Sooner rather than later, many new gun owners choose to purchase America’s favorite rifle—the AR-15. Though much aligned by anti-gun politicians and activists, AR-15 type rifles are owned by millions upon millions of Americans for a number of lawful reasons, including range fun, competition, home defense and hunting.
As good as AR-15s tend to be in the accuracy category, the stock rifle you purchased, or intend to purchase sometime soon, can be made much more accurate with just a few fairly simple modifications. Let’s look at three things you can do to your AR to immediately increase its accuracy.
Quality Trigger
The stock trigger that came on your AR might feel perfectly fine to you if you’ve never shot a rifle with a high-quality trigger. Once you have, however, you’ll immediately feel the creep, grit and overtravel a Mil Spec trigger naturally has. After all, military specifications aren’t exactly the tightest tolerances in the world.
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Fortunately, adding an quality aftermarket trigger is quite easy, although some of the better ones might set you back a few hundred bucks. Still, the clean break, and resulting accuracy, will make you wonder why it took so long to take the plunge. The easiest kind to install yourself are complete drop-in triggers made by a number of manufacturers. To install, all you need to do is take your current trigger out part by part, drop the new trigger in and replace the trigger pins. If you picked a good one, you’ll see increased accuracy immediately.
There are two basic kinds of aftermarket AR triggers—single-stage and two-stage. A single-stage trigger moves in one smooth press to fire, offering speed but limited feedback. A two-stage trigger, on the other hand, has a first stage (take-up) and a second stage (break), providing more control and better feel. However, it is usually a little slower than a single-stage trigger. The choice is up to you for which you’ll be able to shoot most accurately.
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Rise Armament based in Oklahoma makes some of the best aftermarket AR triggers around. One of my favorites is the RA-535 Advanced Performance Trigger.
Better Barrel
With all the advertisements and other hype, choosing the perfect replacement barrel to make your AR more accurate can be somewhat difficult. Consequently, you have to do a little research and answer a few questions before the right barrel rises to the top of the heap.
Three important considerations for new shooters are length, material and chamber dimension.Concerning length, the barrel must be at least 16 inches to not be classified as a short-barreled rifle (SBR) and regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The two most common lengths are 16 and 18 inches. 16-inch barrels usually make guns a little more maneuverable, making them quicker on target. 18-inch barrels are typically a little more accurate since the bullet has two more inches of rifling to get it spinning. Both are fine, and the choice is mainly personal preference.
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Concerning material, the choices are mainly chrome moly or stainless steel. Stainless barrels tend to last a little longer, but we’re talking about thousands of rounds for both. Stainless provide the same accuracy as chrome moly, but the cool factor sometimes gives them the nod. Nothing looks better than a spiral fluted stainless AR barrel.
For chambering, it’s either 5.56, .223 or .223 Wylde. The .223 Rem. Is a lower pressure round than the military 5.56. Thuse an AR chambered for .223 Rem shouldn’t shoot 5.56 ammo. A 5.56 chambered gun can shoot both, as can the .223 Wylde, kind of a hybrid, which is considered by many to be the most accurate.
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Faxon makes some of the best, most accurate AR-15 barrels around. One of my favorite is the 16-inch Axis Series Gunner Profile barrel in .223 Wylde.
Quality Red-Dot Sight
Nothing will increase your accuracy like adding a red-dot sight in place of or in addition to your iron sights. There are many reasons for this, one of the most important being you can get your rifle on target faster, letting you get off shots quicker than with iron sights. This can be important in a variety of situations, ranging from hunting to competition to self-defense.
Another distinct advantage is being able to shoot with both eyes open. If you’re using your rifle in a defensive situation, closing one eye cuts half of your visual awareness. Shooting with both eyes open allows you to retain your peripheral vision while still putting rounds on your target. The increased situational awareness could be the difference in life and death.
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Finally, the increase accuracy you get by simply placing the red dot where you want to hit your target and maintaining it there while you perform a good trigger press can’t be overstated. There’s something about shooting accurately that always makes shooting more fun. And, of course, accurate shots could mean all the difference in a defensive shooting situation.
My favorite red-dot for ARs is the Aimpoint CompM5s. It’s not cheap, but it will get you on target faster than any other I’ve tried.
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