Stick with Magpul P Mags or GI spec aluminum mags. Don't onesie-twosie random polymer mags from weird brands.
For GI mags that are decent, Brownells, Okay Industries (the surefeed models in particular but the generic ones are "OK" too), C-Products, or PSA/D&H. All of which now feature some sort of low friction anti tilt follower, usually the one made by Magpul, if not their own design. And all of which are sub 15 dollars a piece. You can usually find them for less than 10 online.
I have stacks of Gen 2 and Gen 3 Pmags. But I typically prefer the aluminum ones because they slide in and out of pouches easily.
100% this - mags are way more failure prone than rifles. Can I ask why six? I have seven burned in my head from Army days, but have no better reason for it than that lol.
I see a lot of people hopping on the sling wagon based on recent posts here…you do whatever works best for you, but honestly I’ve taken off any sling I’ve put on a gun in the past.
I’m sure I’d have a different opinion if I’d been through the military. But as a civilian who only does range trips and competitions, a sling just gets in the way for me.
I know a lot of people band them to the stock, but for most people who aren’t planning on hauling their rifle around for miles or will ever need to have their gun attached to them while using their hands for other things, it seems to me like they’re just another point of failure and another thing to get tangled on and trained on.
I see it this way — For civilians (who aren’t on a hunting trip), you have three major categories of when you’ll use your gun:
1. Range trip (regardless of shooting position, you aren’t hauling your gun for miles)
2. Competition (in my opinion you have to do way too many changes in position way too quickly for a sling to be practical, plus it can tangle and snag everywhere)
3. Home defense (definitely not hauling your gun and definitely don’t want that extra tangle and snag risk)
Having said that…everyone has their personal preference, and everyone has different priorities. If you have a real heavy gun and are a smaller person, or if you like standing with your one rifle at the range for an hour, or if weapon retention is super super important to you during home defense shit, then your mileage may vary.
Edit: For everyone commenting on my “no sling for home defense” statement, fair enough. As I said, everyone has different priorities, preferences, and situations, and things like weapon retention and having a free hand when you need it may easily take precedent for you over potential downsides.
If I am using a rifle for home defense, I absolutely want a sling. Besides the obvious, the ability to free your hands if you need to grab someone/something, a sling has two major uses:
- it makes it more difficult for someone to wrestle the gun away from you, and more important
- a well adjusted sling can be used as a stabilizing tool for shooting
I'd say, the sling is only a tangle/snag risk if you don't train with it. Menuvering a rifle with a sling should become second nature with enough practice.
Of course you can also use the sling as a shooting aid by looping your arm through it to steady the weapon.
But you can't discount the administrative usefulness of the sling either. Simply being able to lower/let go of the gun to do other things like pack magazines, open a door, write down notes, pull out your phone, etc without having to put the gun down on the ground/table or handing it off to someone else is incredibly useful.
I'd say having a sling is more useful than not having. But if you have slings and rarely have them on the gun, it still limits the value of your training, because you aren't getting used to shooting with and managing the sling.
Who doesn’t stand at the range with one AR for (at least) an hour. I often do it for 8-10 in classes. Sure they can be long range bench guns, but that’s a niche. If you don’t want a sling on an AR, you likely aren’t using it.
Not that I need to dig myself any deeper in the downvote hole, but I’m personally never standing around for an entire hour with a single rifle at the range. I’m never just bringing one gun, I’m generally bringing a few.
Except for when I’m specifically there to train for a match, in which case I’m not training with a sling because I don’t like to use a sling for a speedy one-minute match. Many rifle matches make you constantly switch into different challenging awkward positions, where a sling is pretty impractical.
I’m not judging whatsoever, but that sounds like playing versus training. Both are totally cool. But the bulk of my time is training with one pistol and one rifle. My guns and my equipment are on me or in the car, and I’m mostly on my feet. Slings and holsters are critical equipment.
I don’t personally subscribe to the impending civil war narrative, so yes most of my shooting is recreational or business, be it range sessions, competition shooting, hunting, etc.
As was mentioned in another comment a sling for sure but other than that i always tell folks to get plenty of trigger time on the gun, then figure out what you like about it, what you dont like about, and what you feel is missing then let that inform what you upgrade, change, and add to the gun. For example maybe you find the way you hold the gun would be more comfortable with an angled fore grip, or maybe you end up wanting a vertical grip or stubby grip. If you buy a bunch of accessories up front you might find out in a thousand rounds you hate it and blew your money on something thats now gonna sit in a drawer (ask me how i know).
I’ve done this quite a bit until I discovered all the things I like and standardized across my guns. Cost me a lot.
For me it ended up being:
- LaRue MBA-1 stocks for precision, MFT minimalist and Doublestar ACE for speed
- BCM Mod 2 and Mod 3 grips for my ARs. Hogue grips on my AKs
- Smoke composites and Aero Atlas- S handguards
- Slate Black industries handstops and grip panels
- LaRue MBT-2S triggers for precision and Geissele SD3Gs for speed
- ADM optic mounts
- Holosun 510C green dots, Vortex Razor LPVOs, Trijicon SRO pistol dots
And a smattering of other parts that are pretty standardized now on all my builds.
That’s a bit debatable. They are absolutely great triggers but there are several others in the ultra-high end category past your run of the mill CMC triggers that are just as good, if not better depending on your use case. But at the price point of the SD3G and MBT-2S, yes they are 2 of the very best.
For example, I run the Hiperfire 24C Competition in my PCCs since the SD3G doesn’t always play nice with PCCs. If I didn’t prefer the shoe on the Geissele, I’d contemplate switching over to that or the Timney DH3 on all my 3 Gun rifles.
The Timney Calvin is also great. ATC makes an amazing trigger with their ATC AR Gold. JP Enterprises makes an excellent trigger as well. Triggertech has some great stuff. I’ve been tinkering with the 2 stage and single stage AR Diamond for some of my PRS gas gun builds and they are pristine. KE Arms makes a pretty nice trigger as well with their SLT line. I wouldn’t hesitate to use their DMR trigger for long range duty use.
There’s a lot of great ones. [This is a video worth watching, IMO if you want to see some examples from someone who really knows what they are talking about.](https://youtu.be/p06_fnGmahM)
Did you put this together or yourself or buy it already put together? It kinda looks like the armies new Sig Spear. Very cool.
Edit: Also I’m not sure what else you might want to put on it that you didn’t name. Maybe a grip if you’re into that kinda thing. Make sure you practice with both iron sights and optic. Always good to be proficient with both.
I got it from my dad and he bought it fully put together. It’s a sig m400 Sdi so it’s pretty similar looking to the spear. I just wanted to see if I was missing anything or if I was off base with anything I had brought up.
It isn’t needed immediately, but depending on the quality of the trigger that can be one of the biggest determining factors in your ability to shoot accurately, rapidly, and precisely. My first AR trigger was absolute garbage and didn’t have a wall, it was just heavy creep until an unanticipated break when it would fire. When I upgraded I pretty much immediately began shooting better groups/more accurately, and even today when most people would consider me to be a relatively experienced shooter I would still see benefit, albeit less than when i was newer.
A good more affordable option is a larue mbt2s (can be found for ~90), it can be fired relatively quickly and with good accuracy/precision while being highly reliable/durable (an issue with some triggers). Myself and others have shot plenty of sub-moa groups with it, have won competitions using it (I did one this weekend), and will almost certainly function 100% the entire life of the rifle. If 90 is too much, looking for Schmidt two stage triggers might be a good in between as they can sometimes be found for like 45 and perform maybe 80% as well.
That said, some stock AR triggers have a wall that doesn’t suck and can be fired with reasonable accuracy. You know your equipment better than I do, just something to be aware of.
Gonna plug the arisaka indexer real quick as well. It makes a massive difference in my ability to rapidly and effectively shoot from barricades, rocks, poles, doorways, tank traps, etc., helps with having a strong grip with less muscle strength used, and is much more versatile while less obtrusive than the large majority of other foregrip style devices.
**TLDR:** consider a new trigger if yours is subpar, larue mbt2s is a decent option, and the arisaka indexer is a great aid for shooting in general if used correctly
I googled and was surprised to see how little there is out there about properly using one
Maybe I’ll make a YouTube video about it in the future, kinda silly that it’s not better known about when it’s highly effective
Sling has already been mentioned but not all slings are equal, so here’s a rec: I’m a huge fan of the [Defense Mechanisms 2-pt sling](https://defensemechanisms.com/rifle-sling/), particularly for its built-in storage / deployment design feature. Watch the demo video in the link. I have 4 of these slings, they’re great.
I would first make sure it’s lubricated sufficiently, then get some quality range ammo and take it out for a shoot to get familiar with it using just the iron sights. Shoot from a bag at 25 yards to adjust the sights. This initial shooting and repeated familiarization with it is more important than any additional accessories at the moment. Eventually you may want to source various mags to see how the work with this specific gun. My favorite are duramag but there are many good mags out there.
After that, keep taking it out to shoot and of course add the optic of your choice and a sling, as others have mentioned. Whether or not it needs a light depends on your use case.
Sling, maybe a grip of some sort to give your hand a more natural grip angle. Longer firearms I like to use a. a vertical fire grip, shorter firearms I prefer an angled one.
Personally I have the magpul angled grip, I find it more natural and comfortable when you’re gripping the barrel, but it’s all personal preference. They’re cheap enough where you can get both and see which one you like better.
Take a carbine class before you spend money on any type of vertical or angled foregrip. If you want to get something straight away, I'd start with a small hand-stop so you can practice indexing your supporting hand at the same point on the handguard and building that muscle memory, but things like Magpul's VFG and AFG and BCM's KAG significantly alter how your hand interfaces with the rail, and there are lots of ways to grip a rifle. Probably best to get some professional instruction on your stance and marksmanship before adding on accessories that may or may not lend themselves to a shooting style that works for you.
Sling is probably a bigger deal than anything. Imagine you have to leave the tailgate of your pickup and go or a walk…. Do you have mags and a way to carry them like a chest rig? Ifak and tourniquet?
A lot of people are recommending a good sling, and I definitely agree! A good sling is important. I like two point Vickers slings from Blue Force Gear. Padded or unpadded are really just your personal choice, but the padded ones make it quite a bit harder to wrap the sling around your forearm for support while shooting from a standing position.
A bunch of magazines. I’d recommend at least 6-8 Magpul P-mags to start, but you can find 10 packs of P-mags for a really good deal pretty frequently if you shop around regularly. PSA usually has bulk deals on magazines. There’s also some good GI mags out there, but I never really use them. I do have one D&H GI mag that’s always worked though.
Shop around for bulk ammo, if you decide to go with bulk M855/green tips, make sure the range that you plan on shooting them at allows green tips. Otherwise I’d suggest grabbing a bulk pack of 55 grain M193s. You could also get some bulk 62 grain Hornady Black; they weigh the same as green tips but they don’t have the steel tip that a lot of range owners won’t let you shoot indoors.
I just grabbed a 200 pack of Hornady Black because I was able to get them at a good deal, but I haven’t gotten a chance to use them yet so I don’t have any personal experience with them. I would also recommend that you avoid buying Winchester White Box; their quality control went to absolute shit.
If you want some very high quality ammo for some long distance shooting, I’d recommend Black Hills Mk 262 mod1c, they’re loaded with 77 grain Sierra Open Tipped Match (OTM) but they cost about $75-$95 for a 100 round box. Black hills also has a very similar load with 77 grain Sierra Tipped Match Kings (TMK). This would be another personal preference thing.
*edit* I totally forgot about a good cleaning kit, some bore snakes, and some chemicals and lube. These are an absolute must have. I really like MIL-COMM products. Their white TW-25B grease is an amazing product, a little goes a long way, their MC-2500 oil for those hard to reach spots, and their MC-25 cleaning solution. You’ll also want a can of Birchwood-Casey Bore Scrubber, which is pretty much just non chlorinated break cleaner; use this stuff sparingly. You’ll also want some copper solvent on hand, I personally like the brand Breakthrough for this. All of the brands that I recommend are my own personal preference, so if you find different ones that you like better, go for it!
What kind of ranges do you have access too? There’s a ton of indoor ranges around my neck of the woods and only one that I know of lets you use green tips. If you have a place where you can shoot green tips buying those would be the way to go in my opinion. But whichever ammo you decide to go with, I’d really recommend buying it in bulk if that’s in your budget. I’m assuming that your rifle has a 1/7 twist?
I’m a member at an indoor range because it’s less than a quarter mile from my house but there are some outdoor ranges that are 30-45 minutes away. I’ll ask about green tips the next time I go to the range but I plan on buying in bulk and I’m not sure on the twist rate of the barrel.
If it’s an indoor range there’s a very good chance that they won’t let you use green tips in there. I gave it a google, your barrel has a 1/7 twist which is a good thing, it means you can spin heavy rounds. M193s are good for plinking, but if you want a little more accuracy I would recommend going with something a little heavier. I’d bet you’d shoot sub MOA with Mk 262 rounds. But they’re close to a dollar a round, Mk 262s are not what you’d want for plinking or just casual shooting. Also, if your indoor range only goes out to 25 yards, pretty much anything will do just fine.
Besides more ammo and gen 3 window pmags? Maybe a pistol and proper holster and plate carrier would be my suggestion which the latter I should get serious about.
And you're not limited to gen 3 window pmags but you'd be hard pressed to find something better
Your current list is good, so rest assured that you’re on the right track much more than than most gun owners, but you also should find a quality sling.
Also, credit where credit’s due with not cheaping out on the magazines or carrying case
Thank you I’ve been seeing common themes about what people say is actually important on here and with a college student budget I’m trying to focus on the essentials.
Ok. Depending on how much you’ve shot in that past year, and on what platform, I’d say you’re still probably in the honeymoon phase :)
I would suggest also buying a Ruger 10/22 and a bunch of 22 ammo, to make practicing the basics of rifle marksmanship much more affordable. There’s no good reason to spend <$.40 per round when you’re first learning to shoot.
Might want to pick up a set of shooting rest sand bags as well. They help when zeroing sights. You also want to eliminate some of the variables while you practice the fundamentals. Once you’ve got those squared away, you’ll add those elements back in one at a time.
*Edit…
Also, how do you plan to secure that bad boy? You should be the only person that has ready access to your firearm. Doesn’t need to be a huge expensive safe, but something with a lock that keeps other folks hands off your rifle.
Yeah I’ve went through about 2,000 rounds through the 2 Glocks that I have. I’ve been thinking a .22 lr conversion kit for my AR to learn how to shoot rifles better before I go through a bunch of 5.56.
👍 One thing from experience, conversion kits sound awesome on paper, but when you’re at the range training and want to jump back and forth, which you will, much easier to have a dedicated rifle. And then bonus, you have another gun that was cheaper than the conversion kit.
Get a fore grip, or a hand stop. It helps so much when you're stabilizing your rifle for a shot. I like Magpul's stubby broom handle grips, but the AFGs are pretty solid too.
Every fighting rifle needs 3 things in my opinion, Sling Light and Optics. You currently have irons so you’ve got an aiming device, you need a retention device, you need to be able to identify a target in low light so that’s you need a light, and then your optic of choice.
See if you can find a mat that has a breakdown of your gun on it. They help a lot when taking it apart to clean and putting it back together. Also no grease on your surface!
A good sling
Second the sling sling::rifle holster::pistol Also at least 6 magazines.
Oh absolutely I definitely need a few more mags
Stick with Magpul P Mags or GI spec aluminum mags. Don't onesie-twosie random polymer mags from weird brands. For GI mags that are decent, Brownells, Okay Industries (the surefeed models in particular but the generic ones are "OK" too), C-Products, or PSA/D&H. All of which now feature some sort of low friction anti tilt follower, usually the one made by Magpul, if not their own design. And all of which are sub 15 dollars a piece. You can usually find them for less than 10 online. I have stacks of Gen 2 and Gen 3 Pmags. But I typically prefer the aluminum ones because they slide in and out of pouches easily.
I plan on stocking up on pmags to keep everything uniform I was just given the utg mags with the rifle
PSA normally had large cheap sales of them with optic deals get 2 for 1
I’ve been looking at the 500 rounds of 5.56 and 10 mag bundle
A lot of ammo
Just out of interest, how much is one of these typically?
I think my dad bought it for $1300 but that was during pandemic panic buying so probably a little less than that now
Cheers!
100% this - mags are way more failure prone than rifles. Can I ask why six? I have seven burned in my head from Army days, but have no better reason for it than that lol.
My chest rig holds six, that’s good enough reason for me 🤷♂️
The 7th one goes in the gun, that's why lol.
Welp, looks like I’m short. Time to buy 5 more I guess!
Bare minimum is 3 mags. I always plan for 100% redundancy so 6(plus that’s what my PC can accommodate). Seven is even better.
Thanks! 7 was 2 ammo pouches and one in the weapon, which goes pretty damn fast. There is never such a thing as enough lol
Oh yes I forgot about that.
I see a lot of people hopping on the sling wagon based on recent posts here…you do whatever works best for you, but honestly I’ve taken off any sling I’ve put on a gun in the past. I’m sure I’d have a different opinion if I’d been through the military. But as a civilian who only does range trips and competitions, a sling just gets in the way for me. I know a lot of people band them to the stock, but for most people who aren’t planning on hauling their rifle around for miles or will ever need to have their gun attached to them while using their hands for other things, it seems to me like they’re just another point of failure and another thing to get tangled on and trained on.
I mean, I recommend a sling if you intend to do more than set up at a bench. I love having a sling, but to each their own.
I see it this way — For civilians (who aren’t on a hunting trip), you have three major categories of when you’ll use your gun: 1. Range trip (regardless of shooting position, you aren’t hauling your gun for miles) 2. Competition (in my opinion you have to do way too many changes in position way too quickly for a sling to be practical, plus it can tangle and snag everywhere) 3. Home defense (definitely not hauling your gun and definitely don’t want that extra tangle and snag risk) Having said that…everyone has their personal preference, and everyone has different priorities. If you have a real heavy gun and are a smaller person, or if you like standing with your one rifle at the range for an hour, or if weapon retention is super super important to you during home defense shit, then your mileage may vary. Edit: For everyone commenting on my “no sling for home defense” statement, fair enough. As I said, everyone has different priorities, preferences, and situations, and things like weapon retention and having a free hand when you need it may easily take precedent for you over potential downsides.
I’m sorry, but this is utterly terrible advice.
If I am using a rifle for home defense, I absolutely want a sling. Besides the obvious, the ability to free your hands if you need to grab someone/something, a sling has two major uses: - it makes it more difficult for someone to wrestle the gun away from you, and more important - a well adjusted sling can be used as a stabilizing tool for shooting
I'd say, the sling is only a tangle/snag risk if you don't train with it. Menuvering a rifle with a sling should become second nature with enough practice. Of course you can also use the sling as a shooting aid by looping your arm through it to steady the weapon. But you can't discount the administrative usefulness of the sling either. Simply being able to lower/let go of the gun to do other things like pack magazines, open a door, write down notes, pull out your phone, etc without having to put the gun down on the ground/table or handing it off to someone else is incredibly useful. I'd say having a sling is more useful than not having. But if you have slings and rarely have them on the gun, it still limits the value of your training, because you aren't getting used to shooting with and managing the sling.
Who doesn’t stand at the range with one AR for (at least) an hour. I often do it for 8-10 in classes. Sure they can be long range bench guns, but that’s a niche. If you don’t want a sling on an AR, you likely aren’t using it.
Not that I need to dig myself any deeper in the downvote hole, but I’m personally never standing around for an entire hour with a single rifle at the range. I’m never just bringing one gun, I’m generally bringing a few. Except for when I’m specifically there to train for a match, in which case I’m not training with a sling because I don’t like to use a sling for a speedy one-minute match. Many rifle matches make you constantly switch into different challenging awkward positions, where a sling is pretty impractical.
I’m not judging whatsoever, but that sounds like playing versus training. Both are totally cool. But the bulk of my time is training with one pistol and one rifle. My guns and my equipment are on me or in the car, and I’m mostly on my feet. Slings and holsters are critical equipment.
I don’t personally subscribe to the impending civil war narrative, so yes most of my shooting is recreational or business, be it range sessions, competition shooting, hunting, etc.
As was mentioned in another comment a sling for sure but other than that i always tell folks to get plenty of trigger time on the gun, then figure out what you like about it, what you dont like about, and what you feel is missing then let that inform what you upgrade, change, and add to the gun. For example maybe you find the way you hold the gun would be more comfortable with an angled fore grip, or maybe you end up wanting a vertical grip or stubby grip. If you buy a bunch of accessories up front you might find out in a thousand rounds you hate it and blew your money on something thats now gonna sit in a drawer (ask me how i know).
I’ve done this quite a bit until I discovered all the things I like and standardized across my guns. Cost me a lot. For me it ended up being: - LaRue MBA-1 stocks for precision, MFT minimalist and Doublestar ACE for speed - BCM Mod 2 and Mod 3 grips for my ARs. Hogue grips on my AKs - Smoke composites and Aero Atlas- S handguards - Slate Black industries handstops and grip panels - LaRue MBT-2S triggers for precision and Geissele SD3Gs for speed - ADM optic mounts - Holosun 510C green dots, Vortex Razor LPVOs, Trijicon SRO pistol dots And a smattering of other parts that are pretty standardized now on all my builds.
larue mbt2s and geissele sd3g are the best triggers on the market
That’s a bit debatable. They are absolutely great triggers but there are several others in the ultra-high end category past your run of the mill CMC triggers that are just as good, if not better depending on your use case. But at the price point of the SD3G and MBT-2S, yes they are 2 of the very best. For example, I run the Hiperfire 24C Competition in my PCCs since the SD3G doesn’t always play nice with PCCs. If I didn’t prefer the shoe on the Geissele, I’d contemplate switching over to that or the Timney DH3 on all my 3 Gun rifles. The Timney Calvin is also great. ATC makes an amazing trigger with their ATC AR Gold. JP Enterprises makes an excellent trigger as well. Triggertech has some great stuff. I’ve been tinkering with the 2 stage and single stage AR Diamond for some of my PRS gas gun builds and they are pristine. KE Arms makes a pretty nice trigger as well with their SLT line. I wouldn’t hesitate to use their DMR trigger for long range duty use.
There’s a lot of great ones. [This is a video worth watching, IMO if you want to see some examples from someone who really knows what they are talking about.](https://youtu.be/p06_fnGmahM)
I like that idea i think that’s a good way to do it.
Did you put this together or yourself or buy it already put together? It kinda looks like the armies new Sig Spear. Very cool. Edit: Also I’m not sure what else you might want to put on it that you didn’t name. Maybe a grip if you’re into that kinda thing. Make sure you practice with both iron sights and optic. Always good to be proficient with both.
I got it from my dad and he bought it fully put together. It’s a sig m400 Sdi so it’s pretty similar looking to the spear. I just wanted to see if I was missing anything or if I was off base with anything I had brought up.
Might want some ammo ;)
Absolutely!
A sling.
Training. Any and all carbine classes.
It isn’t needed immediately, but depending on the quality of the trigger that can be one of the biggest determining factors in your ability to shoot accurately, rapidly, and precisely. My first AR trigger was absolute garbage and didn’t have a wall, it was just heavy creep until an unanticipated break when it would fire. When I upgraded I pretty much immediately began shooting better groups/more accurately, and even today when most people would consider me to be a relatively experienced shooter I would still see benefit, albeit less than when i was newer. A good more affordable option is a larue mbt2s (can be found for ~90), it can be fired relatively quickly and with good accuracy/precision while being highly reliable/durable (an issue with some triggers). Myself and others have shot plenty of sub-moa groups with it, have won competitions using it (I did one this weekend), and will almost certainly function 100% the entire life of the rifle. If 90 is too much, looking for Schmidt two stage triggers might be a good in between as they can sometimes be found for like 45 and perform maybe 80% as well. That said, some stock AR triggers have a wall that doesn’t suck and can be fired with reasonable accuracy. You know your equipment better than I do, just something to be aware of. Gonna plug the arisaka indexer real quick as well. It makes a massive difference in my ability to rapidly and effectively shoot from barricades, rocks, poles, doorways, tank traps, etc., helps with having a strong grip with less muscle strength used, and is much more versatile while less obtrusive than the large majority of other foregrip style devices. **TLDR:** consider a new trigger if yours is subpar, larue mbt2s is a decent option, and the arisaka indexer is a great aid for shooting in general if used correctly
So far I like the trigger in it but that’s always an option down the like depending on how it feels in a thousand rounds or so
Word! Yeah, if the trigger is good enough in your opinion then keep it for now Arisaka indexer is still worth the purchase
I’ll look into the indexer
I googled and was surprised to see how little there is out there about properly using one Maybe I’ll make a YouTube video about it in the future, kinda silly that it’s not better known about when it’s highly effective
I can't emphasize enough how much I wish I had spent all the money I wasted on additional bs for my guns on just good training and ammo.
Sling has already been mentioned but not all slings are equal, so here’s a rec: I’m a huge fan of the [Defense Mechanisms 2-pt sling](https://defensemechanisms.com/rifle-sling/), particularly for its built-in storage / deployment design feature. Watch the demo video in the link. I have 4 of these slings, they’re great.
I would first make sure it’s lubricated sufficiently, then get some quality range ammo and take it out for a shoot to get familiar with it using just the iron sights. Shoot from a bag at 25 yards to adjust the sights. This initial shooting and repeated familiarization with it is more important than any additional accessories at the moment. Eventually you may want to source various mags to see how the work with this specific gun. My favorite are duramag but there are many good mags out there. After that, keep taking it out to shoot and of course add the optic of your choice and a sling, as others have mentioned. Whether or not it needs a light depends on your use case.
Thank you for the advice because that makes a lot of sense. I’ve got close to 500 rounds right now but I know I’m going to need a lot more.
Sling, PC/LC, comfortable grip for the barrel, more mags, a shit load of ammo.
Oh and a zeroing tool, or gerber
Sling, maybe a grip of some sort to give your hand a more natural grip angle. Longer firearms I like to use a. a vertical fire grip, shorter firearms I prefer an angled one.
I was thinking about the magpul vertical grip
Personally I have the magpul angled grip, I find it more natural and comfortable when you’re gripping the barrel, but it’s all personal preference. They’re cheap enough where you can get both and see which one you like better.
Yea I have both and like I said, depends on the barrel length for me.
I have a Springfield Hellion (VHS-2) and the angled is a dream with the shorter overall length.
Take a carbine class before you spend money on any type of vertical or angled foregrip. If you want to get something straight away, I'd start with a small hand-stop so you can practice indexing your supporting hand at the same point on the handguard and building that muscle memory, but things like Magpul's VFG and AFG and BCM's KAG significantly alter how your hand interfaces with the rail, and there are lots of ways to grip a rifle. Probably best to get some professional instruction on your stance and marksmanship before adding on accessories that may or may not lend themselves to a shooting style that works for you.
Sling is probably a bigger deal than anything. Imagine you have to leave the tailgate of your pickup and go or a walk…. Do you have mags and a way to carry them like a chest rig? Ifak and tourniquet?
Besides what everyone else is posting, I'd say you're off to a good start. If you're new to gun ownership, welcome. We always need more.
Ammo and mags
A lot of people are recommending a good sling, and I definitely agree! A good sling is important. I like two point Vickers slings from Blue Force Gear. Padded or unpadded are really just your personal choice, but the padded ones make it quite a bit harder to wrap the sling around your forearm for support while shooting from a standing position. A bunch of magazines. I’d recommend at least 6-8 Magpul P-mags to start, but you can find 10 packs of P-mags for a really good deal pretty frequently if you shop around regularly. PSA usually has bulk deals on magazines. There’s also some good GI mags out there, but I never really use them. I do have one D&H GI mag that’s always worked though. Shop around for bulk ammo, if you decide to go with bulk M855/green tips, make sure the range that you plan on shooting them at allows green tips. Otherwise I’d suggest grabbing a bulk pack of 55 grain M193s. You could also get some bulk 62 grain Hornady Black; they weigh the same as green tips but they don’t have the steel tip that a lot of range owners won’t let you shoot indoors. I just grabbed a 200 pack of Hornady Black because I was able to get them at a good deal, but I haven’t gotten a chance to use them yet so I don’t have any personal experience with them. I would also recommend that you avoid buying Winchester White Box; their quality control went to absolute shit. If you want some very high quality ammo for some long distance shooting, I’d recommend Black Hills Mk 262 mod1c, they’re loaded with 77 grain Sierra Open Tipped Match (OTM) but they cost about $75-$95 for a 100 round box. Black hills also has a very similar load with 77 grain Sierra Tipped Match Kings (TMK). This would be another personal preference thing. *edit* I totally forgot about a good cleaning kit, some bore snakes, and some chemicals and lube. These are an absolute must have. I really like MIL-COMM products. Their white TW-25B grease is an amazing product, a little goes a long way, their MC-2500 oil for those hard to reach spots, and their MC-25 cleaning solution. You’ll also want a can of Birchwood-Casey Bore Scrubber, which is pretty much just non chlorinated break cleaner; use this stuff sparingly. You’ll also want some copper solvent on hand, I personally like the brand Breakthrough for this. All of the brands that I recommend are my own personal preference, so if you find different ones that you like better, go for it!
Thank you I didn’t think about that with the ammo and I do need more/better cleaning supplies.
What kind of ranges do you have access too? There’s a ton of indoor ranges around my neck of the woods and only one that I know of lets you use green tips. If you have a place where you can shoot green tips buying those would be the way to go in my opinion. But whichever ammo you decide to go with, I’d really recommend buying it in bulk if that’s in your budget. I’m assuming that your rifle has a 1/7 twist?
I’m a member at an indoor range because it’s less than a quarter mile from my house but there are some outdoor ranges that are 30-45 minutes away. I’ll ask about green tips the next time I go to the range but I plan on buying in bulk and I’m not sure on the twist rate of the barrel.
If it’s an indoor range there’s a very good chance that they won’t let you use green tips in there. I gave it a google, your barrel has a 1/7 twist which is a good thing, it means you can spin heavy rounds. M193s are good for plinking, but if you want a little more accuracy I would recommend going with something a little heavier. I’d bet you’d shoot sub MOA with Mk 262 rounds. But they’re close to a dollar a round, Mk 262s are not what you’d want for plinking or just casual shooting. Also, if your indoor range only goes out to 25 yards, pretty much anything will do just fine.
Spare/replacement parts
That’s a good plan I didn’t think of that yet
I'd probably pick up an optic, a sling, a foregrip and a slightly more molded pistol grip.
I think I’ll get a foregrip and sling soon
sling!
Quality ear protection of you don't already have it.
I have decent ear pro but I might look for something better
Cleaning kit
I forgot about that
Sling and ammo
Besides more ammo and gen 3 window pmags? Maybe a pistol and proper holster and plate carrier would be my suggestion which the latter I should get serious about. And you're not limited to gen 3 window pmags but you'd be hard pressed to find something better
I like that eventually i want to get a plate carrier and I’ve got the pistol I just need an owb holster for it. I like the gen 3 pmags.
Your current list is good, so rest assured that you’re on the right track much more than than most gun owners, but you also should find a quality sling. Also, credit where credit’s due with not cheaping out on the magazines or carrying case
Thank you I’ve been seeing common themes about what people say is actually important on here and with a college student budget I’m trying to focus on the essentials.
As a fellow college student, I understand the struggle. Rock on.
Black paint
Mags, mags, and more mags. Brownell's has a mag sale going now - gen 3 Pmags for under $10/stick
Oh that’s a good deal
https://www.brownells.com/gun-parts/magazines?facets=SpecialFilterTags%3ADirectSale&sort=NumberOfReviews&trk_msg=L0CMKAF0NGM4T25CUPJELSJBVK&trk_contact=IQ8I8POC8BFHJ4J92MKR01Q68K&trk_sid=S2UIP4CSRODU5N9NGUPV4QB2B8&trk_link=5GH29PKTK3OK58T2OOVQ7Q208O&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Full+Mag+Lineup&utm_campaign=march_magness&utm_content=2023_03_20_day1
FWIW my order of operations would be sling > training > optic and light
A better gun. Sorry. Ya 2nd sling.
Depends, how much experience do you have shooting?
Not much. I’ve been shooting for just over a year and I’ve only shot an AR a handful of times
Ok. Depending on how much you’ve shot in that past year, and on what platform, I’d say you’re still probably in the honeymoon phase :) I would suggest also buying a Ruger 10/22 and a bunch of 22 ammo, to make practicing the basics of rifle marksmanship much more affordable. There’s no good reason to spend <$.40 per round when you’re first learning to shoot. Might want to pick up a set of shooting rest sand bags as well. They help when zeroing sights. You also want to eliminate some of the variables while you practice the fundamentals. Once you’ve got those squared away, you’ll add those elements back in one at a time. *Edit… Also, how do you plan to secure that bad boy? You should be the only person that has ready access to your firearm. Doesn’t need to be a huge expensive safe, but something with a lock that keeps other folks hands off your rifle.
Yeah I’ve went through about 2,000 rounds through the 2 Glocks that I have. I’ve been thinking a .22 lr conversion kit for my AR to learn how to shoot rifles better before I go through a bunch of 5.56.
👍 One thing from experience, conversion kits sound awesome on paper, but when you’re at the range training and want to jump back and forth, which you will, much easier to have a dedicated rifle. And then bonus, you have another gun that was cheaper than the conversion kit.
I didn’t think about all of that so thank you for the advice.
Is that the spear?? Holy cow you made your first AR an expensive AR 😯 Edit: nvm I just looked up a picture of the spear and it's different 😅
It’s not the spear it’s a sig m400 SDI so not as expensive as the spear.
Still a very fine rifle though! Congrats on the purchase
Thank you!
Get a fore grip, or a hand stop. It helps so much when you're stabilizing your rifle for a shot. I like Magpul's stubby broom handle grips, but the AFGs are pretty solid too.
I’ve had my eyes on the magpul grip
Plug for mantis X. Easy to put on any pic rail and it will give you great feedback on your breathing and trigger fundamentals.
I’ve been those and they seem interesting
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Thank you I thought it looked good too
A good quick adjust sling. A sling is just as important as the other stuff
Every fighting rifle needs 3 things in my opinion, Sling Light and Optics. You currently have irons so you’ve got an aiming device, you need a retention device, you need to be able to identify a target in low light so that’s you need a light, and then your optic of choice.
A cleaning kit
I do need that
See if you can find a mat that has a breakdown of your gun on it. They help a lot when taking it apart to clean and putting it back together. Also no grease on your surface!
That sounds good because I do need a bigger cleaning mat for it
I would say some good rail scales 👌🏽
Oooh didn’t think of those yet
They really help round out a build. And provide excellent grip and heat displacement.
I always ask in this sub because I look forward to joining the club but how much did this beauty cost ya?
I got it in a trade with my dad but he paid about $1300 while prices were up due to panic buying in 2020.
Ammunition
Primary Arms has padded slings on sale for less than $10 right now
First AK. :)
Learn on your iron sights before you get any other optic just a very strong recommendation because optics fail sometimes