GUIDE TO Customizing Your AR-15 GGG U I D E T O C U S T O Whether for practical application or M I tricking out your gun, today’s AR Z I accessories are a world unto themselves. N G Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your Y AR-15 examines the dizzying array of O options and makes recommendations for U R today’s growing crowd of AR owners. A R • Exhaustive insights into a broad spectrum of parts, accessories and brands - 1 • From stocks to suppressors, and everything in between 5 • Bonus coverage of “other” black guns: FAL and AK • Special Section: Full-color photo gallery of custom AR creations! Whether you’re in the planning stages or putting the fi nishing touches on your custom AR-15, this comprehensive guide helps you understand your options for nearly every conceivable variation. M u About the r a AUTHOR m a t Kevin Muramatsu is at the forefront of the next generation of fi rearms writers. With regular s columns in Gun Digest the Magazine, among others, Kevin is known for his original gunsmithing u ideas combined with countless thousands of hours of hands-on experience. Kevin lives in the US $29.99 Twin Cities area with his wife, three children and not enough guns. T4315 (CAN $33.99) ISBN-13: 978-1-4402-4279-3 ISBN-10: 1-4402-4279-8 52999 Kevin Muramatsu Gun Digest® Books N A E PC AN IMPRINT OF F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company U0 FnL1 04 0120 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAFQW+OYCMTMDMTAwATEFVVBD 04 LUEMMDc0OTYyMDE3Nzg5DA== 74962 01778 9 w ww.GunDigestBooks.com 9 FnL1 04 0124 01 JUYrVyBQdWJsaWNhdGlvbnMsIEluYyAo 02 SW9sYSBkaXZpc2lvbikPR3JlZ29yeSBL 03 cnVlZ2VyAFQW+KcEMTAuNAI4MAExBkVB 04 Ti0xMw05NzgxNDQwMjQyNzkzAA== 781440 242793 TT44331155CCoovveerr..iinndddd 11 99//2244//1144 99::3377 AAMM GUIDE TO Customizing Your AR-15 Kevin Muramatsu T4315_pp1.indd 1 9/19/14 9:28 AM Copyright ©2014 F+W Media, Inc. All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a critical article or review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper, or electronically transmitted on radio, television, or the Internet. Published by Gun Digest® Books, an imprint of F+W, A Content + eCommerce Company Krause Publications • 700 East State Street • Iola, WI 54990-0001 715-445-2214 • 888-457-2873 www.krausebooks.com To order books or other products call toll-free 1-800-258-0929 or visit us online at www.gundigeststore.com ISBN-13:978-1-4402-4279-3 ISBN-10: 1-4402-4279-8 Edited by Corrina Peterson Designed by Dave Hauser Cover Design by Kevin Ulrich Printed in China | 2 Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 T4315_pp2-5.indd 2 9/24/14 9:17 AM 116 Chapter 9 Muzzle Devices: Comps, Flash Hiders and Suppressors 126 Chapter 10 Optics and Sights: Red Dots, Rifl escopes, Mounts and Oh, yeah...Sights Too Table of contents 156 Chapter 11 Lights and Lasers 182 Chapter 12 6 Chapter 1 Fire Control: Triggers The AR and Why and Such 16 Chapter 2 190 Chapter 13 Safety Stuff and Tools Miscellaneous for the AR Series of Accessories: Firearms Everything Else 28 Chapter 3 206 Chapter 14 How it Works Cleaning and Maintenance 40 Chapter 4 Pistol Grips 222 Chapter 15 Ammunition and 50 Chapter 5 Magazines Stocks 236 Chapter 16 60 Chapter 6 Receivers Barrels: The Heart of the Gun 244 Chapter 17 AK Accessorization 80 Chapter 7 Handguards and 270 Chapter 18 Forends FAL Customization: The Free World’s 98 Chapter 8 Right Arm, Only The Operating Better System: Gas Blocks, Bolts and Bolt 284 Appendices Carriers, Pistons Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 | 3 T4315_pp2-5.indd 3 9/19/14 9:29 AM DDEEDDIICCAATTIIOONN BROWNELLS. MOST OF THE STUFF SHOWN IN THIS BOOK WAS PURCHASED OR OTHERWISE RECEIVED FROM BROWNELLS AND, AS WITH MY LAST BOOK, HAS PROVEN TO BE MOST USEFUL FOR THE CREATION OF THIS WORK. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE STAY IN BUSINESS. FOR ALL OF US. AAcckknnoowwlleeddggeemmeennttss The following persons or businesses have assisted greatly in my acquisition of stuff and photos of stuff for this book. Larry Weeks from Brownells (of course), John and Mel from JP Enterprises, Brian from Wolf’s Den Gun Shop in Hugo, MN; Clay from Bills Gun Shop in Hudson, WI; Your Mom’s Basement (internet cafe, not really your mom’s basement, though theoretically it could have been }:-] ), Clifton Wayne from Monsterman Grips, Alan Thordsen from Thordsen Customs, Bruce Blatchley, Rachel Muramatsu, and to all the small businesses that have produced products that have been included in this book. Sorry if I forgot to mention any other major contributors. Please let me know if I did. | 4 Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 T4315_pp2-5.indd 4 9/19/14 9:29 AM IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN Few fi rearms draw forth the mix upper receiver assemblies or if you like, barrel as- of admiration and derision than the AR series of semblies, can alter the entire scope of the AR’s use. rifl es (and pistols now). Certainly, with a fi rearm A self-defense carbine in 5.56mm can, with the ma- that begins its major use in the military, opinions nipulation of two captured pins, be changed into a will be sharp and often in sharp contrast, particu- Varminter/prairie dog shooter in .204 Ruger, or a larly if said fi rearm was used in extensive combat, long range target rifl e in 6.5 Grendel. A little more as the M-16/M4 series has seen. work makes the stock M4-style carbine into a vir- While we will explore a bit of the history and tual precision carbine, with the replacement of the utility and other stuff related to this rifl e later in standard handguard with a free fl oated handguard this volume, it should be noted, with some amount and/or the installation of a match trigger kit. of pride, that the M-16, in its various guises and We’ll explore the entire range of things you can upgrades, in some form or other, has served the do, the installation of a selection of the popular U.S. military for almost sixty years. Since the early choices, and the means to maintain the AR system commercial years of the Colt SP1 up until modern of fi rearms so that it remains your happy little days, the popularity of the AR-15 in the hands of friend. the civilian community has grown in leaps and To save time and annoyance, though this will bounds. Since the expiration of the Clinton “As- probably gin some up in a segment of the reader- sault Weapons” ban the growth has been nearly ship, there are a number of posed photos in this exponential. Since the election of President Obama, book used to illustrate a product or concept. I have the growth has been insane. chosen to do take these photos without eye or The wonderful free market has taken advantage ear protection PRECISELY BECAUSE THEY ARE of this meteoric increase in popularity. How many POSED! manufacturers build copies or variants of the Finally, it’s pretty much impossible to cover Remington 700 receiver? You could probably name all the stuff that could have been included in this a handful of them and you would be naming a sig- book. I did my best with my time and resources to nifi cant percentage. Compare this to the AR series. cover a broad spectrum of parts, accessories, and Well over 100 fi rms manufacture at least a lower brands. For the record, I concentrated on several receiver, fi rms small and large. This is not includ- companies whose products I most like and have ing accessories such as handguards, stocks, and had the greatest experience. This should not be barrels. There are far fewer of those entities, but seen as a purposeful rejection of other manufac- still a signifi cant number. Since the receiver is the turers’ products or services. We all develop prefer- serial numbered part, and therefore the regulated ences and opinions based on experience and part part, any law abiding Joe can purchase a lower of the point of this book was to introduce the new receiver and build an AR that matches his heart’s AR owners to a sampling of the vast amount of desire. Indeed, this is one of the reasons that the quality resources available to them. So if it seems AR series has gained such a following: because like I’m in the bag for a few manufacturers, you it is eminently suited to personalization. I mean, would be correct. I try to be objective, but like most why would I be writing this book if this was just other media sources, sometimes biases just seem to some run-of-the-mill rifl e? We’ve found that a lot of shine through. There are no low quality parts in people will pay $100 – even $400 for a single piece this book. Everything has been used fi rsthand or if of machined aluminum upon which to build their not by me, by a close colleague. All but a very few fi rst dream gun. With only a few exceptions, these of these products are also made by American small lower receivers are of good quality, cut right, and businesses in America, and I’m very proud of that. are an excellent item with which to begin. While I have no objection to foreign-sourced stuff, This is not to say that a complete rifl e is not an I’d rather have stuff made in a free country, if I can option. Certainly, the new AR owner is going to go help it. fi rst for a complete fi rearm, almost always a rifl e or Kevin Muramatsu carbine. Even there, the choices are many. “Which The Garage Shop AR should I buy?” is a very common question. MN Ultimately, the reason for the huge aftermarket P.S. I wore T shirts from www.takinglibertees. support, and to some degree the overall popular- com intentionally for the posed photos. Check ity, is that the gun is semi-modular. Swapping out them out. Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 | 5 T4315_pp2-5.indd 5 9/19/14 9:29 AM H A PT C E R The AR and Why S ince you have picked up this book, THE EARLY YEARS whether for study or perusal, I think A very smart man named Eugene Stoner de- it’s safe to assume that you either own signed the basic AR platform. His rifl e was the or are considering owning an AR-15 fi rst, at least the fi rst successfully, to incorporate or related rifl e. You will generally be several features that we consider commonplace in good company. The AR-15 and its big brother today. Until that point, these were not found to- the AR-10 and all the patterns derived from them gether or at all on rifl es, including military rifl es. just happen to be the most popular thing in the This story really starts with the AR-10. The AR-10 gun universe at this time. Part of this is because was designed by Stoner while he worked for the the guns are so adaptable. Partly it is because of a Fairchild Aircraft Corporation. Students of the growing self-defense mindset among Americans history of the military/ and the desire to have the best equipment possible industrial complex will for that purpose. Also, in part, a lot of people previ- note that Fairchild was ously did not have them and, because of recent also responsible for events, want one before they are banned. another superb Ameri- We’ll address each of these points in this fi rst can weapons system, chapter, but before we do so, a bit of history is the A-10 Thunderbolt II necessary to bring you up to speed. After all, the (Warthog) close support AR platform is over sixty years old now, from its aircraft, yet another inception and original construct. Because of the object that has proven its controversy surrounding it (if you are unaware of worth over the last fi fty this controversy, you will understand shortly), this years, and continues to little mini history lesson should help to straighten do so. Eugene Stoner, the inventor things out a bit and give you a better appreciation The fi rst feature of of the AR-15/AR-10/M-16. for the endurance of the AR, and even some of the his rifl e was the incor- people responsible for it. This will not be exhaus- poration of synthetic materials in the composition tive, more of a summary really. More emphasis will of the furniture. Plastics had been quite common be placed on recent developments than the specifi cs prior to this time, but had mostly been restricted to of the early years. the fabrication of pistol grip panels, such as seen on the Colt 1911 pistol and the Walther P38 pistol, replacing the wood panels. Plastic grip panels were cheaper than wood and so began to be adopted by various militaries during the inter-bellum period of the twenties and thirties. However, wood still was the material used for the stocking of rifl es and The ultimate shotguns till well after WWII. Stoner incorporated AR accessory! plastics into the AR-10’s buttstock, pistol grip, and handguard, replacing the formerly common wood | 6 Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 T4315_pp6-15.indd 6 9/19/14 9:30 AM (above) A rifl e sales wall in Bill’s Gun Shop and Range in Hudson, Wisconsin. The entire wall is actually three times bigger than this and is completely dedicated to modern sporting arms. Every single fi rearm in this image is an AR-15 of some sort or another. This is not atypical with larger gun shops. Twenty years ago this would have been fantasy. Now it is reality and retail- ers like Bill’s have helped make it possible. (below) This is the opposite partial wall from the previ- ous picture of Bill’s Gun Shop and Range in Wisconsin. There are two other stores like it in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota and the both have a similar display of AR-15 lower receiver assemblies, stripped lowers, upper assemblies, and accessories. (left) Even small reloading-centric shops like the Wolf’s Den Gun Shop in Hugo, MN, have a selection of ARs and other Modern Sporting Arms. They also sell better than traditional rifl es. Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 | 7 T4315_pp6-15.indd 7 9/19/14 9:30 AM The other famous and popular FAirchild produc- tion, the A-10. iStock photo. furniture. This was a pretty new idea and, later, the joke went that the AR was made by Mattel, or Kenner, or [name your toy manufacturer and place it here]. A nice wood stock is something of beauty and comforting solidity, and soldiers and civilians alike were used to seeing walnut or birch on their rifl es, not plastic that made a hollow echo when you tapped on it. But the advantage of using plastics was hard to ignore. Plastic is much lighter than walnut or other hardwoods used in gun stocks and signifi cantly cheaper to produce. The second feature was the use of what has come to be known as a “direct impingement” gas system. Apparently Stoner did not consider this a true direct impingement system (like seen on earli- er post WWII rifl es such as the French MAS 40 se- ries), since the bolt and carrier assembly is literally a gas piston. He was right, but the term has stuck as applied to the AR series of rifl es and is unlikely Here you see to go away. Anyway, the point is that conventional two totally gas-operated rifl es have a forward reciprocat- ing piston housed in an gas block, that then acts different design upon an operating rod which initiates movement philosophies: of the bolt (“short stroke piston”), or they have an operating rod that incorporates a piston into its a tilting style tip where the operating rod is attached to the bolt locking bolt mechanism (“long stroke”). Stoner’s design simply from an tapped gas from the barrel, channeled it through a simple hollow tube, back into the guts of the bolt FN-FAL and a carrier in a cavity behind the bolt. The gas expand- rotating bolt ing in this chamber caused the bolt to press fi rmly against the chamber, while the carrier itself moved head from a to the rear to then unlock and then withdraw the large frame AR. bolt to cycle the gun. This system translates to less mass in the gun which facilitates a lighter overall weight, and particularly in the front of the gun which facilitates better handling. Furthermore, since there is no reciprocating mass (like a big piston or op rod) banging around attached to the barrel, this rifl e is inherently very accurate, as there are fewer stresses placed on the barrel as the bullet passes through it. The third feature was the low bore axis. This || 88 GGuunn DDiiggeesstt GGuuiiddee ttoo CCuussttoommiizziinngg YYoouurr AARR--1155 T4315_pp6-15.indd 8 9/19/14 9:30 AM allows a recoil impulse There is a popular but some- As you see here, you can look straight straight into the shoul- what crude retort to the notion down the top of the stock (okay, slightly der. Traditional style ri- of banning guns: If guns cause to the side) and draw a straight line fl es use a stock that has crime, then spoons make all the way to the muzzle. This aids in drop to it, leaving the people fat. It is used to illus- muzzle and recoil control. barrel itself above the trate the important and valid shoulder, contributing point that tools do not commit to the majority of the crimes or perform actions with- muzzle-rise experienced out the input of human direc- when shooting. The low tion. Even robots that perform bore axis placed the re- tasks without direct supervi- coil impulse lower and sion do so according to the essentially removed the human programming that has pivot point, or fulcrum, been built into them. Banning at the shoulder that tra- a tool, in this cassee tthhee ditional designs experi- fi rearm, may inddeeeedd ence upon fi ring, and reduce the numm-- thus reducing muzzle ber of suicides oorr rise. This also necessi- crimes commit- tated the vertical pistol ted by fi rearms, grip so the rifl e could but that crime be held comfortably. will simply be The fourth feature was the combination committed usingg multi-lugged rotating another tool, succhh bolt head and barrel ex- as a baseball baatt oorr tension. The vast major- knife, or automoobbiillee,, ity of rifl es to this point or pills. Indeed, mmoorree used a system where deaths, both inteennttiioonnaall the bolt would have two or not, are attribbuutteedd or possibly three lugs by the U.S. Goveerrnn-- and would lock into the ment’s own dataa ttoo recesses in the receiver, these causes thhaann ttoo with the barrel then fi rearms alreadyy.. screwed into the front of the receiver. A multi- lugged bolt, in this case seven (eight if you include the non-bearing lug on the extractor), allows several things. The fi rst is a short rotation distance for locking and unlocking. Any centerfi re rifl e must have a locked breach for safety reasons. Without getting into a huge amount of science here, this works well in a self-loading rifl e and we’ll get into that and other reasons in a later chapter. The barrel extension meant that the bolt locked into the barrel rather than the receiver, making the fabrication of the receiver much easier and cheaper (a linear tube), and therefore… …the receiver could now be made of something other than steel. Since all the pressure is contained completely within the steel bolt/extension system, something with much lower tensile strength could be used in the receivers, like aluminum alloys. This further served to lighten the rifl e. Indeed the origi- nal AR-10, chambered in 7.62x51 NATO, weighed less than seven pounds, about the average for the current batch of .223 carbines. It is not uncommon to fi nd AR-15-style rifl es today that have receivers, Gun Digest Guide to Customizing Your AR-15 | 9 T4315_pp6-15.indd 9 9/24/14 9:16 AM