The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - 5.56-.223 Mags & First AR

Nathan · November 17, 2012, 09:00 PM

PSA:

PSA is a pretty good retailer with a good web site, good web reputation. They do not answer the phone and can take a day or two to get to email. They have somewhere between damn good and the best prices on most everything.

BUYING THE AR
Glad to see you got the S&W. I have never shot one, but most AR's are pretty similar. Generally, in AR's, it is not about buying the brand, but buying the platform. Colt, Noveske, BCM, LMT and maybe one other are a slight aboration to that rule.

CLEANING
Yes AR's need a good cleaning at some regular round count. You can be an every time guy or go 300 - 500 rounds like I usually do. Clean with a rod topped with a jag and a brush. Use a good bore cleaner like Butches Bore Shine. For lube, find a good one. I prefer Weaponshield CLP. Go with that. Add lube regularly to keep the crud washing off! Last, for cleaning the BCG, a scrapper or carbon cleaner chemical is a must.

OPTIC
All red dots have some flare and or some roughness to the dot/reticle.

To aim with a paralax free red dot, put the dot on the target and pull the trigger. Does not matter where it is in the tube. Place and squeeze. . .it is that easy.

A word about dot sizes. 1 MOA means ~ 1" at 100 yards. . ..25" at 25 yards. Your gun will be roughly 2" at 100 yards accurate. A dot which is 4 - 8 MOA will be good for SD and 0 - 100 yd shooting. . .combat type shooting. a dot 1 - 2 MOA will be good for 50 - 300 yd shooting. ) - 50 is fine too, but just a bit small to be ideal. If you do a magnifier, it will increase the dot size when in use. Not your 4 MOA combat type dot is 12 MOA with a 3 x magnifier. At 300 yards, your dot is covering 36". I hope that was clear.

Then you have EOTech. It is generally a 1 MOA dot in a 65 MOA circle so you can see a big blob when shooting fast at 0 - 25 yds and a fairly precise dot for hooking up at 1, 2, 300 yards.

Normal scopes in a 1 - 4x are great too, but cannot be "cowitnessed" I'll let you search cowitness to get more on that.

The last idea catching speed is the 3x or 4x scope with a rail on it and a teeny tiny JP or Vortex dot sight for quick shooting. Good idea, if you ask me! It is precision and a BUIs all in one. On a QR rail, you can dump it for irons quick also.

UTG. . .Simply stated, you have $600 - $1000 in an AR. Don't ruin your experience with a $58 optic. You might pencil in an optic budget of like $300 - $1000. Maybe narrow to $500 or less if on a budget. Still, optics often decide what you can do with a rifle. Don't be defined by a $57 chinese crap scope. GLAD YOU SPARED YOURSELF THIS MISERY!

Cheap $40 - $80 red dots work, but are not going to give a lifetime of enjoyment. Mine have worked for a while on my 12 ga, crossbow, etc. . .

I like your Bushnell TRS25 choice. Looks like a keeper. If the cloud is even all around, that is about all you can expect IMO. Did it cowitness?

Do you have an FSB?

Yep, an AR is spendy. . .

MAGS
Mags. . .Simply put. Magpul or D&H are the names right now. A 10 pack of each can be had for around $100 when the stars align. I use D&H, but Magpuls are said to be better and don't dent per say.

CHEAP AMMO
Steel case had better run through your gun! Yes, most cheap ammo runs fine, but sometimes it is so weak it won't cycle. This is a rare occurance, but other steel case should run fine. That is because it is crap, not steel case!

IMO, reloading is the key to good cheap ammo. Buying in bulk is good too.

PM me if you want to chat or have a question about this post.

November 17, 2012, 09:00 PM	#145
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,325	PSA: PSA is a pretty good retailer with a good web site, good web reputation. They do not answer the phone and can take a day or two to get to email. They have somewhere between damn good and the best prices on most everything. BUYING THE AR Glad to see you got the S&W. I have never shot one, but most AR's are pretty similar. Generally, in AR's, it is not about buying the brand, but buying the platform. Colt, Noveske, BCM, LMT and maybe one other are a slight aboration to that rule. CLEANING Yes AR's need a good cleaning at some regular round count. You can be an every time guy or go 300 - 500 rounds like I usually do. Clean with a rod topped with a jag and a brush. Use a good bore cleaner like Butches Bore Shine. For lube, find a good one. I prefer Weaponshield CLP. Go with that. Add lube regularly to keep the crud washing off! Last, for cleaning the BCG, a scrapper or carbon cleaner chemical is a must. OPTIC All red dots have some flare and or some roughness to the dot/reticle. To aim with a paralax free red dot, put the dot on the target and pull the trigger. Does not matter where it is in the tube. Place and squeeze. . .it is that easy. A word about dot sizes. 1 MOA means ~ 1" at 100 yards. . ..25" at 25 yards. Your gun will be roughly 2" at 100 yards accurate. A dot which is 4 - 8 MOA will be good for SD and 0 - 100 yd shooting. . .combat type shooting. a dot 1 - 2 MOA will be good for 50 - 300 yd shooting. ) - 50 is fine too, but just a bit small to be ideal. If you do a magnifier, it will increase the dot size when in use. Not your 4 MOA combat type dot is 12 MOA with a 3 x magnifier. At 300 yards, your dot is covering 36". I hope that was clear. Then you have EOTech. It is generally a 1 MOA dot in a 65 MOA circle so you can see a big blob when shooting fast at 0 - 25 yds and a fairly precise dot for hooking up at 1, 2, 300 yards. Normal scopes in a 1 - 4x are great too, but cannot be "cowitnessed" I'll let you search cowitness to get more on that. The last idea catching speed is the 3x or 4x scope with a rail on it and a teeny tiny JP or Vortex dot sight for quick shooting. Good idea, if you ask me! It is precision and a BUIs all in one. On a QR rail, you can dump it for irons quick also. UTG. . .Simply stated, you have $600 - $1000 in an AR. Don't ruin your experience with a $58 optic. You might pencil in an optic budget of like $300 - $1000. Maybe narrow to $500 or less if on a budget. Still, optics often decide what you can do with a rifle. Don't be defined by a $57 chinese crap scope. GLAD YOU SPARED YOURSELF THIS MISERY! Cheap $40 - $80 red dots work, but are not going to give a lifetime of enjoyment. Mine have worked for a while on my 12 ga, crossbow, etc. . . I like your Bushnell TRS25 choice. Looks like a keeper. If the cloud is even all around, that is about all you can expect IMO. Did it cowitness? Do you have an FSB? Yep, an AR is spendy. . . MAGS Mags. . .Simply put. Magpul or D&H are the names right now. A 10 pack of each can be had for around $100 when the stars align. I use D&H, but Magpuls are said to be better and don't dent per say. CHEAP AMMO Steel case had better run through your gun! Yes, most cheap ammo runs fine, but sometimes it is so weak it won't cycle. This is a rare occurance, but other steel case should run fine. That is because it is crap, not steel case! IMO, reloading is the key to good cheap ammo. Buying in bulk is good too. PM me if you want to chat or have a question about this post. Last edited by Nathan; November 17, 2012 at 09:07 PM.