP triggers. However, there are several other trigger manufacturers that make excellent products.

I'd suggest trying a Bushnell trs-25 red dot scope. You'll need to get a small riser to mount it to your receiver's rail. Scope's only about $85, comes with lifetime warranty.

 

[BunnMan]

Jeesh fellas, its as disrespectful to hijack the OP's thread with schoolyard banter as it is to call people names anyway. PM your bickers and keep this fella's thread clean so he might glean useful, productive guidance to enjoy his new rifle more and keep himself safe...off my soapbox now.

Excellent advice about spending your money on ammo instead of accessories for a young rifle. I would almost agree with some of the trigger recommendations here but you don't kno what your factory pull is gonna feel like until you've lapped her in with 1000 or so cycles. Dry fire alot too, trigger pulls are good for a new firing group. If you feel it's too gritty once you've lapped the trigger over 1000 rounds I might suggest a dremel tool, buffing bit, and some Flitz polish on everywhere anything touches or slides in the trigger group before spending loot on a replacement trigger. Just a suggestion mind you...your dollars, your call. I went through mine that way and while its no Timney or Giselle, it pulls and breaks very well and only cost me $10 and a half hour of my time. This will also help you determine how you most enjoy shooting it so you will know better how you want to outfit it.

Here's where I'm gonna go out on the MUST category....If you're shooting a DI rifle, which you likely are. Buy half a drawer of .40 cal/10mm bore brushes!! Your gonna need them to scrub the caked powder res out of the bolt carrier. Good quality solvents are a must as well. If you're gonna shoot it like you stole it (which I recommend) you're gonna want to be able to keep her tidy as well, especially if you're willing to dump money on fancy dresses and shoes for her...lol.

Last but not least...go on youtube and type in "bump firing" then buy another 1000 rounds to grin ear to ear with


Stay safe my friend...welcome to the fold, that little black rifle will cost you more than cocaine if you let it...lol

-BunnMan

 

[tuj]

Another thought is to get a 22lr upper, then you can practice the fundamentals much cheaper than with .223.

 

[Paincakesx]

Thanks for all the responses. The points are well taken on shooting it a bunch before buying a ton of accessories. This will be my first project gun in that I intend to customize this rifle to personalize it, unlike my Glock where all I did was put on night sights and cut a grip sleeve out of a bike innertube (to help with the rough Gen 4 grip against bare skin issue).

Things on my immediate radar are buying a bunch of P-Mags. In addition, I could see myself buying some optics in the future as well as a railed handguard in case I wish to attach a light if I ever choose to use it for home defense.

On that subject, are there any affordable optics that are durable and hold their zero well? In addition, how much does a good railed handguard usually cost?

Thanks again!

 

[EMS_92]

Lke others have said, buy good mags and ammo and shoot the heck out of it. And congrats on your new Windham, im puttin a HBC on layaway for Xmas, a gift to myself

 

[Warp]

Thanks for all the responses. The points are well taken on shooting it a bunch before buying a ton of accessories. This will be my first project gun in that I intend to customize this rifle to personalize it, unlike my Glock where all I did was put on night sights and cut a grip sleeve out of a bike innertube (to help with the rough Gen 4 grip against bare skin issue).

Things on my immediate radar are buying a bunch of P-Mags. In addition, I could see myself buying some optics in the future as well as a railed handguard in case I wish to attach a light if I ever choose to use it for home defense.

On that subject, are there any affordable optics that are durable and hold their zero well? In addition, how much does a good railed handguard usually cost?

Thanks again!

PMAGs are great. Pretty much the standard by which all others are measured.

The least expensive high quality optic, IMO, is the Aimpoint PRO (patrol rifle optic). It can be found for around $400.

 

[justice06rr]

On that subject, are there any affordable optics that are durable and hold their zero well? In addition, how much does a good railed handguard usually cost?

What is your budget on optics?

The Bushnell TRS is around $80 on amazon. You would need to add the riser for a few more dollars if you want to co-witness with your iron sights. Primary Arms sights are around $100. Those would be your choices depending on your budget.

A good quadrail like Yankee Hill Diamond rails are $100 and up.

 

[mortablunt]

The first thing to do is to get a pay raise. Tactical weapons, especially AR's, have this worrying tendency to very rapidly accumulate large amounts of ammunition, magazines, expensive accessories, and mates.

 

[Paincakesx]

So I just got back from firing the AR15 with a friend of mine. Didn't shoot it a ton, just 100 rounds. So far so good, no malfunctions and seemed to shoot straight enough.

This is my first time shooting an AR, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I felt what seemed to be the bolt slamming as I shot inside the gun. Not a hard feeling, but noticeable. I knew it was the bolt because I felt the motion cease half way on the last round due to the bolt locking back on the magazine.

I assumed it was normal because the gun functions just fine, but I just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

 

[Warp]

So I just got back from firing the AR15 with a friend of mine. Didn't shoot it a ton, just 100 rounds. So far so good, no malfunctions and seemed to shoot straight enough.

This is my first time shooting an AR, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I felt what seemed to be the bolt slamming as I shot inside the gun. Not a hard feeling, but noticeable. I knew it was the bolt because I felt the motion cease half way on the last round due to the bolt locking back on the magazine.

I assumed it was normal because the gun functions just fine, but I just wanted to make sure. Thanks!

That doesn't sound quite right.

How does the spent brass look?

Field strip, clean, and lube it and inspect for wear

 

[Paincakesx]

The only thing about the brass that seems interesting is that the end opposite to the primer appears to be flattened on one side, similar to a semi-circle. I took a video of me shooting the gun as I was there, and in the video the brass ejection didn't seem unusual. The gun itself cycled just fine for the 100 or so rounds I shot. Perhaps the description as "bolt slamming" is giving off the wrong impression - when I say that I mean the sensation that you get when you drop the bolt.

Could the gun being a DI system explain something? Could this be due to a break-in period? You've got me concerned

EDIT: Further research seems to indicate that the brass deflector is likely the cause of the flattened brass. In addition, I've come across this idea of "3 phases of recoil" for an AR15. Perhaps this is what I'm experiencing? Given my experiences have mainly been with shooting handguns, shotguns and a .22 rifle, I guess it's possible this is the first time I've ever experienced this type of recoil.

 

[WNTFW]

Paincakesx,
First off Larry Vickers is awesome. I 'd pick the 'Fatty' to be on my team. Worst case scenario is he would be a wealth of knowledge.

It is kind of hard to advise you without knowing your level of knowledge & experience or even your area of interest.

You have everything to concern yourself with from safety, basics of marksmanship all the way to weapon retention.

Nothing against Appleseed, but it is not the only way. Location may be a deciding factor. You can also go to a High Power match and possibly get pretty good instruction if you arrange it ahead of time. High Power is a great sport. Your rifle may not be ideal, but they do shoot some 200yd only matches. Again location matters on this.

The buffer, spring and such is in the tube pressed up to your cheek. You tend to feel it if your aren't too distracted by something else, like focusing on shooting! Once you start noticing it it seem to make you notice it more. Once to start ignoring it it tends to go away.

I hope you enjoy your AR as much as the rest of us who don't know any better than to love what we misguidedly believe is a great rifle.

 

[Warp]

The only thing about the brass that seems interesting is that the end opposite to the primer appears to be flattened on one side, similar to a semi-circle. I took a video of me shooting the gun as I was there, and in the video the brass ejection didn't seem unusual. The gun itself cycled just fine for the 100 or so rounds I shot. Perhaps the description as "bolt slamming" is giving off the wrong impression - when I say that I mean the sensation that you get when you drop the bolt.

Could the gun being a DI system explain something? Could this be due to a break-in period? You've got me concerned

EDIT: Further research seems to indicate that the brass deflector is likely the cause of the flattened brass. In addition, I've come across this idea of "3 phases of recoil" for an AR15. Perhaps this is what I'm experiencing? Given my experiences have mainly been with shooting handguns, shotguns and a .22 rifle, I guess it's possible this is the first time I've ever experienced this type of recoil.

Can you post a picture of the brass?

 

[Warp]

Paincakesx,
First off Larry Vickers is awesome. I 'd pick the 'Fatty' to be on my team. Worst case scenario is he would be a wealth of knowledge.

It is kind of hard to advise you without knowing your level of knowledge & experience or even your area of interest.

You have everything to concern yourself with from safety, basics of marksmanship all the way to weapon retention.

Nothing against Appleseed, but it is not the only way. Location may be a deciding factor. You can also go to a High Power match and possibly get pretty good instruction if you arrange it ahead of time. High Power is a great sport. Your rifle may not be ideal, but they do shoot some 200yd only matches. Again location matters on this.

The buffer, spring and such is in the tube pressed up to your cheek. You tend to feel it if your aren't too distracted by something else, like focusing on shooting! Once you start noticing it it seem to make you notice it more. Once to start ignoring it it tends to go away.

I hope you enjoy your AR as much as the rest of us who don't know any better than to love what we misguidedly believe is a great rifle.

NOTHING is the only way.

But Appleseed does teach the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship. They aren't "Appleseed's fundamentals", they are they fundamentals. They were around a long time before RWVA or Appleseed came along.

And their price really can't be beat.