Most useless feature on an AR15.

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mattw

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I'm just curious what everyone thinks it is. I've seen a lot of stupid ****, some of the top useless things for me are:

- The CAA butt stock with rails on it
- A 3v or 6v flash light on a rifle with a barrel longer than 20 inches
- Bright, polished stainless barrels
- A bull barrel shorter than 20 inches
- A collapsible stock on a rifle with a bull barrel of any length
- A collapsible stock on a rifle with a barrel longer than 18 inches
- An A1 upper receiver that is not part of a "retro" rifle or a "truck gun"
- An AR15 pistol, the kind with a short barrel and no stock on the buffer tube
- Pigtail-style pressure switch wires

(Before anyone gets pissy, Just because I don't think it has a purpose doesn't mean you haven't found a purpose for it. If you have a good reason for any of the things anyone thinks is useless then, please, speak up. None of this is meant as a personal attack against anyone whose rifle is set up with anything listed here.)
 
For what it's worth:

Short bull barrels have a place on a precision gun that the owner wants to keep light and handy. The shorter and thicker the barrel is, the less it will vibrate, the more accurate it will be. All other things being equal. The only reason a long range shooter would want a long barrel is velocity.


As far as A1 receivers: I guess I would sort of call mine a truck gun. I wanted it to be as rugged as possible. I find the rear sight assembly of an A2 to be a possible weak point if the rifle gets dropped or banged around. Granted I make it a point to not abuse my rifle, but I chose the A1 receiver for robustness. I don't care if it looks retro or not. It doesn't make a figs worth of difference out to 300 yards as near as all my old milk jugs can tell. ;)

I can see the utility of all the lights, sights, IR illuminators, whiz bang doodads and whatzits that get bolted to an AR. I guess I just don't personally have a need for it. I like my handy. lightweight, no-batteries-required rifle.

Hooray for KISS.. without the added parts scrounging of caring if your rifle is 'retro'. ;)


Added a sling about a year ago.

ar_left4_post.jpg
 
Hey! I like the A1 sights.

They are much simpler mechanically than the A2 sights and I find them perfectly adequate for getting hits on targets out to 400 yards. Set it and forget it.

For a Palma match the A2 sights aren't that bad, but I don't shoot Palma. BSW
 
Forward bolt assist and shell deflecting hump. I shoot lefty and My SP1 slickside has never had any issues without them. :)
 
+1 on short bull bbls.

also a collapsible aids in portability and fit, regardless of bbl length.

the a1 sights also reduce the possibility of someone messing with your sights or them being altered by accident.

i don't get the 11.5" bbl with a 5" flash suppressor.:confused:
 
I think a sling is pretty much a necessity unless all you ever plan on doing is going to the range. I didn't have a sling for my AR for about a couple months and I hated it. I like the robustness of the A1 upper receiver, but the necessity for a tool to adjust the rear sight is what turns me off. The way I see it, if you want a light, bomb proof rear sight just get an A3 upper and put a fixed rear sight (LaRue) on it. Much lighter and as tough if not tougher.

I guess I just don't understand the advantage of a bull barrel over a heavy barrel in a length as short as 16 inches. At that length it seems like just a heavy profile would be enough to dampen vibration or whatever it is you want a thicker barrel to do at the effective ranges of a 16 inch barreled rifle chambered for .223/5.56.
 
- A collapsible stock on a rifle with a bull barrel of any length
- A collapsible stock on a rifle with a barrel longer than 18 inches
Click to expand...

Some folks use collapsible stocks as "adjustable stocks". This lets people of different statures, or even the same person wearing different things, use the same rifle and still have it fit.

I'm surprised this list got this far along and no one complained about the forward assist.

Edited: Oh, someone did complain about it while I was distracted making this post. All is right in the world.
 
the a1 sights also reduce the possibility of someone messing with your sights or them being altered by accident.
Click to expand...

Thats why you should just mark your sight settings with a paint marker or something.

And I think people get the 11.5" barrel with the 5" flash suppressor because they want the weight and balance a short barrel but are too cheap to register their rifle as an SBR. Or they want the look of a Vietnam-era weapon.
 
And I think people get the 11.5" barrel with the 5" flash suppressor because they want the weight and balance a short barrel but are too cheap to register their rifle as an SBR. Or they want the look of a Vietnam-era weapon.
Click to expand...

And to hell with performance.
 
None of what you mentioned is useless. They just don't seem like a good idea to you.

The only one mentioned so far in this thread that I feel is completely useless is the 11.5" barrel with the 5" flash supressor. If you are going to make the gun that long, you may as well get the velocity from the barrel being that long, not the flash suppressor.
 
So why is the forward assist useless? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right? Is there anyone that thinks it really gets in the way or adds too much weight? Maybe you don't want it on your bench-rest paper puncher, but what about on a rifle intended for hard use? Or in adverse weather?
 
I like the robustness of the A1 upper receiver, but the necessity for a tool to adjust the rear sight is what turns me off. The way I see it, if you want a light, bomb proof rear sight just get an A3 upper and put a fixed rear sight (LaRue) on it. Much lighter and as tough if not tougher.
Click to expand...



If you have ammo, you have a sight adjustment tool.

A cartridge tip is all you need.
 
True, but what if a quick adjustment is needed? Or you don't want to make that much noise?
 
I do not have a problem with the bright polished barrel. I think it depends on the application. What I think is unless is those that put tape or Velcro on the shell deflector so that it does not get the brass marks. It is a freaking gun, honest ware, especially on something like an AR, is a sign or pride to me, not something to worry about.
 
Haha, wow. I've never seen that one. What kind of pansy would do something like that?
 
Actually I'd argue ANY M4 profile barrels is useless if you don't actually have a grenade launcher.

What's worse is that the manufacturers charge a premium for that uselessness.
 
True, but what if a quick adjustment is needed? Or you don't want to make that much noise?
Click to expand...

Well since A1 sights don't move after you set them, rarely is a quick adjustment needed. I zeroed my sights a few years ago and haven't touched them since. Still whacking the steel gong at 200 yard offhands, when I don't wiggle.

Not sure what you mean about noise. Adjusting the sights whether with a tool, a cartridge tip, or the end of a click pencil.... It doesn't make any noise.
 
I think one of the greatest things about AR's is that they are very flexable and can be set up to be whatever the owner wants.

Now some of that stuff is fairly silly when compared to what I look for in a rifle or carbine but who cares what the other guy does with his setup?
 
So why is the forward assist useless? Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it, right? Is there anyone that thinks it really gets in the way or adds too much weight? Maybe you don't want it on your bench-rest paper puncher, but what about on a rifle intended for hard use? Or in adverse weather?
Click to expand...

There's any number of reasons I can think of why you don't want to force a round into the chamber if the recoil spring won't close it. Foreign material, oversized cases, bullet lodged in the chamber throat, etc. Just what you need on your hard use rifle, a way to tie it up tighter.

Now, the FA is handy if you do a chamber check and need to seat the bolt/cartridge again. And I'm sure there are other handy uses too. But forcing an oversized round into a dirty chamber seems to me to be the WORST reason to want an FA.

Otherwise, most anything you can hang on a rifle may be handy somewhere, somehow. Including a kitchen sink! :p

RE: A2 versus A1 sights. You might as well set to a 200 yard no-wind zero and forget the sights. I'd venture this covers most shooting outside of KD conditions, such as in qualification or at a rifle match. My AR is an A2, and I know how to use the sights. But if I wanted a field rifle, I'd be just as happy with a slick-sided SP-1 style upper, or at least A1 sights.
 
Actually I'd argue ANY M4 profile barrels is useless if you don't actually have a grenade launcher.
Click to expand...
They're lighter than straight profile barrel; enough reason right there.

The 11.5/5" thing makes no sense to me.

Now, when you say "bull barrels on short rifles"---do you mean like the SS free-floated .90 diameter stuff, or a "heavy profile" barrel?
 
also a collapsible aids in portability and fit, regardless of bbl length.
Click to expand...

They also put your cheek on the buffer tube, and since I have a beard, the hairs get stuck between the plastic and the tube. yuck.

They do look cool, though...:)
 
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