First of all, great feeling! I hope that all of you who responded to my first thread still remember me.
It is a Bushmaster XM15 E2S Type with a compensated 16in barrel. It has a sight system that adjusts for windage and elevation and the dual “flip-up” offers large and small apertures. It also has an elevation-like knob that graduates from 300 to 800 meters. I also noticed a trapdoor at the buttstock. Just like any other Bushmaster it came with a 10 round magazine, carrying sling, a safety and operating manual and a catalog in the clamshell style carrying case. Have not actually done the initial cleaning, I plan on doing that tonight and hopefully break it in over the weekend. Well guys, what's next? Any tips/advice for a new owner? Thanks.
[bounce]     [bounce]     [bounce]    

Get yourself some zeroing targets from here
they fit on a 8 1/2 by 11 paper.
Shoot the hell out of it!
c-rock > http://www.geocities.com/Pipeline/2494/A2Zero.html
>

I'm sure that you and her will be happy for a long time.

Did you have a nice candle light dinner with her?  [SMOKE]

Don't forget, run 200~300 rounds before cleaning the barrel again.  Proper break-in.

Check the boards here for some USGI or Thermold mags.  That 10 rounder is questionable.

Keep yer credit card handy, you will be buying LOT'S of stuff.

Congrats!!![bounce]

Excellent choice!!!

You will love it.
Definitely get some hi-cap mags for it.

Congratulations & what the heck took you so long?!

[sniper]

woohoo! now all you need is a small fortune to feed her properly ~ thousands and thousands of rounds + hundreds of USGI 30 round mags is a nice start!

[heavy]

Getting her dirty is half the fun..... [:D]

I got an aftermarket 30 rnd mag but it does not seem to fit properly. It's a Cheaper Than Dirt  
brand? and does not drop freely like the 10 rounder that came with it. Do the USGI ones do the same thing?

Nope- on my Frank-n-4gery (Bushy M4 upper, Oly stripped lower, J&T parts kit & M4 stock), my USGI 30- and 20-rounders drop free. Fit is so good that I slap & jiggle [:D]them just to make sure they are seated well. I tried an after-market (USA) mag, it bound, and was visibly out of spec with regards to the mouth & feed lips.

Don Out

Too bad you got screwed into paying that 15% Federal Firearms Tax that applies to complete weapons.  You could have bought a fully assembled lower and the fully assembled upper seperately from Bushmaster and saved yourself some mucho dinero.  Not to shit on your parade or anything, just my advice for the future from somebody who has made the same mistake.  No flame intended whatsoever- happy shooting!

Congrats on your purchase and thank you very much for pissing off a few more liberals!  Keep up the good work!      

Congratulations!  I love my AR's and frequently take one to bed with me... the wife objects, of course, because it doesn't warm her cold feet when it is between us... so I usually stand it against the wall next to my side of the bed.  If I have to get up (bathroom), I usually turn on the light to look at for a few seconds!  (A friend of mine makes his wife and kid kiss his AR every night!)

www.cheaperthandirt.com has a pretty good price right now on 20rd mags ($12.95) at this link:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ctd/product.asp?sku=MAG%2D062&mscssid=MVXFE44CVQ4P8GKQ9FLMERN45T8V2T6A

And Delta Force has 30rd Thermold mags for $34.95 in their catalog. (1-870-862-4984).

BTW... one of my AR's is a Bushmaster and it's a really fine gun.  Take time to learn how to disassemble the bolt carrier and put it back together properly.  Bushmaster manuals are great too, and provide detailed info on disassembly, cleaning/lubing and reassembling.  And pay close attention to the statement in the manual about properly replacing the cam pin... the manual says "if the cam pin isn't installed properly, the gun will fire but will explode."  Always scares the shit out of me when I read that.  neadless to say, I check to make sure it is installed properly several times before inserting the bolt group back in the receiver.  Actually I am not sure the cam pin CAN be installed improperly, unless you leave it out.  

Anyway... Go have fun with it!!!... [:D]

ARnSC

Also, about those Cheaper than dirt mags...

The reason that USGI mags drop free is usually because they have been worn a bit.  All of my new in the wrapper USGI mags were not drop free at first.  (Learned this from a USMC armorer)To speed things up, you may want to GENTLY tap the piece of metal on the side of the mag that bulges out (it's near the hole in the side of the mag).  A few light taps with a small hammer will do.  Check for drop-free status after every two or three taps.  Don't kill the damn thing, just lightly tap it.  You may also want to try putting a drop of grease or oil on that little bulge in order to make the mag drop out easier.  

IMPORTANT:
If the mags have black followers, you will want to invest the extra 2 bucks or so and get a green follower and new spring.  I believe Bushmaster sells them as "Mag Rebuild Kits," but you will find them for less elsewhere.  Hope this helps.

-Rich

[i]CONGRATULATIONS![/i]

You made a good choice.  I have a Bushmaster Dissipator.  It is extremely accurate and has never failed me.  Not even a single jam in over 1K rounds.  I would recommend using current manufacture (90's and later) ammo.  Avoid re-loads and the Russian steel-cased stuff.

There is so much to learn about the AR-15.  This is a great forum to find out a lot of good (and some not-so-good) information.  Once you are familiar with basic operation and maintenance, just get out there and SHOOT!  Have fun. [(:)]

[beer]

WildJ
 First of all - Great choice!  Welcome to the world of the black smoke pole.  You are undoubtily a very wise person.

Forest,
 I downloaded the targets and when I went to open the file, It asked me if I wanted to open it into Word, Spread Sheet or Data Base.  No matter what I clicked on, it opened up but only showed computer code.  Any suggestions?
Actually, anybody can help.  Any ideas or instructions?

Also, be sure you are testing the mags UNloaded.  The extra weight of a few rounds will make the mag seem 'drop-free,' but it may not drop freely if it is empty.  Also, I have never personally needed to use the grease trick to get the mag to drop freely, and would ditto what Forrest said about dirt collecting on it.  Try the hammer-tap technique first and let us know how it goes.  By the way, I have personally found that around 75% of all TRULY new USGI mags do NOT drop freely without being used a bit.  I think they were designed to not drop free so that stupid people wouldn't accidentally drop a loaded mag in the heat of battle.  Let us know how it works out and if the mags drop free and function properly.