tool(s), videos, SD and range ammo for new AR?

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old lady new shooter

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My AR is on its way to me. :)

VIDEOS
I had a lesson on basic operation and shooting one, and later rented one at the range and after some kind help from another customer thankfully actually shot it quite well. Meanwhile coronavirus happened, so I will not be having any in-person lesson on how to clean and lube it. I am not mechanical, in fact a big reason why I gravitated to revolvers when I started shooting was because they don't have to be taken apart to be cleaned. I see there are numerous youtube videos on this topic, including one from Hickock45 who I always enjoy, but if anyone here can recommend which one(s) I should use as instruction, I would really appreciate it. I need something totally newbie-suitable, like as each piece is removed they tell you its name and its function, and when each one is replaced they include anything special you have to pay attention to when replacing that particular piece.

TOOLS
I understand there is such a thing as AR tools. I have no idea what I might need. I am on the PDN mailing list and they periodically send offers of a "Real Avid AR-15 Micro Tool" as a freebie for buying something else, supposedly it has 18 functions and if you have it you don't need anything else. Is this actually useful? If not, what do you guys recommend? Very important, if anything I will have to do to take it apart, clean it, lube it, or put it back together, requires any strength (like something that needs to be well-tightened), I probably need some kind of tool to help with that, often I have difficulty with tasks like opening screw-top bottles.

AMMO
I was planning to get Hornady Critical Defense 223 73 gr as my SD ammo for it (I use the 38 spl 110 gr version in my revolvers), but I can't find any anywhere so far. Does anyone know where I can get some? Or alternatively, what SD ammo do you guys recommend? It is actually an AR pistol (Saint Victor) if that matters. When I had my lesson the instructor (an ex-Marine) told me not to use FMJ for home defense because it would penetrate into the neighbors' houses.

Also, what do you recommend for range ammo that is actually currently available? So far the only thing I found is the Remington Freedom Bucket 223 REM 55 GR 300 rounds for $119.95. It is FMJ. Is it any good? Is there anything good that's available and less expensive?

Also, what is the significance of 55gr vs 73gr for AR's, I see those are the two weights that seem to be produced?

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions you can provide. :)
 
There shouldn’t be anything on an AR that needs to be tightened unless you’re assembling them. The only tool you need is a cartridge (a dummy cartridge works fine) or a smallish punch, or a ball point pin.

The Remington ammo should be fine, the price isn’t great but actual availability has a advantage all its own, especially right now.

As for SD ammo, my preference is for light 50-55gr varmint loads such as these: https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/223-556-polymer-tip

I live in a town house and the light varmint bullets are my best bet that a miss goes thru as few walls as possible.

When possible, get some more training. The manual of arms for an AR is not that intuitive and needs practice. Good magazines are a key to reliability and it’s hard to argue against Magpul’s Pmags.

Good luck and good shooting.

BSW
 
You are going to get a lot of opinions but here is mine-

1. Clean is good but the most important thing is lube. You could use a simple motor oil, like synthetic 5W-30, or similar. I use Superlube synthetic grease which some may disagree with me on but it works and stays put, doesn't drip down into the trigger group or leak on your clothes. A bore snake is a handy way to clean the bore.

2. You don't really need any tools. When cleaning I just push out the lower pins with my finger to separate the upper from the lower. If you don't have enough finger strength for this, you can use a pen or similar device.

3. I really like the 75 grain Gold Dot for defense, and is good for reaching out to longer distances. I reload my own practice ammo with FMJ bullets but I hear a lot of good things about Norma TAC and Federal M193, both are 55 FMJ.
 
Videos: Brownnells.

Tools: Real Avid makes some nice ones, I own a few, but not a necessity. If you have a small tool budget I would suggest their carbon scraper, either of theirs is fine. A good 1-piece stainless cleaning rod, I use Pro Shot rods, with a pierce jag, CLP and patches. That’s about $70 and should get you by fine for general maintenance.

Ammo: any 50-60gr soft point is perfect for both plinking and home defense. I wouldn’t be overly concerned with fmj but there are definitely better options.
 
briansmithwins said:
There shouldn’t be anything on an AR that needs to be tightened unless you’re assembling them. The only tool you need is a cartridge (a dummy cartridge works fine) or a smallish punch, or a ball point pin.

The Remington ammo should be fine, the price isn’t great but actual availability has a advantage all its own, especially right now.

As for SD ammo, my preference is for light 50-55gr varmint loads such as these: https://www.ammunitiontogo.com/index.php/cName/223-556-polymer-tip

I live in a town house and the light varmint bullets are my best bet that a miss goes thru as few walls as possible.

When possible, get some more training. The manual of arms for an AR is not that intuitive and needs practice. Good magazines are a key to reliability and it’s hard to argue against Magpul’s Pmags.

Good luck and good shooting.

BSW
Click to expand...
A miss will go through multiple walls, period, but a varmint round HIT, will go through less walls several folks have tested varmint+ on drywall, insulation and exterior walls, it's gonna go. But when you hit, you don't have to worry about what's behind em so much with a varmint round ;)
 
Ammunition
The action is designed for FMJ.
If you want an expanding bullet you must shoot enough of them to be confident in their reliability.
If you shoot 55 grain economy loads for practice, I suggest a 55 grain hollowpoint, softpoint, or plastic point defensive load. Point of impact should be close, recoil and blast will be similar.

You don't need many tools. A pen, chopstick, or bullet nose will push out the action pins. I pluck out the firing pin retainer (cotter pin) with needle nose pliers.

A clean chamber is essential. There are brushes that will scrub the chamber and the locking lug recesses. Clean the bolt group, too; there are brushes and scrapers.
Lubricate.

The Army went so far as to print comic book style instructions
https://www.amazon.com/MILITARIA-Vietnam-Color-Comic-Instructions/dp/B06XDPHZW3
Rifle maintenance for high school dropouts in the pre-video area.
 
Youll do more harm by over cleaning than under cleaning with an AR. I wipe the exterior with an oiled cloth (the standard black phosphate finish is not very effective at rust protection on the steel parts!), Put a few drops of oil on the bolt and Im good to go for several hundred rounds. Every couple thousand, youll want to pull the bolt out, clean the residue from behind the extractor claw, swab the bore out, oil and reassemble. I like Hoppes synthetic gun oil for everything except the buffer spring- that gets wheel bearing grease.

I would get a front sight adjustment tool and keep it in the pistol grip (or buttstock if it has a storage compartment), especially as many flip-up rear sights dont have an elevation adjustment. Front sight tools are small and cheap.

Other than that, a spare bolt and firing pin are good ideas for spare parts. Magpul makes a grip module which can hold both- they make alternative modules which hold an oil bottle, batteries, or extra ammo.
 
55 gr fmj is good for general use/range etc. Impact will vary greatly from heavier 70+ grain stuff.

My 'defensive loads' are Winchester soft point hunting bullets.

You need a rifle cleaning kit, maybe a chamber flag (some ranges require it), some decent lube/cleaner like CLP, Pmags and range time.
 
Ammo: I use Speer gold dot 75 gr. for defense, American Eagle 75 gr for practice. In my gun they shoot very similar points of impact. All availability is difficult now. I also use PMAGs. No tools needed for basic care and maintenance.

I rarely clean beyond a bore snake but would clean more if I knew I wasn’t shooting again soon. As stated, lube is important.
 
THANK YOU EVERYBODY!

Some comments / followup questions:

Magpul Pmags were already on my shopping list as other folks previously recommended them pretty unanimously.

Regarding the 75 grain Gold Dot, two questions:
1. I watched a video on these from ar15.com by the Chopping Block guy (who I vaguely remember used to be a THR member?) where he mentioned to make sure the rifle can handle the heavier weight. Then in another of his videos he says a 1-in-8 or faster twist is needed for the heavier loads. The Saint has a 1:7 twist but I actually don't even know what that means, is that faster than 1-in-8?
2. I know with handguns, the heavier the load, the more recoil. The Critical Defense I use in my revolvers is the heavier choice there (38 spl 110 gr, they also come in 90), but 110 is still lighter than the range ammo I use, which is 130 gr. A range I went to one time where I asked for 38 spl gave me 158 gr and that was the first time I experienced recoil on my 686. So I am wondering if the 75 gr will result in recoil in the AR. (I assume the range ammo I used in the lesson and the rental was 55 gr, there was no recoil to speak of.)

Brownells Video, on their website I found one but it presupposed a lot of knowledge, probably because it was the final one in their how to build an AR series. Then on youtube I discovered they have several videos on AR maintenance, broken down into the various tasks, those will probably be more my speed. I saved the search. Thanks for the tip. :)

Wolf Gold were also recommended by another friend, I will look for them.

The charging handle I did actually have a problem with in my lesson, but when I related this to some friends one said a lot of people try to pull up on it, make sure you only pull it horizontally, I tried that on my range visit and thankfully it worked great.

The Army book of comic-book style instructions is on its way from Amazon, thanks for the great suggestion!

NIGHTLORD40K said:
I would get a front sight adjustment tool and keep it in the pistol grip (or buttstock if it has a storage compartment), especially as many flip-up rear sights dont have an elevation adjustment. Front sight tools are small and cheap.
Click to expand...
This brings me to a separate question. I am getting a red-dot sight, the one that was on the rental for now. I have some vision issues, and honestly I could not use it as intended, with both eyes open I kept seeing two red dots, so I ended up looking through it. Some people have suggested that if I keep trying to focus on the target my eyes might finally cooperate, I figure if so it's a win, and if not, looking through it isn't the end of the world. That said, when I checked out of the range the day I went, the clerk showed me one with folding iron sights and I could see quite nicely through them, to my pleasant surprise as once upon a time in a galaxy far away I went to a rifle class where we shot a 10/22 and I could not see the gold dot. But I digress. Apparently if you have both iron sights and the red dot, you can see the iron sights in the bottom third of the red dot. What do folks here think about this?

Dr.Rob said:
55 gr fmj is good for general use/range etc. Impact will vary greatly from heavier 70+ grain stuff.
Click to expand...
Could you please elaborate?
....................

Thanks again and good night for now. :)
 
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Not to confuse the op , and no dis to SB , but I was always under the impression that you should never use an uncoated metal cleaning rod in a barrel. I either use my Tipton (?)composite cleaning rod or bore snakes. Please enlighten me if I am misinformed. Let's keep the op and me on track.
 
KISS: Keep It Super Simple!

The beauty of a good AR15 is that they are very forgiving of ammo, cleaning, and maintenance except one thing...keep the bolt carrier group well lubed. I like either Slip 2000 or Lucas Extreme gun lube. Both stay in place well.

I shoot my ARs out to 300 yards, and I have ARs for SH/HD, and I am 100% good with 55 grain ammo for everything. FMJ for range, soft point for HD.

Use the sights that work best, but hard to beat a red dot for home defense. You should also consider a weapon mounted light and a sling if HD is your priority/purpose. Stuff happens at night, and the sling is your holster.
 
Yes on the WML and the sling. I got a recommendation for the Vickers sling from Blue Force Gear, do folks here like that one? WML I definitely want one, and I would like it to have a strobe function. Any recommendations?
 
old lady new shooter said:
Also, what do you recommend for range ammo that is actually currently available? So far the
Click to expand...

I usually load my own, but had to buy ammo to get cases. I've used win white box 55fmj, hornandy frontier 55 fmj, fiochi 55fmj for range practice out to 300 yds. I've found that horny 50 and 55 gr soft points shot well especially the vmax.

old lady new shooter said:
went, the clerk showed me one with folding iron sights and I could see
Click to expand...

The only dot sight I've used is a cheap gammo that I installed in a crossman pellet rifle for my grandson. Most Iirc have no magnification.

Folding peep is called buis, back up iron sight, or mbus, magpie back up sight. My Ar came with mbus, I shot it with the irons until recently when I put a 3-9 scope on it. The thing I found with using peep sights is that the vision in my dominant eye was noticeably clearer after after a shooting session. Looking through the small peep makes the eye focus better.
 
old lady new shooter said:
Yes on the WML and the sling. I got a recommendation for the Vickers sling from Blue Force Gear, do folks here like that one? WML I definitely want one, and I would like it to have a strobe function. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...

I suggest no strobe...that may seem like a good idea for a flashlight to confuse an attacker but on a gun, you can also get disoriented and bad stuff may happen.

A sling is your holster for your rifle and aids retention. Vickers sling or Kyle Lamb’s (Viking Tactics) are the best. But I think Magpul also makes a good one. Stay with a two point IMO.

May want to consider a light-laser combo. A Streamlight TLR2 or TLR 8 are solid choices.

Learn to use the AR without looking at it (safety/charging handle, bolt release) and get in the habit of ALWAYS flipping safety to “Safe” unless you are on target. Dry fire practice helps a lot...keep mags and ammo away during dry fire practice...and practice flipping that safety lever.
 
old lady new shooter said:
Yes on the WML and the sling. I got a recommendation for the Vickers sling from Blue Force Gear, do folks here like that one? WML I definitely want one, and I would like it to have a strobe function. Any recommendations?
Click to expand...
Wml= Fenix, love mine! Comes with green and red filters and remote switch (it's the little things) multiple light settings from blinding the man on the moon, to lighting the foot path....
My wife has an astigmatism, doesn't love the red dots, have you looked at green reticles? Specifically, the one we like is the sig romeo 5 green predator triangle. The motion activation is one of our favorite features here.
Something else possibly worth your consideration is the Ryker grip, it'll improve handling quite a bit!

As far as 55 vs 75 ammo, it's a good practice to find practice ammo that impacts similarly to your defense loads. Example: m855 (62gr steel core) and 55gr ball shoot to the same spot out of my rifles, my hotter lil gold dot loads shoot just a little high and right, but if I switch to a 64, 70, or 75 anything, they all shoot lower, and the higher in weight, the lower the impact. So if my 62/55 combo shoots to the same place on a bullseye, and then I throw in a 75 gr and hold in the same spot on the target, the 75s will hit several inches lower. This means that I have to adopt TWO habits for TWO loads. I can zero my sights for either one, then adjust back; I can zero between the two and remember that I need to hold x" off for each one; or I can zero for home defense, practice holding low, and hopefully, in an adrenaline pumping moment, I don't revert to holding low and send the 75 too low.
Ideally finding a self defense load 1st then going through some practice ammo that will yield impacts to a similar point of aim will yield healthier habits.
 
Twist Rate: expressed as a ratio of twists per inch. 1:7 is 1 per 7”, fast for an AR, through 1:12, typically found on bolt actions. The faster the twist, the more likely the barrel is to stabilize heavier bullets. Your particular barrel should be fine for any commercially loaded ammo but as with any firearm may prefer 1 or 2 specific loads for accuracy.

Recoil: lots of ways to control it in an AR. Ammo, in a 5.56 isn’t really a factor when considering what people sometimes associate recoil with. The impulse will be sharper with a short barrel and heavier bullets (assuming near max loadings) will produce more recoil but not a painful experience. Mitigation should include an H2 or H3 buffer, $15-$25 upgrade. Check to see what your Saint ships with. Long story short, yes ammo changes recoil but with a gas gun, gas length matters more (pistol, carbine, mid, rifle- where the hole is drilled and size of that hole).

Slings: lots of opinions, I like the VTAC padded 2-point but also own a Magpul, it’s a personal choice and these along with the Vickers are great options for many.
 
Wow, congratulations. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot a couple of Saints. They’re nice. Solid gear.

Will you be shooting it a lot? 1000 rounds a month? A year?

Don’t tear your hair out over this. Remember, the AR-15 is a battle rifle that was intended to be easily serviced and take a beating. My only point here is that you do not need to keep it pristine. If you go out to the range and put 100 rounds through it, you don’t need to rush home and clean it so it won’t break.

How often an AR needs to be cleaned can be a topic of much debate. I’ll just say to use your best judgment. To me, the most important benefit of cleaning your AR is that you can inspect parts for wear. I don’t know what your budget is, but a simple GI cleaning kit in the small canvas bag served me well. That and a bore snake. As for lube, get yourself some CLP. I use Slip 2000.

You really shouldn’t NEED any other tools. There’s nothing that you can’t do on an AR with the tip of a bullet in terms of cleaning. The GI kit, bore snake and maybe a butter knife to scrape the carbon from the bolt (you don’t need to get it all off).

I personally don’t use grease. Grease mixed with dirt is very abrasive and grease doesn’t allow for the displacement of crud within the action. Liquid lube does this.

When applying lube, don’t go nuts. Your AR doesn’t need to be wet as in sopping wet. It needs proper lubrication. I hope Gunny drops in. He has a neat pic of all of the lube points on an AR. A drop or two here and there is all it takes. I’ll post it when I get home. I also differ in opinion on the whole greasing the buffer spring thing. You don’t need to lube anything in the buffer tube. Believe me, enough oil is going to make its way in there from the bolt sliding into it.

As for ammo, again it depends on your budget and how much you shoot. It’s also going to depend on what your AR will eat. Mine eats what I tell it to, so I shoot a lot of Russian steel cased stuff. At around $200 for 1000 rounds, it’s hard to beat. I do at least 1000 rounds a month, so it’s a necessity for me.

Which Saint did you get? Rifle or pistol? Defensive ammo will depend a bit on your barrel length.

As for the red dot, if money is no object, get an Aimpoint. They have a long, solid reputation and are battle proven. If cost is a concern, I’d suggest something in the Sig Romeo line of products. Very good customer service, in my experience.

Red dots are something to get used to. Both eyes open and look at the target, not the dot.

There are a few red dot height options that allow the co-witnessing of open sights. There is absolute, where the dot is inline with the open sights, lower 1/3 as you described and 1.93 which are high and do not allow the use of open sights. Personally, I prefer the 1.93. I’m getting old, my neck hurts and I like not having to crane my neck so much to see through the red dot. I’ve been shooting an AR long enough that I can make effective hits to 25 yards or so just looking down the rail of the rifle, so I quit worrying about open sights.

A lot of red dots will come with spacers to allow for either an absolute or lower 1/3 co-witness.
 
nhcruffler said:
I was always under the impression that you should never use an uncoated metal cleaning rod in a barrel.
Click to expand...

Nonsense. The material doesn’t matter so long as there is no damage to it. A burr or some other anomaly protruding from a stainless rod means buying a new rod, but I’ve yet to damage any of mine to the point of needing replacement (IMO).

I specified a 1-piece rod because jointed rods have a nasty habit of bending and/or breaking, becoming lodged into one another at the joints, and attract grime at those same points. A Boresnake is essentially a shoestring that, if it breaks, will have you hoping there’s enough hanging out to remove it. The other benefit of a stainless rod is squib removal or removal of a stuck case.

I do own a few coated rods and as other owners can probably testify, they all eventually peel. If that happens with the right combination of rod/bore diameter you could be looking at a stuck rod. I have thrown a few of these out over the years, but feel they have a place.

One more question to answer for the OP, this on bullet impact for different weight projectiles. Initially, most lighter bullets will offer a velocity advantage. Less bullet means more room in the casing for powder. The longer, heavier, often more streamlined bullets will offer a better long range trajectory and through most of that trajectory, they offer more energy.

Real world example, imagine Duane Johnson throwing a ping pong ball at you as hard as he can from 25 yards away. Now picture any family member throwing a baseball at you from the same distance.

At HD/SD distances lightweight projectiles will be effective with good shot placement. That’s where a red dot comes into play IF they work for you.
 
OK, I'm back. :)

Trying to digest all the new comments. Thanks to you guys I now have more clarity in several areas. Below are responses / comments / more questions, in order of confusion, from less to more. However, if anyone thinks any of my logic is off or that I have misunderstood anything, please don't hesitate to explain further.

AMMO:
Thanks, I now understand that in order for the gun to aim the SD rounds the same as the range ones, they should be the same weight.

Range ammo: I could not find any Wolf Gold anywhere. I ordered 2 of the Remington Freedom Bucket 223 REM 55 GR 300 RDS (FMJ). Already worrying that maybe I should have ordered more, who knows how long the ammo shortage is gonna last...

For SD, unless I missed something, actually available in 55 gr are 223 Rem - 55 Grain SP - Federal LE Tactical or Speer Gold Dot Rifle Personal Protection. The Gold Dot description on the Speer website says it's actually optimized for barrels shorter than 16". I could not find any videos testing the Federal. I found one testing the Gold Dot out of a 7.5" barrel (same as the Saint pistol),
, it had excellent penetration and expansion. I'm leaning toward that one despite the expense unless somebody talks me out of it.

SIGHTS:
This gun is going to be used for home defense. The longest distance I would be shooting inside my house is 50 feet. So I think I don't really need magnification at this point. The rental I used had a Holosun red dot HS403C. As noted above, trying to use it with both eyes open resulted in seeing two red dots. Some people have suggested that if I keep trying to look at the target with both eyes open it might start to work as designed for me. If not, looking through it does work. I do have astigmatism and baby cataracts so the trick is getting enough brightness but not too much. I was able to adjust it to acceptable brightness with only minimal starry-ness at the range. While I would love to be able to go somewhere where I could try out a whole bunch of different ones where I might find something I totally love, that's off the table right now due to coronavirus, I'm high-risk. So my thought was, that one seemed OK, might as well get it, and someday when the plague is over I can look at others if I want.

Question on learning to use the red dot sight as intended, when keeping both eyes open and looking at the target, does one still position the head so the dominant eye is where it would be if one were looking through the sight? IOW is the dominant eye, um, pointed at the sight but looking at the target as if the sight weren't there? Or?

As also mentioned above, I was intrigued by the flip-up iron sights the clerk showed me. The documentation for the above red dot says if you have iron sights you can see them in the bottom third of the red dot. I have no idea what that would look like or how it would work, the gun the clerk showed me only had the iron sights. I guess this is something I can explore down the road.

WML:
The reason I was thinking of a strobe is that I don't like the idea of a light that stays on, because that gives BG something to aim at. (With a handgun I learned to hold the flashlight in the support hand far out to the side while you're looking around, the gun is in your strong hand ready to be fired if necessary.) IAC if I could get one that has multiple settings, of which strobe (or some other type of alternating on/off) is one, I could try it out in my house in conjunction with dry-firing practice and if I see it confuses me, just pick one of the other settings. Two features that are important to me are light weight and an on-off button that is separate from the settings control, i.e. it would turn on at whatever it was last set at. Recommendations?

Separately, I don't want a laser.

TOOLS / CLEANING:
I'm pretty confused here. I'll try to make specific individual questions:
1. The people who say I don't need any tools, are you saying I don't need any tools for cleaning? If so, how do I clean the inside? For my revolvers I have a little kit with a rod that becomes a brass brush or a thing to hold a patch or a sort of fleecy thing depending on what top you screw onto it. I also have a bore snake. And some cheap toothbrushes.
2. Sticking with tools for a moment, do I need a tool to adjust the red dot sight?
3. I do understand that keeping it properly lubricated is the most important factor for reliability. I am not clear on the difference between oil, lube, and grease. In plain English oil is more liquid and grease less, but where does "lube" fit in? Also sounds like different products are used to lubricate different parts of the gun? Because?
4. Seems to be a wide range of opinions as to how much cleaning is necessary. Or maybe it just sounds that way because people are not all talking about the same thing. Is it possible to boil it down to what tasks need to be done after how many rounds?
5. In my KISS revolver world, I just use Ballistol for everything. Cleans, lubricates, and is non-toxic to boot. Some brand names have been mentioned above but not consistently. Especially since it seems multiple products are needed, I have no clue what to get at this point.

NOT PREVIOUSLY DISCUSSED:
Re dry-firing, I notice snap caps in 223 come in a package of two. WARNING, DUMB QUESTION ALERT: Does this mean you just put the two snap caps in an otherwise empty mag and you can dry-fire as many times as you want?

One tactical question on my mind: A handgun is fairly easy to learn to fire accurately with either hand alone. If you're using an AR, what do you do if you get hit in one arm?
........................

I think I had more questions but my brain is getting fried here so I'm gonna stop. Looking forward to your responses. :)

Thanks again. :)
 
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