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Time For New Furniture

Time for new furniture – Installing Magpul parts for the first time. I walked up to my husband and told him “I want new furniture.” I purposely paused to watch him try and figure out how much we had in savings and watch the sweat bead up on his forehead. When I thought he’d had enough, I finished my sentence. “For my Ruger.” He didn’t think it was funny.

I worked for years in the gun department of a large retailer. I saw many furniture swaps, from veterans making upgrades, to 20-year-olds who bought all the “tacti-cool” accessories to make their gun look more “sick.” Either way, I didn’t think it was necessary.

But once I started paying attention to the guys who knew what they were doing, I started thinking how nice it would be to have a different hand guard…and a stock… and here we are.

Recently, I took on the task of accessorizing my Ruger AR-556. It was time for new furniture.

There isn’t anything wrong with the stock “furniture” (hand guard, butt stock, grip), however, Magpul offers ergonomic, military tested accessories. Accessories won’t make your gun shoot better, but they will put you in a position to become a better shooter! A comfortable shooter is a good shooter. Magpul offers accessories that will put your body in a better position to create consistency in your shots, like adjustable stocks and cheek risers. You can add personality to your firearm. In fact, at the time this article was written, they had the most beautiful plum-colored accessories! Magpul Plum Accessories

As an independent woman the first step I took, was to gain more knowledge about what I wanted and how to install it. Magpul-So You Bought an AR, Now What?

What the heck is Mil-spec?

I didn’t know for a long time that there are two types of AR’s (MSR’s for those of you that trigger easily). The owner’s manual or the manufacturer’s website will be able to tell you which type of firearm you have. The difference between commercial and military spec firearms is the buffer tube measurement. This is the area where the butt stock slides on to your firearm. The difference is only .02”, but in this case size matters. The military spec buffer tube is the smaller of the two.

Let’s get to it!

Disassembly was quite easy! The only tools needed were an Allen wrench and a punch. It doesn’t have to be a punch, just something strong and skinny to use as a lever to hold out the release pin.

I removed the butt stock, by pulling the adjustment lever away from the gun. It came off quite easily.

I then removed the hand guard. This can be quite challenging. Fortunately, the Ruger has a screw type delta ring, which is what holds the hand guard in place. Others have a spring tension delta ring, which makes it more difficult to remove on your own, because you have to pull toward the receiver and hold it there as you maneuver the hand guard off.

To remove the hand grip, start by using the Allen wrench, inserting it into the bottom of the original grip.

BEWARE OF FLYING SPRINGS!

Watch where your safety spring is located and be sure to note the position for reassembly.

This Magpul instruction diagram shows where this spring and selector detent go. As soon as you lift the grip away, they will come flying out! Avoid this by moving slowly and grabbing the spring as you lift the grip.

While you have your firearm stripped down, it is a great time to clean the areas that are typically ignored. Now, let’s get tactical!

To install the Magpul stock, use a punch to pull the release pin away from the stock as you are holding pressure on the adjustment lever. If it feels wrong, stop! Do not force the stock on. If it will not fit, double check that the stock you bought is for the rifle you have (commercial vs. mil-spec).

Adjust the stock to ensure it is in the correct position and it functions properly.

Place your spring and selector detent in place, line up your Magpul grip and reinstall the screw into the receiver.

I really wanted to get the hand guard installed by myself, but after about 20 minutes I called for reinforcements. The two sides of the grip need to be installed concurrently, at an angle. Because of that, I do not have any pictures of the install. Here is a good YouTube video that will show the process.

There are many other Magpul accessories that can be installed on your firearm.

I’ve never been a fan of how vertical grips look, but I shot my buddies with the vertical grip, and it’s been haunting my dreams since.

No, I am not a professional!

I like to keep things real. I’m not going to hide the fact that I lost my safety selector spring for a while. Don’t worry, I found it with my shoe and bent the heck out of it. Luckily, my husband and I switch out all our triggers for Ruger triggers, so we happened to have an extra. However, I did lose one of my “fidget spinners.” Is it time for new furniture for your AR rifle , too?

If you want to learn more about AR’s come see us at a trailer event and shoot one on our simulator and work with one at our gun bar! Check out our upcoming schedule HERE.

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