Thoughts on the ideal farm/home and "bug-out" AR

[jmoore]

I'm in your camp as well, imarangeaster. I like a LW rifle. I just vacillate between the LW 20" and the 16".

If it just HAD to be one, I reckon the 20" would win out, though. However, that one also sports a LW bolt carrier and an early no fwd. assist M16 upper receiver. Iron night sights on both.

Still, the balance of the 16" w/ the short handguards is MUCH better, although the weight change is small.

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[Victor Six Bravo]

I'd replace the front handguard with a Magpul MOE. It's still a basic handguard and inexpensive, but adding the plastic rail will allow mounting a light.

Having carried in my time an M16A2, M4 without and M4 with light, I spent a lot of time clearing buildings in the dark or semidark. NO long gun I own unless it's a heritage piece or simply incapable will go light-less. You don't have to leave it on, but having the option is nice.

A Surefire G2-LED and a LaRue LT707 mount would finish it off, throw the light in the bag for when you need it or not. Hawkepak makes several bags that hold both mags and water, snacks, basic gear (think of them as an old map case on steroids), quality is far better than the Galati.

I'd add an Aimpoint myself, simply because they don't add much weight, they DO vastly improve hit probability, especially for older guys. My dad ran a 16, 16A1 and A2 in Vietnam and then the Gulf war, and the first time he tried an Aimpoint was in a dark forest hunting pigs... all of a sudden he could SEE .

A Vickers VCAS or Viking Tactics quick-adjust 2point sling is no heavier than an M60 sling and more versatile (having spent a lot of time with both, as well as a 60).

[imarangemaster]

I'm in your camp as well, imarangeaster. I like a LW rifle. I just vacillate between the LW 20" and the 16".

If it just HAD to be one, I reckon the 20" would win out, though. However, that one also sports a LW bolt carrier and an early no fwd. assist M16 upper receiver. Iron night sights on both.

Still, the balance of the 16" w/ the short handguards is MUCH better, although the weight change is small.

I actually struggled between building a slick side using an Air Force M16 upper and this XM. The XM is handier, and also I built it with a 1/9 barrel so it should handle most weight bullets up to 75 grains. A 1/12 would only do 55s and some 62s! In addition, people were asking stupid high prices for retro upper halves! Three years ago you could not give away a retro AR, and upper halves were $250 to $275 from CDNN. Now people are getting $400 without bolt groups.

[jmoore]

I actually struggled between building a slick side using an Air Force M16 upper and this XM. The XM is handier, and also I built it with a 1/9 barrel so it should handle most weight bullets up to 75 grains. A 1/12 would only do 55s and some 62s! In addition, people were asking stupid high prices for retro upper halves! Three years ago you could not give away a retro AR, and upper halves were $250 to $275 from CDNN. Now people are getting $400 without bolt groups.

Fortunately, I bought a couple of CMMG LW 20" barrels a couple or three years back w/ the 1/7 twist option, but haven't felt the need to use them yet.

My deer hunting w/ the 1/12 twist Colt 20" bbl and the 55gr. Sierra Gamekings has been satisfactory beyond my wildest expectations! Scoped, the package weighs 7 1/4 lbs. (The scope weighs about 14 oz. w/ the rainguards/sunshades tie-wrapped on.)