Just to clarify a couple of points:

- I'm as much of a gadget freak as most people, and much worse than some.  And some day I'll have a "range toy" AR with a bunch of high-end add-ons on it, just because.

- I certainly didn't invent any of these ideas, and I'm certainly not the only one here who holds them.  Half of what I know about ARs comes from the folks at this site (and formerly the AR15-L mailing list).


That having been said, I have very few guns that are non-practical enough that I don't consider them to be usable as a weapon.  Most of my selections are based primarily on their effectiveness, suitability, and reliability as weapons.  And that carries over to how I choose to configure them.

Truth be told, few of my guns are 100% stock, but the changes are usually pretty subtle.  I do believe in KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid!), because the simpler something is, the less chance it will fail you when you need it most.  Plus, I never understood the whole 13-pound M4 carbine...

When I choose accessories, I do so for specific reasons.  For example, I'm a big believer in night sights, and have them on most of my guns.  And some of my guns DO have optics, with a couple of them (bolt guns) having ONLY optics, because that's the setup that best fits the role of that rifle.  But I prefer my "combat-capable" guns to have iron sights, with perhaps a reflex sight added on that co-witnesses with the irons.

I also believe in weapon-mounted lights for home defense guns, and have a couple of guns set up with them.  If you're gonna shoot someone in the vicinity of your own home, you DAMN well better KNOW what or whom you are shooting at.

Otherwise, the lighter, the simpler, the more reliable, the better.  For me, anyway.

For yourself?  Do what you want.  It's YOUR rifle, so you earned the privilage to configure it to your liking.  While I'm happy to give my recommendations, I try never to tell someone to do something because *I* think they should.

-Troy

when I first started getting into AR's I was totally into all the "High Speed, Low Drag" items that you could slap onto an AR.

Then a certain member that works for one of these Emergency Service Units hit me with a piece of wisdom that went something like this: "About 90% of the people that buy that stuff will never actually use it in real life."

I started focusing on fundamentals and skills instead of gadgetry...although I love bells and whistles too!

Quoted: SNIP SIDE NOTE:  I'm all for keeping things simple, but I do think a rifle would benefit from having a SURE FIRE light attached, but what would be a good way to attach one to a stock AR without a rail system on it?

Try one of SureFire's dedicated forearm lights.



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