First AR..

[whiteman]

I have been wanting to purchase an AR for a few years and got a chance about a month ago to do just that. Its a bushmaster XM15-2S, that a co-worker neglected to tell his wife about (lucky for me) I got the gun plus 250 rds of amo with carry case for gun and water tight box for the amo. Its not my first choice but for $600 I couldn't pass it up ( new unfired ). I was wanting a flat top or more specifically a Springfield Socom..maybe another day...

Well..to get to it..I need some training on this AR. I have been around guns my entire life and have shot an AR a little in the military, and with a friend who had a similar gun but I don't feel comfortable with shooting, handling and maintaining the AR yet and would like to take a class. Is there anyone in South Bend area, who could provide this? Some day I will have a Socom 16 but this will get me started for about half the price.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cedartop]

You asked for it now. There should be quite a few opportunities that would fit what you are looking for from the advertisers here on the board. We teach fighting rifle classes both in Rochester, IN and Bellevue, MI. Nothing till spring though as I can't get most guys out for a full day class in the winter. (Not that I blame them.)

http://www.suarezinternationalstore.com/search.aspx?manufacturer=38

 

[4PWW9]

There will be several AR Armorer's courses & a AR Clinic coming up in South Bend area in Feb & Mar 2012.
Watch for announcement sometime in December, only a few classes will have openings as program is mainly run for LE & Govt.

 

[jve153]

welcome to the AR family. i picked up my m&p 15 about 4 months ago, and have probably shot about 1k rounds through it. as far as training, well, i read the manual on how to clean, did some research on the good ole interwebs, and just went to the range and learned to shoot it. at this point i am very confident that if a mass of shoot n sees and diet pop cans were to attack my house i would be safe. as far as tactical classes, im looking forward to taking some in the spring.

 

[marshallartist]

Good score Whiteman! I know that a flattop is what you wanted but an A1 upper, which is what you appear to have, is an excellent place to start. They hold their zero very well and are very robust. And if you want to convert it to a flat top down the road it's something any reputable gunsmith should be able to do.

Like you I got into AR's in the "off-season" when there wasn't much training available around here. Fortunately there's a lot of good info on the net but be careful there's allot of basura as well. Just consider the source when someone tells you something.Sites like AR15.com and M4carbine.net have a lot of info but beware there are a few snobs that can detract from the overall experience. Warriortalk is another good one.

You can also be distracted by all of the "play-things" you can put on your rifle (I know I was). Stick to the basics and avoid the temptation to run out and buy $1200 worth of accessories to put on your $600 rifle until you are sure you need them.

Another site I discovered that I have rented a few videos from is smartflix.com. They have a firearms section when you can rent videos on everything from basic firearms handling and operation to how to build one from a block of steel. I've been too busy to rent anything from them lately but about a year ago I sat down and watched some Clint Smith and James Yeager videos that were well worth the price of the rental.

Hope this helps.