Snuggle Up to This!

[Bob Womack]

As I mentioned in another thread, I just inherited a pair of AR-15s. I also mentioned that this isn't my first rodeo with the AR-15 - I've shot an Olympic Arms carbine for years. It is a hybrid with a rigid A1 style stock and rear sight and a smooth, ribbed carbine handguard out front. When I began shooting the AR-15 it was a bit of an adjustment because up until then I'd shot Milsurps with wooden furniture. The metal and plastic on the AR-15 felt a little foreign, but when I got around to shooting it, I found the ergonomic layout to be fantastic.

Now, I've been learning these new AR-15s that I inherited and I’m having to make another adaptation: These two are basically long Picatinny rails atop M-LOK handguards with plumbing and appliances attached. Some of the improvements such as scopes are exciting and fun, but the tactile feel of the rifles is quite different from anything I've worked with. The original owner of these rifle mounted serrated rail scales to the aluminum handguards that feel like snuggling up to a cheese grater or a porcupine! I can't imagine cradling these things in the crook of your elbow like a hunter would his rifle, while wearing a T-shirt. With my six decades-old paper-thin skin and blood thinner I can imagine that would draw blood after a very short while. I'm thinking I may take a pair of work gloves out to the range when I shoot 'em to protect me.

So, I guess another decade, another style, eh?

Bob