AR-15

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This Is A Change – A TV Station With A Pro-AR Story

July 27, 2012 by 1 Comment

WKRG-TV of Mobile, Alabama ran a story today about the AR-15 and, to a lesser extent, the AK-47. It featured an interview with a local gun dealer as well as local law enforcement and a couple of “men in the street.” They called it the best-selling rifle in America.

What I found refreshing about this report is that it didn’t treat the AR as an “evil black rifle”. The reporter cited FBI statistics that no murder was committed in Alabama during 2010 with a rifle. It even pointed out that a number of people were killed with fists. Another thing that I really liked is that the law enforcement officers were pro-gun. One officer made the point that people were killing one another long before firearms were invented – or, as he said, with sticks and stones.

The one anti-gun person was such a caricature that it adds a bit of levity to the story. You have to watch the short video to get what I mean.

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Wisdom From Noted Outdoorsman Steny Hoyer

July 25, 2012 by 1 Comment

In an effort to steal a page from Jim Zumbo, House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) opined that he didn’t know any Maryland hunters using AR-15s to hunt deer, ducks, or geese. His remarks came at a media breakfast organized by the Christian Science Monitor.

“Assault weapons have one purpose and one purpose only, to kill a lot of people quickly, no other purpose. I don’t think anybody hunts deer, quail, geese, in Maryland with an assault rifle. And if they do, they shouldn’t be,” he said, though conceded that there is not enough support in Congress to revive the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.

Perhaps one reason Mr. Hoyer doesn’t know anyone hunting ducks and geese with an AR-15 is because it is against Maryland hunting regulations. The only firearms allowed for hunting migratory game birds in Maryland are shotguns. Moreover, much of Maryland – and it seems all of Hoyer’s district – restricts the use of rifles in hunting deer and only allow shotguns. In those place that do allow centerfire rifles, it must have a cartridge that generates 1,200 foot-pounds of muzzle energy. Many 5.56 or .223 rounds fall short of this requirement.

Now if Mr. Hoyer knew any woodchuck or coyote hunters he’d know that an AR-15 is not only suitable but ideal for hunting them. Frankly, I think that even if Steny Hoyer was confronted with the facts about the use of ARs in hunting, he’d still make the same stupid and outrageous comments.

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If Only It Was This Easy!

March 12, 2012 by 3 Comments

AR manufacturer CMMG has an animated video showing how to assemble an AR lower. It is actually a pretty good video. That said, nothing is quite as easy as it looks. At least not for me!

I first saw the video on the ENDO Gun Blog. If you have put together your own AR-15, then you need the T-shirt to prove it! Actually, I’m wearing mine right now and its a very soft, comfortable shirt.* You can buy it here.

*For the FTC, I bought the shirt a few weeks ago and I paid full price. There, are you happy now?

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Do You Need Backup Iron Sights On Your AR-15?

January 8, 2012 by 3 Comments

Andrew at Vuurwapen Blog has just posted a video discussing whether you need BUIS on your AR-15 if you are not in combat arms, a LEO, or similar. He makes a lot of good points and notes that his M-4 wasn’t equipped with BUIS when he deployed as a Navy Corpsman with the Marines to Al Anbar Province in Iraq.

I think I’ll be taking another look at this for some of my future builds. Realistically, I can’t see the need for BUIS on an AR-15 set up for hunting coyotes or other varmints.

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My Black Friday Black Rifle

December 26, 2011 by 4 Comments

This year I took advantage of a variety of Black Friday sales to get the remaining parts needed to assemble a piston-driven M-4gery. I already had a stripped lower from Templar Custom thanks to Sean Sorrentino along with a DPMS lower parts kit I had purchased on sale a couple of years ago.

The heart of the rifle is a mid-length Adams Arms gas piston complete upper that I got on sale from MidwayUSA at the beginning of their week-long sale. It is chambered in 5.56 NATO and has a 1:7 right hand twist barrel. This will allow me to shoot the heavier 75 grain cartridge.

I got most of the other parts from Brownells using their discount code plus my dealer discount. I replaced the standard M-4 handguard and grip with a Magpul MOE mid-length handguard and a MOE+ pistol grip. The handguard did not need any fitting to work with the gas piston upper as can be seen in the picture below.

I did get the Magul BUIS but decided to go with a HK 416 sight set from RTG International Surplus Parts. These were about the only part that I used that I didn’t get on sale. Why the HK drum sight instead of a more traditional BUIS? I just liked them and I think that they are very rugged. I’ll use the Magpuls on another build down the road. You can also see the Magpul ASAP ambidextrous sling attachment point in the picture below.

I got the mil-spec extension tube, spring, and a Spike’s Tactical T-2 buffer tube from Brownells. The buttstock is a Rogers Super-Stoc which came from Wilson Combat. Colt will be offering it soon but has not released it as of yet. I like the cam-lock system as it does away with any slop or rattle in the collapsible stock. Once adjusted for length and with the cam locked, it is as solid as an A2 stock.

Thanks to my son-in-law’s dad Jeff, I got most of it assembled a couple of weeks ago. Jeff works as a machinist for a major airline and has assembled a number of lowers over the years. As this was my first lower that I had assembled from scratch, I was really glad to have his help and advice.

Sean had warned me that the Templar Custom lower was designed to be tight and might need some adjustment. He was correct and we had to do a little bit of fitting. However, this has made for a tight and solid fit between the upper and the lower. The magwell may need a little bit of light sanding to allow me to use Magpul PMAGs. GI mags fit just fine.

I still have to mount an optic on this. For now, I may just go with my Eotech 512 that I have on another AR. I am open to suggestions for other optics especially holographic or red-dot.

The final thing I want to do is to highlight the logo and safe and semi-auto icons with a little bit of Testor’s enamel. I think it will add a finished touch to this rifle.

I am quite pleased with my first real build and am looking forward to sighting it in. With all the year-end business stuff and family stuff, I haven’t had a chance to do this yet. But as Scarlett O’Hara famously said in Gone with the Wind, “for tomorrow is another day”.

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Vuurwapen On 20″ AR-15 Carbines

May 5, 2011 by 4 Comments

Andrew at the Vuurwapen Blog has just posted a new video which he calls “La Longue Carabine” in honor of Natty Bumpo from Last of the Mohicans. In this video he discusses two of his 20-inch barrel AR-15’s with collapsible stocks. He notes that the length may not look cool but it is very easy to shoot and helps reduce recoil. I might add that U.S. Marines used a similar length M-16A2 in close quarters combat in Iraq quite effectively.