A few AR questions

**.300RUM** · June 13th, 2009, 11:40 AM

My wife bought me a Colt LE Carbine for my birthday (thanks honey!) and I was wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks on cleaning and care, ammo (it has a 1 in 7 twist), optics, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, my local dealer now has a Bushmaster and a Stag now in stock. I couldn't see what model either of them were because I was in a hurry. The Bushy was $1095 and the Stag was $895. What pro and cons of each can anyone tell me about? Again, any info is appreciated, thanks.

**TXDMERC73** · June 13th, 2009, 11:48 AM

most AR15's on the market are excellent in many ways, different people like different names of AR's like they like different teams of sports..most AR companies stand behind their products.

**Guns4Fun** · June 13th, 2009, 11:54 AM

Originally Posted by .300RUM

My wife bought me a Colt LE Carbine for my birthday (thanks honey!) and I was wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks on cleaning and care, ammo (it has a 1 in 7 twist), optics, etc. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

On a side note, my local dealer now has a Bushmaster and a Stag now in stock. I couldn't see what model either of them were because I was in a hurry. The Bushy was $1095 and the Stag was $895. What pro and cons of each can anyone tell me about? Again, any info is appreciated, thanks.

Nice wife.

As to cleaning, just follow the directions in the little booklet that came with the Colt - it's pretty simple.

Ammo, it is up to you - the Colt with 1/7 twist can shoot any ammo from 55g to 77g.

Optics, again, the field is open. I like eotechs / aimpoints for non magnification dot sites. I'm not a big fan of magnification on AR's. The Iron sites that came on it and dot sites work great within the intended use of an AR.

Enjoy it.

**Legion_Prime** · June 13th, 2009, 01:05 PM

If you're going to buy another I'd go for the Stag. They have a better reputation for quality and a lifetime warranty as opposed to BM's 1 year warranty.

**animalmother85** · June 13th, 2009, 04:32 PM

The stoner AR platform is pretty decent design(minus the few flaws it has) in that there are a ton of aftermarket parts made for this rifle. Some things to consider when buying a rifle are the barrel; twist rate and material of the barrel, weather it be hammer forged or not. Another is if it has M4 feedramps as well as what the rifle comes with. I don't buy complete rifles anymore, instead, I'll buy a lower receiver and piece it together and I'm always much happier with what I get. With the way things are now, AR parts are at a premium, but that's the price i pay when i want perfection. Also, you can have parts specially made for them, i.e. barrels, muzzle brakes, etc. I don't build any direct impingement rifles anymore, they crap where they eat and run hot as well as blow hot gas in your face. I always run a piston and have yet to find a direct correlation between accuracy and weather the rifle has or has no piston. As I write this, my issued rifle is sitting next to me (Colt M4) and it gets filthy with all this Iraqi dust and garbage floating around, its a good rifle, has a lot going for it, but I would really like the extra reliability of a piston driven rifle. A little about my rifle is it has a 1-7" twist rate, m4 feed ramps, knight armament rails, aimpoint comp m4 site, peq-15, and a hogue grip i put on with a surefire light. It is ergonomically sound and the accessories are on the rails in a manner that the rifle balances very well at the mag well(have an extra loaded mag on the stock). It shoots pretty good to about 300 or so meters, some guys are pretty handy out to 500 with their's under the right conditions and if they are using an ACOG. I hope this helps, but you have a pretty decent set up, there are a lot of guys on this forum that have vast experience with these rifles as well.

**Mr White** · June 13th, 2009, 11:35 PM

Does you wife have a sister?

As for ammo, a 1:7 might not shoot 55 grainers as accurately as it will shoot heavier ones. Very light bullets like 45s probably won'y shoot well at all for you. 60 and 62 grain bullets would probably be the lowest weights that will give you excellent accuracy. Try some 55s and see how they work for you, they might shoot acceptably well. A 1:7 twist will shoot the heaviest and longest .224 match bullets made, such as 90 gr SMKs or Bergers.

As for cleaning, Hoppes, Powderblast, G96, CLP, and even WD40 will work. Make sure you get the bolt, the bolt recess of the barrel extension and the chamber clean. These areas are where crud will cause the most problems.

As for lubrication, remember, light oil only, never any grease. G96 or CLP would be 2 good choices.

**Jackal** · June 14th, 2009, 02:19 PM

animalmother85, isn't there some AR platform that utilizes and piston instead of direct impingement? That would be an ideal compromise between ak reliability and ar precision, if that kind of thing exists. Are you aware of anything like that?

**Guns4Fun** · June 14th, 2009, 02:59 PM

Originally Posted by Jackal

animalmother85, isn't there some AR platform that utilizes and piston instead of direct impingement? That would be an ideal compromise between ak reliability and ar precision, if that kind of thing exists. Are you aware of anything like that?

I'm not him but there are several places that make piston uppers and also piston conversions.

HK
LWRC

However, i'm of the opinion that DI is more than good enough. It has been working fine for the last 40+ years. I think pistons are a solution for a non existing problem. It's a good idea but the cost (in my opinion) doesn't justify it.

However, it is pretty cool watching the HK 416's fire (mag dumps) and watching them pull out the BCG and be able to hold it in their hand. Not a very good idea on a DI gun.