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What spare parts to stock up on for AR?

Started by Whisker, November 11, 2008, 03:21:23 PM

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Whisker

November 11, 2008, 03:21:23 PM
I am going to buy some spare parts for my AR.  20" armalite

What should I buy to keep the rifle serviceable for a long time?
Spare bolt assembly? pins?  Please be specific and jargon free... I'm not good with AR part acronyms.

Thanks.
What brings together men liberated from local and national limitations is also what keeps them apart. What pushes for greater rationality is also what nourishes the irrationality of hierarchical exploitation and repression.  What creates society's abstract power also creates its concrete unfreedom.

Francis Marion

#1
November 11, 2008, 04:17:55 PM
*Firing pin.  This goes in buttstock kit.
*Extractor and extractor spring, brand new, not used.
*Bore Snake, keep in handle or stock.   
*GI A2 style  buttstock cleaning kit (NOT A1 style, because that one isn't designed to fit in the stock) .
*Hammer spring- STRONG and brand new, (NOT used!!!!!) and from a reputable source.  A weak spring won't strike primers hard enough to detonate them, making your rifle useless. 
*Magazines, 30 rd and 20 rd, at least 12 each per rifle.  Don't skimp; they can disappear indefinitely, and if when they do, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth- you included- if you didn't stock up.
That will keep you shooting for a long time and head off likely and easily fixed problems. 

Whisker

#2
November 11, 2008, 05:31:24 PM
Okay thanks... Anybody else have more suggestions?
What brings together men liberated from local and national limitations is also what keeps them apart. What pushes for greater rationality is also what nourishes the irrationality of hierarchical exploitation and repression.  What creates society's abstract power also creates its concrete unfreedom.

MOGromit

#3
November 11, 2008, 05:52:51 PM
Several manufacturers have Lower Receiver Parts Kits and Upper Receiver Parts Kits available with a collection of pieces that would probably be more expensive to collect individually.

Bushmaster, DPMS and Rock River all have different sets.

AZG

Sheepdog

#4
November 11, 2008, 08:02:57 PM
Yes to all the above. It also depends on how much you'd like to spend. Definately get the spring and pin kits. If you shoot steel cases buy extra extractors. Next would be an extra bolt...complete. Then focus on good maintence and storage options. The bore will have copper rub off inside. That must be removed with some chemical process. Sweet's or something similar works. Heat is the enemy so avoid "mad minutes." Rust is bad too, Keep it cleaned and oiled and stored in a case securely. You should keep it running a long time if you meet these conditions.
RAMSEUR: SEVEN OH EIGHT

wcmartin1

#5
November 12, 2008, 12:32:19 AM
Quote from: whiskersoulstain on November 11, 2008, 05:31:24 PM
Okay thanks... Anybody else have more suggestions?

Gas rings.
"Unhappy it is, though, to reflect that a brother's sword has been sheathed in a brother's breast and that the once-happy and peaceful plains of America are either to be drenched with blood or inhabited by a race of slaves.  Sad alternative!  But can a virtuous man hesitate in his choice?" - George Washington - from a letter to a close friend after the events of April 19, 1775

"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our (the United States) overthrow.  Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter.  From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.  I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

slim

#6
November 12, 2008, 04:00:56 AM
You can't go wrong with GI parts!

Get a nice GI bolt (complete) and switch it out with yours. Switch out your buffer for a GI hydraulic buffer and as said above, invest in some good GI magazines.

Whisker

#7
November 12, 2008, 08:51:51 PM
Where would one obtain a specifically GI bolt?  or is there no difference if I bought one from, say armalite?   
What brings together men liberated from local and national limitations is also what keeps them apart. What pushes for greater rationality is also what nourishes the irrationality of hierarchical exploitation and repression.  What creates society's abstract power also creates its concrete unfreedom.

EEL

#8
November 12, 2008, 09:35:04 PM
I think if you stay with Bushmaster, Armalite, Rock river Arms, or DPMS you are in good shape.  They all have "field repair" kits, bolt rebuild kits, pin kits, spring kits, bolts, complete bolts with carrier, etc.  I believe Bushmaster and DPMS are military contractors.  Probably the other 2 also.  They all make good, reliable stuff.
Do not fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have war......Let it start here.

FiremanBill

#9
November 13, 2008, 10:25:14 AM
Maybe this belongs in Deals & Steals, but I found AR-15 mags on sale at the DPMS website.  Got word of it through their email system which alerts me to sales.  DPMS front page says the sale is over, but when I scrolled down to link below, page still reflected the low price I got last week.

Here's link to the site's list of magazines for various calibers:  http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/?cat=1826

Prices are good enough you might want to buy a case or two.  Around $12-14 each for 20 rounders in 5.56



"The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it."
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957

Jack Ryan for President!

CQ CQ CQ de N8NRT.....

Nickle

#10
November 13, 2008, 11:07:50 AM
Mags, Mags, Mags.

Yes, they wear out. Don't skimp, buy USGI issue (MIL SPEC) quality. Those DPMS mags are going to be good.

Avoid the low end stuff. USA Mags, Pro-Mags aren't real good, as a rule.
They have men amongst them who know very well what they are about, having been employed as Rangers against the Indians and Canadians and this country being much covered with wood, and hilly, is very advantageous for their method of fighting. . . . ".  Lord Percy

Sounds like New Englanders to me.

Pappy

#11
November 13, 2008, 01:13:38 PM
Hello group; As cheap as they are now, a lower parts kit dpms or another company woud be a good choice, Extractors and extractor springs, Bolt
Carrier Key and screws woud be a good choice. EXTRA Chamber brushes and cleaning kits. Your favorite lube. GI Bolts and as a rule never wear out, or lets say I replaced two in my time with sam and the rifles were early hydramatic`s
due to excessive headspace. AS always Pappy
Which has greater value?...... Ammo will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no ammo..

Truculent turtle

#12
November 15, 2008, 07:11:52 AM
This is just me but....the best spare part is another rifle. If that is not possible check out a spring kit, a pin kit, and one each of an upper and lower reciever parts kit. Oh and get a spare bolt and bolt carrier group. except for shooting your barrel out, this should hold you over. and LOTS of ammo/mags. The AR platform is a erally lousy single load weapon.                         

                                                                                                Rob

JohnCBobcat

#13
November 16, 2008, 08:31:00 PM
a quality bolt assembly. (Shot peened, proof-fired then MPI tested) including gas rings, extractor assembly, and firing pin.

Springs and detents.

Mags, mags, mags. USGI or PMAG are generally the best choices. Remember that mag bodies do wear out after a while (especially the feed lips), so you'll need a lot of replacements to keep rotation going.
2nd Squad, 1st Plt., E Co., 2/39 INF, 9th ID (reenacted), California Historical Group

AAAO!
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