Very new to AR-15s with questions

[ccase39]

First off I want to apologize for my ignorance on the subject, I had planned on doing more research before I made a purchase but someone made me an offer I cannot refuse. I recently purchased a Bushmaster AR-15 and want to start accessorizing. I want to start slow but I would like to go ahead and get a flashlight and laser mounted. Do accessories fit all AR-15s or do I have to stick to Bushmaster made products? What do I need to buy to attach the light and laser? Mine is just the base model. Is a picatinny rail what I need? If so what kind do I get that will fit my gun? Is this what accessories such as the light and laser attach too? any other tips would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

[FortTom]

You'll get a lot of answers from some very qualified people here, but first, I'd recommend you take a deep breath and slow down a bit. Get to know your weapon, just as it is. What is it's primary use going to be? Do you need a laser? You just can't start accessorizing like it's a Barbie, (although many of us have been accused of that). Just buying and sticking things off of anywhere that they'll hang will probably just cause you some very expensive heartburn. Think things through, do some soul searching. Is it going to be a self-defense weapon, or is it primarily going to be used for plinking at the range? Maybe competition? I would come up with a definite game plan for the weapon. Then, come back with the questions, before you plunk down the cash for some expensive doo-dad's.
Then, the right people can jump in and help you out. You have active/retired military, Gov't, State and Local LEO's, competitors, and pro's from just about every angle here on this forum, that can then focus on what you define your needs as, and can guide you from there. That would be my advice, before I did any modifications at all. Just a thought.

Good luck and enjoy your first AR![:D]

FT

[UWone77]

First off I want to apologize for my ignorance on the subject, I had planned on doing more research before I made a purchase but someone made me an offer I cannot refuse. I recently purchased a Bushmaster AR-15 and want to start accessorizing. I want to start slow but I would like to go ahead and get a flashlight and laser mounted. Do accessories fit all AR-15s or do I have to stick to Bushmaster made products? What do I need to buy to attach the light and laser? Mine is just the base model. Is a picatinny rail what I need? If so what kind do I get that will fit my gun? Is this what accessories such as the light and laser attach too? any other tips would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Although a white light is a must on a defensive carbine, why do you want a laser?

Before you start "accessorizing" I would go ahead and put at least 1k rounds through it before you decide what accessories can assist you.

[ccase39]

Although a white light is a must on a defensive carbine, why do you want a laser?

Before you start "accessorizing" I would go ahead and put at least 1k rounds through it before you decide what accessories can assist you.

I have put about 1300 through it so far. I see what you guys mean about taking it slow, I have the type of personality to just start buying stuff. I have other hobbies where I have parts or accessories that I don't even use because I found out I didn't need them after the fact. I got mine for self defense and target shooting. I am kind of a gear head and am as attracted to the fact you can dress them up as much as I am to the weapon itself. One of the reasons I bought it is because you can modify them. I just figured a laser sight would be cool. After pricing some stuff right now I think all I really want at this point is a white light, bipod, and maybe a for grip. What are the benefits of a forgrip? I will probably forget the laser for now and get a good scope later.

[tpelle]

Here's my opinion. I'm not military or LEO, don't shoot 3-gun matches, have not received much formal training, and didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express in the recent past. But I am an experienced gun guy at 60 years old, and I shoot an AR15 that I built myself in NRA Highpower Rifle matches (where we shoot iron sights only at targets at 200, 300, and 600 yards).

First I agree with the previous posters who suggest getting some experience with the weapon. You didn't say if it was a flat-top, or if it is equipped with the standard A1 or A2 carry handle sights. I suggest, if it's a flat top receiver, getting a removable carry handle rear sight, adjustable for windage and elevation, and learn to shoot the rifle at varying distances until you are familiar with the iron sight adjustments (come-ups) for different ranges. Gives you a real feel for the trajectory of your bullet when you try to reach way out there. Go learn about what MOA REALLY means.

Save your money and don't buy a bipod. Buy instead a $10.00 G.I. web sling and learn to shoot from a sling-supported position. A bipod weighs too much, and forces you to shoot off of a bench. (Yes you can shoot prone off of the ground, but what are you gonna do when the grass is too tall to see over?) And are you going to carry a bench around with you?

I suggest learning to shoot with irons BEFORE you buy any optics. IMHO opinion nothing ruins a new shooter faster than buying a big ol' scope. They take the rifle to the range, and before they learn the fundamentals they try shooting without knowing Natural Point of Aim, trigger pull management, breathing management, etc. They find out then that they can't hit the broad side of a barn if they're standing inside, so they go buy a bigger scope! The problem is, with a scope, you see the crosshairs sweeping back and forth and up and down across the target, and knowing that the sights have to be on the target when the gun fires to hit it, as the sights finally sweep across the target they jerk the trigger (which throws the sights off just at the crucial point when the gun fires). So even with a scope that could be used for astronomy they still miss the target! If you learn to shoot with iron sights you can't really see the wobble area as well, so you don't stress over it and can concentrate on the fundamentals and really learn to shoot the rifle.

(For training, take about 400 rounds of ammo, your rifle, and that G.I. web sling, and go attend an Appleseed shoot. It's cheap and intense training, and you'll come away as a MUCH better rifle shot. You have to put up with the Appleseed schpiel on Revolutionary War history, but that's a small price to pay.)

Once you learn to shoot with a sling-supported position, you will be comfortable carrying your rifle anywhere knowing that you can make hits out to at least 300 yards or more with no scope, no benches, no rests, no nothing - just you and your rifle. Adds a lot of confidence.

Don't buy a front handguard with Picatinny rails. If you don't have the rails you won't be so tempted to hang a bunch of cr@p on the front of your rifle, and so you will have only what you need. Which is NOT a rifle that needs a wheeled gun carriage to haul it around. You also won't have to spend even more money on rail covers to cover up the rails that you don't need in the first place just so that your support hand can tolerate holding on to them. Remember, every ounce of weight you save in the rifle is that much more ammo you can carry.

For a defense rifle I concede that a white light is good. You can buy short Picatinny rails that clamp to the front sight base, or do what I did which was to buy a short offset rail that bolted to the cooling holes of the standard A2 handguard.

Another nice thing to spend your money on is a GOOD trigger. And don't confuse LIGHT with GOOD. You don't want a trigger that lets off with ounces of pressure - it's not safe. IMHO a good trigger is a National Match grade 2-stage trigger. It has about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds of pull to the pre-travel before it comes to a "stop", and then lets off with just a slight amount of additional pressure of a pound or so. (A NM trigger has to be able to pick up a 4-1/2 pound weight off of a table by hooking the weight on to the trigger and lifting the rifle held held muzzle up.) You use it by pulling through the first stage and holding it while you refine your aim, then when the sight picture is perfect you can almost "think" it off.

Again, don't waste your money on a vertical foregrip. Your support hand is going to need to hold the front of the rifle up, and a vertical foregrip puts your hand in an uncomfortable position for doing this. A fore grip is only good for spraying from the hip. I don't know about you, but I can't afford the ammo to spray bullets at today's prices. Besides, a vertical fore grip is just something else to snag and hang up on things. Better off using the standard handguards, or if you've just gotta have something for the cool factor, buy one of those angled fore grips. (I guess you'd have to have the railed forend for that, but if you just gotta do it...........)

OK, so I guess I'm sort of musketry Luddite. But I'd rather learn to really shoot the rifle and spend my money on ammo.

[MistWolf]

You do not need to stay with Bushmaster products for your rifle. However, BM rifles usually come with a commercial spec receiver extension (sometimes called a buffer tube) which needs to be taken into account if you decide to change the buttstock. (I am assuming your BM is a carbine with a 16" barrel & adjustable stock)

Before making any changes, identify what changes are needed or wanted. With 1300 rounds through the rifle, you should know if you like the grip, handguard and buttstock. If there is something you don't like, you should have a pretty good idea why. For myself, I don't care for pistol grips with finger grooves and the circumference of the standard AR pistol grip is too small. I also don't like how quad rails or the standard round handguards feel in my hand. I do like the MOE handguards and MOE grip, for example. In my experience, the simpler the rifle, the more useful it is. For myself, anything that doesn't make it shoot better, easier to use or more reliable just gets in the way. A basic 16" carbine with iron sights, sling, Aimpoint and weapon light for defense and general purpose use suits me fine. My preffered configuration for a precision rifle is a little different which includes a 20" barrel and good scope, sans iron sights & weapon light. I've settled on this after shooting my rifles and identifying what each rifle needed and what I wanted

[ccase39]

Here's my opinion. I'm not military or LEO, don't shoot 3-gun matches, have not received much formal training, and didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn Express in the recent past. But I am an experienced gun guy at 60 years old, and I shoot an AR15 that I built myself in NRA Highpower Rifle matches (where we shoot iron sights only at targets at 200, 300, and 600 yards).

First I agree with the previous posters who suggest getting some experience with the weapon. You didn't say if it was a flat-top, or if it is equipped with the standard A1 or A2 carry handle sights. I suggest, if it's a flat top receiver, getting a removable carry handle rear sight, adjustable for windage and elevation, and learn to shoot the rifle at varying distances until you are familiar with the iron sight adjustments (come-ups) for different ranges. Gives you a real feel for the trajectory of your bullet when you try to reach way out there. Go learn about what MOA REALLY means.

Save your money and don't buy a bipod. Buy instead a $10.00 G.I. web sling and learn to shoot from a sling-supported position. A bipod weighs too much, and forces you to shoot off of a bench. (Yes you can shoot prone off of the ground, but what are you gonna do when the grass is too tall to see over?) And are you going to carry a bench around with you?

I suggest learning to shoot with irons BEFORE you buy any optics. IMHO opinion nothing ruins a new shooter faster than buying a big ol' scope. They take the rifle to the range, and before they learn the fundamentals they try shooting without knowing Natural Point of Aim, trigger pull management, breathing management, etc. They find out then that they can't hit the broad side of a barn if they're standing inside, so they go buy a bigger scope! The problem is, with a scope, you see the crosshairs sweeping back and forth and up and down across the target, and knowing that the sights have to be on the target when the gun fires to hit it, as the sights finally sweep across the target they jerk the trigger (which throws the sights off just at the crucial point when the gun fires). So even with a scope that could be used for astronomy they still miss the target! If you learn to shoot with iron sights you can't really see the wobble area as well, so you don't stress over it and can concentrate on the fundamentals and really learn to shoot the rifle.

(For training, take about 400 rounds of ammo, your rifle, and that G.I. web sling, and go attend an Appleseed shoot. It's cheap and intense training, and you'll come away as a MUCH better rifle shot. You have to put up with the Appleseed schpiel on Revolutionary War history, but that's a small price to pay.)

Once you learn to shoot with a sling-supported position, you will be comfortable carrying your rifle anywhere knowing that you can make hits out to at least 300 yards or more with no scope, no benches, no rests, no nothing - just you and your rifle. Adds a lot of confidence.

Don't buy a front handguard with Picatinny rails. If you don't have the rails you won't be so tempted to hang a bunch of cr@p on the front of your rifle, and so you will have only what you need. Which is NOT a rifle that needs a wheeled gun carriage to haul it around. You also won't have to spend even more money on rail covers to cover up the rails that you don't need in the first place just so that your support hand can tolerate holding on to them. Remember, every ounce of weight you save in the rifle is that much more ammo you can carry.

For a defense rifle I concede that a white light is good. You can buy short Picatinny rails that clamp to the front sight base, or do what I did which was to buy a short offset rail that bolted to the cooling holes of the standard A2 handguard.

Another nice thing to spend your money on is a GOOD trigger. And don't confuse LIGHT with GOOD. You don't want a trigger that lets off with ounces of pressure - it's not safe. IMHO a good trigger is a National Match grade 2-stage trigger. It has about 2 to 2-1/2 pounds of pull to the pre-travel before it comes to a "stop", and then lets off with just a slight amount of additional pressure of a pound or so. (A NM trigger has to be able to pick up a 4-1/2 pound weight off of a table by hooking the weight on to the trigger and lifting the rifle held held muzzle up.) You use it by pulling through the first stage and holding it while you refine your aim, then when the sight picture is perfect you can almost "think" it off.

Again, don't waste your money on a vertical foregrip. Your support hand is going to need to hold the front of the rifle up, and a vertical foregrip puts your hand in an uncomfortable position for doing this. A fore grip is only good for spraying from the hip. I don't know about you, but I can't afford the ammo to spray bullets at today's prices. Besides, a vertical fore grip is just something else to snag and hang up on things. Better off using the standard handguards, or if you've just gotta have something for the cool factor, buy one of those angled fore grips. (I guess you'd have to have the railed forend for that, but if you just gotta do it...........)

OK, so I guess I'm sort of musketry Luddite. But I'd rather learn to really shoot the rifle and spend my money on ammo.

Thanks! Mine came with a web sling and a carry handle with the sights. I have been shooting open site and scoped rifles all my life, and am a huge fan of the sling support position, but have not shot anything similar to the site set up on the AR. Thanks for the advice on the tripod and foregrip, I kinda figured as much but I have seen a lot of people doing it. I would like to know a little more about this appleseed shoot. Im a big history buff so don't mind the revolutionary war schpiel. What is a good rail to mount the light on?

[tpelle]

Appleseed is an organization that teaches rifle shooting in an effort to try to restore the United States to "A Nation of Riflemen" as it used to be before urbanization. They tie it all in to the events of April 19, 1775 when the British army marched out of Boston to Lexington and Concord to confiscate the arms, including artillery, of the colonial militia. After some initial skirmishing the British column was pretty much shot to ribbons by the militia and by the rifles the of the men from the general population who pitched in. These events, of course, were the beginnings of the War of Independence.

The Appleseed instructors are well trained, follow strict range rules for safety, know their stuff, and teach sound techniques.

Here's a link:

http://www.appleseedinfo.org/

[MosesManning]

First off I want to apologize for my ignorance on the subject, I had planned on doing more research before I made a purchase but someone made me an offer I cannot refuse. I recently purchased a Bushmaster AR-15 and want to start accessorizing. I want to start slow but I would like to go ahead and get discount led flashlights (http://www.robustbuy.com/led-lighting-gadgets-led-flashlights-c-505_1027_730.html) and laser mounted. Do accessories fit all AR-15s or do I have to stick to Bushmaster made products? What do I need to buy to attach the light and laser? Mine is just the base model. Is a picatinny rail what I need? If so what kind do I get that will fit my gun? Is this what accessories such as the light and laser attach too? any other tips would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Hello I need some help about purchasing accessories for my new rifle. I need led flashlight so can you tell the brand and source to purchase it? I am looking for affordable ones not much expensive. Thanks in advance.

[GOST]

A Inforce flashlight are not to bad priced and they come with the mount for a 1913 rail built in.

[Hmac]

Go shoot the gun!

In this era where AR15's are the latest Barbies for Big Boys, or the current equivalent of Harley Davidson customization, this article is pretty good advice http://www.tacticalyellowvisor.net/concepts/go-shoot-the-gun

I do agree with the purchase of a red dot sight early on. Iron sights are mostly backup sights. Fine to make sure you're familiar with them, just as you should be familiar with any component of your rifle, but IMHO a red dot sight generally should be among the first "accessory" purchases on any defensive rifle. Followed closely by a Basic Carbine Course and then increasingly advanced carbine courses. Appleseed is fun and would be fine for your 10-22, but IMHO defensive-specific carbine courses are likely to be more useful. Those things will go a long way toward keeping you from buying a lot of stuff that looks cool but doesn't work as well as you thought it might.

[rob_s]

One of the little-understood benefits of getting out and actually shooting the gun is that you get exposed to other shooters, which in turn allows you to check out their gear, ask them questions, and maybe even try it or test-fit it to your gun. and then you're at a range where you can see how it affects things like pointability, balance, target transitions... you know, shooting.