4 Major Modifications for the Rifle Owner
In this video, Brian covers four major modifications or upgrades that we recommend for new firearm owners.
1. Aiming Device
2. Sling
3. Weapon Mounted Light
4. Trigger Upgrade
This is a light overview as this can be a very in depth topic. Read below for a bit more in-depth.
This article contains affiliate links - what that means for you - if you choose to buy an upgrade using one of our links it helps support our page and channel and continue producing content for the end users.
1. AIMING DEVICE
Typically when a new rifle is purchased they will not come with any sort of sighting system or aiming device. We recommend iron sights even today in the world of electro-optics as having the skills of iron sights is still invaluable. In some circles it is discussed that irons can fail the same as electronics, in which cheaper sets can fail in a mechanical way, just as the same as electro-optics can fail both electronically and mechanically. Both share a weakness that mounts can loosen under recoil, become damaged during dropping, among other things. Electro-optics can also suffer from failure due to moisture penetration of the housing or battery compartments.
For a BRAND new shooter who is learning to become familiar with a firearm, a red dot is typically recommended as it does allow ease of use without having to overly focus on how to use iron sights properly. It allows accuracy as it is compressing focal planes and putting a small dot on a target, as well as reducing the stress of equal light/equal height or lollipop concepts. Magnified optics are typically not recommended initially as it requires eye relief, understanding the reticle, and proper positioning for consistency due to parallax. With experience and time, options like magnifiers, variable zoom optics, etc do have numerous benefits.
There are some differences such as the dot size which is normally advertised as "# MOA." Such as a red dot advertising a dot of 2 MOA. This means with quick basic math, if 1 MOA approximately equals 1 inch at 100 yards (it's 1.047"), then this red dot would be covering 2 inches of the target at 100 yards. Your reticle being smaller, allows you minimize the spread, aside from other factors. Holographic and reflex sights are different types of technology. You may notice one appearing fuzzy, or one appearing blurry. This can be various factors, whether it's your eyes and a slight astigmatism, the diode, or even the overall quality. There are also options for etched glass, where the reticle is permanently marked, typically for a prism styled optic.
Irons are recommended as a fallback due to any electronics failing, so that you can still stay in the fight.
If we were to make a generalized list of recommendations in terms of “good, better, best” it would probably include a mix between the following optics.
Sig Romeo MSR https://alnk.to/apSx0V3
Vortex Crossfire https://alnk.to/cb26P8v
Primary Arms SLX https://alnk.to/h6Fkls1
Trijicon MRO https://alnk.to/b7xyWg1
EoTech EXPS2 https://alnk.to/6IECpSd
Aimpoint Micro T2/Comp M5 https://alnk.to/4MAhCUA
Iron sights to consider would include a few options here.
Magpul MBUS Pro or MBUS 3 (https://alnk.to/4MAhCVt)
Scalarworks (seen in the video) https://alnk.to/74u8nyf
2. SLING
The next major upgrade is the sling. Now this is not just as easy as buying a sling and slapping it on. You need to consider that the purpose of a sling is to help you retain the firearm to allow transitions, going hands free or hands on. Single point slings are what we feel like everyone sees when they start, but their application is best for moving in and out of tight spaces and vehicles. On a more open range or application, you’ll find that laying the weapon down may result in the firearm swinging into your groin, or not having the ability to be cinched down as much. Two point slings allow the user to mount two attachments onto the rifle, one towards the buttstock, and one towards the front of the firearm. These typically have some sort of slider which allows you to open “swim out” or close “swim in” to your sling. With a sling cinched, it shouldn’t open freely, but it should be easy to manipulate without spinning on your neck and body too much. The cons of a sling is that it can restrain you, and it could choke you (unless you’re into that). You want freedom of movement, but not a loose sloppy mess. A sling can also be wrapped to help build a foundation to stabilize and assist in accuracy. Your most common attachment methods are latch, or quick disconnect (qd).
Slings we recommend browsing include
Blue Force Gear https://alnk.to/7qjEleM
Edgar Sherman Designs https://alnk.to/dAmaFPi
Haley Strategic https://alnk.to/3clsNHz
Ferro Concepts, Magpul, Tactical Link, and many others.
3. WEAPON MOUNTED LIGHT
Weapon light. Often we hear “Oh, I won’t need that” or the “I want a laser.” Lasers have their time and place, and this isn’t it yet. There are many applications for wanting a weapon mounted flashlight, especially a durable one. It can also be used to press into a barricade as a stand off device, until you look into buying barricade mounts or grips mounted on your rail. With a flashlight you can activate it to quickly ID a target as well as use it to interrupt their OODA loop (which is a separate discussion for another post). Using a light like this essentially disrupts someone’s process they have planned/trained and gives you a brief momentary upper hand to determine your next action, whether it’s shooting in self defense, moving, or abandoning your reaction of self defense due to a non threat. We recommend a few brands, over the years most of our lights have been swapped to be either Surefire or Modlite, but we do like products from Streamlight and the entry level NightStick. During our time previously at the Nest, we tested the Nightstick products to see if they were worth their price tag, and we found it was a very good product for the dollar. The durability and so-called “bang for the buck” was excellent. Some of the other brands we are not super impressed with, even with their flashy marketing. We want a solid product that is going to work, and these are a few we stick with.
Nightstick LGL 1500 Lumens https://alnk.to/5jkyzEy
Streamlight Pro-Tac https://alnk.to/gVKzjwg (this is a 350 Lumen model)
Surefire M300/340 https://alnk.to/5jkyzIc (340 model, includes both pic/mlok mounting)
Surefire M600/640 https://alnk.to/28QUV11 (this is a Dual Fuel model)
Modlite 18350 PLv2 https://alnk.to/esVXA95 (you still need a tailcap/mount)
Modlite 18650 PLv2 https://alnk.to/hsuQg1R (this is the same, but bigger battery - this site you can hunt for deals)
4. TRIGGER
Once the three main modifications have been attained, now we can start looking at other accouterments or upgrades to our rifles. While we do agree that furniture upgrades are a big one, such as a buttstock, vertical grip/handstop, we like to address the trigger. The reason we focus on the trigger after our main three, in a sense it’s a “bonus” upgrade we recommend for your first round of modifications, due to some of the inferior options you’ll find in many entry level rifles. A better trigger can help make a more pleasant shooting experience, as well as aid in some accuracy issues (a tight buttstock is also important). They sometimes will come with cheaper springs or plain gritty triggers. Polishing and a little DIY can go a long way, but we do recommend buying something such as NiB, polished Nickel, cassette styles from Timney, American Trigger Corp, Elfmann, or something more OEM styled like the Geissele or Larue. Granted there are many companies now in the market pushing products that almost look identical, but we recommend doing research on the options, their recommended uses, as well as who the OEM or manufacturer is. Skip the TEMU and WISH triggers you find, and stick with something reputable. One trigger we did not list is CMC. Hunter has had great luck with his, but during my experience installing one in a rental at the indoor range, that trigger failed twice due to OEM springs breaking.
American Trigger Corporation https://alnk.to/h6Fkivc (the gold trigger you see)
Timney 667S https://alnk.to/4fQ0GXf
Geissele SD-E https://alnk.to/dewEIzA
MimTac Drastic https://alnk.to/6mP6sLi (like the silver one, not recommended for a home defense gun)
Larue MBT-2S https://alnk.to/2QvWQsy
Granted this list is very short and limited, as that was the point. We could go into each part of the selection process for a rifle to get exactly what we want in the end, but often we recommend buying your first rifle off the shelf, or at least shooting one consistently for a bit, before jumping into building or having one fully modified. Like Brian addresses, start slow, learn your fundamentals, build your skills, then start upgrading with these modifications. Add more tools to your toolbox as they say. We hope you found this post useful. If you have recommendations on upgrades you think are more important, or maybe we missed the mark, throw it in the comments on YouTube for us.
Adapt to your environment.
-Ryan
Reflex or Holographic?
Reflex / Red Dot
Holographic
Comments