First time AR15 owner questions

[faze]

So I just put together my AR upper without bolt carrier group or charging handle. Don't have a rear sight either.

1. For a charging handle... Seems simple. Opinions here? http://goo.gl/Rx8Y2w

2. BCG... Open to opinions in general between $80-100 shipped.

3. Rear sights... This had good reviews that I saw. What do you guys think? http://goo.gl/OjPtRo

 

[Gmercury2000]

Looking at the CH reviews, me personally I would look at something a little more sturdy. Sounds like it will work but a lot of people saying its soft metal and deforms easily.

As for the BCG don't have much knowledge vs price and reliability.

The sight looks to be decent and have mostly good reviews. I don't have any personal expirence with them. If just for plinking I'd say not a bad deal at all for the price.

 

[faze]

Looking at the CH reviews, me personally I would look at something a little more sturdy. Sounds like it will work but a lot of people saying its soft metal and deforms easily.

As for the BCG don't have much knowledge vs price and reliability.

The sight looks to be decent and have mostly good reviews. I don't have any personal expirence with them. If just for plinking I'd say not a bad deal at all for the price.

For the CH what do you suggest?

Sight is for a backup to a red dot.

 

[necrodude]

For the CH what do you suggest?

Sight is for a backup to a red dot.

Depending on how much you want to spend. I would suggest the bcm gunfighter charging handles. They are really nice and worth the price.

 

[Gmercury2000]

For the CH what do you suggest?

Sight is for a backup to a red dot.

I would stick with a good name brand with a good rep, I've got a BCM gunfighter that I've been really happy with. Even my RRA, del-ton hold up real well. May cost a bit more but I'd rather pay a little more for quality.

If for a backup sight why not go with a flip up style sight? I've got an EOTech w/ a magpul mbus backup sight that's nice.

I'm sure someone else can give some better examples. I'm just going by what I've used and have had good expirence with.

 

[ThawMyTongue]

If you are going to use a red dot, the Magpul MBUS2 is exactly what you want. Folded out of the way when you don't need it and solid and reliable when you do.

 

[Boonie Hat]

+1 on the BCM gunfighter CH. I run them on all my ar's. As for a BCG, stick with a reputable brand. Unless you want to pay a premium for the latest and greatest, magpul sights are excellent

 

[eruby]

If you are going to use a red dot, the Magpul MBUS2 is exactly what you want. Folded out of the way when you don't need it and solid and reliable when you do.

+1 on this.

 

[slybarman]

BCM gunfighter = good.
Raptor = better.

I balked at the price of the Raptor but damn it is smooth.

 

[BradMacc82]

Handle - BCM all the way, some prefer the Rainier one, but for the price the BCM is hard to beat.

Rear sight - "UTG - Under the gun", because you normally realize it's crap and drop it on the ground after wasting 2 boxes of ammo trying to zero the fvcking thing. Magpul MBUS is the better expenditure of funds.

BCG - Can only comment on 3 diff't brands that I've used personally. BCM - great, but going to cost you. Wilson Combat - also great, but going to cost you unless you buy it on sale like I did. JoeBob's - Have an Enhanced and a Premium, great bang for the buck and haven't had an issue with either yet.

 

[ThawMyTongue]

I DO NOT HAVE ONE OF THESE PERSONALLY...

PSA BCG

But I'm thinking about picking one up to have as a spare as it seemingly has the big points covered:

Milspec Carpenter No. 158® steel bolt
Shot Peened Bolt
High pressure tested (HPT)
Mag particle inspected (MPI)
Chrome Lined Carrier (AUTO)
Chrome Lined Gas Key
Gas Key Hardened to USGI Specifications
Gas Key Grade 8 Hardened Fasteners
Gas Key Staked Per Mil-Spec
Tool Steel Extractor
Extractor Spring
Extractor O-ring Insert

 

[necrodude]

I DO NOT HAVE ONE OF THESE PERSONALLY...

PSA BCG

But I'm thinking about picking one up to have as a spare as it seemingly has the big points covered:

I have never heard bad stuff about PSA products. The only complaints I hear about them are slow shipping and not the best customer service. So there bcg should be GTG.

 

[ThawMyTongue]

I have never heard bad stuff about PSA products. The only complaints I hear about them are slow shipping and not the best customer service. So there bcg should be GTG.

I do have other PSA stuff which seems to be good to go, just no BCG. I will say any PTAC stuff I have seen is crap... My boss bought a rifle build kit and I was NOT impressed.

 

[slybarman]

I have a PSA BCG that came with a PSA upper. Seems fine, though I am for sure no expert. The specs looked good and it has run fine through a couple classes, etc. with no malfunctions. Long term = ???

 

[ma_deuce]

I DO NOT HAVE ONE OF THESE PERSONALLY...

PSA BCG

But I'm thinking about picking one up to have as a spare as it seemingly has the big points covered:

I've got one of these and it seems like a quality piece. I'd stay away from PTAC - it may be OK, but no one I've heard from has been too impressed.

 

[4095fanatic]

I only run BCM Gunfighter charging handles. For BCG, stick with something reputable, and make sure the bolt is 9310 or C158 (the carrier can be 8620, but the bolt should not be). I find NiB coatings are easier to clean, but I also use non-coated ones as well. Sights are personal preference.

 

[photoracer]

So I just put together my AR upper without bolt carrier group or charging handle. Don't have a rear sight either.

1. For a charging handle... Seems simple. Opinions here? http://goo.gl/Rx8Y2w

2. BCG... Open to opinions in general between $80-100 shipped.

3. Rear sights... This had good reviews that I saw. What do you guys think? http://goo.gl/OjPtRo

As far as charging handles go only the BCM Gunfighters ones feel radically different in use. Consider buying one of the BCM Gunfighiter ones with the Medium latch. You won't go back.
As for BCG I prefer the WMD NiX Nickle-Boron coated ones. Been using one in my 3-gun AR for over a year and I like it over any more regular one. But that is up to you. Otherwise buy one from a reputable company.
As for a rear sight go for what the military is using now in the rear, the Matech flip up which has click stops for 200-600 yards. Pair that with either the regular A1/A2 fixed front sight/gas block or one of the flip up front sights if you are building one with a railed free float handguard. Or install a front gas block/flip sight combo like the ones fron Yankee Hill Machine.

 

[wrc]

Do not skimp on the bolt. Bolt carrier group in this case. A good bolt, with the right extractor components will keep you from posting later "ARs are garbage, they jam all the time". Searching here or the internet or any other gun board for "AR BCG" will give you hours of reading for suggestions and tales of woe.

The charging handle can be a point of failure, but that probability is low if you are lucky and gentle. If you are going to cheap out on the charging handle, you have to remember to be *gentle*. Also, don't ever have a jam you need to muscle out. You can predict jams, right?

The rear sight is only important in as much as you want to hit things. Cheap rear sights lose zero, and are a constant entertainment for people who like tightening screws and re-zeroing when they're trying to do something else (like shoot). UTG is notable for marketing their airsoft parts to the firearms world. Ever wonder about why people will insist that ARs are inaccurate? It is because they cheaped out on the sights.

I suggest a bolt carrier group and bog-standard mil spec charging handle from BCM. Or, any other vendor that supplies actual as-advertised mil-spec parts. That means the bcg will be right, and the charging handle will be forged instead of a cheap extrusion for airsoft guns.

Rear sights: If you aren't into optics, I'd go with the Daniel Defense fixed rear sight. It's light and tough. Otherwise, a detachable carry handle from a reputable source will be heavier, but probably as good.

If you are into optics, and want a flip-up rear sight, you can go cheap-ish with Magpul, or get a Troy, MATECH, whatever. If you go really cheap, you're going to have a hell of a time.

 

[wrc]

For the CH what do you suggest?

Sight is for a backup to a red dot.

Do you care if the sight folds down, or are you alright with a fixed sight that co-witnesses with the red dot?

If you are going with a lower 1/3 co-witness red dot sight, I really like the Daniel Defense rear sight here: https://danieldefense.com/components-parts/a1-5-fixed-rear-sight.html

I pair that with an Aimpoint T1 on this Daniel Defense mount: https://danieldefense.com/mounts/aimpoint-micro-mount.html

Both the rear sight and the mount are light, and they don't get thrown off zero when the weapon gets tossed around. If the aimpoint (or equivalent, I guess) gets trashed, you can either remove it, or in a worst case situation break out any remaining glass out of the red dot sight with a pen/round/nail/whatever and keep moving with the iron sights.

 

[ObsceneJesster]

Spend a little more for the BCM charging handle. You won't find anything better for the price. You won't have to worry about it ever breaking.

When it comes to BCG's, there is only a few I would actually 100% rely on. Sure there are other BCG's out there that may last as long but I'm not the type of person who likes taking the chance. I prefer my BCG's to actually be Mil-Spec and that includes the precise testing of each and every bolt. Not just batch testing. I also want my BCG's to be 100% made in the USA. You will see a lot of them using parts such as gas key fasteners made in Thailand. I don't know if they're still on sale but I got an email a few days ago from BCM stating that their BCG's were on sale for $169.

For BUIS, I can't recommend a certain one without knowing how you're going to set your rifle up. Are you going to use a Red Dot or a magnified optic.

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