All posts in M4 Carbine Parts

One thing at a time is the way to modify a firearm

People can move entirely too fast when it comes to customizing and AR15 rifle.   I  have seen countless times while attending Carbine courses where people end up just stripping their guns down and finish the courses with flashlights and grips being removed.   One of the biggest changes we’ve seen in recent months is a move away from foregrips.   That whole stance is somewhat un-natural for people although in some people’s minds, it looks cool  so they want to do it too.

The move away from using the foregrips of the past has actually been a move towards getting rid of them or the Magpul angled foregrips.   These Magpul stocks and accessories have really become original as a matter of fact, the MOE stands fro Magpul Original Equipment which very much lives up to it’s name.  Once students got down on the ground or were shooting from behind cover, the protruding gun parts and accessories really got in the way and opened an Operator up to snags and bonking.

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I’m an LWRC Piston guy, but……….

I’ve been on bandwagon with LWRC long before we sold their upper receivers and I really have a hard time spending money on anything but.  We’ve been involved with gun builds at various places in the Country and it’s been loads of fun doing it and see people build or assemble their first AR15.   The AR15 is still the next best training rifle after a 22LR bolt action for new shooters.   You can teach range adjustments and get people to learn how to manipulate a firearm that is basically the same thing that most of our standing military uses.

If you are looking to get your first AR15, I would not hesitate to tell you that you really don’t need to spend more than about $600.   I see nothing wrong with people buying something like Spikes Tactical Uppers and slapping it on a used upper receiver or a less expensive gun.   Spikes Tactical Uppers give you a very good starting point with quality parts and a good price point.   If you don’t think you’ll be put on the front line and be shooting 10,000rds a year through your barrel, don’t worry about spending the $2000 on an LWRC.

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Remember when everyone and an AR15A2?

Remember how long ago it was when an AR15 meant the long 20inch barrel and it was virtually impossible to find an M4 style firearm.   AR15 firearms have come a long way, both the upper receivers and the lowers.   Trying to find a firearm now that does not have staked parts or is not chrome plated is getting harder and harder.   Even the machining on bolt carriers has improved to the point that Direct Impingement firearms are 10xs more reliable than before.  All you have to do is pop the bolt carriers out of the guns and you can feel the difference.

Even the average AR15 now is a minute of angle firearm and can still run like a military rifle.   Barrel technology on your average AR15 upper receivers has doubled and tripled.   I have an LWRC M6A1 rifle that supposedly has a barrel life of about 7500rds but the newer ones are close to 20,000rds.   The bolt carrier group is a  one piece unit and there has been absolutely zero broken parts on it.   Hopefully the only things that will eventually where out anytime soon are the extractor and springs.  It’s always wise to keep some of the basic spare parts around no matter what AR15 you own.

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Not sure what combat optic to put on your M4?

If you know you want a fighting optic on your gun but you don’t know which one to get, well put your thinking cap on and do the Think Think Think that Winnie the Poo does.  Do you want a close up fighting gun for home defense, house clearing or do you want to shoot your reloads through it and do some long range shooting.   There is no such thing as a do it all optic yet, but there are multi-use combat optics.   The real problem you will have if you don’t figure out what you really want is a heavy or bulkier than necessary firearm.

Some combat optics like the TA01NSN-RMR can be very bulky but they are worth their weight in gold if you need something like that.   The Trijicon TA01NSN is a dressed down version of that but can eliminate the need for adding on backup iron sights.  It’s our call if you want that extra backup, but this particular ACOG already gives you a backup option.  I have friends that get MOA with the iron sights on this optic so you’ll have to realize that the gun is as good as you are.

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Boat load of Spikes tactical uppers in stock

The Spikes Tactical upper receivers have recently become our number one selling upper receivers.   We have done extensive inventory reviews on our product lines and pruned a few product lines out because we got sick of the complaints or returns on them.   From a price and quality standpoint, these are the best bang for the buck.  The MOE upper is also a pretty good deal if you want to get on that Magpul Original Equipment bandwagon.   We’ve been playing with the LWRC lightweight uppers that have the MOE furniture and we’ve been very happy with them also.

The mid-length uppers from Spikes Tactical seem to outsell the others, but since these have been backordered for awhile and we haven’t had the others in stock, it’s been hard to compare them.   The Spikes tactical uppers are now in stock and we have more of them than we had before.   We also have a full inventory of the Magpul MOE stock accessories from grips, angled grips, fore grips and rail options.   Put some thought into what you really want on the guns and avoid too many exchange or returns.   We do get cranky with customers that order a ton of gun parts and then want to return them later.   Restocking fees apply!

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All of those .380 pistols might help you keep your clothes on

I started out carrying a 1911 a very, very long time ago and at the time, the last thing I wanted to have to worry about was getting more clothes to wear just so they could accommodate my firearm.  You’d think it wouldn’t be that much of a problem, unless you’ve already got experience in carrying a gun.   Many Cops were paddle holsters, or Desantis pancake style holsters which work very well for medium or full size semi-auto guns.    Most individuals in that line of work aren’t looking for small and concealable, they are carrying what they have been issued or what they are best at using.

Recently we had a customer tell us that he hates elastic waistband pants, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard a customer that was CCW a firearm say that.   If you understand how often tactical pants have varying sizing and fit differences from brand to brand.  You’ll have to try them on to find out if they fit.   Everyone does not come in even sizes and when you put a firearm IWB you’ll have even more troubles if you aren’t wearing pants with an elastic waistband.

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More great stuff coming from Panteao Productions

We all know how well the Magpul Art of the Tactical Carbine and related DVDS have done and I have heard very little criticism about the training information that was put forward.  I do want to state that I have not fallen into the mindset of glorifying all of the firearms instructors with DVD’s just because they sold a lot.  There are plenty of Celebrity firearms instructors that I don’t too much credit into because I can find the information and competency in other venues.  I have to say that spending $50 on a DVD these days is kind of high, but considering that there is so much information that deducted from the price of traveling and training.

Travis Haley has parted with Magpul but from all accounts it was strictly business and I guess time to move on.   We have several sources tell us there will be much more coming from Travis Haley via Make Ready firearm instructional dvds give the working man or women a source for getting training and info from some of the best sources.  There is a lot to firearms  that has nothing to do with pulling the trigger and hitting the target.   Maintaining a firearm and diagnosing a problem quickly is something that all shooters need to know.   There are many different ways to do the same thing, but many times, the environments and positions change so you will have to have the mindset of adapting.

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Gun Parts and AR15 accessorizing

Those statements can give some people a stroke, but once you’ve been there and done that, you hopefully have arrived at a happy medium.   Put me down as someone that was not a big fan of the AR15 design because I never understood why a gun was designed without worrying about how much maintenance it needed.   Don’t tell me that Eugene Stoner knew the gun was designed to do what it is doing today.  There was basically a disaster in place when the guns were first fielded and not until recently have the vast majority of AR15 owners realized that the direct impingement gun needs to be generously lubricated at all times to be functional.

There have been many improvements over the internal workings of the firearm from barrels, chamber chroming, gun magazines, improvements on ammunition and even changes to barrel twist have all gun us to where the M4 carbine is today.   The next major improvement with the M4 Carbine and M16 family of firearms is a lighter carbine like replacing your AR15 upper receivers without the compromises in durability.  That is something that has still been unproven with some of the newer lightweight uppers because of the time they have been out, but only time and testing will tell.

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Something new and different, will it work for you?

I remember a long time ago whenever I thought about an AR15, it was always the AR15 A2 model and always a 20inch barrel.   The Bushmaster XM15E2 was probable the most widely used AR15 in competition shoots at my gun club.   Most Cops had A2 M16 and then everything changed in the early part of the decade.   Now it’s hard to find anyone with a 20inch barrel on their gun because the M4 Carbine 14 inche barrels have gotten so well made and are so much more accurate than before, that you don’t sacrifice much of anything.

Stock accessories have gotten a bit out of control at times  and my eyes just buggout whenever somebody tells me about so new company or tricked out gadget that they found.   For me and most of my best shooting and LEO friends, the Magpul gun stock accessories and the new Magpul MOE are all we need.  The new angled fore grips are a better idea and don’t get in the way or protrude like many of the foregrips in the past.   Magpul does have a reputation have holding up to Military and LEO use so it’s worth the money.

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Carrying rifle magazines off a tac vest

A well designed tactical vest is almost always the best place to to carry your gear, but the gear should drive the mission.   The reason Molle vests are so popular is simple putting it, you don’t always need the same gear to get the job done so why expect the vest to already be designed for everything.  Sometimes to many attachments is the real piss off and you want simplicity.   There are still times when all a guy needs is a vest for flash bangs or grenades.   Those can be important roles for achieving a mission accomplished.

The tactical clothing market is easy 1000 times bigger than it was 6yrs ago and quality and cost are one thing, but the other is about usefulness.  One tactical pant that catches the eye are the Woolrich elite tactical pants in Style 44447.  These pants were designed after the ACU style pants are are probable the most popular carbine operator pant.   There pants are lightweight cotton ripstop and can hold up to 6- 30rd pmags in or any AR15 30rd magazine for that matter.   If you aren’t in a situation where a tactical vest is appropriate, the Woolrich Elite pants make getting gear easy in the prone positions.

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