Upgrade

It is natural, as an AR15 owner, to want to upgrade your rifle. Before you do, it is wise to figure out what you want to upgrade and why. Do things methodically, and based on fact. Avoid upgrades based on emotion or the "oh, that looks cool" factor.

Rule Zero
You must own a rifle and ammo.

Rule 1
You must forge yourself into a marksman.
Learn basic marksmanship. Make your marksmanship practical. Hone your skills.

Rule 2
You must learn to fight with your rifle. 

Rule 3
You must modify your rifle to fit you.


Now it is time to go and buy the necessary equipment. Word to the wise: while an inexpensive red dot or scope is perfectly acceptable for starting rifle owners, the American Rifleman has a high quality optic. Other key components on the primary rifle will also be high quality.


High Quality:
Barrel - $300+
Bolt - $150+
Trigger - $150+
Optic - $500+
Free float tube/rail - $200+

Yes, I just told you to invest $1200+ into your rifle. In all fairness, it is not much more expensive to assemble a completely new rifle at this point. Building a second rifle is good for several reasons:
- having a backup is a good thing.
- building the rifle will teach you a lot about the inner workings of the rifle.
- you get exactly what you want in the new rifle.

First Upgrade
A quick and easy upgrade is the bolt.
Colt. FN. PSA. DD. BCM.
Other companies make good bolts, too - these are just the top names in the industry.

Warning! Do not put the new bolt in a gun which you intend to change the barrel on later! Let the new bolt only work with the new barrel. This lets them wear together, and increases reliability. 

You can get a stainless steel bolt if you want. You can get a bolt with a specific treatment or whatever. At the end of the day, just get a good bolt.



Let's investigate these other upgrades this week!


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