AR Sponsor
Posted: 5/23/2012 9:56:34 AM EDT
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Coming at this from a different perspective than the HRKrinkle18 thread. What are your priority upgrades on an AR-15? This is a multiple choice poll. ETA: Please use the "Add ons" selection as a surrogate for "Light". There is only one vote in that category so far so it won't have a major negative impact going forward. sorry for leaving it out. Thanks! |
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Quoted: Kind of vague as stated. Priority for what battle rifle, HD rifle, target rifle, plinker, or safe queen? LOL .... my first poll ... intentionally avoided specifics to avoid people taking exceptions ... no offense meant because I am sure others are thinking the same thing.  |
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Quoted: What is our start out rifle? Mil-spec?  I considered this too ... thought I'd leave it unspecified to avoid people saying the baseline rifle was too low/high. Another way to think about it ... if you buy a level of rifle that comes stock with a Geissele trigger, etc ... you've already defined the priority add-ons. |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Kind of vague as stated. Priority for what battle rifle, HD rifle, target rifle, plinker, or safe queen? LOL .... my first poll ... intentionally avoided specifics to avoid people taking exceptions ... no offense meant because I am sure others are thinking the same thing.
You are missing my point. Essentials for what type of rifle. Am I taking this into combat through Afghan/Iraq again, am I using it as a range toy, is it all at tactical or tacticool, etc etc. I have for myself different rifles to fulfill different missions.... HD/SHTF, Hunting, Target, Plinker. Each has different essential setups. |
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I voted optics. For MY AR I don't need it to do anything but be fairly comfortable and hit paper targets. Mine came with the MOE furniture and I like it fine enough.
I must say though, this thread is giving me a chuckle so far. I don't see how it could be so difficult to just answer the question. The OP is asking about YOUR weapons. He is not asking you to answer for his weapon. There is nothing vague about the question at all. If you shoot at matches, then answer with that in mind. If you use it to hunt, same. Whatever YOU chose to do with it would lead to the appropriate selection/reply. |
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Quoted: I voted optics. For MY AR I don't need it to do anything but be fairly comfortable and hit paper targets. Mine came with the MOE furniture and I like it fine enough. I must say though, this thread is giving me a chuckle so far. I don't see how it could be so difficult to just answer the question. The OP is asking about YOUR weapons. He is not asking you to answer for his weapon. There is nothing vague about the question at all. If you shoot at matches, then answer with that in mind. If you use it to hunt, same. Whatever YOU chose to do with it would lead to the appropriate selection/reply. Exactly, pick your own focus. Otherwise, we'd have to do one of these for each specific mission to play fair. The other aspect of the poll is there ought to be some overlap across missions. |
| For my first AR, I selected to upgrade the stock, grip, and handguard to moe stuff because its cheap and comfortable. Ya aint gonna want to shoot your rifle if you don't want to hold it. As for the trigger, I'm assuming that the trigger you have is a decent, standard trigger, which is good enough for me for right now, but if your trigger sucks, or if you're doing long range/precision shooting, that would be #1 for me. Although optics are nice, theyre a lower priority for me. You should learn to shoot your rifle with irons before optics. Just my $0.02 |
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Really depends.
I've built 4 of the 5 AR I use so none of those 4 have any "Upgrades" on them. I just built them how I wanted them. Each serve a purpose. Now my bone stock DPMS has 3 upgrades. 1) BCM Gunfighter CH Mod3 because it allows easier and faster one handed use. 2) Magpul BAD lever for super fast reloads 3) A GG&G single point sling mount thy was given to me from a friend. Let me say that I bought the M4 version with a Quad rail and free float barrel. When I bought it the AWB had recently ended and had no idea of all the different companies out there. Now of the AR's I've built I've built them with those "Upgrades" so wouldn't call them that. Any AR I compete with has a Gunfighter on it, BAD lever and ASAP plate. I typically use iron sights but recently bought an optic for a competition gun. |
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I voted handguards, based upon the assumption that you are starting from a plain-jane carbine/rifle with stock everything.
Weapon light? Important (if it's a HD/SHTF gun), but useless if you don't have a place to mount it (hence the handguard). Sling? yes, but depending on the purpose of the gun, this may not matter at all. Optic? Yes, but if it's a first AR, many recommend learning the gun first with irons and then moving to optics. Trigger? Meh, nice but not essential unless you're doing specific things with the rifle. As many have stated, the answer is really dependent upon the use of the AR, but for my purposes and the purposes of many of the other items on your upgrade list, the top-priority seems to be in up-grading from a standard M4 or carbine handguard. |
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If you ignore the old smart-ass answer of "ammo, mags, training," which, while I agree with, it doesn't address the question being asked:
Consider that if the first rule of a gun fight is "bring a gun," then any weapon in your hand when the shit goes down is a close range CQD personal defense weapon. In which case, in today's litigious environments, even the military has rejected the old stand by of "point thater-way." A light allows for positive identification and target illumination in a reflexive fire scenario. At these kinds of ranges, any kind of sights are somewhat irrelevant, the vast majority of people, even incompetent dirt-shooters can point shoot at the ranges generally associated with "inside the home." Once that has been satisfied, weapon retention, IMHO, is always a highly thought of option - regardless of the situation, the ability to a) keep your weapon on you and b) have the option of using both hands for whatever reason without compromising possession is a benefit. Moving forward from there, I would consider an optical sight of some variety to be a critical force multiplier in a variety of situations. In general they allow you to shoot faster, more accurately, and much easier, and in some cases, actually allow you to see better. Once those three needs have been fulfilled, it becomes a matter of preference and personal priority - new trigger or new grip? These only effect the "feel" and comfort of the weapon, not its overall utility and functionality. New handguards allow for the mounting of additional accessories that may or may not be force multipliers. Regardless of your order of priority, however - failing to properly train in the use of all elements as a part of an integrated whole is a recipe for failure anyways - if you don't know how to use your light, you'll waste time dicking around with it while your [potential] adversary is shooting or otherwise doing bodily harm to you. ~Augee |
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"The ACOG mounted on the M16 service rifle has proven to be the biggest improvement in lethality for the Marine infantryman since the introduction of the M1 Garand in WWII."
––Major General J.N. Mattis I voted optic. A modern optic is the single best enhancement to marksmanship that any user can add. An optic is useful throughout the full spectrum of rifle employment. Day or night, near or far, optics improve the ability of the marksman to hit the target dramatically over iron sights. Even a novice user can realize immediate benefits from a RDS (or other combat optic such as the ACOG). |
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