AR15 STOCKS

September 4th, 2009 admin Leave a comment Go to comments

AR15 STOCKS

Help choosing AR mods and upgrades?

I just bought a Bushmaster XM15-E2S so I'm new to world of the AR15. It's got the 20" 223 A3 upper with detachable carry handle, and the full stock A2 lower. Anyway as some of you may remember I'm an AK guy, so I'm too sure what sorts of upgrades or mods my new AR15 might need. I mean does it need a recoil buffer like my AK did? Are there certain mag brands that I should avoid? Also people have told me about gas piston conversion kits, what's that all about?
Well hope you guys can help this new AR guy make the most of his new gun!
Thanks.

Honestly, take your time and do your research when buying upgrades. I bought the exact same rifle as my first AR and put every bit of Made in China crap I could find on it. I had a super decked out tacticool rifle with rails, light, laser, scope, and felt prepared for anything the world could throw at me... Too bad when I picked it up, it weighed a freaking ton.

I took all the crap I bought off it, stripped it to stock and got some quality optics... I couldn't be happier now. I would explore upgrading the trigger to made it a little smoother, maybe changing the stock, and getting QUALITY optics. No NcStar, BSA or Leapers crap... Get a C-More, Aimpoint, Eotech, or ACOG sight. They cost $200-1200, but are worth it. Hate to say it, but in the world of AR's, quality does NOT come cheap.

Some upgrades i WOULD recommend would be getting a better grip for it, changing the trigger guard to a Magpul trigger guard (the stock is a little sharp), and getting some quality mags.

As for the gas piston system... Don't worry about it for now. It costs a great deal of money and you will gain little benefit if any. Your AR works on a gas impingement system. When you fire a bullet, the expanding gas goes through a hole in your barrel, through the front sight tower, then back into the chamber through a tube under your hand guards, pushing the bolt back and re-chambering a round. A piston driven system replaces the front sight tower, gas tube and bolt, and replaces the tube with a piston tube, piston and piston driven bolt. Doing so helps keep the bolt cooler, reduces wear and increases overall life. Unless you are firing full-auto, however, it won't make a big difference to you.

On a side note, be careful about upgrading too much on your AR. I bought an XM15-E2S years ago and upgraded everything. Next thing you know, I have a spare upper, stock, parts... So I built an AR on my own. Upgraded parts, had spares left, so I built another AR.... You see where this is going