This is something to think about! AR-15 accessories and added weight.

Discussion in 'Firearms' started by KAS, Jan 23, 2015.


  1. KAS

    KAS Monkey+++

    I was in a gun store today ... {mind you i dont know very much about guns at all } So I got to talking about the AR15 and he was talking about how people start decking these guns out with all the lights and other things {i had no clue what he was talking about }.. .And at the end of the day that thing starts weighin about a million pounds ... He said try walking with that for a full day!

    So anyway what im saying is we all talk about keeping our BOB bag a weight we can handle and manage on a long treck .... Well i was wondering does anyone take this into consideration when decking there weapons out !!!


    {please move this thread to where ever it needs to go }
     
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  2. Gafarmboy

    Gafarmboy Monkey+++

    Hey KAS,
    you just opened up a can of worms on this subject.:rolleyes: This discussion is very similar to AR v. AK, .45 v. 9mm, Ford v. Chevy. Etc. When I was younger, much of this gear was unavailable so my observations on this are moot. As an older gentleman I refrain from loading up my weapons with lots of extras. As the man said, it is one thing to play with a heavy weapon on the range and a totally different thing to drag it around for hours and days at a time. Weight is not your friend. But this is just an old mans opinion.

    If you can not protect what you own, you won't own it long.
    Gafarmboy
     
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  3. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    Having a good sight, bipod, surefire light, laser and so on does add a bit of weight... let alone the ammo/mag ect....
    What it really comes down to though, is your conditioning to carry a weapon configured the way you want it to be set up. Many folks will load up their AR's with "stuff" but they are doing nothing more than carrying it to and from the truck at the range. You have to carry that weight and get used to it.... hit the trails and do some miles. If it is to much for your ability... start shedding the non-essentials. Depending on where you are at, you can always substitute a 2X4 or rigid pipe to simulate the weight if law's do not allow you to open carry in your AO, or if you do not want to freak out the neighbors ;)
     
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  4. Pax Mentis

    Pax Mentis Philosopher King |RIP 11-4-2017

    I personally have very little use for bipods, heavy sights, bells, whistles, lights attached to the gun or much else in the way of "tacticool" gadgets on an AR. I have a lightweight red dot on the AR and a laser sight on my glock, but one reason I prefer an AR for a mobile situation is the weight...the basics and 4 30 rd mags are really all I need.

    Longer range weapons that I see as primarily static defense weapons rate a bipod, big scope and maybe even drum mags, but not the AR. No weapon gets a light attached for me...it got drummed into me early that a light on the gun just puts you directly behind the easiest target.
     
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  5. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    I will use the BEST Weapon, in the Locker, for the Job at hand... Inside 50 Yds, it is my Winchester 1300 Stainless 12Ga.... Passed that, comes the Marlin 30-30 LeverGun good for 200 Yds... Anything from there out to 1000 Yds the DMPS AR10 .308 BiPod mounting Burris Eliminator III Optics.... HandGun is a Browning HiPower in 9mm..... Or a Ruger 45/22 mounting a Red/Green Dot Optic.... Momma has her Dan Wesson Stainless .357 Mag, and her .30M1 Carbine mounting a nice Simmons 3X9 40mm optic... These will do for anything we might encounter, in our AoO..... Nothing TactiCool around here, just basic Weapons for us....
     
  6. Dawg23

    Dawg23 do or do not, there is no try

    Im like BT, here. use what is the best tool for the job. However, I do have a light on my AR. do i use it? only around the house if i hear something and feel like i need the extra light. do i have anything else fancy on any of my weapons? no. for me, it all goes down to personal preference. the extras, are only things to break, or have issues with later on. I only have a 3.5x12x44 scope on my Remington 700 for deer. everything else is plain jane regular sights. ;)
     
  7. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    I like weapons lights for 1 reason: I want to make positive ID at night before I end a life. Is it a home in nvasion or drunk son who lost his house keys?

    I have Surefire P2X Fury 500 lumen lights on each AR for that reason.

    Part of the problem with AR accessories is that most are cheap and of poor quality. I don't hang much off of mine but the stuff I do is the best I can find.

    To the original post, my AR accessories add up to less than .5 pound, which is nothing as compared to the mags I carry and a full set of body armor. It's negligable
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 26, 2015
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  8. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    CAR 15 with a Redi Mag.

    Light in my left hand.
     
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  9. fedorthedog

    fedorthedog Monkey+++

    I don't know about the rest of the stuff but putting a light on the rifle makes sense. The weight is off set by the fact that you need a light with you on average 12 hours a day. Putting it on the gun make one less thing to remember.
     
    BTPost likes this.
  10. driftz240

    driftz240 Monkey

    I like my guns pretty slick, my ar's get usually a vortex sparc or aimpoint, or eotech, a lightweight forend, I like troy alphas, flip ups and a magpul k2 grip. I hate when people go nuts tricking out guns...they have obiously not carried one any distance.
    my current go-to is a tavor, with a vortec sparc on top. my competition rifle is a 18in med barrel ar15 with a leupold mark ar firedot. yankee hill competition rail to about 15 inches of that. got a few other mods but not much hanging off them by way of lights, lazers ,pods n such.
     
  11. Grand58742

    Grand58742 Monkey+++

    It's all about personal preference. My own "minimal" items include a sling (VCAS), an RDS (EOTech), Surefire Scout and a stubby vertical grip (BCM Gunfighter Mod 3) that is mainly used as a hand stop. And of course BUIS in the form of a Magpul MBUS.

    But I've also countered the added weight by going to a gas block and away from the A frame and a lighter fore end.

    Basically, you can add a whole lotta weight by slapping on gadgets. But in the long run, it depends on what you happen to be comfortable with and can lug around for hours at a time.
     
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  12. D2wing

    D2wing Monkey+

    It is your own choice. I was trained to fight with several weapons, mainly the M-14 and M-16. Extra weight and objects just get in the way and slow me down. But people today use optics, and due to age I do too. But even so, lighter is better if you are going to carry it around and get it into action in a hurry. I also relied on night vision and stealth, you can see better with a light but you can be spotted for miles using a light in the dark. I have been shot at and don't like it all that much. Thank God, they had those crappy AK's and SKS's. I am a bit old fashioned and outdated though and have no objections to all that stuff younger guys use. I imagine it is all useful if that's how you are trained. I promise not to laugh too much.
     
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  13. Grand58742

    Grand58742 Monkey+++

    Worst I ever saw was a PVS-4 on an M-16 with the LALPS system.
     
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  14. hank2222

    hank2222 Monkey+++

    I have a surfire scout light and mount - a aim point red dot sight -single point sling on it -mag pull forward hand grip on the rifle and that it total it adds a just over a pd of weight to the rifle in the end
     
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