I've had my eye on an AR-15 for a while now, I love my Robinson Armament XCR-L's, but they just don't have the same amount of customization available that an AR-15 does. I picked up interesting mixed AR-15 at the end of the summer and I've been slowly adding parts and pieces.
This article is focused on making a quality rifle on a budget, I've tried to purchase upgrades and accessories piecemeal to keep the initial costs low, if you're like me, you don't have the cash on hand to be buying top tier AR-15 rifles, and while tactical operator setups are cool in magazines, in the real world you pay to play.
Lets start with a through run-down of the specs...
- Bushmaster upper, barrel, and bolt assembly
- 14.5 inch barrel with a permanently fixed AK-74 style muzzle brake
- BCM Gunfighter Mod 4 charging handle
- Stag Arms STAG-15 lower
- Magpul MOE: stock, carbine length handguard, pistol grip, trigger guard, BAD lever, MBUIS rear sight, scout light mount, and MS3 QD Sling.
- Noveske QD end plate
The AK-74 style muzzle brake on a 14.5 inch barrel is almost perfect, there are better brake options on the market, such as the Battlecomp on my XCR's, but this tried and true design borrowed from the AK-74 weapons system is quite adequate. I've been tempted to have it removed and a more Tacti-cool brake installed, but I can't find anything wrong with the AK-74 style brake, it isn't obnoxiously loud, it controls muzzle rise well, and the flash is tolerable. Why mess with something that already works.
The overall length of this gun makes it a very compact package, coupled with its light weight, it's almost a pleasure to carry around. I still need to add an optic and flash light, but I doubt that either of those will tip the scales towards heavy or unwieldy.
I like the BAD Lever in that it allows me to use many of the same methods that I employ with the XCR's. Index finger up for bold hold back and down for charging. I think Magpul puts out an attractive and functional product and you really can't beat the price point, plus almost everything they offer is easily removable if you decide you don't like the setup. (Note: internet forums offer a host of people who enjoy trading parts and pieces, if you have something that you've removed from your gun, odds are there is someone who would pay or trade for it)
The MS3 Quick Detach Sling is the best sling I own, I have a MS2 and a Gear Sector Quick Detach Sling, which also function great, but I like the feel of the MS3 and I like the option to transition to a two point sling if necessary. The single point sling is great for having the rifle at the ready, but when I need the rifle in arms reach, so I can use both hands, the single point sling leaves my muzzle exposed to pogo-ing in the dirt if I'm not careful.
Magpul MBUIS are another good option for a lightweight cost effective setup. I'll eventually get around to buying an Aimpoint for this rifle and these back up sights co-witness with my fixed front sight post for use in the meantime.
The BCM Gunfighter Mod 4 is a nice to have feature. You can do perfectly fine with the standard charging handle, the BCM just allows you to better charge the rifle with the pinch method using your support hand. It is a closer match to how I run my XCR's and keeping my movements similar is important to me when I train on different weapons platforms. (Note: The castle nut has not been staked at this point)
I've been researching handguard options, and while I would love to make the forward handguard free float with a 13 inch Troy rail, I don't see the cost benefit. This rifle is not a precision rifle setup, and I doubt that I will gain anything from chopping the front sight block and installing a free float tube. I'm trying to keep costs low on this setup, and for a future AR-15 style rifle I may go the free float route, but for now all I need is the Magpul carbine length handguards.
Note: Don't be an internet commando or arm-chair ranger, too many people on the net show rifles that are overly expensive, seldom used and Tacti-cool. Not everyone has a defense contractor budget for gear and guns, buy what you can when you can, and always be on the look-out for deals on lightly used quality equipment. I've posted this picture of my scout light mount without a scout light because I won't pay full price for a flashlight that will spend 95 percent of it's time sitting in the safe. A good deal will come along and I'll make due until then.
This Quick Detach mount is Noveske, but it cost the same as any other mount. I think this single mount is an attractive high speed, low drag solution, all my rifles have QD rear mounts so I can use the same sling hardware for every rifle. (The standard end plate that I removed can be traded or sold along with the old handguards, pistol grip, charging handle, etc, etc, to offset the cost of new additions)
I've tried to keep from going overboard with this rifle, right now it's mostly a range gun with a few trips out to the woods every now and then. I'm not replacing my XCR's as my go-to rifles, but I like the accessorizing that can be done with an AR-15 and the light weight makes me think twice about the monolithic upper and piston driven system of the Robinson Design.
Start with a good quality stock rifle, add the parts that you want when you're able, sell/trade your excess parts and in no time you'll have a really handy rifle that looks sharp as well.
