Do I have to take the A2 sight off to make this happen? Really don't want to unpin the gas block if I don't have to. Looking at doing this on a LE6920 and didn't see any reason I'd have to pull the whole thing off. Just chop it and grind it in place. Am I missing anything?
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AR15 Performance Mods? Biggest Bang for the Buck?
- Thread starter Doublehelix
- Start date
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halfmileharry
Grandmaster
A free floating hand guard is a luxury item out to 250 yards. If you are going to shoot over 250 yds I would go to the free floating guard.
You won't get a lot of improvement until you stretch out the shots.
I cut my front sight tower down and polished it out to a nice look for a Leopold scope. I'll post pics later.
I have done group test comparisons with and without freefloat.
Minimal difference until you get to distances I personally feel the 556/223 loses its "umph".
I have better suited weapons for that.
You won't get a lot of improvement until you stretch out the shots.
I cut my front sight tower down and polished it out to a nice look for a Leopold scope. I'll post pics later.
I have done group test comparisons with and without freefloat.
Minimal difference until you get to distances I personally feel the 556/223 loses its "umph".
I have better suited weapons for that.
The Bubba Effect
Grandmaster
I think all home defense rifles should have a sling, red dot and light.
Upgraded barrels, free float handguards, BCG's, triggers, charging handles etc, can give you benefits, but adding a sling, red dot, and light to your rifle makes immediate, drastic improvements to what you can do with it.
Really though, the best bang for your buck would be training.
Upgraded barrels, free float handguards, BCG's, triggers, charging handles etc, can give you benefits, but adding a sling, red dot, and light to your rifle makes immediate, drastic improvements to what you can do with it.
Really though, the best bang for your buck would be training.
That was a hilarious video, and seems oh so true, at least in theory! I beg to differ slightly however, and here is why:
- I could never afford $1,500-1,600 right now. I can afford $700, and then *slowly* add mods as I see fit. It may take me 6 months to a year to get the "gun I want".
- If I built the gun I wanted now, I would not know what upgrades I wanted until I have some experience with the AR platform, and would probably end up wasting money as well. Six months of shooting helps me understand just what components I need and want. For those of you that live and breathe AR15's, these choices seem easy. In the last 6 weeks, I have learned a ton about AR15's that I never knew before. In fact, if I had watched that video 2 months ago, none of it would have made sense to me. The video is only funny and makes sense to those "in the know". So add a couple of more months to the list as I read about and learn about what I would want in a gun, *before* I start building and saving.
- I have no idea how to build an AR, which means reading, studying, etc.. If I buy a pre-built gun, then add mods later, I learn about each part or section as I add them one section at a time. I have read a ton of threads around here written by people that have just finished their first AR builds that say something like "I wish I knew then what I know now...".
- The list shown in the video is the ultimate list, and although I laughed as I saw most of the components I am thinking about in his list, I am not going to buy all of those, especially right away. For example, the $250 bolt carrier, and I almost certainly am not going to spend $250 on a trigger, at least not now and not for a CQB weapon.
- Part of the fun of an AR15 is figuring out the upgrades and adding them later on as you can afford it. If I built the "gun that I want on day one, I would have nothing to look forward to and plan for!
And the most important reason of all:
- I am shooting right now!!! I do not have to wait 6 months until I can save enough money to build that "gun that I want", plus the time involved with the building. I'll bet that I am gaining at *least* 6 months of experience and home protection with a $700 gun from "Walmart" (as he puts it) than I would if I had waited 6 months to buy and build the gun that I really want.
Although in the long run, it will cost me more money, sure, but the fact that I have a gun today, and go out and shoot the crap out of it and and get some training (as everyone suggests), it is worth the extra expense to me. Plus, with all of the leftover crappy parts, I can use them to start building my second AR in the next year or two! Now, that is the INGO way!!!
Thanks for the video, it made my day, and your point is well-made. I am sure I am going to be spending *way* more in the long run doing it this way. I know for sure that my second AR will be a better gun, and will cost me *much* less.
That sounds great, but they say on the MI site (for example) that you need to remove the Delta ring to install these. How do you get the ring off the gun without either removing the front sight or removing the barrel? Any ideas?
EDIT:
Just saw this post from KG1:
KG1 said:
This answers that question pretty well...
Thanks.
Again, FWIW. Good luck fighting the never ending fight of the upgrade
Thanks, great post and great advice.
I guess that was the advantage of starting my build in the winter. I finished in the spring, spent $1000, and have a rifle I'm happy with, from the get go. I spent those cold months learning everything I needed to know about building it, and looking at reviews of parts.
halfmileharry
Grandmaster
Original Colt LE M4 sight post cut down with Dremel and finished out with a belt sander.
This rifle is equipped with a Leupold 3x9x40, Harris bipod on Magpul carbine handguard MOE, original Colt trigger.
1 3/4" groups out to 150 yds and 2 1/8" groups out to 260 yds using AE LC 556 55 gr 193 ammo out of the can. I had a 13" freefloat BCM on it with "slightly" better results over the 250 yd mark. Very minimal difference until distances were shot.
As in my earlier post that's just paper shooting to see what this rifle/scope combo was capable of. It's usually in my trunk for yotes and varmints.
Besides scope and rings, sling, and changing the standard M4 furniture to the Magpul I had in the barn it's stock.
EDIT.. I did put the BCM large charging handle on this for finger to scope clearance.
I have seen several people mention the ambi safety... what is the deal with that? Other than being left-handed, what is the purpose behind that, I am assuming for some safety purpose (no pun intended)?
halfmileharry
Grandmaster
I have am I safetys on two of mine which are SHTF weapons.
My other ARs have standard safetys.
I need to make them all identical.
I was an AR noob at one time as well.
Liberty Sanders
Master
I've never been a big black rifle fan and I don't actually have a need for one since I have a couple of Mini-14's, but I'm thinking it's time I got one as an act of patriotism and a political statement. The higher the sales figures on ARs and their variants go the tougher it will be for the SCOTUS to support complete bans on them.
I have a couple of questions for you AR veterans:
1) Do all ARs and their variants accept GI magazines?
2) Can they be set up to use a scope and open sights simultaneously?
I have a couple of questions for you AR veterans:
1) Do all ARs and their variants accept GI magazines?
2) Can they be set up to use a scope and open sights simultaneously?
I think it delends on your hand size. I have a friend who doesnt like the feel of my rifles, because his hands are pretty large. When I shoot, my hand just clears the right side and I Am unaware it is there. My hands are medium in gloves. I use a short right side safety and a long left side. So for me, it is awesome. I disengage the safety with my thumb as I get on the grip and I re-engage with my index finger knuckle as my finger comes off of the trigger. Its smooth, intuitive, and fast. As they say, YMMV.
I don't think I qualify as a "veteran" of anything other than spending way to much money on these things, but I am pretty sure the answer to your first question is "yes". As for your second question, a red dot set up for "absolute cowitness" and a front sight post is a pretty cool option IMO. When aiming through the optic, the red dot sits right on top of your FSP. I have an aimpoint T-1 set up like this on one of my rifles. The other sorta cool thing is that if you remove the optic and use it on a different rifle, you can use the iron sights to get it back to a functional zero.
Just to put a close to this thread, here is an update on the mods I have made to the S&W M&P15 Sport II:
UPPER:
Bravo Company Gunfighter Ambi Charging Handle (Medium)
Vortex Sparc AR Red Dot
LOWER:
Geissele G2S 2-Stage Trigger
Hogue Rubber Grip - Beavertail w/Finger Grooves - Black
Phase 5 Extended Bolt Release (Gen 2)
Spike's Tactical ST-T2 Heavy Buffer
JP Tuned and Polished Buffer Spring
Magpul ACS Carbine Butt Stock- Black
Someday, I will probably get a new barrel and free-float it, but for now, she shoots like a champ, and is a great home defense/SHTF gun. I do want to mount a flashlight, so that means some sort of hanguard/rail modification.
Through all of this, I ended up building an entirely new AR-15!!! I ended up using much higher quality components, and it will become more of a target/3-gun weapon I am sure.
Thanks for all of the advice with this. Your comments were extremely amazing! :-)
UPPER:
Bravo Company Gunfighter Ambi Charging Handle (Medium)
Vortex Sparc AR Red Dot
LOWER:
Geissele G2S 2-Stage Trigger
Hogue Rubber Grip - Beavertail w/Finger Grooves - Black
Phase 5 Extended Bolt Release (Gen 2)
Spike's Tactical ST-T2 Heavy Buffer
JP Tuned and Polished Buffer Spring
Magpul ACS Carbine Butt Stock- Black
Someday, I will probably get a new barrel and free-float it, but for now, she shoots like a champ, and is a great home defense/SHTF gun. I do want to mount a flashlight, so that means some sort of hanguard/rail modification.
Through all of this, I ended up building an entirely new AR-15!!! I ended up using much higher quality components, and it will become more of a target/3-gun weapon I am sure.
Thanks for all of the advice with this. Your comments were extremely amazing! :-)
I have a BAD on mine and really like it. Sometimes those bolt release devices bounce and cause it to not lock back after the last round. I also have a couple of those buffers. I haven't decided if they arean improvement over the normal style or not. They seem to work fine although my 14.5" & 10.3" still have noticeably more recoil then my 20".
