All posts in M4 Carbine Parts

Are you paying for a name or a paying for a higher quality product with LWRC?

LWRC upper receiversI had a few customers say that to  me when they were picking up an Adams upper receiver but I just kept my mouth shut and let them speak.  With so much of this industry it’s about the task you are using your gear for and sometimes it just comes down to preference.   Since Osama Bin Laden was killed there was a lot of talk about the H&K 416 and why special forces guys use them, and some of the reasons why they do are exactly why people buy LWRC products.  Sure there is not a  lot of reliability differences between the direct impingement products and the  piston designs until you get into extreme conditions or you are running an SBR.   There are also maintenance differences.  Sure you can run DI guns dirty but there is a certain point you aren’t going to be sure how dirty it is and at what point it needs to be cleaned out for security reasons.

I have been an LWRC fan for a long time and back 8yrs ago they were making a very different product compared to what the LWRC M6A2 rifles are today.   The machining and finish of these guns and the LWRC upper receivers we stock feel so different and tough compared to their competitors.  There have been several lightweight upper receivers and the spiral and stretched designs.   The New Special Purpose or SPR is one of the fastest selling M4 complete upper receivers.  You are going to be spending about 40%  more for an LWRC rifle compared to others but you will know why people buy higher end AR15’s like this when you actually hold one in your hand.

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MBUS Sights, Cowitnessing optics, red dots and magnification

RMR08G-7SIf you are unsure of any of those questions when doing your next AR15 build, you need to spend a few days on youtube.com and learn about each individual trade off and asset.   I had to force myself several years ago when I was working on a new M4 selection, that I wanted a close quarters optic that gave me speed and a wide field of view.  I started out with a Bushmaster XM15E2 which is as basic as you can get with an AR15.  No muzzle brake, just two apertures to choose from and with the right kind of ammo for a 1-9 barrel twist, getting MOA is easy.  That was back in the day of carry handle ACOGS and heavy barrels.  Now the trend has been towards lighter and stronger.

I always felt that the AR15 was a great training tool and even youth can learn marksmenship on it, which in my opinion kind of gets lost when you teach with a scoped rifle.  I have taken some of Ruger 10/22 out with red dots on them, but it’s nice to use the Trijicon RMR sights for sale that we get in and let kids shoot balloons and just have fun.   If engagements on targets are under 50yds, iron iron sights or red dots are just fine.  Some law enforcement officers want some type of magnification even if its just a pair of compact binoculars.  It amazed at the number of people that still revert back to those, but sometimes you need it and sometimes you don’t.   If you got the money, there are some nice multitask combat optics from Trijicon that make good use of magnification and red dots.

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Are Magpul stocks and accessories getting more comlicated?

magpul stocks and accessoriesThe answer to that is yes, in a way and there are also more options.   Recently we found out that we had a whole bunch of wrong information about some of the Generation 3 magazines and found out there are 2 types of ranger plates.   One of them is for the Gen 2 magpul pmags and the others are for the Gen 3 pmags.   There are still customers buying the original magpuls if they are running metal magazines like the SA80 or USGI magazines but for those that want a  magazine that they can pull out of a bag quickly or out of a tactical vest, the ranger plates are a good stable and permanent option.   AR15 magazines in general are becoming stronger and stronger and we know magpul is getting some competition, but we’ve chosen to stick with Magpul stocks and AR15 accessories for a reason.

One of the first things we think about when we actually start stocking the Magpul gun accessories is how well they are made and if we get many complaints about things breawing.  We have had issues with other brands especially the cheap Chinese made products but the Magpul stocks and accessories that we have in house are usually our best sellers.  The Magpul CTR stock is a staple in the industry and then from there it gets more sophisticated.  If you want extra batter storage or accessories storage there are magpul MOE grips that you can even use a field survival kit with that will hold extra bolt carrier parts or shell extractors.

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A very successful year in Delaware County

philadelphia police supply storesThis year was a very successful year for us in the Delaware County area in launching our tactical store and we double the size of our business in the first 6 months.  People are still finding out about us via word of mouth whenever they need a new holster, police boots or even just Ambulance companies hiring and people  needing to get a pair of pants.  Much of the product line we stock in our store is for people to checkout instead of buying it online.  Duty gear like handcuff keys and various police belts are things that people in the Law Enforcement industry lose or wear out over time and are always in need of.    Police vests, tactical pants, uniform pants, belts, hydration unites, SWAT team bags are things that are always wearing out and need to be replaced.

We’ve learned there are so many types of handcuffs, swivel and hinged doesn’t always narrow it down, some are different weights and types of metal.  The items we have brought in this year are the Safariland lightweight handcuffs and in our region there are no Philadelphia Police Supplies shops around here and many of our Law Enforcement Officers are very happy to see a business like this open up.   Tactical vests, body armor are all things people need to be sized up on and this is something that has to be done right so that there are fewer returns.   We stock a large number of Blackhawk serpa holsters, safariland products, pepper spray, mace, tasers, batons, police badge holders and more and more duty gear.

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Are Eotech sights out dated?

eotech sightsWe have had a ton of people stop in our store and ask us if we sell Aimpoint but unfortunately the distributor that we use to deal with no longer is carrying them.  If we wanted to be a direct dealer for them, we’d probable not get product for another 6 months or more considering the craze that is going on in  the Country.   Aimpoints are probable the best price combat durable red dot optics but I am not a big fan of them.  My eyes tend to track the Eotech sights or a Circle dot reticle like the TA44 from Trijicon better than a red dot.   Lasers and Red dots seem to race around on targets and they also can obscure targets depending on the size of the dots.  Trijicon does  have a 1.75 MOA dot that is very nice but there are still some issues with that optic that I recently have found at fault.

After all of these optics are tested out, many of our customers still go back to the Eotech sights.  Primarily because they are zero magnification and you can keep both eyes  open when using Eotech sights which is very important if  there are close quarters engagements which statistically occurs for Law Enforcement.   I have been running the Eotech 512 for about 8yrs and only a battery contact came loose on it.  I do have the Gen 2 Magnifier on it but I could probable be better off if I was running the Eotech 516 or the EXPS2-0 which have the buttons on the left side which is what you have to think about if you are thinking about adding on the Magnifier later on.

 

 

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Where to mount a flashlight on your M4?

streamlight flashlightsOk, Ok, I know you might not have an actual M4 Carbine but you do have an AR15 in some sort of configuration.   There are plenty of ways to get a light on a gun and you can always get your own custom mounting system, but there are always do’s and don’ts  when it comes to accessorizing.  The most common thing people don’t do is mount optics, sights or flashlights properly.  I’ve seen so many canted accessories and optics that I don’t understand why anyone would bother to shoot good ammunition when there elevation and windage are going to be off.   When shopping for a firearm, you really should put some thought into getting a quad rail or an MOE system.  I think the Magpul MOE system is a better idea because it lighter from the get go and kind of starts you at a less tactical point in the accessorizing stage.

With the Magpul MOE system you can just buy a rail, attach it to your forearm and then you you don’t need to worry about buying rail skins or rail covers.  I’ve had rail covers on my 3 and 6 o’clock for years because I never need that  now I’m looking into some of the Streamlight Flashlights like the TLR1S or the TLR2 since the newer 2013 models have 80% more lighting power.    Last years model was 160 lumens and this years are 300 lumens.  I always thought 200 lumens was a great lighting limit but it really depends on whether you are indoors or outdoors.  In most situations indoors you don’t need as much throw as you do outside.  Those are other things to consider when selecting a light on your AR15.

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New Gen 3 pmags are improved in more ways than just feel

magpul pmagsMagpul Pmags are the most durable and reliable AR15 magazine and have extended the life of the direct impingement firearm. Magpul Pmags are available in Black, OD Green, Foliage and Dark Earth. We are a stocking dealer for all Magpul Accessories, gun grips, magazine accessories and gun stocks. Our inventory of Magpul Pmags are also available in 10rd, 20rd and 30rd magazine capacities.  There are considerable differences between the Gen 2 and Gen 3 pmags and it’s not just the look but there are composite material improvements so that the Gen 3 magazine lips are stronger and don’t crack when loaded for long periods of time.

Everyone seems to think that the AR15 always uses 30rd magazines, but for those that have trained, there is something that balances out the M4 Carbine very well by using 20rd round magazines. The Magpul Pmags that we sell are the most reliable AR15 magazines and there is lots of proof if you do your research on the internet or Youtube.com  Magpul Pmag durability is superb and the AR15 magazines are available in Black, Dark Earth, Foliage and OD Green.   They are very hard to get at the moment but we have received a large shipment of PMAGs with windows and the 30rd MOE and M3 magazines.

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Eotech sights, 512 vs 516 and what about magnifiers?

eotech sights I remember being to ranges when I was a kid and seeing the guys with the AR15s and the 3-9×40 scopes and thinking that was the pinnacle of coolness.   If you are target shooting, hunting or on a really tight budget, something like that might be good for you but for close quarters defensive applications, the need for magnification is very low.   Most Police Officers we deal with don’t even see the magnifiers on their guns because many of those guys are even on even tighter budgets.  They use what they know they need and Trijicon ACOGS are something rarely  used in the Law Enforcement community because they don’t need a rifle scope with 3.5X or 4X.  That actually can slow you down with your AR15  or M16 carbine.  The Eotech 512 with the AA Batteries is still the most popular but the XPS and EXPS optics have gained traction because they are lighter and smaller.

On some of my Daniel Defense M4 carbines I am running an Eotech 512 because I find the AA batteries to be more common, but if you bulk buy and stock the CR123 batteries they will work well for you.   Many of the guys running the Eotech sights with the CR123 batteries use those because the weapon mounted flashlights like the TLR1, TLR 3 laser combo use the same batteries so mixing up the battery types is somewhat of an issue.   Battery life can be betwee 600 hrs and 1300 hrs but for domestic purposes having access to batteries shouldn’t be an issue.  Keeping AA batteries or CR123 batteries around is something that should just be as important as having 5.56 ammunition.   If you want magnification you can run a Gen 3 magnifier later.

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Reviews on the Trijicon reflex and Mini ACOGS

Trijicon Reflex Sights I have always run Eotech sights on my LWRC AR15 carbines but the optics that have turned me on recently are the TA44 Mini ACOGS.  These 1.5×24 ACOGS have low magnification but the circle/dot reticle kind of reminds of the Eotech gun sight.  I have never been a huge fan of the Red dot because they seem to be too blurry for my eyes and I don’t like all of that haze.  For clearing houses I understand why people like them but the Trijicon Reflex sights like the RX30 are much clearer with their dot recticles than any red dot I’ve used.   There is now a very small 1.75 red dot called the Trijicon SRS sight which is a sealed reflex sight.  There is almost zero “tube effect” when looking through these and they take up very little space on your rail.  I still run a quad rail and have not jumped on the Magpul MOE yet but this is important to me.

There is so much to accessorize about the AR15 now but that is a good thing since all of us have different arm lengths and different tolerances of weight.  Several of the new Trijicon Reflex sights like the Trijicon SRS01 and SRS02 are ground breaking optics with their solar/battery powered red dots.   I would like to see something more along the lines of a solar/battery powered Eotech sight but maybe Trijicon will come out with a circle/dot solar powered optic like the TA44.   I would love to see something like that in maybe a 30mm optic.

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Pmags coming back in stock

magpul pmagsWe have factory Glock magazines, Beretta Magazines, Sig Sauer magazines,Kahr magazines and more listed here.  Chip McCormick magazines, Speed loaders for your j-frame for fast and easy reloading, range mags and spare magazines for your CCW and target shooting purposes.   We strongly recommend that any serious shooter or CCW holder have atleast 3 magazines for each firearm that they own, and we believe it’s a good idea to have a gun holster for every handgun you own.   Make sure you rotate your gun magazines when you are using them on the range and once you match up the right ammunition with the right magazines that you have, consider buying other gun magazines as range mags to keep your primary concealed carry firearm at it’s optimum reliability.   Serious should keep spare gun springs for their guns and we highly recommend Wolff gun springs.

Butler Creek gun magazines work very well with the Ruger 10/22 which is one of our favorite 22lr rifles.  It’s been a toss up for us to recommend our vest 1911 magazines because most of our customers tell us we have the best prices on magpul pmags and gun magazines  like Chip McCormick and Wilson Combat Magazines are the most reliable and friendly to the 1911 family.  Take a look at the 1911 mags being used in the State and National IDPA competitions and you’ll see for yourself. New Factory Glock magazines are less expensive than most gun mags, and Glock factory magazines are as rock solid and durable as the firearm.   Magpul Pmags have given new life and reliability to any AR15 Carbine, M4 or A2, direct impingement or piston driven.   Stock up on Kahr magazines we have some of the best prices and join our newsletter for discounts and promos. Maglula speedloaders will give you more range time and less loading time.

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