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Posted: 4/27/2003 9:09:42 PM EDT
| Last week I got my first AR. It's a Bushmaster XM15 16" with an A3 upper and the M4 barrel with the A2 stock but without the mini-y muzzle break. I have never seen any other M4s without the muzzle break. I love it!I am ready to start upgrading and customizing, so what's next? What the the first things I need to add or remove to make it better? |
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Quoted: Last week I got my first AR. It's a Bushmaster XM15 16" with an A3 upper and the M4 barrel with the A2 stock but without the mini-y muzzle break. I have never seen any other M4s without the muzzle break. I love it!I am ready to start upgrading and customizing, so what's next? What the the first things I need to add or remove to make it better? Well, since you did ask......I would send the upper to Kurt's Kustom and get one of his muzzle brakes put on. Of course you'll need to choose a rail system (so that you can really begin to spend some money) to hang lights and lasers and pistol grips from or.......you could take "Frank Squid's" GOOD advice above !!! |
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without the muzzle break. I love it! That's the way I now take my post-bans as well. I'd utilize a flash-hider if possible, but find little value in a brake on an AR. The pros do not outway the cons on my 1 example of braked barrels. The most simple configuration is usually the best. You will see what additional features you may NEED after you own it for a while. My first personal AR turned into a weighted-down piece of metal that I eventually stopped shooting. Attatched was every new gadget that was released that year. For now, just spend your $$$ on USGI mags, ammo and range time. If this AR will be used for home defense, run a practical simulation of how you would react if your heard an intruder enter though the back-door at night(phone line is dead, power is turned off at the meter outside). Are you going to hold a flashlight in your hand, or do you think a weapon-mounted system would work best? If you're waiting it out in your bedroom, you probably don't want the ceiling light turned on anyway. You will be drawing attention to that room and illuminating yourself as a possible target. When you believe the threat is gone, and you decide to make your way to another phone or neighbor, is the stock's current length-of-pull too long to comfortably clear the rooms of your home that stand between you and your exit? IMO-Upgrades and customizing should be kept to a minimum. Add only features that have a purpose and are funtional, but keep these to a minimum as well. As an example, don't strap on a triple-D Maglight when a Mini-Mag will suffice. Of course, if you have the money, you can buy mini-mag-sized lights that greatly overpower a 3-D cell nowdays. I actually prefer a handheld light in the above situation. This gives you the ability to 'check' around a corner whithout exposing the weapon to a possible threat. The first thing the BG is going to do is try grab the weapon that's attatched to the light. Hope this helped. |
| In regards to something on the muzzle, I too would like a flash hider IF I could put one on - if for nothing else, it would help protect the muzzle from any damage. As for muzzle breaks, I'm really not interested in them. A 223 doesn't need a reduction in rise or recoil and, at least not enough to warrant the noise they create. Just my $0.02. |
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First, congrats on buying your first AR. Get ready to become addicted to mags and ammo. Secondly, in the above scenario, allow me to say: If the power in your home is out during night time hours and you have an intruder on the premisis, you do not need a flashlight. Walking around, checking/clearing rooms with a flashlight is utterly inane. The dark is your friend. The intruder is there for a purpose - and that intruder will need artificial light to accomplish that purpose. You simply need to facilitate an advantageous postion to fire on the self-lit intruder. Don't light yourself up. Don't become a target. Darkness and corners and high volume fire. [:D] |
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Walking around, checking/clearing rooms with a flashlight is utterly inane. All your points are good, but there's also the responsibility of knowing what you're shooting at. I awoke one morning to find an old friend passed out on the floor of my kitchen. His vehicle had hit the ditch, while he was drinking, and he had gained entrance to escape the freezing temperatures. I didn't even know it had happened until the next morning. There's lots of scenerios that would not require the use of force, but several that could require the use of target ID. Honestly, how many people actually call the police when they hear a noise at night? I'll be the first to admit I always have to see what's up. My 'checking rooms' only mentioned those that stand between you and your exit AFTER you believed the threat was no longer present. Notifying your neighbor and authorities could reduce the chance of death or great bodily harm occuring to others if the BG is still in the area. Either way, your post just aids in the argument against the use of lighting accesories on an AR, which I agree with. Still, even most CCW courses encourage the carry of some sort of artificial light, along with the firearm and magazines. |
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I agree with you 110% on the target ID. By all means, if you feel there is a chance of someone other than an intruder entering your residence, then you NEED to ID the target (Personally, I would sneak up on them - but that's me and I've had considerable success in that department). Target ID is paramount in any shoot/don't shoot situation. And your last point, House_cat: Still, even most CCW courses encourage the carry of some sort of artificial light, along with the firearm and magazines. You must agree that nearly ALL CCW courses are BS. edited to add: I apologize for the thread hijack, this is my last post on the home intruder topic. |
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Welcome to the 'Balck Rifle Club'! Ditto the extra USGI mags and ammo! I wouldn't worry about a flash hider / muzzle break, a 'naked' barrel works just fine. But if you like the looks of one, by all means get it! That's the beauty of the AR system, the ability to customize! |
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I have an XM15 M4 with brake and fixed post ban collapsible stock. I had a Oly 16" with the A2 stock and actually found it very functional but ugly. Kind of disproportionate. After using the Bushmaster stock, I bought one for the Oly in fact all new furniture in green. Like it much better. You are right, I have not seen a M4 barrel without a brake for the M4 barrel is 14.5". You stated yours is 16" so I assume it has the tapers like the 14.5" just longer barrel. I'd like to see a pic before I could recommend a brake or not. I like the function of brakes but then I like squeezing em off. The pic is my son Billy with the Oly, [img]http://photos.ar15.com/WS_Content/ImageGallery/IG_LoadImage.asp?iImageUnq=7398[/img] |
| Firing at an unidentified target in the dark is what is utterly INANE, even if they are in your house!! I'm not saying go room to room with the 500 lumen surefire blazing away as you go, but there are many considerations that have to be made, and using a light is a must in some of them. Does the intruder have a weapon? Are they a friend of yours who might have had a little too much to drink, and your place was the first place he found to crash out? I am all for terminating the existence of some one entering my house illegally, but I want to make damn sure what or WHO I am shooting at. I drew down on a ex-girlfriend of mine one night about 3 in the morning when she came in my apartment unexpectedly. Her current boyfriend at the time had beat her up at a party and she had no where else to go, so she came to my place. I had a spare key hidden for my parents when they came to visit, and she knew where it was, so she used it, never once thinking about what she was doing. I wake up to sound of my door opening and I grab my Glock off the nightstand, come around the corner and stick the barrel right up against her nose and lit her up with the tac light. Just as I came around the corner into the hall, she called my name, and I saw who it was in the light. I was a split second away from pulling the trigger and killing her. Positive target identification is a must, and anyone who wouldnt use a light to some degree in te middle of the night is just crazy and asking for trouble. Sorry for getting a little off topic, wont do it again![:D] |
| WOW, I didn't expect to get so many replies, so fast. Thanks Guys! I am for sure going to invest in some mags and a case of ammo. Also I do need a good sling. I like the boonie slings, what do you guys think? And I will have to start investigating some sort of illumination device to figure out which one works for me. But I do have to say that this little bushy, is a straight shooting Mo-Fo! |
| I did read before I responded, thank you very much, but two more posts got added before I finished typing that one. As far as experience goes, I've got quite a bit in low light situations in everything from searching houses to clearing multi story buildings. ALL the guys on my tac team use a light to some extent. If you dont like to use a light at night, what is your method of target ID? You cant always count on the assumption that your intruder will have a light of some kind and illuminate himself for you. I understand some of the points you made, but I am interpreting your post as saying that you consider using a light in ANY situation to be wrong. If I am reading you wrong, explain it to me. |
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We really should start another thread on this topic instead of tromping on this fella's new AR15 thread. I apologize if it sounded like I was jumping on you - I didn't mean it that way. [b]MFAirborne[/b] Congrats again on your new AR. If you hang out here for a month or two, you'll quickly learn what kinds of bells and whistles you can attach to your new rifle. There's lots of knowledge to be had. [:)] |
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