advise for my first ar
 

hi all,
i just bought a smith & wesson m&p 15OR for 699 which was a deal i couldn't pass up. well the advise im looking for pertains to the upgrades i need to get started, since i bought the "optics ready" platform i need sights one deliema im having is i like the magpul "mbus" but since there polymer i cant mount them on my gas block for fear of them melting. so i been thinking of getting a free float rail to mount them to. should i just wait on the rail and get irons from troy instead?

Shoot the snot out of it to be sure there's no issues before you make any major changes.

@ slowryde yeah i plan to get both free float tube and sights . i wanna fix my ar the right way the first time around especially making it more accurate . i would be using it for target shooting maybe home defence even though i doubt i would be put in a situation that my smith and wesson 910 couldnt handle. would you recomend getting a longer free float tube becuase i was looking at the carbine lenth tube and it seemed to short . i would have to get a low profile gas block. i was thinking of getting yhm lightwieght mid-lenth free float forearm and lowpro gas block with magpul's "mbus" i think with that on my ar i should be fine for the moment till i can save up for a decent red dot sight. do you happen to know of any good quality and cheap? @ canebrake yeah as soon as i get the sights i will shoot the snot out of the gun thanks guys for the reply

you should just give it to your cousin Andrew, he's a great guy. :D

have fun building it buddy, i cant wait till i have the same dilemma

thanks andrew. have u guys i heard to stay away from utg ff tubes is there any other brands i should look out for i have my eye on a light weight ff tube from yhm i heard there not bad and there a good amount cheaper the the daniel defence line of quad rails. is there a big difference between the two companys?

+1 to canebrake's recommendation to shoot the snot out of the gun. I would say get your iron sights and then run the gun, and only after you discover a problem should you go looking for a solution. I don't advocate hanging anything on your rifle that does not solve a problem for you.

That said, I would recommend you get the longest railed free float forearm that your barrel length will support. This is because it will give you a longer sight radius making your rifle easier to shoot accurately and because I am an advocate for a support hold on the forearm that is as far forward as is comfortable. I feel this gives the shooter the best support in their rifle hold. You, of course, should make your decision on what is comfortable for you. The Daniel Defense OmegaX rail is designed to cover a low profile gas block, letting the rail extend out farther. I'm sure YHM, BCM, or others have quality rails with similar features in the price point you're looking for.

I would also recommend an ERGO Gapper. Its a couple of dollars, and fills a small space behind the trigger guard. The space wears on your knuckle and is annoying (at least to me). The space can also be filled by the Magpul replacement trigger guard.

For a fighting rifle I also think a white light and a sling are mandatory.

Good luck, and let us know which way you decide to go on your options.

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Wow it's been a while since I have given an update on my sur . I recently bought a yhm specter quad rail freefloat tube and low pro gas block . Magpul mbus . And a cheap red dot sight. Now I'm having problems getting my railed gas block off my m&p 15or any thoughts I've tried with punches but the pins won't move? What can I do? Thank you for any help u can give me

The pins are tapered. They go in one way and out the same. Usually they go in from the RIGHT side of the gun to the left.

*NOTE: Double check with your manufacturer's on line diagram to confirm

So to remove them, put the gun on a block, with a shim on the block, with the weapon on it's RIGHT side and tap on the pins from the left side of the gun.

With a little oil and a little determination, they should come right out.

JD

Exactly. Some manufacturers pins are so tight that you might begin to think they wont come out. In that case get a bigger hammer. THe last one I removed I swore up and down they were somehow permanantly installed until I brought out a bigger hammer. Even then I had to hit the pins so hard I began to worry about braking something.

advise / first ar
 

I have heard that a smaller hammer moving faster will shock the pin and not damage something that a large hammer may.

I have had good luck with this but when working on your own firearms, you have no one else to answer to.

Ed