Bartholomew Roberts
Member
I bought this rifle to celebrate being discharged in 1998. Since that time, it has been:
A 20" A2 plain jane parts rifle
A 16" A2 HBAR - all Bushmaster
Bushmaster A2 16" carbine w/ collapsible stock
Bushmaster 16" flattop carbine
By now I've spent enough money changing this one rifle to have owned three others (and in fact the pile of spare parts left over is now enough to
build another rifle entirely minus bolt carrier and barrel). Here is the latest incarnation of one of my favorite rifles:
Big Version
It is a Bushmaster 16" 1/9 HBAR with:
PRI Gasbuster - great purchase; the Big Latch charging handle release that comes with this is much superior to the Badger Ordnance version in my mind and sells separately for $20. I plan to purchase a suppressor at some point so I went for the Gasbuster charging handle as well for $90 total.
TA11 ACOG w/ ARMS #19S throwlever mount - great mount, great optic. Probably the last thing I'd part with before the actual rifle if I had to give up gear.
ARMS #40 folding rear sight - Excellent backup sight - not as capable as A2 irons; but close.
Sierra Precision grip - Nice meaty grip in the hand unlike many AR grips that are way too skinny. Not lefty friendly unfortunately.
Magpul MSS Modular Stock - Best AR stock I've ever tried. Will easily replace both fixed and collapsible stocks when the ban goes away and prices come down. More solid than the A2 fixed stock and more adjustable than the telestock - great cheekweld too.
Knight's Free Floating RAS - I was a little skeptical about this as I had limited gear that I wanted to attach; but I've been favorably impressed in the limited use I've had of it so far. I've noticed an immediate increase in barrel cooling and the free floating cut groups off the bench by about 40%. On the downside, maintenance of the barrel underneath the handguard requires a bit more work now.
Knight's QD front sling mount - great little rail sling mount but not cheap.
CQB Solutions SOP sling with emergency release buckle - eh... I actually like my $20 Boonie Packer sling from Bushmaster better than this. The Boonie Packer hangs better in transition and obstructs less. Unfortunately the nylon forearm sling attachment did not get along well with a hot RAS, the rear didn't work with the Magpul and the whole reason I free floated was to get the sling off the barrel. On the plus side, the SOPs 1.5" webbing is very comfortable, the sling attachment points are better and the emergency release buckle is handy too. Maybe it will grow on me with more use but right now the way the buttstock hangs out in front of me instead of close in to the body like the BP bugs me to no end as does the extra obstruction potential added by a three-point sling.
(not shown: cheap 1" scope rings and Surefire G2 flashlight - not my optimum choice; but it works for now)
As to the rifle in general, the 16" HBAR was never a problem for me in more stock formats; but with the additional gear the extra weight of the HBAR gets old real fast. It still helps with cooling and muzzle climb during rapid fire; but I'd rather have less weight than the small amount it contributes in those areas. The barrel itself has proven quite accurate though so I'll probably just suck it up and hit the gym instead of replacing it; but if I did have to replace it, I'd try a Colt 1/7 16" lightweight barrel.
A 20" A2 plain jane parts rifle
A 16" A2 HBAR - all Bushmaster
Bushmaster A2 16" carbine w/ collapsible stock
Bushmaster 16" flattop carbine
By now I've spent enough money changing this one rifle to have owned three others (and in fact the pile of spare parts left over is now enough to
build another rifle entirely minus bolt carrier and barrel). Here is the latest incarnation of one of my favorite rifles:
Big Version
It is a Bushmaster 16" 1/9 HBAR with:
PRI Gasbuster - great purchase; the Big Latch charging handle release that comes with this is much superior to the Badger Ordnance version in my mind and sells separately for $20. I plan to purchase a suppressor at some point so I went for the Gasbuster charging handle as well for $90 total.
TA11 ACOG w/ ARMS #19S throwlever mount - great mount, great optic. Probably the last thing I'd part with before the actual rifle if I had to give up gear.
ARMS #40 folding rear sight - Excellent backup sight - not as capable as A2 irons; but close.
Sierra Precision grip - Nice meaty grip in the hand unlike many AR grips that are way too skinny. Not lefty friendly unfortunately.
Magpul MSS Modular Stock - Best AR stock I've ever tried. Will easily replace both fixed and collapsible stocks when the ban goes away and prices come down. More solid than the A2 fixed stock and more adjustable than the telestock - great cheekweld too.
Knight's Free Floating RAS - I was a little skeptical about this as I had limited gear that I wanted to attach; but I've been favorably impressed in the limited use I've had of it so far. I've noticed an immediate increase in barrel cooling and the free floating cut groups off the bench by about 40%. On the downside, maintenance of the barrel underneath the handguard requires a bit more work now.
Knight's QD front sling mount - great little rail sling mount but not cheap.
CQB Solutions SOP sling with emergency release buckle - eh... I actually like my $20 Boonie Packer sling from Bushmaster better than this. The Boonie Packer hangs better in transition and obstructs less. Unfortunately the nylon forearm sling attachment did not get along well with a hot RAS, the rear didn't work with the Magpul and the whole reason I free floated was to get the sling off the barrel. On the plus side, the SOPs 1.5" webbing is very comfortable, the sling attachment points are better and the emergency release buckle is handy too. Maybe it will grow on me with more use but right now the way the buttstock hangs out in front of me instead of close in to the body like the BP bugs me to no end as does the extra obstruction potential added by a three-point sling.
(not shown: cheap 1" scope rings and Surefire G2 flashlight - not my optimum choice; but it works for now)
As to the rifle in general, the 16" HBAR was never a problem for me in more stock formats; but with the additional gear the extra weight of the HBAR gets old real fast. It still helps with cooling and muzzle climb during rapid fire; but I'd rather have less weight than the small amount it contributes in those areas. The barrel itself has proven quite accurate though so I'll probably just suck it up and hit the gym instead of replacing it; but if I did have to replace it, I'd try a Colt 1/7 16" lightweight barrel.
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