Tacticool accessory advice needed for my new AR

Disaster Monkey

Disaster Monkey

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My new M4gery arrived from Dlask last week, and it's got all this beautiful, ###y ... erm, I mean tactical ... rail space on it. Now I need to fill it up, or for the time being at least cover it up. I'm thinking a Tango Down vertical foregrip to start, mostly because it's got the space for a tape switch for when I have a light / laser for this thing. Are there any others that have that capacity that I should consider?

Next, I need some covers to cover up the rails I wont be using yet. I was thinking of the Magpul XT panels. I've never handled them before, though, and am going on pics I've seen online alone. Are they especially bulky? The railed handguards themselves seem rather wide, so I don't want to add alot of size to them. I was thinking I would have the vertical grip right in the middle of the rail ... are there any considerations I should have about placement of that before I have it in hand and can see what feels best? I kinda need to plan it in advance to figure out rail cover placement around it.

I also want a bayonet ... mostly to piss off Liberals. Any suggestions? It wouldn't need to be the finest or most expensive, since it would be more for s**ts and giggles than SHTF.

How about magazines? What's a good source for 30/5 rounders?

Is there any one good source for all this stuff? Both my local gun stores looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language when I started asking about this stuff. Failing any suggestions, I'll probably look to get most of this stuff from Wolverine Supplies.

Thanks for any and all advice!

 
Marstar has repo M9 bayonets.

BAY-010-AR-15-US-M9-Style.jpg


And flashlights that go on the rail and rubber butt pads for that as well. Looks good.
 
It's actually very easy to get carried away when tacticooling up a rifle.

Take me for example. At one point, I had about four grand invested in my AR. It's since been cut back a bit, but still worth around 2500.

My advice is to not get a light unless you're actually going to use it in some sort of competition (Indoor? Does three gun shoot indoor?). The first thing I think you should buy would be some sort of optic, be it Eotech or Aimpoint.

Vertical grips are awesome. TangoDown is the best, in my opinion.

New buttstocks are cool. The Vltor is more affordable than a Magpul or a Crane, and provides as good or better cheek weld, and battery compartments that can be accessed while the stock is on the rifle.

The Magpul LADDER covers add almost zero bulk to the rifle, while still protecting the rails. The ones I think you're talking about cover the whole thing, right? I think KAC rails would be a better investment, as I'm pretty sure the magpul covers are a bit too soft a plastic, and will come off if you catch them on something.

Nice rifle, too bad about that ### front sight base. Ohwells! Compensate for it by adding cool things to your rifle!
 
Remove FSB and buy a PRI or YHM Flip up gas block/FSB or a larue low profile gas block and a railed mounted front sight.
Buy a aimpoint/eotech
TG vertical grip is good too.
My best investment for my rifle was my magpul M93B. it changed everything.

AMMO AMMO AMMO and more AMMO
 
Ammo...the ultimate accesory, bin the front sight, I would ask Joe to install a stock A2 sight that is pinned in place if high use is the intent, if plinking then go for the flip up sights, sights that are not pinned in place do some wierd and wonderful things when heated up.
 
Take your gun as it is and put about 1000 rounds through it then see if you want to add or change stuff. Shoot the iron sights until you are really good and can go back to them when/if your optics go down.
Ammo and training will be the best things to get. Once you have that, go for the cool stuff.
YMMV,
Hoddie.
 
The Magpul LADDER covers add almost zero bulk to the rifle, while still protecting the rails. The ones I think you're talking about cover the whole thing, right? I think KAC rails would be a better investment, as I'm pretty sure the magpul covers are a bit too soft a plastic, and will come off if you catch them on something.
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I have the full covers, never fall off. Heck, they are hard enough to put on!
 
sparrow said:
Ammo...the ultimate accesory, bin the front sight, I would ask Joe to install a stock A2 sight that is pinned in place if high use is the intent, if plinking then go for the flip up sights, sights that are not pinned in place do some wierd and wonderful things when heated up.
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Perhaps I'm misunderstanding this ... although I will concede you probably know quite a bit more about ARs than I do. Are you suggesting that the site I have here is not pinned in place? I had assumed that's what the two holes at the bottom of it were. Or were you just saying that the flip-up site assemblies available are not pinned on? Please clarify.

I am going to send the upper back to Dlask (conveniently, my parents are travelling near there today, so no shipping will be required!) and have the front site switched for a standard fixed site. To be honest, I had not even noticed that the site was totally different from the standard one until it was mentioned on here :redface: ... I thought it just had extra stuff engraved on it - the site is also very slightly canted to the left, so those two factors combined are enough for me to want it corrected. The FSB's depicted in pictures on Dlask's website are all the conventional kind, so although I hadn't realised it, this isn't what I had expected to receive either.

A question for those more knowledgeable than myself ... I had read of some Bushmaster rifles having canted front sites, and read some discussion of the solution to this flaw. From what I understood, it requires modification of the barrel or upper receiver where the two are joined, as the front site cannot be moved away from the gas port, or from where it is pinned on. Am I correct about this? Are there any concerns I should have about modifications being performed on parts of my rifle to solve this problem, or is it likely to all still run and fit OK after a little massaging into place?

This is my first AR, and will be a learning experience for me as I add to it and change it. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed upon discovering these issues with the FSB, but I'm confident they will be resolved to my satisfaction, and I will once again be a happy camper :D - I'll follow up on this thread with the resolution, and updated pictures with replacements and additions.
 
DM, while I cannot be sure from the pics, your front sight base looks to be held on by screws, either allen heads or set screws, you tell us. Hell it may actually be taper or straight pinned in place though this is rare for Dlask. I don't want to rain on your parade these are my experiences from the ARs I have owned and used in the competitive and sporting arena. The FSB should be left alone in a hard use gun, an A2 unit with taper pins will be the most reliable. Your rifle looks to be fairly simple, just make sure the rail handguard is on tight, we had one come apart at Fighting Rifle in Aug05 and removed one for a fellow yesterday. The issues with Bushmaster were/are that the barrels were either Gorrilla torqed on or some of the taper pinned front sight bases which are fit per rifle are on a tad crooked, my rifle at present has the windage on the carry handle two lines left of centre. Believe it or not the major build books call for an armourer to "WHAP!" IT WITH A MALLET TO CORRECT. I chose to live with the non centred rear sight.
 
Here's a newbie question, is there any real tactical advantage of removing the FSB? Other than saving weight?

For those who have aimpoint/eotech optics, won't it be faster to flip up the BUIS if your optics fail and get back on target as suppose to flip up both front and rear sights?
 
It depends on the application.

For precision AR15/10 rifles, there is a chance the FSB interfering with the optics and cast a blur onto the sight picture.

There is no real need of have a folding FS/RS for using aimpoint/eotech type optics. If your shooting posture is correct, the BUIS should not interfere with the reticle. And it would definitely be slower to have to erect both front and rear sights.
 
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On magnified optics I actually like the FSB in place as it provides a bit of an anti-cant device...say when using with an Elcan, I don't even notice it with really high-powered optics.
 
Listen to Sparrow and Hoddie.


With an EO or Aimpoint keep the fixed front sight. The ONLY reason IMHO to have a flip front is if you have a full lenght rail / you are using inline NV like the PVS-22 (not an issue for civilians)
Taper pins are the ONLY method I beleive is acceptable for a front sight gasblock be it flip or fixed.

Shoot irons a lot -- then borrow a friend or fellow shooters (if he/she is not a friend) gun with optics and decide what you want.

I prefer the KAC vert grip since it is small and by the time you've added tape to ensure the pressure switch is not goign to go sailing off (yeah it happens on TD grips) it is bulky enough to be comfortable with flight/nomex gloves.

The first accessory I buy for ANY gun is a LIGHT...
 
KevinB said:
The first accessory I buy for ANY gun is a LIGHT...
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Any comments on the Surefire M900 series? I like the fact that the integrated light is at the bottom which keeps the weight below the barrel. The only thing that keeps me from buying one is the price. :(
 
mebiuspower said:
Any comments on the Surefire M900 series? I like the fact that the integrated light is at the bottom which keeps the weight below the barrel. The only thing that keeps me from buying one is the price. :(
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I had one, I found it as the French say GIANTE, I much prefer a removable light like the Scout, 951/961 series, for my humble OP-Starbucks needs the scout light/led setup is all that is need. A professional may need more light, but I don't as yet.
 
I had a M900 a few years ago -- to big for its purpose IMHO.
Some guys like them - I wish the switch system was a little better designed. I prefer thumb activation as opposed to grip for a light. Plus it has no way of effectively mouting a LAD pressure switch and still retaining the pressure on the light that I have been able to find

For the avg user a G2 in a 1" ring will do fine. For outdoor work I really prefer a 9V light - I got a scorthing deal on a few M961MU's (SOCOM's VLI II) overhere so I am going that route (I lent the M952MU I had brought over to a buddy in the CF).

I am having a 9V version of the USASOC Gangsta Grip built - we shall see how it works out.
 
Well, here's my M4gery, back from the shop ... dropped off by my parents, picked up a couple of hours later with a new front site ... now 10% less ### than the old one!

DSC00089.jpg


As much as this FSB is not ###, it's also still not straight. I'm going to live with it for now, since it's not enough to be distracting while looking through the sites, and I don't think it will make a big difference for siting it in. If the accepted means to correct this is to "Whap!" it, then I think that's something I would rather avoid having done to my rifle. :eek:

I'm still a little disappointed that the fault with this rifle was in the upper / barrel, since uppers or at least barrels are the components I'm most likely to buy from Dlask in future, as they offer a rather unique product to Canadians who cannot readily buy < 16" barrels from the USA. I like short barrels at least as much as I like folding stocks ... hehehe, I'm a Liberal's nightmare :D I'm not so concerned about this minor flaw in this particular rifle, as this one will be tac'd out like crazy, used hard, and as I said before, treated as a learning experience to help plan subsequent ARs ... oh man, I've not even shot my first one yet, and I'm already envisioning my second, third and fourth ARs ... that's a little scary.

Thanks for the advice so far, everyone!
 
So whats so great about a pinned on FSB? I like the YHM two piece gas blocks much better that use cap screws.

You can clean it much easier and do any work on the rifle much easier , no problems with off centered FSB either.
 
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