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lightbulb1988 wrote:Hi everyone!

I just bought my first rifle yesterday at the Houston Gun Show! I got a RRA Elite Operator 2 AR-15! It had everything I wanted on it...quad rail, complete rear and front sights, etc. I don't plan on modifying it anytime soon...But I just want to know since this is my first AR...what upgrades did y'all do?

In this order:

BCM GF CH
Aimpoint Comp C3 red dot
VLTOR I-Mod stock
DD Omega 9 rail
BCM GF handgrip
Carbine class

If I had to do it all over again, then it would have been in this order:

BCM GF CH
Aimpoint Comp C3 red dot
Carbine class
BCM GF handgrip
VLTOR I-Mod stock
DD Omega 9 rail

Two schools of thought. Hot rod and custom.

Hot Rod: Take everything off of it that you don't need to shoot accurately. Make it light, agile.

Custom: Throw the catalog at it. Hang lights, bipod, etc. Looks fearsome at the bench rest range.

I went catalog. Bad idea. I'm now trying to think of ways to go hot rod, without building a new one.

Need good sights, not necessarily glass.

What do you plan to do with the rifle? Unless ya have $$$ burning a hole in your pocket, I'd spend time shooting the rifle, spending time around others and figuring out why you chose this weapon and let that influence your upgrades... Or your second build from the ground up... :)

Shoot targets? Close or Far?
Hunt? What specifically? Deer, hogs, varmints?
Next to the bed at night?
Other?

If you want a truly tricked out rifle, go with a different base rifle - Colt, BCM, LMT, etc. The QC and component testing is better.

Spending money tricking out consumer level rifles is like putting racing wheels and a twin turbo on a Kia sorento.

Noting wrong with using these rifles, but before you go all out, weigh out the option of selling the RRA, and selecting a proven base.

Since you said it's your first rifle I just wanted to input something regarding ammo- Stick with brass casing even at the added expense. The steel cased ammo you will find at a much cheaper price but the steel doesn't expand into the chamber when fired so you will get much more blow back of fouling. This will cause failure to feed or failure to extract in time. Of course you can always clean it well after firing it but if this is a defense gun I don't like that fact that the chance of missing a wad of tar could lead to failures.

That said- unlike a glock for example that needs to stay relatively dry (lube free except a drop on each rail) the AR platform preforms best running wet. Look on youtube for vids on proper cleaning and tear-down so you'll know how to care for your gun.

I have eotech optics and love it very very much. the 512 will run a little over 300 but it's worth it to me. There are other top brand optics but this was all I needed and it's what most swat and LE's carry.

Congrats on your purchase and go out and enjoy it. It's a blast for sure !!!

Daltex wrote:it's what most swat and LE's carry.

source?

IME Aimpoints are more popular with LEOs.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

Nice rifle.

Great thread.

I've recently joined the AR 15 world purchasing a Stag 6L bull barrel upper with a Rock River 2 stage lower. This gun was purchased for range work out to 300 yds.

Where i am struggling is with the stock. The Annoyed Man has what appears to be a good answer to this. Right now i have a magpul CTR with 1/2 " riser.

I recently tried adding a monopod and it does not adapt to my CTR stock.

Finding the right grain ammo for my 1/8 twist barrel for maximum effect at 200 yds is still a work in progress.

Daltex wrote:That said- unlike a glock for example that needs to stay relatively dry (lube free except a drop on each rail) the AR platform preforms best running wet. Look on youtube for vids on proper cleaning and tear-down so you'll know how to care for your gun.

It may sound like a dumb question...but why do AR-15s run better oiled up?

lightbulb1988 wrote:

Daltex wrote:That said- unlike a glock for example that needs to stay relatively dry (lube free except a drop on each rail) the AR platform preforms best running wet. Look on youtube for vids on proper cleaning and tear-down so you'll know how to care for your gun.

It may sound like a dumb question...but why do AR-15s run better oiled up?

No such thing as a dumb question IMO. Give this article a read.

http://www.ar15.com/content/swat/keepitrunning.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I got my first AR relatively recently. I took her to the range a few times and used the iron sights just because you should.

Since then, I've stocked up on the ammo I know works and bought a bunch of different kinds to try out.

I put a light on the foreend and mounted a primary arms micro-dot. The microdot is really nice, but I can't really give a legit review since I haven't been able to shoot it yet.

lightbulb1988 wrote:

Daltex wrote:That said- unlike a glock for example that needs to stay relatively dry (lube free except a drop on each rail) the AR platform preforms best running wet. Look on youtube for vids on proper cleaning and tear-down so you'll know how to care for your gun.

It may sound like a dumb question...but why do AR-15s run better oiled up?

The same reason why car engines run better oiled up...