All posts tagged M6A2

It’s hard to have to wait, but sometimes it’s worth it

We got another large shipment of the LWRC M6AK upper receivers and some of these orders have been a couple weeks backordered.   A lot of the AR15 market is about accessorizing and my eyes hurt from just looking through the AR15.com website for product info.   After awhile,  I have to wonder what kind of life some people have to constantly attach and mess around with their firearms.  Sure it can be a hobby to work on a firearm, but nothing beats knowing how to fight.   I’ve seen so many guys with $3000 worth of gun and accessories that never leave the 5oyd range and  like to talk about accuracy, meanwhile, if I talk about what a Mini 14 can do at 300-600yds, I’m somehow over stepping myself.

Rifle optics has a lot to do with the job at hand and more rifle scopes tend to be able to really only do 1 or 2 tasks.   You are either close quarters fight, medium range fighting, or long range engagements.   And there may be a modification or accessory that can get you one of the other ones.    LWRC uppers have folding down front and rear sights on all complete upper receivers.  I have always preferred the ability to switch to iron sights and front posts never bothered me for optics, but now  that so many optics are zero magnification, folding front sights down may, depending on your tolerances, inhibit some visibility.

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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.

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Drinking the cool aid with LWRC

I have been on hiatus form gun forums for several years due to the fact that they just wore me out.   I think they are great for researching information about products but you still need a really good bull shit meter to know if someone is lying to your or not.   As a dealer, i get stressed out reading about all of the new optics and accessories that are coming out because I know it’s only a matter of time before I get the phone call or email about what kind of adapter or mount someone is going to need for AR15 style X.    I love the industry but all of this accessorizing makes me want to break out a welding torch and just be done with it.   I’ve seen guys with what must have been about 24 or more screwed in components and to think about the odds of those screws coming loose or breaking bothers me.

I recently went back to a gun forum I use to frequent and it was all the same old anti-product bashing that goes on.  It’s almost tribal warfare with gun makers.   LWRC uppers are definitely my favorite upper receiver although I am very much aware of how expensive they are and that it’s debatable about how much of an improvement over reliability they are.   I have not had any parts breakage but I read all of the stuff i can from Pat Rogers and some of the uppers didn’t fair so well a few year ago in tests.   There have been product upgrades and I actually took a tour of the LWRCI facilities last year and had a parts upgrade done to my gun.  The real improvement I see if the gun just darn well runs cleaner and It doesn’t have lube running out of all of the a parts.

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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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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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