how did you get started in AR's ?

[peabody]

me ? waayy back in 77' the navy handed me one' i shot it pretty good.
then the bloody b's took it away from me... :)

flash forward thirty years, and im standing in a cow pasture trading an ol' boy for tractor parts n' a old corn planter.
he throws in a bushy carbine .5.56 in on the trade.

that night at home im staring at it.... ? what the heck ? i couldnt remember nothing, :(
got on the web , and had to re-learn how to disassemble and clean... thats bad.

since then' i've learn'ed how to build them , bought an action block and a armor's wrench and had at it. built 5 so far.
my memory ain't the best. but i tried to re-create the rifle i carried in service, details are very few. been so long.

bought a m16 upper off gunnys suplus and a retro lower[full fence] from no-dak-spud, a lower parts kit from a friend on the web,
a bravo company bolt n' carrier, AUTO.
A1 stock , and newer ? triangular handguards. with A1 birdcage too. [slots all around]

my upper does have the FA [tear drop], full fence lower, FN barrel 1-7 twist. no case deflector.
not exactly sure what model ? i've created, ?
all i have left to do is instal the flat band delta ring. but she shoots so good as is' i just haven't gotten around to doing that.

is it a 603 ? 604 ? a frankengun ? what ? ha. guess it dont really matter. i enjoy the heck out of it, everyone who see's it' and/or shoots it loves it.

peabody

[zero7one]

I spent 7 years in the U.S. Army and was handed my first M16A2 in Basic Training. After that I carried different variations including the M16A2 with M203 attached and the M4A1. After leaving the Army I became a Police Officer and I now carry my personally owned AR-15 for duty use.

[Quib]

Good topic!

I'm about to head out the door for work, but I'll be sure to respond this evening.

[Hmac]

Medical Director for the Sheriff's Dept Tac Team. 15 years ago they handed me a CAR15 and told me I had to qualify with it on the 600 yard automated popup range. I shot 38/40 and was hooked. When the rest of the team later went to issued subguns and I got away from going in with the door-kickers (getting too old), I elected to buy my own M4 variant and stick with that. That was a Stag.... I shot it for a couple of years without a problem before I found out it was a piece of crap from some of these internet gun forums. Now, I've become a gun snob too and have a couple of Noveskes and make fun of DPMS owners. These days I mostly sit in the tac van smoking a cigar and hoping no one gets hurt, but I do enjoy the training. I also am Medical Director for the Bomb Squad. One of our recurring training tasks is disposal of surplus ammunition for commercial enterprises and the National Guard. A lot of the 5.56 gets "disposed of" through our rifles. I get to shoot a lot of rounds during the course of a year, and thanks to the Bomb Squad I get to practice malfunction clearance on a regular basis.

[peabody]

Good topic!

I'm about to head out the door for work, but I'll be sure to respond this evening.


looking forward too it !

[HeavyDuty]

I bought my first (a Colt CAR) with the money I got for my 18th birthday in 1980. It's all been downhill from there...

[TripleBravo]

This is going to sound so boy scoutish…but it’s true:

I went to a military high school. The first AR type rifle I ever handled wasn’t a rifle at all. It was a training dummy version of the M16A1 that we called “rubber duckies”. They were partially hard rubber and partially metal.

The summer after my freshman year in high school, we went to Ft. Bragg for a couple of weeks. There I got to spend a day on a real M16 sighting it in, then running through some qualification courses with it; and spent just about all night cleaning it. (We also got a day on the M60!) So, as a 14 year old, I got hooked on ‘em.

(I don’t imagine they take high school freshman to Ft. Bragg anymore…a bunch of lawyers probably screwed that up. It was way too much fun for a 14 year old….a day of repelling, a day of the airborne jump simulator tower, and a ton of land nav and O-course stuff.)

[Quib]

This is going to sound so boy scoutish…but it’s true:

Not at all. My experience is very similar.

I started typing it up this morning, but ran out of time before I headed out the door. I'll finish it up and post this evening. (I'm at work right now.)

[Quentin]

Yes, good topic Peabody! My start with ARs is very similar to yours. Vietnam, 1968, the Army handed me an M16. First time I'd seen one because most of my three years I had the M14. Anyway, it worked fine for me and I liked it better than the M14. When I got out of the service in '69, life got in the way and I forgot all about it really. Got Marlin lever action and .22LR rifles, a Wingmaster 870 12 gauge, a Colt Series 70 45ACP, S&W Model 19, Ruger Mark I and a Luger but no black rifles.

Then like you a buddy got a Bushmaster carbine and in 2008 wanted help cleaning it. I'd forgotten everything since I hadn't held one in 40 years! After firing it and having a ball I knew I had to have one. And after post election backlogs died down in the summer of 2009 I built one up. And now I'm doing a second one. Why did it take me so long??? [:D]

[eldogg]

it started in the military. after i got off active duty, i was at a gun show and saw a colt sp1 for $240. i sold it after a few years. then about a year ago, i got the bug again. the only thing is, now they are alot more costly.

[thatdamngoat]

In the Marines. Started on an M16A2 in bootcamp. Used the A2 all the way until after my first deployment then they issued us the A4. I also owned an Armalite, but sold it after I got out to pay some school fees. Am currently saving up to buy a Noveske MOE.

[saito614]

me ? waayy back in 77' the navy handed me one' i shot it pretty good.
then the bloody b's took it away from me... :)

flash forward thirty years, and im standing in a cow pasture trading an ol' boy for tractor parts n' a old corn planter.
he throws in a bushy carbine .5.56 in on the trade.

that night at home im staring at it.... ? what the heck ? i couldnt remember nothing, :(
got on the web , and had to re-learn how to disassemble and clean... thats bad.

since then' i've learn'ed how to build them , bought an action block and a armor's wrench and had at it. built 5 so far.
my memory ain't the best. but i tried to re-create the rifle i carried in service, details are very few. been so long.

bought a m16 upper off gunnys suplus and a retro lower[full fence] from no-dak-spud, a lower parts kit from a friend on the web,
a bravo company bolt n' carrier, AUTO.
A1 stock , and newer ? triangular handguards. with A1 birdcage too. [slots all around]

my upper does have the FA [tear drop], full fence lower, FN barrel 1-7 twist. no case deflector.
not exactly sure what model ? i've created, ?
all i have left to do is instal the flat band delta ring. but she shoots so good as is' i just haven't gotten around to doing that.

is it a 603 ? 604 ? a frankengun ? what ? ha. guess it dont really matter. i enjoy the heck out of it, everyone who see's it' and/or shoots it loves it.

peabody

Way back in '97 the Navy did the same thing to me Peabody, didnt know i'd need it til march of 2003. Im a Helo mechanic and my 60's liked to break in Fallujah like it was Utapao for some reason. Soooo we got familiar with our POS M4's and M14's( and not the hi speed DMR M14's-t he standing watch on the pier M14's) in case thing went south. Never had to use it on purpose but liked shooting paper so i bought a LMT MRP CQB 16"P because it had a lot of letters. Great rifle, outstanding in all performance and fit-n- finish.

Stumbled on this site and was hooked- awesome forum guys! The info ive found here has helped a lot.

[Quib]

I grew up in a family of military servicemen and exposed to firearms, so that aspect was always there.

My first real exposure to the AR was in High School around 1980. I was in ROTC, and through this was introduced to an older buddy who was Army 11B, he owned an AR15. We shared the same enthusiasm for all things military and firearms related. This buddy passed down to me my first M16A1 -10 Operators Manual (which I still have today), and he took it upon himself to teach me all aspects of the weapon, to include the operation and function, along with the nomenclature of its parts.

I would study that -10 like it was the Bible. Laying on my bed in my room at night, memorizing function checks, S.P.O.R.T.S. along with disassembly/reassembly. At my buddy’s house, my diligence at studying would be put to the test, with hands-on practical tests utilizing his AR15. This early infatuation with the weapon even lead me to building a 1:1 scale replica of the M16 out of wood. I enlisted in the Army my Senior year of HS, and that wooden M16 ended up hanging on the wall of my recruiters office.

In the Army I was issued the M16A1, M16A1 w/M203, M16A2, M16A2 w/M203, and even did time as the Scout Platoon assistant 60 gunner. I enjoyed every minute of range time I could get, and often coached other unit members who were struggling with zeroing or qualification. As an NCO I utilized Sgt’s Time Training for Common Soldier Tasks and since weapons were drawn out for the days training, my lesson plans always included something weapons related. On a few occasions in the CAV, my Troop had the honor of being tasked to run the range for Squadron Weapons Qualification.

A few years after I ETS’d from the Army, and eventually settled back down for good here in the States, I took the first opportunity I had and purchased an AR15. Since then I’ve been building and maintaining ARs, built my son his first AR, and try to get out to the range together every chance we get.

[Optimus Prime]

Uncle Sam and the wonderful US Army.

[Aragorn]

I came from a long line of Air Force men. My dad, after leaving the AF, opened a small gun and knife smithing shop. I grew up with and around firearms. I joined the Army after high school, but my military career ended early with a fiasco involving eye surgery. After that firearms became my sole hobby. I worked retail in a couple local gun stores as well as a range. Years ago I actually used to despise the AR platform (had been drinking all the "AR's are unreliable pieces of junk" kool-aid), but I have since changed my information resources, began running them for myself, and "seen the light" so to speak. Now I enjoy building and studying the platform almost as much as shooting it.

[TehLlama]

Airsoft. I'll own up to it. Really went downhill after the first year in the Corps... of my money that doesn't go towards housing or savings, 78% goes towards this.

[cmoore]

M16A2's in the Coast Guard back in the 80's. Suppressed Colt M4A3 now as a cop, firearms instructor/armorer. It certainly pegs the fun-meter...

[AR-10]

My dad was a Vietnam vet, he took my brothers and I shooting at a very early age.

I shot my first AR back in the early '90's and I was hooked, but didn't buy my first AR until the AWB was over.

Since then I've built over a dozen lowers for me and other people, and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

[Craig]

Started shooting while I was in jr high. Graduated from high school in Az and went to college in Texas. Right out of college I got hired by a police dept in north Texas. Worked as a cop until I was 33 when I was in an on duty accident. Hit my head on the door frame when a guy ran a stop sign and t-boned me. Had to have 3 vertebrae in my neck fused and lost partial vision in my left eye. Long story short, the doc wouldn't sign me off as safe to return to work. As a parting gift, all I wanted was one last code-3 run thru the city. Got turned down.

My agency didn't own AR's. The issued Glock's and Remington 870's to us on the street. The SWAT guys used MP5's. Got introduced to AR's by the dept armorer while I was assigned to the gun cage after my injury. I shot a few rounds but the bug really never set in, prob cuz I was so stressed about losing my career. After my so-called "retirement" (put out to pasture I say), I went back to school and got a master's degree and am now, 4 years later, working as an engineer in training in my home town in Az.

A co-worker bought an AR and decided not to keep it. I bought it. The bug set in and I haven't looked back! Been a ton of fun so far and the ability to customize these rifles so easily is what keeps me looking for new toys..

That's my story... Took the long route to get there tho...

[Simo]

I started shooting High Power with an M1A but quickly switched to an AR15. It went from there.

[skd_tactical]

Was issued an M16A2 when I joined the Army in '99. I carried that (or a SAW) until 2003 when I was given a brand new M4. I must admit I prefer the sight radius on the M16A2-A4's but not the size. I really don't shoot Irons anymore except to qualify, so it's not the biggest deal. The m4 has always been better when wearing armor b/c I could shorten the stock, plus it helps since even though I'm an 11B, I tend to be in some sort of vehicle and can easily have it slung between my legs what I call me "in the vehicle at the ready." I bought my first AR just after Katrina happened, and have been building them ever since. My favorite, while not my most expensive, is my LMT MRP. I love the ability to swap barrels and change from DI to my piston upper.

SOS

[Fred_G]

Well, I shot a friend's AR, and just had a blast. So, a few weeks later I bought my own AR-15. I way overpaid for it, but, it is a good gun. Now I have 2. They are just too much fun! I assembled the lower for my newest, saved some $. One day I will assemble an upper.

[Tucson]

My story is a bit different than those I've read here. And when you say "boyscout" that's literally where it started for me. I wasn't introduced to the AR platform there but that's where I learned to shoot and where I shot my first rifle. It was a bolt action single shot .22 rifle. My mother was/is afraid/opposed to guns so I didn't have the experience of going out shooting with family members when I was a kid. My Mom would not even sign the permission form required for me to get my marksmanship merit badge but my Scout Master, in his wisdom, saw my desire and thought it was best that I learn the safe handling of a rifle and aspects of marksmanship. While I never did get that merit badge, I did learn how to safely handle a firearm and how to properly align the sights to hit a target in the various common shooting positions.

It wasn't until I was in my mid 20's that I began purchasing and shooting firearms of my own. I progressed to the AR platform over 7 years of hobby shooting. Always interested in military type weapons, my first rifle was an SKS. It was in my budget and I knew a guy from work who had a gun broker account and an FFL who helped me get it. Next in line was an AK variant. I shot these two rifles along with a few shotguns and various handguns over the years. My infatuation with the AR platform came form the many adds and articles that I'd see in the various gun rags that I took up reading. I traded several weapons and a hand full of cash for my first used AR-15. It was a Bushmaster XM15 e2s. I immediately signed up to the arfcom web community and began to read and learn about the platform. I drooled over all the goodies that seemed impossible for me to get, like EoTech optics. That was in 2007. I joined this sight the same year I believe. It was new as I recall. I posted topic titled "my weapon evolution". It was about that first AR and the journey I took while learning about the platform and rebuilding that rifle. I now own a Stag 2T with the various accessories, stock, grip, white light, vfg, sling that I've chosen and somehow managed to afford. This is by far the best rifle I've owned. My AR and at least one of my Glock pistols gets range time every chance I get. My SA 1911, Savage Bolt action .308, and Mossberg 12 ga. look on in envy as I pack for the range. I recently acquired a S&W M&P 15-22. This is making regular appearances at the range with me as well and saves me a bit of cash on ammo. [:D]

[Cameron]

When I moved to the states it was only natural for me to shift my focus from FALs and AUGs to ARs. Unfortunately my introduction to AR was this:

http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac61/gstuffnow/VFG2.jpg

Live and learn and I ended up with these, a few years later.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4111/5137523886_010994f673_b.jpg

Cameron

[tac40]

My 1st M16 was the M16A1, USMC, I'll have to dig up a photo. Since then, my current job as LEO, I am issued a Colt M4, I've deployed the weapon more times then I can recall. The great thing about the AR platform, like a good Lego set, it is simplistic, easy to learn to build, tinker with and make work the way you want. I stayed with the Colt AR mainly because the depart mangers only allows the Colt. Sadly, my other NIB AR were sold off to support the Colt family.:mad:

[Quib]

Did someone mention photos? [:)]

An 18yo Quib in Basic Training.....

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4104/5175732704_fc66aaaaf6.jpg



And a couple from Desert Storm.....

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5175732742_a13ab031de.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4152/5175126651_0ba088c29d.jpg

[XCoastie]

For me it was the Coast Guard (98-04).

[Beaux]

Obama. I had every other type of firearm but a AR. When it looked like he was going to get elected I bought a lefty Stag for myself. Since then I've built 5 more.

[FastIndy]

My dad was always a shooter, so I started plinking .22's at a pretty early age. Got my first shotgun at 11 years old. We would always go to gun shows together and just look around. While I found AR's interesting, it wasn't until I held/pointed a 10.5" SBR with an Eotec on it that I got completely bit. BRD set in HARDCORE after that. Bought a lower reciever the next day. That was about 6 years ago, I built a 24in 'precision' rifle with that first lower.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/FastIndy/AR/DSCF0852.jpg

Been tinkering with that gun for quite a while and it looks alot different than when me and my dad put it together the first time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/FastIndy/AR/DSC_0194.jpg

My dad caught the bug too after seeing that rifle transform, so I built him one a couple of years ago.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/FastIndy/AR/DadAR1.jpg

Now that I'm familiar with the NFA, I'm in progress on building a 10.5" SBR like the one that started it all. Only this one will have a can too [:D]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v87/FastIndy/AR/DSC_0691.jpg

Once I held that first one, it was game over for my bank account :P

[DM1975]

A little late to the party, but I will add my reasons. I was issued an M16A2 in the Marines. Later on I was issued an M4 style carbine while a police officer. I shot a few high power matches with AR's and in the Army I was issued everything under the sun from an A2 to M4's to DMR rifles, and I just kinda really started to love the platform so I started buying and building. Sold all of my AK style rifles and have never looked back.

[wolf_walker]

I've been on and off with guns (and cars, and computers, and women, not in that order) for all my life. For some I appreciate the history, some the mechanical charm, some the utility, a rare few the aesthetics, but they are all first and foremost reliable tools or they have no place in my life. I learned how to shoot on a bring back M14 form a couple old Army guys, kept an M1A or Garand around for years, was a lot more likely to be attached to an AK or SKS or even a FAL. LEO buddy of mine talked me into an AR, sold me a lower pretty cheap to get me committed, I put one together and am still getting used to it. I work on $$ Euro cars for a living, I appreciate "interesting" engineering, the AR does have that. It's comfortable, and reasonably affordable lately. I still think it's fragile and I'd trade some of it's accuracy for a little more umph, but I'm trying to adjust because of it's positive attributes. Time will tell. It's been interesting so far though and I'm glad I finally got to know the design.

[KeithB078]

1975 Fort Dix NJ, the Army slapped one into my hands [:D]

[GWL]

1962 2/503 (Sep) Reorganized to 173rd Abn Brigade. Swaped my M2 Carbine for XM16E1

[Bubbat]

In 1968 I got a Mattel M-16 Marauder for Christmas, always wanted a real rifle like it. Finally got one 20yrs later and have had at least one around ever since.

[eldogg]

1975 Fort Dix NJ, the Army slapped one into my hands [:D]

ft polk `75.