An AR15 is arguably one of the best rifles to have in your arsenal when it comes to personal defense. There are several quality combinations of upper and lower receivers available on the market today to consider when building your own.
Still, if you want to make your AR15 truly combat-ready, there are a few other things to consider before you start building your AR rifle. This website that has a ton of accessories and parts to make your AR-15 rifle truly combat ready.
Sighting Systems
The optic system of your AR15 is usually the first point of focus for most builders and probably a great place to start. If you’re thinking combat-ready, then a red dot ruggedized miniature reflex scope should be your choice of tactical sighting system.
Look for an RMR red dot with multiple MOA and magnification adjustments that can be easily mounted on your AR15 rail and removed if necessary.
Additionally, think about combining your RMR red dot with an offset optic system that allows you to assume different stances or shooting positions when necessary.
Barrel
Think of the dynamic conditions you may experience in a combat or personal defense situation. While having a lightweight AR platform is all the rage these days, few stop to think that lightweight barrels are almost always affected by ambient temperatures.
What this means is if you’re in a sustained firing situation in hot weather conditions, your lightweight barrel in your AR15 is guaranteed to overheat.
At the same time, a heated barrel is tricky to manage of its own accord, but severe overheating results in extraction failure of the spent cartridge and the inevitable jam. When the aim is to build a true combat ready AR15, you’ll want to consider a heavy SOCOM barrel.
Yes, it will add weight to your build. Remember, a SOCOM barrel will provide the durability you need during a dynamic situation and extend the number of rounds you fire before it cooks off and overheats.
Another thing to consider when it comes to making your AR15 truly combat-ready is choosing between a button-cut barrel or one that’s cold hammer forged. If precision shot placement is the most critical factor to you, then you’ll probably want to include a standard Colt button cut barrel in your upper receiver.
If durability is the primary target, look no further than a cold hammer-forged barrel with chrome plating to guarantee smooth and dependable operation.
Gas System
If this is your first venture into building a combat ready AR15, one of the last things you may think about is the Arc15 gas system. Choose a mid-length gas system for your rifle, which will provide more dependability over a standard carbine-style gas system.
Not only is a mid-length gas system far superior, but it allows for prolonged dwell time and helps the extraction work much better.
Handguard
When building that perfect combat ready AR15 picking the suitable handguard is one area where you can customize for handling and get the benefit of trimming the overall weight. There are two types of handguards you’ll want to consider – M-LOK handguards and MIL-STD 1913 Quad rails.
While both handguards will satisfy combat conditions, M-LOK handguards are a bit lighter in weight than the MIL-STD 1913 handguards. The trade-off is that the MIL-STD 1913 handguard has proven to be sturdier and can withstand harsh conditions a little better than the M-LOK system.
Bolt Carrier Group
When you think combat-ready, you may be thinking of having the correct type of optical sighting systems or various lighting or laser targeting methods on top of your rifle. While these are important, to say the least, a properly functioning and dependable bolt carrier group is something you’ll need to give you an advantage during a dynamic situation.
As bolt carrier groups go, the best one by far is one fashioned from chrome. Not only will a chrome BCG self-provide lubrication when it heats up, but a chrome bolt carrier group wears better during extended periods of firing and cleans much easier during maintenance.
Ambidextrous Operation
When operating your combat-ready AR15, you’ll want to ensure that your lower receiver and charging hammer offer real-deal ambidextrous operation. While you may not be offering up your rifle to an opposite-hand operator, there may be a situation where you must utilize your AR15 with an opposite hand.
If this situation happens, you want to ensure your lower receiver has fire-select, safety, and magazine release buttons on both sides. When seconds count, you’ll need to consider a lower receiver that allows you to release the spent magazine and hold the bolt when you pull it back. Additionally, pick a charging handle that promotes smooth and intuitive operation by either the left or right hand.
Stock and Buffer Tube
How a stock fits in the nook of your shoulder and how you can adjust your length of pull by collapsing the stock are undoubtedly critical when picking your buttstock. However, when choosing your buttstock for your combat ready AR15, you need to consider one that can handle harsh conditions in the field and continue to perform regardless of the environment.
There are many stocks on the market today you can add to your AR15 to make it combat-ready. Still, you’ll want to consider acquiring a buttstock and buffer system that will better manage the carrier activity and assist with lessening felt recoil impact.
Having the right combat-ready buttstock and buffer tube can make all the difference when it comes to effectively opening the operational envelope of your rifle.
The Science Behind It All
There is a vast difference between building an AR15 for plinking at the range versus a rifle that you depend on to keep you alive. When making a combat ready AR15, never adopt the ideology that all AR15 parts are equal because they’re not.
Many AR15 parts and pieces ideally satisfy sport shooting enthusiasts and offer reliable performance for a day at the range plinking targets or those casual hunting trips. While you can easily find many types of upgrades you can add to your rifle to enhance your shooting experience; it’s a paradigm shift in thinking when building a combat-ready rifle.
Look at all the testing requirements a MIL-SPEC AR15 has, and you’ll probably begin to understand what you need to make sure you’ve built a combat-ready AR15 that works correctly when handling a dynamic situation.
In a combat situation, you have the briefest of windows when you need the correct type of ejection and extraction of your spent cartridges and quick release of your spent magazine. Failure of any one of these combat ready AR15 aspects may bring about disastrous results.
So, do the right study and research and you can find all the right parts and accessories you’ll need to make the perfect combat ready AR15.
At the end of the build, the end goal is that you have a combat ready AR15 rifle that provides you a dependable and effective tactical advantage necessary when a dynamic situation presents itself.