All posts tagged LWRC Rifles

Too much to think about or lots to think about ?

After watching many Youtube videos about what is coming out in 2012 I was mostly bored out of my skull trying to understand why I would bother spending another $2000 for an AR15 that is slightly different than what I already own.   Sure there are improvements but spending $2000 on something that is 5% more of a gun than an AR15 that you already own doesn’t justify the cost.   I am a big proponent to upgrading what you have.   There was a really good article in Swat magazine years ago about improving what you already own and the small things you can do to improve your AR15.   Replace extractor springs, stake screws, lube your gun right and you’ve just improved your gun for less than $150.

If you are looking to make your Carbine a firearm that you can rely on, make sure you don’t over think the configuration and setup.   I understand why people spend $2000 on AR15 upper receivers that have folding front and rear sights, but if you have folding front sights keep in mind that you have one more step to getting your firearm up and running and that is something to seriously think about.   I am a firm believer that people need to adapt to weapons and gear and not always expect to adapt the firearm to them.  Fixed front sights have been around for a long time and I don’t think changing that another thing that needs to be folded or screwed on is worth the liability.

Top

Keeping a Carbine running

There are a lot of really good sources of information about maintaining an AR15 and now that there are so many variations of AR15’s out there you really have to pay attention to the type of gun you have.   I’ve found that one of the best sources of information is SWAT Magazine because the writers they get have a long track record of knowing the products that our out there and  what the real world use is like.    Issues like over cleaning firearms is something you rarely hear about it goes on a lot more than you realize.   Especially when it comes to bolt carrier groups.  I was amazed at the number of Instructors that weren’t cleaning their Carbines and were only dropping lube in the guns as maintenance.

Now that piston driven guns are becoming so prevalent, there are areas that don’t need as much lubrication as other AR15 variants.  One thing that hasn’t changed over years, but has only continued to grow are the use of Magpul Pmags.   They are everywhere and although there have been some minor issues with dimensions and materials, they still beat USGI mags in just about everything except for weight.  One thing you still need to keep in mind when operating a Carbine and keeping it running is you still need to clean magazines out.   Pay attention to how many rounds you are putting through your magazines and inspect them.   Magazines get dirty at some point and they will cause malfunctions.

Top

Ok, So LWRCI has something less expensive

I think the best bang for the buck is buying a 5.45×39 upper for your AR15, but you will have to do some research on using the magazines and possible changing a few things in your AR15  like a new buffer or a hammer spring.   The main reason I didn’t start shooting one of these was because I didn’t have a spare lower to try out.   Last year I did some shopping, but I’m not really a fan of swapping parts in and out of uppers and lowers just to do caliber changes.   I think its a better idea to pick a caliber and keep a lower for the gun.

The 5.45×39 ammunition is dirt cheap and the Smith &  Wesson seems to have been king of the realm for awhile, but direct impingement and 5.45×39 don’t mix very well.   LWRC uppers have been increasingly expensive and yes, you can buy a whole new Colt AR15 for the price of an LWRC upper, but recently we were informed that the LWRC M6SL which is the lightweight stretch upper costs just about $1000.   I got my LWRC M6A2 for more than than about 4yrs ago.   Even though we’re selling them we want to hear from people on how they are holding up.

Top

Is the gas piston a new thing?

I remember the first time I pulled the trigger on an AR15 rifle I thought it was the rich boy gun.   Back in the 1990s there was a mentality on the State Game ranges I use to dwell on where a certain level of snotty attitudes went with the expensive firearms.   Since just about everyone and there dog owns a 5.56 AR 15 now,  I don’t really look at it that way anymore.  The new trend in 5.56 calibers is to move away from the direct impingement and towards a gas piston driven gun.   There are plenty of people that can honestly claim that their AR15s don’t give them problems, but now that I know more about firearms, this is because they are maintaining their firearms properly.

Alth0ugh you can get the job done with a DI gun, I really have to say the that biggest reason I would want the United States Military to change to an H&K 416 style weapon is so our troops don’t have to break down their guns every day and do as much maintanace.    If we all drove a car that got 75 miles to the gallon, but needed an oil change every 500 miles, I think we get annoyed at how much time we are spending changing the oil filter or dropping it off to get done every month.  The beauty of market we are in is that piston conversion kits are being made for many of the DI guns and for a few hundred bucks we can convert everything over.

Top

LWRC Range Trip

rifle scopesToday I took my newest LWRC rifle to the range to break it in.   This is a combat rifle and I expect that it eventually get pretty beat up, but it’s always a  good idea to run through some firing drills before you rely on it.   Some of the biggest malfuntion problems I have seen on the firing line were with supposedely brand new out of the box rifles.   Sometimes there are bugs or issues that are easy to fix, but you really need to put some lead down range with your rifle or pistol before you rely on it.   I’ve mentioned before about a time when I saw a guy show up with a Beretta 92FS inox pistol and it jammed after every round.   The shooter was very frustrated because this was it’s first range trip.   Well, turns out that the pistol was bone dry and had absolutely zero lubrication on it and with one wipe down, the gun ran flawlessly.    The same should go for any firearm.   I strongly suggest cleaning guns every once in awhile, even if you haven’t shot them.    Lubrication can run off of guns or drain off, and I also highly recommend using a small level of grease on even pistols, especially if they may sit in a gun safe for long periods of time.

My LWRC defanitely runs on less lubrication that any direct impingement rifle, but I am going to use small amounts of Break Free CLP on it just to help reduce the amount of wear on the parts.   I have tested previous LWRC rifles out and they have all lived up to my expectations.   The product has been modified over the last 3yrs, but I’d have to say that they were big improvements, mostly on the bolt carrier and short stroke piston designs.   My favorite configuration is the shorter version that is close the militaries version of the M4 Carbine.   The M4 Carbine is the fastest CQB rifle, but it is possible to inhibit the speed of the rifle by putting too much optic on the rifle.   The rifle is meant for close range fighting and anything more than 4X is too much.   The lethality and ballistics of the M4 make it a very good close range fighting rifle, but even though the rifle is accurate out to 600yds, it is a very week round at those distances.   You may be better off with a longer barrel AR15 variant and mounting 4-10X rifle scopes if you aren’t looking for a close range fighting rifle.   I am starting to see a trend away from magnification on the M4 and even many of the Trijicon ACOGS are now mounting red dots because we know that even 3-4x magnifications will slow you down at pistol range distances.

Top
Page 1 of 1