Law Enforcement Technology

APR 2014

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36 Law Enforcement Technology April 2014 www.officer.com F I R E A R M S TA C T I C S Some pointers Building an AR-15 is particularly uncom- plicated. The firearm was designed to be easily repaired by replacing parts at the armorer level, rather than the gunsmith level. The lower receiver contains only 30 parts. Most of us build the lower and purchase the already-built upper. This is my recommendation for law enforce- ment agencies. Building uppers is not a hard undertaking, it's just not as cost effective. Years ago, I attended a Colt AR-15 Armorers Course taught by Ken Elmore. He described his pivotal incident during the Panama Invasion where a part failed in the middle of a mission: "That day, I became an armorer." Although I took this course more than a dozen years ago, those words stuck with me. I recom- mend Elmore for your agency's needs in training and consultation. My online reference for AR-15 parts is the AR-15 Builder website from Brownells. For AR-15 fans like myself it is the candy store. It's set up for drag- and-drop building so users get a visual as they select their components. The site gives users an idea of what the com- ponents will look like when the gun is assembled. The AR-15 uses fairly universal parts for its assembly. Before doing anything I soak all of the parts, including the receivers, in FrogLube after warming them slightly with my (wife's) hair dryer. This makes assembly smoother and protects the finish. I can build AR-15s without instruction, but I put on the "Larry Pottinger Show" for the same reason I always read the Miranda Advisement from a card. It just makes sense. LET_34-38_FirearmsTactics0414.indd 36 3/20/14 11:14 AM

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