by Bill Mooney
USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- Why is it whenever a product or service in America grows, gets popular, or dominates a market, the government steps in and feels the need to disrupt the industry and control it?
SUV’s get amazingly popular and the regulations on gas mileage explode. Internet sales flourish, and the painful and untimely talk of a national sales tax pops up like a pimple on your nose. Firearm background checks and transactions increase, the pressure on the banks from the politicians grow and they make it harder for firearm retailers to process credit cards.
The popularity of gluten-free products goes viral, and the politicians demonize it and call people bigots, fascists … oh wait. That one has not happened… yet.
The anti-liberty/freedom narrative always seems to go this predictable route. Something doesn’t fit a political agenda just demonize it or someone, tax it, regulate it, make it harder for citizens to own or participate in. There…the “problem” goes away eventually as they nudge and build fences around the edges. Your liberty is now infringed or taken away as planned.
The AR-15 rifle has been the battered stepchild of politicians and anti-gun people for decades yet the popularity of this platform for men and women of all ages is growing like a well-fed baby.
This AR firearm platform is a Cinderella story happening right before our eyes. In our gun-love-story, Cinderella’s glass shoe is a nickel boron bolt carrier group. The Prince in the great looking carriage in our story is an FDE Kryptec Cerakoted rifle chambered in an exotic round with a custom suppressor. Why do I feel this Cinderella AR-15 story will continue to grow and prosper (unless something drastic happens, like a November Blue Wave?)
Two reasons: The AR-15 is the most versatile weapon on the planet, and it is easily customized and upgraded for any size, shape, age person.
So many Americans are passionate about AR-15 firearms, that the popularity is growing in spite of the bad press, lying politicians, and a corrupt media.
Versatility
The AR-15 platform is being used by so many people for so many purposes, it’s no wonder it’s so popular.
Personally, I love to predator hunt with my 5.56 NATO AR rifle with a fixed 3.5 Trijicon ACOG optic and an Aimpoint T-1 red dot offset. My favorite deer stand hunting rig is my 6.5 Grendel AR-15 with a Sightmark 3-18×44 FFP optic. Hog hunting with a 6.5 Grendel or 300 Blackout with Pulsar thermal or Pulsar NV optics are popular set ups, too. The latest 224 Valkyrie chambered AR-15 rifles are becoming very popular with prairie dog and small varmint hunters. The 458 SOCOM could be a short-range big game rifle with a nice quality 1-4×24 illuminated optic.
My 5.56 NATO rifle also doubles as a self-defense rifle. The .223 Wylde chambered upper makes a great competition set up.
People from all walks of life also build rifles just for the entertainment of building a rifle. You don’t have to be trained gunsmith to put together a great AR-15.
There’s also the comfort factor adding to the demand for this weapon system. This is a great firearm for the tentative-at-heart to use as the range for plinking, or general training. The options are endless.
So, when an ignorant politician or hyper-partisan talking-head tells you your AR-15 is only for killing, smile, laugh, and go ahead and yell at the TV. Shake it off because it only illustrates their ignorance or hidden agenda.
The AR-15 is an amazing platform. But that’s only half the story.
AR-15 Rifles are Upgradable & Customizable
The real beauty of the AR-15 platform is how easy it is for a person to upgrade their rifle or customize it to their needs, body type, artistic eye and specific use. For most rifle upgrades or customization, you don’t need to send your rifle off to a gunsmith. Because the platform is so modular, most of the parts are plug and play with very little manipulation needed.
Each upgrade can serve one or multiple purposes. Upgrades can be for many purposes such as:
- Performance
- Making the rifle more accurate
- Improving your performance with the rifle
- Comfort
- Weight reduction
- Body adaptation
- Use
- Aesthetics
- Colors
- Style
Let’s look at some of the most popular AR-15 upgrade and customization parts.
Performance Upgrades:
Starting with the lower receiver, here are a few easy upgrades.
Trigger
Upgrading a trigger can be quick and easy (with drop-in AR triggers) to a moderate upgrade. I personally upgrade my AR-15s with a Geissele SSA two-stage trigger for better and more accurate follow up shots. Learned this many years ago rabbit hunting with my good friend Dave. Using his upgraded rifle, I quickly noticed how my consistency on follow up shots improved dramatically.
Pistol Grip
Swapping out a pistol grip that fits your hand or improves your grip is an inexpensive upgrade. Some like Tyrant Designs MOD GRIP come in so many styles and colors, you can also enhance your look too.
Buttstock
A butt stock upgrade can be a performance part, helps with comfort, and aesthetics too. I feel it belongs in the performance category because it helps you with your sight picture and quickly obtaining the sight image through your optic for one. Some feel a fixed stock helps them with their accuracy. It’s also used as a reference point on your face for quick target acquisition. ( read our Best AR 15 Stock Kits review) I like a firm buttstock with no rattle, especially when I am predator hunting.
Ambidextrous Safety Selector
Some people swear by an ambi safety selector to improve their performance.
Enhanced Pins
Buying enhanced AR pins for the rifle take-down is a cheap upgrade. These pins are generally easier to grab and pop out if you need to quickly separate the upper from the lower.
Upper receiver upgrades include:
Charging Handle
Between my optic getting in the way, or my big fingers, a standard charging handle is one of the parts I upgrade first. My choice, an extended and/or ambidextrous charging handle. You can find these from next to nothing for the cheap overseas knock-off products, to a little over $100. The downside of a wider charging handle? When walking with your rifle, the extended handle can make noise hitting your body or clothes, or snag as you manipulate the rifle.
Aesthetically, there are some crazy color charging handles in the marketing if you are going for the NASCAR look on your AR-15.
Bolt Carrier Group (BCG)
There are several upgrade opportunities with the bolt carrier group. Most options are related to the finish material. The porous and affordable phosphate finish, the easier-to-clean nitride finish, to the shiny nickel boron finish. I personally get great performance and durability to my nitride BCGs.
Gas Block and Gas Tube
Another performance upgrade opportunity. The gas block system is seldom seen, but when there is a problem, often heard. Some gas blocks and tubes are made of cheaper materials and can hurt the bolt cycling. There are also some adjustable gas blocks for those shooters who want to build a race-car and fine-tune the performance of the rifle. For me, I just want a durable gas system the works and will work for a long time to come.
Barrel
I could write an entire article on barrels. Pick a barrel that suits your needs. Will you be doing long-range target shooting? Then a longer barrel with the correct twist-rate will be an important factor in your decision. Hunting feral hogs in Texas at 40 yards at night? Then a larger caliber like a 300 black out or the ever popular 6.5 Grendel might be the best barrel for you.
Optics
Optics is another opportunity for a lengthy article. Too much to talk about here. An easy upgrade to your optics-ready AR-15 is adding back up iron sights (BUIS) for your rifle. Magpul has some great light-weight polymer options. Be careful adding a BUIS to your rifle if the gas block has a picatinny rail attached. You will need to have a metal BUIS, not a polymer.
Please don’t ask how I know and why I mentioned polymer vs steel BUIS. Let’s just say it’s a school-of-hard-knocks experience and just leave it there.
Comfort Upgrades:
Comfort is important, not for the sake of feeling comfortable, but for performance as well. My wife and I have different predator rifle set ups mostly because of our body types, arm lengths, and overall strength.
Handguard
So many sizes, looks, and quality levels your head will spin. Length, weight, attachment design (quad, M-LOK, and Keymod) are things to consider. I like different handguard (or rail) options for different uses. My predator/self-defense rifle has a shorter quad rail for many attachments. My deer AR has less attachment opportunities but is a lighter rail. My wife uses a short polymer Magpul hand guard saving a lot of weight on her rifle.
Start with your needs and go from there. I’d suggest staying with one system through if you plan on adding rails and attachments down the road. M-LOK seems to have the momentum right now.
Accessories
There aren’t enough hours and pages to be able to write about all the accessories available to you. Again, I would start with which rail system you want, identify your needs (bipod, forward grip, lighting system, laser, etc.) and go from there.
Aesthetic Upgrades
Some consider the AR-15 the Barbie Doll for guys. Or an adult set of Legos. With tattoos becoming so popular, the AR is not immune to personalization like a tattoo.
There are specialists all over the globe who will be happy to customize your AR look.
Cerakote
A small company out of Southern Oregon created a thin coating process using a polymer-ceramic material that is extremely durable and can come in many colors and variations. Of course, the firearms business has embraced this process and you see it on Kydex holsters, to pistols, and of course, any and every part on the AR-15 platform. The cost is very reasonable and you can have a lot of fun picking out a new color or pattern for your rifle.
For me, I am using different color upper receivers and handguards for different caliber uppers. My 6.5 Grendel upper and magazines are in FDE. My .223/5.56 NATO units are in black. In theory, I won’t get my ammo and magazines mixed up when at the range on in the field hunting.
Make the AR-15 Your Rifle
As much as I love my Remington 700 Mountain Stainless 308 bolt action rifle, my favorite long gun is the AR-15. Why?
Because it is so versatile. I can affordably target shoot. I can hunt varmints and predators. With the right ammunition I can ethically hunt larger game like deer, hog, and for the right set up, elk hunt.
Let’s face it. It’s just plain-old fun to design, plan, build, and upgrade. The AR-15 is badass too!
Bill Mooney
About Bill Mooney
Bill Mooney is an outdoor and shooting industry sales and marketing expert, an outdoor writer, and hunting enthusiast. His experience in the sport optics and firearms manufacturing world provides a fresh approach to his inspired writing, information, and instruction. Bill also helps many companies with public relations initiatives, strategic marketing, and helping companies grow their sales through creative and traditional sales channels.
“I want my writing to inspire consumers to break out of their comfort zone and improve their outdoor and shooting experiences. I also write to encourage businesses to break bad sales and marketing habits and grow their opportunities!” ~ Bill Mooney
The following is perhaps illustrative of a personal quirk, but the fact that today’s AR-15 type rifles are “sightless”, that is no proper Iron Sights from the rifle makers is off-putting. Yes,I believe that, as an extra cost item, a detachable carrying handle, rear sight combination is available, but this should come with the rifle, in my view, not be an extra. In case anyone is curious, I shot High Power Competition for many years, first with a Garand, also now and then with the M-14/M1-A, and later on with bolt action rifles, using Iron Sights out to 1000 yards.… Read more »
A personal observation that might catch the interest of some here. The seemingly strange and increasing popularity???of the AR-15 platform in the face of ever present political criticism might perhaps be derived from, all other aspects aside, the sweetness and desirability of “forbidden fruit”? Did the Prohibition Act reduce or increase the consumption of alcohol in this country??
John McNair:
1. That article was written more than a year ago.
2. Recent events regarding sanctions on Russia have proven just the opposite of what you and the article allege.
3. Through the entire Trump/Russia investigation the ONLY thing that’s been proven so far is that it was the DNC and Hillary’s campaign who colluded with the Russians.
4. The only news networks I watch are Fox and OAN.
5. I do admit to reading the Federalist, Rantingly and others.
Sorry if all this doesn’t fit your narrative or agenda.
John McNair: You don’t like the AR. WE ALL GET IT. But conflating facts and guns is just dishonest and I have no problem being the one to call you out on it. The AR of the Vietnam era, without the forward assist, is NOT the AR of today. It has undergone numerous design changes. It was originally designed for jungle warfare where distances were short and you wouldn’t be weighed down by carrying a ton of ammo. As with any institution the armed forces are slow to change or adapt. The bolt issues are solved with modern technology as… Read more »
The M-14 seems to have worked well too, though it too would likely be a “beast” to lug around.
America’s rifle. I’m going to risk pointing out that this title usually ends up belonging to whatever rifle the U.S. military is currently issuing (if it’s around long enough), just as soon as the same rifle (or a civilian legal version) enters the commercial market. Soldiers become quite attached to the weapons their lives depend on, if those weapons are any good, and they take that with them into the hunting fields and target ranges when they leave the military. At different times, the Springfield and then the M1 were “America’s rifle.” I’ll go out on a limb here and… Read more »
For some reason or other, the AR-15 type rifle seems to have brought on, or contributed mightily to the push for “sightless” rifles, and the various optics that can be attached to them, I wonder why? I fired National Match Course type competition, 200, 300, 500 or 600 yards with a Garand for many years, occasionally with the M-14/M1-A, 1000 yards too with the above mentioned, all of which had quite good Iron Sights, the rear sight being fully adjustable, that is to say for windage and elevation (distance). Later on, having switched to bolt action rifles, same course of… Read more »
Jack Furbush: I don’t have a law degree but I was a cop for more years than I care to count. I’ve also helped write pro-gun legislation. Being a lawyer scores no points with me, I been on the opposite side of the table in the courtroom and made them look foolish more than once, not because I was so adept at legalese but because I wouldn’t be intimidated by them and was perfectly happy calling BS to both the judge and jury. Sometimes the judge appreciated it, sometimes not so much. I learned from the beginning to tell the… Read more »
John McNair: Racism is an ugly way to waste a mind.
Let me clue you in…there are but three races on the planet…Caucasoid, Mongoloid and Negroid. Judaism is a religion. There is no such thing as the Jewish “race”. Jews are an ethnicity but only if the Jews in question subscribe to Judaism and live aspiring to the Jewish culture…
Let me “clue you in”, there is at least one court that has ruled that Jews are, indeed a race and, under current definitions can be considered such.
You might also want to update your dictionary on the definition of “racism”.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism
This entire conversation has become a tome and has gone on a lot longer than I had ever intended. I’m finished, have fun.
Lol….Please provide the case cite that says that Jews are a race…In order for Jews to be a race as a separate people, there must exist particular genealogical elements that define them in a manner that are privy only to them. A court cannot change science and if some court actually has allowed Jews to be defined as a separate race then it would only be recognized by that particular court. It would be tantamount to a court ruling that the ocean is made of paper. Actually, two different universities in Israel tried to find a genetic difference between Jews… Read more »
Here’s a link to the article which is saying the Pentagon is finally getting rid of the M-4/16 platform because its a piece of crap!
https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2017/05/07/new-rifle-bigger-bullets-inside-the-army-s-plan-to-ditch-the-m4-and-5-56/
When you post it really helps not to exaggerate (lie). Nowhere did they say it was a piece of crap or even come close. The major problem was lose of kinetic energy at increased distances that the enemy was utilizing. Try being a little more objective.
I’ve actually been writing a book about how bad the AR-15 really is. Failed every test before McNamara purchased it. It was responsible for the deaths of several hundred soldiers in Vietnam. There have been several Senate hearings as to why its a really bad design. It’s original purpose was to replace the M1 Carbine not the M-14. After seeing the poor performance of the original .223 round there was a change and it was called the 5.56…still under performs. No other country wants to produce the M-4 but the AK-47 has been produced in more than 40 countries worldwide..… Read more »
Hmmm. Funny the M16A1 I carried in the Marine corps and actually used in combat never quit once on me. The AR15s I’ve owned for 30 years have never quit with factory ammunition. I guess I’d better tell them there supposed to malfunction and not hit what I’m shooting at. The military is always looking for an up grade to any equipment including small arms. That’s how it went from the musket and bayonet to the M16. The military always fights the next war the way it fought the last war. Lessons and tactics have to be upgraded as the… Read more »
No matter what kinds of bells and whistles you add to the AR it still is a poor performer. Just last week the Pentagon announced it was finally getting rid of it because it was undependable with poor hitting power.
What would you replace it with?
The AK-74…there’s no argument that there have been 375 million AK’s produced vs only 3 million ARs…and the newer AK12 and 15 are the absolute best ever! Why not equip our troops with the best?
I’d like to see your source for that claim. Last I read in the military times in June the army was looking into a new rifle, but that statement isn’t confirmation. The Army has “looked into” aquiring a new rifle platform dozens of times in the last two decades. XM8, SCAR, ACR, FNFAL, SOCOM M14 remember when the Army was looking into replacing the M4/M16 systems with those?
It is still a fantastic PDW for civilians.
The words I wrote in my first post are the hard facts of life. Of people don’t read what is written then they remain ignorant and we all suffer. I learned in grammar school that knowledge is power and to read the whole page, article, book. What I know about our constitution and what the Founders wrote and intended I learned in High School civics. I also was a cop for 33 years and earned a law degree while I was at it. I know the laws and how to apply it and how are leagl system is supposed to… Read more »
Dang Jack, if you are going to call people ignorant you should at least do so with good grammar. If you really were a cop for 33 years, you would have had enough reports thrown back in your face for bad grammar that you would have it figured out by now without law school lol!
And that’s why it’s called “America’s Rifle”.
Great article! I would send a copy to my local bird cage liner but they only print the BS pablum foisted by the fake news service’s.
It’s now the time as the founding fathers put in our constitution to abolish a government that has become a tyranny. This is easily done at the ballot box. At this point there is no reason for an armed civil war. There has been a verbal civil war going on for the past 30 years in America. It’s a creeping crud that has infected or education system and political system. Donald Trump was elected for very good reasons. We the people spoke, we the people need to speak again in every up coming election. The AR15 is like the Jew… Read more »
Gee, anything else you’re going to put in volume 11? I’ve learned, from hard experience and critiques, that after a paragraph or two folks just pass over everything you’ve written unless you’re a very talented writer. Also, people are getting very tired of the “libtard, demoncrat” terminology. Just a thought.
I NEVER get tired of the ‘libtard, demoncrat’ terminology. Neither should you.
I never get tired of hearing, or writing, libtard, demoncrap, or democrap, but I can’t stand reading garbled grammar. Anyone can learn to write intelligibly if they have half a desire, and they should if they ever want to be be taken seriously….ESPECIALLY in this culture war with leftist democrap libtards.
Yeah I gave up at Eisenhower.
Haven’t you learned from the past election that the ballot box means nothing and there is an illusion of choice. The Republicans hold the Senate, House and Presidency…now they are all resigning without doing anything they promised.
That’s because like I said we keep electing and re electing the worst people out society as produced. They have corrupted the political system to the point that no decent Americans want to put themselves in it. We’ve all done things in life that we aren’t proud of or didn’t work out as planned. These political whores will dig up everything that can be found about you and put thire version of it out for public view. None of these things are even remotely relavent to you’re ability to hold office. Look how they treat Trump. Remember how Lincoln was… Read more »
Furbush, if you were a cop, you would have been well versed in penal code and all all you need to know. If someone violates the law, you cite them or arrest them. It’s up to prosecutors, judges and juries to decide if they need to be taken off the streets. Being a cop and spending the money for a law degree to be a “better cop” is nonsense. You’d make better money as an attorney, and as a cop you’d spend your entire career paying off student loans for a degree that has nothing to do with policing. So… Read more »
If any of what you say is so then Hillary would be Presadent and Obama would be on the supreme court
That could explain it, lawyers are notoriously poor writers.
But we know the law and you don’t. That’s why you pay the $500 an hour. All cops and lawyers suck until you need one
@JAF, One need not be a lawyer to know “the law”. So lets not rub anyone’s nose in it, please. And one need not be a lawyer to be a poor writer. There are some areas of “the law” that V40 probably knows better than I do. No one can be an expert in all of “the law”. I, myself, prefer to develop and extraordinary competency in long script, trite phrases and generally poor writing!
Wake up! Our government is run by the Likud party of Israel. No one is going to get rid of Trump. It’s all a show so people will have someone to root for. Trump is owned by the Chabad-Lubavitz organization. Netanyahu is able to sick Trump on this country and then that country…do you really think the Likud will allow any U.S. politician to harm Trumps presidency in any way when they control the purse strings to all reelection champagnes. It’s all fake news! Take time to research real history and you’ll find most everything you were taught was a… Read more »
How long have you been telling yourself all of this
Why don’t you try and prove me wrong by Googling “Chabad”…https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/04/the-happy-go-lucky-jewish-group-that-connects-trump-and-putin-215007
apparently you rely on MSNBC…do some research…go to some Jewish websites and read up on Orthodox Judaism and why they don’t recognize Israel. Maybe you’ll become like many of us who have broken through the propaganda and are starting to see what is really going on!
“Jesus H” Jack, its spelled Democrat for gods sake Shit, your’e driving me crazy with the spelling. I was a LEO also and the reports required zero grammatical errors. Are you perhaps losing the old memory or perhaps you write when you drink. I just don’t know.
@JF, Thomas Jefferson, famously apologized, ” I would have wrote you a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”
“The greatest charm of eloquence is brevity.” Cicero (I believe ).
And instead of libtard Demacrats all the time how about Depraved, Nefarious, Corrupt party once in a while? Or Degenerate, ‘ Niquitous, and Communist partiers. Or rationally challenged. Or Logic-bombed persons, perhaps.
Sorry, I got carried away.
Lol
Homosocialists?!
WELL SAID BROTHER!!! Well said, and it sucks to see some of the readers are becoming desensitized to the demonized libtard nation from the few comments I read just below… Just saying. By the way maybe we should give the libtards there free medical… I mean after all I am a man of reason so I will give a little if they will, all I want in return is my choice of dictator and mine is currently in the White House.. TRUMP NATION! KEEP AMERICA GREAT! ROUND UP THE FASCIST LIBTARDS AND PUT THEM IN THE FEMA CAMPS… OH AND… Read more »
Took my AERO lower with the Velocity trigger, magpul grip, MFT stock, MAS 14.5″ 300 AAC pistol length barrel with a pinned and welded JP fashhider and JP adjustable gas block, my AERO upper, DI Optical red dot using Magpul 20 round mags, Remington and Fiochi ammo. Made sure it ran right and then switched out to another Aero upper with a Ballistic Advantage 223 Wylde SS 16″ 1/8 twist mid … I also have a 20″ Colt and Windham Bushmaster, I need an intervention …
actually, I just want good advice on a PVS 7 or 14?
A modular rifle with so many options and accessories.
You want a deer rifle? 700 yd rifle? Want to go night hunting?
You can even build one yourself with all the parts that available.
What’s not to like???
Well, that pistol grip is a bit scary. *wink*
Don’t forget the ‘shoulder thing that goes up’ and the very malign ‘barrel shroud’. 😉
Now I’m no expert, but I heard from CNN these bad boys are fully-semiautomatic…
XD
_”A small company out of Southern Oregon created a thin coating process using a polymer-ceramic material that is extremely durable and can come in many colors and variations”_ ????
Um, care to name the small company or the name of the process?
Hi I have an AR15 n it is very loud I have had some people say I mute have a gas block problem I just want your advice. Ty dave
Most likely it is your muzzle break… If it’s not your standard flash hider that could be the culprit.
Dave, start by putting on some ear protection. That should help.