Picking up my first AR15... what do you wish you would have known at first?

[NeveSSL]

Ha-ha! I'll grab one this evening.

Brandon

[shotgunshooter]

The only things you need are a set of irons, a sling, a flashlight, ammo, and training. The nice to have things would be a red dot, a lot of mags, and a way to carry mags on your person.

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[monkeylizard]

a way to carry mags on your person.

[NeveSSL]

I prefer to duct tape magazines to my chest, so the situation HAS to be worth it for me to rip them off.

 

Brandon

[BillOReitz_II]

SHOOT THE GUN! Don't worry about accessories except mags and ammo until you are very familiar and competent.

During this time , think about what your needs are , especially as opposed to what your wants are. Depending on the role this rifle is intended to play , plan intelligently to buy once, cry once.

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[NeveSSL]

I will.  Working on the process I'm going to use to reload for this beautiful beast, too.  :)  My goal for this gun is lightweight and fun to shoot.  Those are the only goals I have for now and they may or may not change.

Brandon

[Dustbuster]

He who finds roll pin must build rifle ASAP

[tacops]

AR accessories are a lot like fishing lures.  I bought a lot of lures that caught more anglers than fish.  OK maybe the analogy was a stretch but what I am saying is that the AR accessory market is a big market.  New gadgets, gizmos, pouches, rigs come out daily marketed in a manner to sell.  That is why a lot of us end up with boxes of cool looking "stuff" that we never use.  I usually end up with a kit that consists of well worn, often surplus, equipment that is pretty much basic.  May sound crazy to some but my old H-harness with a couple pouches, bands and butt pack see more time than any now days. Nothing wrong with "Old School".

[up2snuff]

I wish I had know these things multiply like rabbits.


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[mrh3s]

On the reloading front, buy in bulk when you can. Also I purchased the Giraud Tri-way trimmer head for .223 and picked up a used Evap cooler motor off of ebay for 25 bucks shipped. The tri way trimmer turn brass prep into an easy process, just stick the case in like your sharpening a pencil, brass comes out trimmed to length, chamfered, and de-burred. Wish I would have bought that set up first before spending money on other set ups that just didnt do it for me.

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[btq96r]

Iron sites or a red dot, it takes the same fundamentals of a proper position, breath control, and trigger squeeze to shoot well enough with either...so learning all that good boring stuff is more import than how much high speed-low drag gear you can put on the gun.

[Slappy]

Make sure your iron sights are sighted in.  If i'm not mistaking, a 50 yard zero means you are on 0-200 yards. 

Learn via youtube how to take apart your bolt carrier group and clean it.  

Keep your AR fairly well lubricated. 

Think about some sort of optic.  They do help.  If money is a consideration, consider Primary Arms or Vortex Sparc. 

Think about a new trigger.  ALG makes some nice ones that are not too expensive.  Sky is the limit w/ triggers.

Don't shoot steel cased ammo.  They have a lacquer finish that when chambered on a hot rifle, tend to get stuck and wear out your chamber faster. 

As with all guns, protect your hearing.  Several of us here double up with plugs and muffs.  Take it from someone who's ears have been ringing non-stop for the last 12 years....and I'm only 30.  

[DaveTN]

Quality scope.

[NeveSSL]

Thanks everyone! Really appreciate you guys taking the time to post.

DMark was very gracious with his time Tuesday and took me through many of the things you guys are discussing, especially sighting the gun in and field steipping it for cleaning.

Also, I ordered a Bore Snake from Amazon and they sent me 6! Must have been someone new on the packing line. Ha-ha!

Brandon