Why do we "Bubba" out our AR's?
 

Last time I was at the range I noticed how everyone and their brother with an AR had the guns all tac'd out with rails and lasers and lights and all these fancy Eotech Aimpoint red dots and fancy stocks and forward pistol grips and yadda, yadda, yadda.........


So I looked at mine and thought " WTF do I have a 4 rail hand guard? Why do I need the forward pistol grip when I always just use the front of the mag/mag well? While I don't have a flashlight on mine, I looked over and got a chuckle out of the guy a couple of benches down from me with his "Rambo" gun.

So I guess what I'm asking is why DO YOU put all that stuff on your AR when you'll never use it? Cool factor? I mean, yeah they do look pretty cool. That's maybe why I put the stuff on mine. I can admit it. I have a pistol grip and light on my Mossberg 500, but I see that as more useful.

After watching an old timer at the range break out his 20" old school Colt AR with no fancy stuff on I realized all the trick stuff I want will never help me become more proficient with my gun. I'm thinking I'm just gonna keep it in a basic configuration and shoot the hell out of it.

I just love the flat top look. I have an ACOG on my flat top and hand guards on my quad rails. They serve no real purpose but I like it more than the plastic hand guards

I only put stuff on my guns I'm gonna use. With the exception of a few minor things such as..KNS pins, Enhanced trigger guard, and thats pretty much it.

Well I am still building my first AR but I am gonna put a forward grip on it and some form of red dot. This is for the cool factor but those two items are useful, now for the flashlight thats just extra weight and money. So I can also admit its for the cool factor but those are useful also. Anyways though to each his own, and if I had the money I would definately have the bubba'd M4orgery and the classic AR.

Cause it's Tacti-cool.

^ thats....just.....wrong.

I've always said, and will continue to say, that nothing looks quite as sexy as a 601 when it comes to AR rifles and NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, comes sexier than a 607 when it comes to carbines or anything else for that matter.

The bells and whistles are nice, and they have their place, but most people never will need them. Still, I guess to most it's better to have and not need than need and not have. Personally, I think the IDF had it right with their 'tactical' carbines.

I also find it funny that you mention you don't have a flashlight on your rifle, even though that is one of the first things you should add. Not the absolute first, but within the top three or so. Just goes to show that while everyone is busy turning their rifle into the gun from Beverly Hills Cop 3, function goes out the door for 'tactical'.

I put a cheap forward pistol grip on one of my guns and I am never going back. What a great and comfortable way to shoot. Plus I feel like I have quicker control over aiming. I got a cheap tac light on the forum here (only got it because it was cheap) and figure it will be nice to have when I am shooting up the campsite at night after a few knob and colas,:43:

I think as long as you have less stuff than these guys, you are probably ok.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...badar15ah6.jpg
.
http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/u...uj/24g6t1g.jpg

:D

B.R.D. is nothing new. AR's are money pits and we all know that but I personally dont think that railed handguards, flashlights, forward grips, and red dot sights are necessrily unnecessary or unreasonable "Rambo" features.

just to clear something up but thats actually a well known guy in the flashlight world, he's one of the top up at Surefire, i'm sure many see him at the shot show, can't remember his name right now, and i've actually seen the original of that picture, it was still overdone with stuff but that has photoshopped stuff all over that just kills it

Ernest

thanks for the info. I just though the pic was over the top, so I snagged it when I saw it.

I like how hes got a rifle on his keychain... or is it a keychain on his rifle...

I like going old-school - iron sights! I really don't care for all of the extra fluff - but a light would be kinda neat, maybe a laser too. Hmm....then I'd need some quad-rails......STOP. Take a deep breath. Ahhh.....that's better. :D

Same reason people buy $10,000 rims...

no problem, just trying to make sure i inform people cause i see it used a lot:D
good thread though, i hope i keep my AR build simple

The real question is why not?

I do have a quad rail on my S&W AR but only have a forward grip and bipod on there right now. Plan to add scope but that's about it. Don't want to get too crazy and add stuff I don't need.

I always liked the the flat top M4 style look though.

Murphy's Law going bonkers as you add stuff...

Hurt reliability and accuracy...

Snag factor and lack of concealability...

Bulk and weight...

Wasted money...

The fact that most people want the 'stuff' but not the price so they invest in cheap Chinese rip offs that functions worse than the factory part and even more awfully than the part they are mimicing...

The fact that 90% of the stuff added on isn't used at all, let alone properly when it is used...

Should I keep going?

Some are doing it to be tacti-cool. Or because buying and using toys is fun.

Some probably want a swiss-army knife that will have the right accessories available for a variety of SHTF/zombie situations. Sort of like a bug-out bag.

I'll admit, I'm doing it for both.

I've got my weapons set up based on the ones I've used in the military, which happened to have rail systems, surefires, and optics. The only thing missing is a PEQ-15, but I don't see myself shelling out any money for one of those, ever.

My next (and last for a while, recently married with a baby on the way) is going to be a bare bones Model 723 clone using a CMMG 14.7" lightweight A1 upper, debating if I should order it now or if I'll still be able to get one in July when I come back....

An EOtech has enabled me to hit silhouettes at 300m offhand. Could I do it with iron sights? Probably, But the EOtech is easier on my eyes and lets me keep a field of vision.

The good old days
 

Hey,

Remember the good old days? When the only cool thing your carbine had was the retractable stock?

Even then I had people say that it was not needed, nothing wrong with the rifle.

Then, somebody had the b*lls to put a bipod on their carbine. LOL. The humanity.

Before you knew it, all these cool little gadgets were available because of Spec Ops / Navy Seals / SWAT, etc needed them to do their jobs. Those guys had friends who were a bit jealous of the extra toys, and bought some.

Then the War on Terror super expanded manufacturing and everybody could afford it.

Although I would have never imagined that I would pay 100 buck for a freaking piece of aluminum LOL.

In the end, it is just a fun thing to do, an extension of the hobby. Unless you use the crap for work, varminting, etc.

I remember when I put a flashlight, a foregrip, a laser, an ACOG, and went on a patrol.

Next day, the only thing on my M4 was the flashlight and the sight LOL.

It is just fun to bubba your toys.

(^_^)

I got nothing against modifying guns. I guess it's a fine line.

Like the difference between turning a Model T into a hot rod and turning a Civic CRX into a lawn mower with take off clerance from ground control.

Well, I use mine over here in the box right alongside DocSmileyFace, and hes correct, sight, flashlight, and thats pretty much all ya need. I agree its fun to bubba them out, I just try to make mine different that everyone elses. Over here though, where its all about work and not play, its a surefire m900 and Acog, other than that, the rest of my carrying weight is magazines.

All I have on mine is folding sights and EOTech 512. I don't need to put anything else on it. The gun becomes too heavy and defeats the purpose.

it's fun to do it. it's like playing barbie dress up on gun. lol

my next AR project would be KISS. i'm pretty much done playing with my other AR's. lol

It's you rifle. Add anything you want.

Its the same thing when someone ask me , Why do I have so much guns, Because I can and its my preference. When people start asking about why this and why that, it sounds like the government telling you what you can do. Remember this is America, not communist Cuba. I have to admit when I see someone have 30" rims costing 15k on a 2K caddy or truck I just laugh inside, Not go up to them and ask them why.:eek::confused::rofl2:

You can make your AR any which way you want to make it cool. But the OLL rifles can only shoot 10 + 1 rounds. Then what? Not cool. :mad: It will be okay if you have a registered AR and can use hi cap mags.

I blame Airsoft

yeah I dont get all the gear also, I would rather spend my money on ammo and range fees, or better yet a class to really learn the gun, if it dosent help me shoot better I don't want it.

that said it's not my money if guys want to hang gear on their rifle, more power to them.

A few months ago, I examined a entry tactical AR from a federal agency when they were involved in a shooting. The rifle had all the bells and whistles, vertical fore grip, rail, eotech, lights, laser, 2 stage trigger, etc. It weighed over 10 lbs, maybe close to 15 lbs. The 2 stage trigger was not adjusted right, and it was too light. I don't know why anyone need a gun that heavy for a tactical carbine.

I still remember a post on arfcom a while back. In the photos section a guy posted a pic of his basic AR when he got it, then the one with all the gadgets on it (no key chain though). The first response was "it looks like it was dragged through a TAPCO catalog"...:rofl2:

I keep mine simple too - flat top with an optic (aimpoint). Add an ambi saftey and sling and I'm good to go. :thumbsup:

If you can't master firing an A2 with iron sights, all that other crap is not going to make a bit of difference in real life except that you get to carry a heavier gun.

nothing wrong with putting a rail a light and optics IMO

They're kinda like Harleys, they all can look the same but the guy with the most money has the one with the most mods on it.

WOW! My very first 4 pager! :laugh:

I appreciate all of your thoughts. I want to be clear on something though. I'm not trying to bash on anyone's preference to "bubba" their rig. Hell, I felt myself being pulled that way, too.

It just hit me when the Range Master asked a young guy if he ever has had a chance to use all the tac stuff he had on his gun and the kid sheepishly said "No. I just thought it looked cool". The RM just chuckled, shook his head and walked off.

I realized that I was gonna be that kid and I realized that all the stuff I was putting on my gun wasn't going to add any real advantage.

Anyway, I think a few guys understood what i was saying here. If you wanna do it, then by golly this is America and I say do it!. But for me, I think I'm gonna keep it light and simple.....

That much makes sense, but when I see gobs of stuff on a gun that looks like a safe queen, I'm just saying...

Yeah some people go overboard
IR illuminatators are just silly if you dont have NV