I've had a few ARs and the one I have now has a little play between the upper and lower.  I saw one of these accu wedges and picked it up at a gun show for $5.  I tried to install it and the rifle will not close with the wedge inside the lower as it should be.  Does anyone have any experience or advise about these little pieces.....do they work and is the installation problem I'm having normal.    

[img]http://www.fulton-armory.com/accuwedge.jpg[/img]

Sould look like the above when installed, sometimes downward pressure is required to align the take-down pin for re-assembly, (place rifle on floor, grip down, place hand on top of carry handle or flat-top [avoid pressing on rear sight], put pressure downward towards floor to compress accuwedge, push take-down pin in...).

There are some (non-US) made accuwedges that require shortening or sanding (on bottom of the accuwedge) in order to get them to fit, but understand the pressure of take-down slot on the upper against the wedge itself IS what tightens the 2 halves of the AR.

Hope that helps,
Mike

Thanks,
I guess I might just need some more hands on the rifle to get it closed!

Where can I get one of these?

Save your money!  These are best termed [i]Inaccu[/i]wedges.  They introduce a rubber joint between the receivers making it near impossible to have the parts in the same position for every shot something that is vital for repeatable accuracy; tight groups.

Without this piece of rubber it takes hardly any pressure at all to place and keep the parts in the same place everytime, nothing is springing back against you.

For best accuracy you'll need something to literally screw or clamp the receivers together -- not the handiest setup for non match rifles.

-- Chuck

I was doing some research on the Accuwedge a while back and the more I thought about it the less I liked it.  You are not solving your problem by pushing your upper and lower apart, only masking it.  If you use something like the JP Tensioning Pin it will actually pull the two halfs together instead of wedging them apart.  That makes more sense to me but it can be a pain because you can't use the standard read take down pin any longer.

If accuracy is what you are after then the JPTP is the way to go.

Hope this helps [:)]

Marc

There's been a lot of talk about the usefulness, in terms of accuracy, of the AccuWedge.  However, having the upper/lower fit as tight as possible is absolutely proven to have a positive effect on RELIABILITY.  I've fired M16s that I've had to tape together just to function.  For the $4, they're definitely worth it.

$1.90 or so from CDNN

I saw them on the website that sells 80% lowers for 1 buck or so, cannot for the life of me remember the website.  

I have used the accuwedge on only one of my AR's, what I will do next time is test the same load under the same conditions with and without the wedge.  I will post if there is a difference.

I put one of those accuwedges in my AR yesterday for a "test fire".  I needed a buddy of mine to help press the upper down.  Which also meant I needed his help to promptly remove it.  

Maybe a C-clamp would work...

If you need a hydraulic press to "force feed" your rifle one of these, then it probably does not need nor want it.

If you have a well made AR15, the Accuwedge has no use and your upper and lower will never close togther with the Accuwedge in place even if you cut the Accuwedge down thin as you can.
Your rifle has to be really fudged up if you really need an Accuwedge to keep any play out of your upper and lower.

[b]ArmaLiter[/b]

I have used accuwedges on ARs that were so loose you could hear 'em rattle. On my tighter (non-noisy) guns I don't bother.

Can someone please explain how an accuwedge can affect accuracy?

The sights and the barrel are both attached only to the upper. No matter how loose the upper-lower fit is, or what is put between them, it cannot affect the relationship between the sights and the barrel.

I mean, if you could technically find a way to have the lower in the other room, it should not have any effect on the barrel-to-sight relationship, which is what I thought determines accuracy.

Now, I can see how an accuwedge COULD slightly shift your sight picture between shots, but firing always creates some movement.

What am I missing here?

I explained why on 30 December.....

-- Chuck

I read your Dec. 30 post and it didn't make sense to me. That's why I asked you for an explanation.

Let's try rewording it:

Does an accuwedge affect the relationship between the barrel and the sights?

If so, how?

Chuck, Ditto to TonyK's request.
In a weapon like the FN were the sights are not all on the sam ereceiver I can see this but not on an AR platform.


From my understanding the Accuwedge is going to part of a C7 life cycle enhancement package - the idea is to lessen the wear and tear of the parts.

-Kevin

Accu Wedges are made a little over tall to fit varying ar-15 clones, if you have to muscle it to put the recievers together, you're doing it wrong, and you have to trim a little off the bottom. The idea of it is to stop play between the upper and lower, and it does that just fine. What it does is fits tightly under the lug for the rear takedown pin, making a false "custom" fit between the two. It stops all the play, therefore any wear between the upper and lower. My rifles have them, close easily and have virtually NO play between recievers, I don't see how it could affect accuracy in a bad way, or have the recievers orientate differently for two given shots. If your reciever has play will it be in the same place after the first rounds' recoil forces are exerted on it? I don't imagine so. I'll keep mine. Hell, $1.95 a pop and it stops wear and all movement (wasn't much in the first place) between recievers, I'll trade a little hypothetical accuracy for longer life. And they last forever too.
Just my .2
_______________________________________________

[NI]

To put it in terms that may make it easier to understand.  Loosen the bedding screws on your bolt gun a couple of turns, take it to the range, then come back and tell us how well it shoots.

As for the accuwedge itself, if it makes you feel better, go for it.

Well, thank you! Now that's an answer that has a basis in the physical laws governing firearms accuracy.

(And it brings back fond memories of when I had to go searching for a torque wrench that measured in inch-pounds sted of foot-pounds!)

Of course, if I wanted to argue, I would respond that that is N/A to the situation: A bolt-gun's barrel, even when freefloated, makes contact with (and is affected by) the stock at the receiver, while an AR's barrel never touches the lower receiver, and thus should not be affected by upper-to-lower fit.

I don't believe accuwedges change anything beyond the operator's perception of the weapon ... but if removing a rattle makes a shooter more confident in his gun, then he WILL shoot better.

I will sit down and shut up now. [:)]

You could argue that in some cases. My precision rifle has the barrel 100% freefloated, so the only thing bedded is the action and lugs, which would correspond in an AR to the two lugs that mate the upper and the lower together.

Waldo - I don't think you analogy fits - if anything the Accuwedge acts as a torgue wrench bringing the fit back tight.

The don't work as is in all lowers. For example, the RR has a higher shelf and you need to trim the wedge down.

I had one in a Colt sporter 20" HBAR that has a bit of play between upper and lower. After installing the wedge, The accuracy got much better. I now have a Bushy M4 and it shoots better WITHOUT the wedge. Not for every AR but it may do the trick for some out there. My 2 cents!

I just put one in my Bushy V-Match and it works great.


Rambosky