The Changing Face/Fads of AR-15 Ownership

X-man

X-man

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I love guns. Period. But I've always had a particular affinity for black rifles, especially the AR-15. Over the years there have been lots of different trends or (fads, as some negative nellies have called them), that have dominated the AR enthusiasts community for a time and have subsequently fallen by the wayside, whether for good or ill.

What do you guys miss or wax nostalgic for? What "fads" are you happy to see gone/over with?

For myself, I kinda' miss the good ol' days when Tango Down battle grips and stubby vertical fore grips were all the rage, everyone lusted after a 14.5" LMT and the S&B Short Dot optic was "the" optic. That seems like eons ago now. What say you? :)
 
I'm a sucker for quad rails and probably won't switch. Guess it's my generation and I can't get into these new keymod, MLok or whatever the new cool thing is.

Also, still like tango down. Lol
 
I would say 90% of the junk people hang on the AR15 is pointless trend gimmicks for nothing more than aesthetics and "tactical mall ninja" nonsense.
Putting ### ironic or "tactical" engravings on them, iron sights with a magnified scope in front of a red dot scope next to the offset irons etc etc.

That being said some of the add ons make a hell of difference. I had a chance to fire a short barreled AR at the gun range last fall, the guy had put a Battle Comp(?) muzzle brake device on it. It made the thing crazy loud but I swear the muzzle didn't move a millimeter when you fired it. Even standing non supported it just stayed exactly where it was when you fired it. Pretty amazing upgrade/gizmo.

That's a rare exception though. You can tell most people build these ridiculous overburdened rifles, cramming every current fad gimmick they can find onto it and then sell them without even putting 100 rounds through them.
Just watch the EE. Every day another one of these monstrosities goes up for sale in brand new out of the box condition, not a spec of dust on it lol It's perplexing and odd really.
People are strange.....
 
I like full quad rails with a vertical grip, that seems to be falling out of style for these new tube style handguards that you mount your own rails to. Still like the good ol' A2 front sight post, but I'm ok with the low profile gas block trend too. I also like my AR's mainly black, I'm not into this "magpul FDE everything" fad. If the time comes that I need to cam up my rifle, I'll Krylon that b**ch.
 
That's the nature of the beast. The AR platform has to be the most easily and prolifically accessorized rifle in history. Ask Brownells. The Americans are quick to create a "need" for gadgetry, especially if they can get a top shooter to use it and win.

Said shooter could likely still win with a box stock model.
 
X-man;11158549 What do you guys miss or wax nostalgic for? What "fads" are you happy to see gone/over with? everyone lusted after a 14.5" LMT. That seems like eons ago now. What say you? :)[/QUOTE said:
I say not so fast ...Don't be putting the LMT 14.5" in the nostalgic fad bin just yet...They are still building, selling and shooting them...LMT MRP 14.5", as close as I have been to AR Heaven...Very handy and yet can ding the 600 yard gong...Far as I can tell it's got it all...Perfection will never go out of style.
Click to expand...
 
Lastgun said:
I say not so fast ...Don't be putting the LMT 14.5" in the nostalgic fad bin just yet...They are still building, selling and shooting them...LMT MRP 14.5", as close as I have been to AR Heaven...Very handy and yet can ding the 600 yard gong...Far as I can tell it's got it all...Perfection will never go out of style.
Click to expand...

I didn't jump on the MRP wagon, (lack of $$$, not desire), but I still have my 14.5" Defender with enhanced bolt, SOPMOD stock and other bells and whistles. I still have the original receipt from Questar....damn near KAC prices these days...well, almost! This was back when the US State Dept. had stopped export of anything under 16", so the 14.5" commanded a premium. Still love it though! :)
 
I really like my LMT 14.5", but I upraded it ;)

I jumped into the keymod wagon. I also really like the old school colt 20" with the carry handle but couldn't justif a third AR.
5D4FDE74-B0C2-4C04-9C65-4018D2C06DAD.jpg

F61BADA4-871A-4E5C-98FC-DDC91C45D174.jpg
 
I got caught in the just slap it on because it's got 20mm rail space.

Had a compact scope, red dot, light, green laser, finger groove handgrip, metal quad rail handguards, forearm grip, bipod, funky muzzle brake, single point sling........

Was at the range beside me was a 40 yr old plus guy shooting an SKS with all that stuff and more..... I am trying to at least group he is doing duckbill mag dump after dump just looked absolutely stupid on every level.

So what did I do? I went back the basics of what got me into ARs back in the early 80s before everyone got into complicated ARs. I think what tipped me away from the new stuff was the flood of numerous Chinese ARs.

Took me sometime but I went back to a carry handle, simple pistol grip, pinned 20 round mag, 6 hole skinny handguards, metal sliding stock, simple muzzle brake, and simple sling.

All I can say is I just love the light easy handling back to basics old school CAR15. I have many people asking about this old girl and man does it group well with 55 grain Norinco ammo.

No batteries throw it in the water, tip out the water and just shoot her! Only new thing I kept was the buffer tube sling attachment.

Randy

 
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I sold off my quadrail rig and went back to a middy length fiber reinforced resin round handguards since I wanted to shed any weight. It's merely a range Queen for accuracy and some speed in that order. Now my next build is going to use 6" handguards on a 10"'barrel for some Cqb fun with my clients. I will never use all the convenience and fun of the aluminum Picatinny quad rails nor the Key Lock technology so I will save the money for ammo and lots of it. Thanks for the walk down amnesia Lane.


I am one of those old school A2 style HBAR competitors who shot NRA High Power with a shooting jacket and sling. Wow that was around the time of the first gulf war. :p

Cheers, Barney
 
I love seeing those quadrail handguards that you can't even get your hand around, loaded with 20 different accessories. weighing in at 50 f***-tons :cool: I'm also a big fan of simplicity. Light, round, skinny handguard, put a dot on and only mount parts that increase functionality or reliability. That seems to be the current trend and couldn't have come sooner - fast, light and simple. My remaining lower is rockin' an Ace skeleton stock, Hogue grip and a Geissele s3g trigger.

Here's a pic of my 223 upper on my old lower that I gave to a buddy:
uIUB6fS.jpg

-Miculek brake (makes a HUGE difference in muzzle rise.. Temporarily going back to the A2 hider completely threw off my cadence)
-DPMS aluminum handguard (it's junk but does the trick) - Also needed to cut a few cooling slots with the angle grinder as it was getting too hot to handle even with gloves
-Simple, sturdy dot
-The only thing I might have done different is possibly a different carrier since I am getting some lazy ejection (not sure if it's the carrier or the gas block), but she functions reliably

Here's the 223 upper, mounted on my only lower
yFr7txH.jpg

-Will be running the Miculek brake just for good looks, but currently got the A2 hider mounted
-Troy 15" tube
-Simple, fast, light dot
-A bunch of reliability parts (firing pin, extractor and a push plug that technically goes on the lower, in front of the buffer) to work out the rimfire kinks (working on it but made solid progress to the point where I can actually run a match with it)
 
Travis Bickle said:
I would say 90% of the junk people hang on the AR15 is pointless trend gimmicks for nothing more than aesthetics and "tactical mall ninja" nonsense.
Putting ### ironic or "tactical" engravings on them, iron sights with a magnified scope in front of a red dot scope next to the offset irons etc etc.

That being said some of the add ons make a hell of difference. I had a chance to fire a short barreled AR at the gun range last fall, the guy had put a Battle Comp(?) muzzle brake device on it. It made the thing crazy loud but I swear the muzzle didn't move a millimeter when you fired it. Even standing non supported it just stayed exactly where it was when you fired it. Pretty amazing upgrade/gizmo.

That's a rare exception though. You can tell most people build these ridiculous overburdened rifles, cramming every current fad gimmick they can find onto it and then sell them without even putting 100 rounds through them.
Just watch the EE. Every day another one of these monstrosities goes up for sale in brand new out of the box condition, not a spec of dust on it lol It's perplexing and odd really.
People are strange.....
Click to expand...

Who is the bigger loser, the mall ninja or the casual homophobe?
 
randyhub said:
I got caught in the just slap it on because it's got 20mm rail space.

Had a compact scope, red dot, light, green laser, finger groove handgrip, metal quad rail handguards, forearm grip, bipod, funky muzzle brake, single point sling........

Was at the range beside me was a 40 yr old plus guy shooting an SKS with all that stuff and more..... I am trying to at least group he is doing duckbill mag dump after dump just looked absolutely stupid on every level.

So what did I do? I went back the basics of what got me into ARs back in the early 80s before everyone got into complicated ARs. I think what tipped me away from the new stuff was the flood of numerous Chinese ARs.

Took me sometime but I went back to a carry handle, simple pistol grip, pinned 20 round mag, 6 hole skinny handguards, metal sliding stock, simple muzzle brake, and simple sling.

All I can say is I just love the light easy handling back to basics old school CAR15. I have many people asking about this old girl and man does it group well with 55 grain Norinco ammo.

No batteries throw it in the water, tip out the water and just shoot her! Only new thing I kept was the buffer tube sling attachment.

Randy

Click to expand...

That's what I'm talking about right there! :rockOn:
I have a Colt Model 653 clone with an A2 upper though instead of A1.
Exactly like yours but with a pencil barrel and an A2 Colt upper basically.
 
FSB... no low pro gas block, no ambi controls, no extended levers..

PDW2.jpg


AR9.jpg


AR.jpg



I think I got a KAC vertical grip and a redi mag system still kicking around somewheres.
 
I find a lot of people new to ARs will do the "if there's a rail, it should be occupied" thing, but most of the time they grow out of it.

And it's not just ARs.
 
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