3 Parts to Swap on Your AR15 Kit

For those of you building with a complete AR15 kit, it’s going to come with everything you need minus the lower receiver. Some of them may also not come with a magazine. But other than that, everything else you need to assemble a functioning rifle will be in the kit.

While this is true, it does not mean that all of the parts are ideal for a custom build. This short post will cover three that you want to upgrade as you’re assembling the rifle.

The Bolt Carrier Group

If you’re getting a fairly standard AR15 kit, then the bolt carrier group it’s going to come with is a mil-spec BCG, which means it will have a phosphate coating.

A phosphate coating is a rough, hard black coating with a little bit of tooth. They are pretty wear and corrosion resistant, and they’re non-reflective, which helps keep them concealed, but other than that, there are better options.

In fact, the tooth of the finish requires the administration of a bit more liquid lubricant, which conversely can increase friction and wear by trapping particulate debris.

There are much better alternatives, including but not limited to diamond-like carbon (DLC), black nitride, titanium nitride (which has an attractive gold-tone finish) and nickel-boron, among others.

Aesthetics aside, all of these bolt carrier group finishes are extremely hard, extremely wear and corrosion resistant, and, what’s even more important, all of them offer excellent permanent dry lubricity.

Therefore, you need to administer less liquid lubrication, which will help prevent dust and dirt from getting trapped, all while upholding fluid cycling and fast action times.

The Muzzle Device

 

Chances are if your AR15 kit comes with a muzzle device, and almost all of them do, it’s going to come with a flash hider, likely an A2 flash hider.  

Contrary to the name, the flash hider is not meant to keep your position concealed, but to shield your eyes from the muzzle flash. This helps prevent temporary blindness and helps keep the sight picture clear. This helps the shooter make faster, more confident follow up shots.

A flash hider is a relatively serviceable muzzle device, but beyond that, they don’t offer much value or utility. As is the case with a phosphate-coated BCG, there are much better options in muzzle devices than a flash hider.

A muzzle brake is a great alternative. Unlike a flash hider, a muzzle brake will divert your rifle’s gasses, changing how they are ported at the muzzle, with the net effect that there will be a dramatic reduction in felt recoil.  

In fact, some muzzle brakes can reduce felt recoil by as much as 50% or more without adversely affecting shot power, which, with a relatively light-kicking cartridge like 5.56 or .223, reduces recoil to effectively nil.

The lower felt recoil is less taxing on the shooter and also incurs less muzzle jump, which means that with them most shooters can execute faster, more accurate follow up shots as well.

If a muzzle brake isn’t for you and you don’t mind the paperwork, then a suppressor is a good option as well. Suppressors, like muzzle brakes, reduce recoil, but they also reduce muzzle pop and volume as well, protecting your hearing as well as the hearing of your range mates.  

And if that weren’t enough, suppressors also add a nominal boost in firepower to your shots, to the tune of a few extra FPS - just something to consider.

The Handguard

Lastly, if your AR15 kit came with a tropical handguard, you’ll want to swap that out for literally anything else. Though common on the M16 and certainly compatible with civilian variants, a tropical handguard offers little functionality beyond basic ergonomics. It doesn’t even offer any attachment points.

Despite the fact that by modern standards even a Picatinny quad rail seems dated, it still offers a ton more versatility and expandability than a tropical handguard, and both M-LOK and KeyMod handguards are better for the same reason, not to mention lighter.

Plus, not only do all three of these alternatives allow for better heat dissipation from the barrel along with tons of attachment points, they can also be found in free-float configurations.

This is another thing you should look into if you’re going to get a new handguard to replace what came in your AR15 kit. A free-float AR-15 handguard allows for better accuracy because it doesn’t put a load on the barrel, allowing for better barrel harmonics that translate to more consistent accuracy.

Shop AR15 Kits and Parts Here

Thinking it might be worth your while to swap out and upgrade some of the AR15 parts covered here? Take a look through our collection of AR15 kits and parts to find what you need and if you need any help with anything get in touch with us before you buy, we would be happy to help.