All posts in AR15 Uppers

Otis 5.56 buttstock cleaning kit

This is the cleaning kit you might want to consider throwing in your butt stock if you can fit one in there.   The tools that this gun cleaning kit comes with should get the job done after long firing sessions.  One thing to consider is that gun cleaning sometimes is over done and you can damage a firearm with too much scraping and cleaning.   I have never seen it happen, but I have read several articles in SWAT magazine that referred to people over cleaning AR15 guns.

Cleaning out the chamber is not as important as keep a DI AR15 lubricated, but I have never been one to leave a gun sit un cleaned for more than a week.   The Otis gun cleaning system are well thought out gun cleaning kits that have the brushes and attachments to cleaning various parts of a firearm.  The Otis 5.56 butt stock cleaning kit is even more practical because it fits inside the gun and doesn’t need to be hauled around in a range bag.   Having an Otis kit will probable reduce your need on packing gun cleaning supplies in another bag.

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Sale on LWRCI upper receivers

As we move into our new facility we’ve been listing to our customer base tell us about what they wish they would see in the store.  Many of our customers complain that although the internet is where most of their shopping takes place there are certain things you really need to get your hands on.   Things like clothing and rifle accessories are a real royal pain to figure out online and many gun shops don’t want to deal with the headaches.   We’ve had to modify our return policy because we’ve had too many take advantage of our return and exchange policies with gun parts.   I have heard of 2 gun shops in our area not stock gun accessories because people were buying them, walking out the door, and then coming back a few days later complaining that the parts broke or were broken.   From the gun shops stand point, it’s because people didn’t know how to install them and were lacking gunsmithing talent.

 

This unfortunately had happened to us via online sales and we’ve had people buy $400 optics and call  up and complain that they didn’t know they needed a $75 adapter for their AR15 and now they want to return the optic.   When we inform them that we are charging a 10% restocking fee they complain that we’re ripping them  off.   We are stocking LWRCI uppers which puts a lot of money on the line with small margins, but given that they are unique gun parts, sometime there are pens that need to be fitted when attaching upper receivers.  Do you research or find a gun shop that stocks the products, then do your homework on how to properly install gun parts and be patient.  If you have questions, ask them, every gun is different and there are always fitting and tweaking that can occur.

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The Beauty of owning an AR15 Carbine

There was a time when I bashed the AR15 time every time I heard somebody rave about them, but that part of my outlook on the design has ended.    The differences between AR15 rifles as varying as the differences between cars.  You can get a compact car, pickup truck, van or monster truck and they all basically work the same on the outside, they roll, drive and turn, but internally they can be different and they all have different operating purposes.   The AR15 upper receivers you see now can be direct impingement, piston driven, 22 caliber converted, 6.8 SPC, 50 Beowulf, and on and on.  I can’t back it up, but I’ve read there are up to 40 different calibers you can get them in.   I really only could ever seen the need for 3 or 4 of them, but the design is so well received, that there is still plenty of new things to come for the design.

I have always been a fan of piston guns and not direct impingement.  Modern technology has made firearms more reliable even if they are still DI guns and arguments about gun reliability really only get blamed on the operator and not the designs.  If you want to compare an M16A1 to a piston driven gun it’ll be a slaughter over reliability, but AR15 really give you what you pay for them.   I am an LWRCI upper receivers fan.   If you still have an old Bushmaster DI gun laying around and wants something really different, you gotta spend the dough, but it’s fun with less cleaning time.  If I think of the last 20 times I went shooting, and did no more than 10 minutes of cleaning each time, I’ve saved hours of slopping gun cleaner around.  Gun cleaning supplies don’t cost much, but if you shoot often and clean your guns,  you will save time and money on just those things as well as bolt carrier life ect by switching to a n LWRCI upper receiver.

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Long range shooting with an AR platform rifle

I don’t know all of the facts and figures, but given just what I see every day on the New York and Ohio firing ranges around here, I would say that the AR15 is the most popular rifle in America.   Now that caliber changes are as easy as swapping out your AR15 upper receiver and possible only a minor change in your lower receiver like a hammer spring, you can go from a .223 varmint rifle to a 6.8 SPC rifle, or down to a CQB rifle at almost the pop of two pins.   I was never a big fan of upping the caliber on a AR15 rifle, but I am a big fan of the 75gr HPBT for close up fighting.   The 75gr bullet seems to yaw better and slower velocities and give more thump just from my experiences.

When it comes to taking your AR15 rifle to a longer range, there are records being broken every week with the AR15 platform.  People use to laugh when they would hear of some one shooting an AR15 at 1000yds,  but it is done and can give a .308 a run for it’s money.   The real thing to consider when it comes to caliber changes on AR15 upper receivers  is how powerful is the round vs just accuracy competitions.   I have a friend that came back from service over in the Middle East and he gave first hand accounts of how bad 9mm ammo was in combat and that at least 3rds of M855 was necessary to take down a threat with an M4.   Consider the ammunition you are using and not just how far out you can shoot, you may want to trade accuracy for energy.

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Boresnake life span, are they worth it?

Are they worth it?  Do they hold up to heavy use?   I have the same 22 caliber bore snake and it has been used in 22LR rifles, AR15 rifles, M4 Carbines, AK74 and Mini 14s.   The same bore snake is approximately 6yrs old and probable gets used about  50 times a year.   I usually run the snake through the gun about 2 times.   I may only need to do it once, but i’m use to using cleaning rods and just get in the habit.   I almost only use Break Free CLP on my firearms, and the occasional grease application, and gun cleaning is now simple.

Cleaning revolvers is probable easier than some semi-autos because there is nothing you really need to disassemble.   I have been using the Hoppes boresnakes for rifle the majority of the time because handguns just don’t seem to be that much of a hassle and I’m really not that worried about how clean the barrels are for any particular accuracy reason.    When it comes to cleaning out a bolt action rifle like a Winchester M70,  It sure does make a difference in cleaning time when you do a one, two, and then just wipe the gun down and put it away.   If you clean the guns often, from my experience there is very little worry about hard to clean areas.

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Improving what you already have

There is nothing wrong with putting some money into the firearms you already own.   For some reason people think that putting a $100 gun stock on an SKS is a waste because you’re spending close to 30% more on your investment.   Well, I am one who  has come to the conclusion that firearms should be customized to the operator.   The good thing about the stock options you have today are many of them are adjustable.   I remember when I was a teenager and many of the rifles that I was shooting were too long for me, now I have trouble getting kids to shoot some of my guns because they are too long.

Guess which firearm is the easiest for me to teach knew shooters that are teenagers and still growing?  You guessed it, the M4 Carbine.   The adjustable stocks are really meant for people that wear body armor, but I have gotten good use out of my Magpul stocks, the PRS AR15 sniper stock also has an adjustable cheek weld which is something that you will learn to appreciate especially if you are not sure about which optics you are going to use on the gun.  The Magpul CTR stock is by far the biggest seller because it is easy to adjust and lock in place.

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Boresnakes and gun cleaning kits for the AR15

I’m really starting to accumulate a lot of gun cleaning accessories in recent  years.   Not that I really felt I needed them, but I was wanted to know if they were useful and helped speed up or simplify the process.   Every firearm I own needs to be cleaned in a different manor.   I am very careful how I clean my Russian SKS rifles because I have seen on several occasion that using the wrong cleaning liquids like WD40 can actually cause the gun to double or go full auto.  Bolt action rifles are in another category because you really could get away with mostly just using gun oil or a rust inhibitor.

I have several AR15 rifles and I like shooting all of them, but when it comes to cleaning, It doesn’t matter what cleaning tools I have, my LWRCI M6A2 is my favorite to clean.   I don’t need to clean the LWRCI upper receivers pistol area more less than once every 2500 rds and there is absolutely no need for using a scraping tool inside the locking lugs or the bolt carrier like my direct impingement guns.  Depending on what type of AR15 fits your needs the LWRCI gun may cost you 30-50% more than a less expensive gun, but there are hobby guns and there are combat carbines. And you get what you pay for.  How about accuracy, reliability and easy cleaning?

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The 6.8 SPC still not catching on

I was never a big fan of the .223 or 556 caliber until I actually got off the bench and started doing real gun fighting.   I started out like many, with a Russian AK variant which was extremely reliable, but when it came to target engagements out to 400 meters and for close quarters gun fighting, there was a substantial difference in hit ratio.  Hit ratio was something that I never dealt with before because it was all about penetration and accuracy.   Now I know that being able to shoot a reliable rifle doesn’t mean you are going to win a fight, it’s all about hits and who gets the hits first.

There have been times when an AK74 type of rifle has done almost as well or equal to an M4 Carbine, but the shooter has to have more experience in gun  handling skills to keep up.  I compared the close quarters hit ration of the 6.8 SPC and found it to be closer to a 7.62×39 AK than a .223 variant. CMMG upper receivers are something to be considered if you are looking to mess around with bullet calibers.  Muzzle hop or flip will affect  your accuracy and speed and that is something to be concerned about.  Room to room and house to house fighting is something which occurs in seconds and putting 5 hits on paper is better more reliable at stopping a threat than one bad hit.   Bullet penetration is also something that can be over blown when it comes to CQC because that is a bad thing in a hostage situation.

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Getting the most out of the .223 gun

Even if you are someone that get’s very accurate results from your M4 or 14.7 inch barrel AR15.   You may be getting hits, but that caliber can become very weak once you get several hundred yards out.   When I picked up a chronograph I was blown away by how much velocity I actually got out of short barrel handguns and my M4 rifles because it did not match up with what I previously read about on the internet.   I saw 75gr HPBT clock at 2900fps out of my guns when I thought they would have been close to 2750.   I know you can push the limits with hand loaded ammunition, but you do have to be careful about excessive wear and tear.

I have been recently thinking about picking up an LWRCI Repr because I have been a big fan of battle rifles and even the military has brought back the 7.62 DMR rifle in various configurations.  I have even seen a few British troops show up with FAL rifles with scopes on them.   There is also a difference between what you can get out of a 55gr hpbt and a 75gr hpbt out of a 5.56 gun.  Sometimes an 18-20 inch AR15 upper receivers will get you far more range and punch than M193 ball ammo.  What you can do at 400-800yds with those guns compared to a 55gr bullet is considerable especially with wind drift ect.   Of course much of this is up to the skill level of the shooter.

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Extensive gun cleaning and gun supplies

I recently did a walk through at a Dick’s Sporting goods store and I was recently at a Cabela’s here in Pennsylvania.   The gun cleaning kits that I had when I first got my own rifle are still being made, but I just don’t have the urge to give something like that as a Holiday present to family members.  I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but I have so many family members getting their first firearms and it’s been a lot of fun getting them setup with targets, joining gun clubs and helping them take apart and clean the guns.  It’s also been a learning experience because I  didn’t know how to do everything until I did a little research.

I still highly recommend that people have atleast one strong one piece cleaning rod for a rifle or handgun around, but that is only for clearing any bore obstructions.  Boresnakes are the easiest thing for a new shooter to use because not everyone has young eyesight and can see clearly inside the gun to know that everything has been cleaned.  For anyone getting an AR15 or knowing someone getting an AR, the Otis gun cleaning kits are probable the best gift you can give them.    Make sure you get the M16 kit because it has special brushes and tools to get into areas that a cleaning rod just won’t touch.

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