Had my first systematic lesson in how to use an AR15 today

[Wounded Ronin]

This morning, I brought that Peace Corps A2 style AR15 out onto the range for the first time, and had a local instructor give me a lesson on how to operate it. These are sort of notes to help me remember. The rifle is a full length AR with a fixed A2 style stock. I put surplus triangular handguards on it and am running 20 round magazines for the retro look.

Shooting position:

In order to use a modern isoceles fighting stance, your left arm grips the hand guard as far down the barrel as possible, away from the mag well, and presses the rifle hard into your right shoulder. At the same time, you turn your body a little bit and push your right shoulder into the stock, so that even if you are not using your right hand to hold the rifle, the rifle is very stable and pointed on target, to the point that you can walk around with your right hand hanging down and the rifle still pointed on target. This allows for rapid and well controlled aiming of the front sight and jerk-free trigger operation. Your thumbs should be parallel and pointing at the target, in a manner analagous to how your thumbs should be pressed together parallel and pointing at the target like on a handgun. On the rifle they're just a lot further apart since one is way down on the hand guard at the end of the barrel, and the other is near the trigger and the safety.

You must hunch forward a little bit, just like in a martial arts fighting stance, so that you can control the weapon. You must stand "in the fight", and not just upright or leaning back.

I notice that my upper back gets tired from supporting the weapon in this manner. Are there any exercises I can do at the gym that will help me with supporting a rifle in this manner?


Reloading procedure:

You're in the above stance and you've just fired your last round and the bolt is locked back on an empty magazine. Your steps are:

1.) Pull the rifle forward, off your shoulder just a little bit, and cant it to the left so you can examine the ejection port and see what the problem is.

2.) You observe that the chamber is empty and the bolt is locked back, so you then cant the rifle to the right so the ejection port is pointing downwards at a 45 degree angle (as you do this press the eject button with your index finger so the magazine flies free of the mag well), and you either brace the stock on your chest to assist with manipulations, or you clamp the stock in your armpit. The barrel should be pointing upwards on a diagonal and in the general direction of the target. At this point the rifle is being held in place by your right hand and the pressure on your torso or the squeeze from your armpit.

3.) Grab your next magazine with your left hand and ram it hard into the mag well. Give it a shake and tug to make sure it's locked in and seated properly. If you do this right you won't have to let go of the mag in order to whack it, so that you will save a little time on the reload. You want to do all this with your eyes still on the target.

4.) Using your left hand only, whack the slide release, and get back on target by pushing the rifle forward and then pulling it back into your fighting stance.


Clearing malfunctions:

1.) Step one same as above.

2.) Observe a type 1, 2, or 3 malfunction.

3.) Rest the rifle in your armpit or on your torso as described above in step 2. In a type 1 or 2, instead of ejecting the magazine, you make sure it's seated, and then you work the charging handle using your left hand only, before getting back on target. If it's a type 3 you must use your left hand to operate the slide stop, and rack the slide back by pulling on the charging handle with your right hand. Next, you must strip the magazine, and then rack the charging handle 3 times making sure that the ejection port is pointed 45 degrees at the ground. Finally, load a fresh magazine, and then get back on target.


Maintenence:

1.) The AR 15 must be run "wet". There should be tanginble oil on the bolt while you're operating it. The charging handle must also be lubed up.

2.) Rem oil or Hoppes 9 oil isn't good enough. You must use breakfree, or something that is similar. I went and bought some today.

3.) The rifle will get all dirty after ~200 rounds, at which point it is mandatory to field strip and clean the rifle.

4.) 20 round magazines must only be loaded up to hold 18 rounds, or else reliability will decrease and the mags will be more likely to crack when dropped. (I knew about the 18 round thing from reading Vietnam War histories, but I didn't know that was still the case.)

[tgace]

3.) The rifle will get all dirty after ~200 rounds, at which point it is mandatory to field strip and clean the rifle.

4.) 20 round magazines must only be loaded up to hold 18 rounds, or else reliability will decrease and the mags will be more likely to crack when dropped. (I knew about the 18 round thing from reading Vietnam War histories, but I didn't know that was still the case.)

You had me till these. These are becoming a bit of a myth in AR circles. As a matter of fact I will call BS on "having to field strip and clean" after 200 rnds. I've gone 3-4 times that many just as a test with my AR. Others have gone far longer...

http://vuurwapenblog.com/2010/08/27/...waste-of-time/

Over the past few years, I’ve fired a number of ARs (and a number of other weapons, for that matter) for thousands of rounds without any sort of cleaning whatsoever – in most cases, I just kept adding lubricant to the weapon. Recently, as you can see right below this post, I fired close to 3000 rounds through a 5.45 AR-15 without cleaning or lubrication.

Unless your environment demands it..or you are going to leave your weapon stored for a length of time, running your weapon wet is more important than cleaning it. Not that cleaning is unimportant, but the "dirty jamming AR" thing is a bit overdone with modern AR's.

http://www.defensereview.com/the-big...m4-unreliable/

Fouling in the M4 is not the problem. The problem is weak springs (buffer and extractor), as well as light buffer weights (H vs. H2 or H3). With the abovementioned drop-in parts, the M4 is as reliable as any weapon I have ever fired, and I have fired probably every military-issue assault rifle fielded worldwide in the last 60 years as a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant (18B)

Underloading modern magazines is more about making it easier to load on a closed bolt than it is about reliability. Modern mags can be full loaded and left for a LOOOONG time and still function properly. "Cracked when dropped"? Thats a new one to me.

Your weapon handling and reloading techniques are pretty much the modern techniques propagated by outfits like Magpul Dynamics. Good stuff.

[tgace]

Another popular AR Myth is: "Dont rest your magazine on the deck..it will cause jams."

With a good, in-spec magazine, "monopoding" with your magazine is a great way to gain additional stability.

If you are on a quest to become more familiar with your AR's functioning and reliability, research buffer weights (H, H2, H3), extractor inserts/springs, gas key staking, MPI bolts and different gas tube lengths.

[Cassius]

I'm with tgace 100%. I'm not sure about the Break-Free comment, either. Using high quality CLP is always nice, but I've put literally thousands of rounds through an M4 without cleaning, and in fact, only using crappy generic CLP to lube 'er up. There's a lot of gray area in the AR platform. They're tough, and capable of running dirty as long as they're well taken care of.

Tactics wise, sounds like good stuff.

[tgace]

I'm hearing good stuff about "Slip 2000" lube for the AR. Im thinking about picking some up. Theres also been some interesting advancements in parts coatings like Nickel Boron a la "Fail Zero". Little to no lube required.

From most accounts, reliability issues with the AR (once bad magazines have been removed from the equation) seem to come down to a decent spring/buffer to assure bolt seating and a good extractor. If you have those and sufficient lubrication, the M4 can chew through carbon fouling for a long, long, long time.

[BadUglyMagic]

Reloading procedure:

You're in the above stance and you've just fired your last round and the bolt is locked back on an empty magazine. Your steps are:

1.) Pull the rifle forward, off your shoulder just a little bit, and cant it to the left so you can examine the ejection port and see what the problem is.

The problem is you are out of ammunition.



Do a writeup of how the weapon shoots, its accuracy and the technical stuff. Include price with the build information.

[3moose1]

If I were you, and since its a brand new sweet baby AR (or so I believe) Look into MIL-TEC


That **** rocks, just make sure you apply it properly. Makes it run sexier, and its a LOT easier to clean.



as far as your back getting sore....I guess some back extensions could help, but its something you get used to after a while.

[mad_malk]

I'm hearing good stuff about "Slip 2000" lube for the AR. Im thinking about picking some up.



From most accounts, reliability issues with the AR (once bad magazines have been removed from the equation) seem to come down to a decent spring/buffer to assure bolt seating and a good extractor. If you have those and sufficient lubrication, the M4 can chew through carbon fouling for a long, long, long time.

Slip 2000 EWL is the ****, and is not the same as slip 2000 even though it's made by the same company.

Plus Slip 2000ewl has great CS. they will send you a 1 oz bottle for free if you really insist on it. but trust me just order a full cleaning kit. there products work and are endorsed by people who are far more in the know then me.

[Rock Ape]

I'm another advocate of resting a fitted magazine on the deck to aid stability and accuracy. however if your AR has a railed front end or, you can retro-fit a short 20mm rail to the underside of your hand guard, I highly recommend getting a grip pod - seen on the front end of my rifle.

With a touch of a small button at the top of the grip, a spring loaded bipod unfolds and provides excellent stability, then quickly folds away again when you're finished.

Their website : http://www.grippod.com/

There's two version available, I'd opt for the military version because the legs are sturdier (steel rather than composite)

I'd also seriously recommend Magpul Pmag I've used those out on ops and never had an issue with feeds or tiring the spring through long periods of remaining fully charged.

Dave

[Rock Ape]

And before any dumb-ass asks, no the ACOG isn't mounted forward of the EOTECH, lol, it's just resting on the table.

Sorry for the slightly blurred image but it was taken with my CrapPhone