"They" would be any rifle manufacturer, That why my sport II is my first and only complete factory built rifle. My other three where built or assembled by me only using tier 1 parts I wanted.
My sport II is a good rifle and is getting to were I think it should be, but I also have a "take-off parts" pile now.
List so far:
pistol grip
butt stock
hand guard
trigger
flash hider
charging handle
All of these parts "worked", just not very well.
What I don't understand, is why owners that chose not to modify their sports feel they have to come onto the threads that are clearly started for the owners who want to modify their rifles?
Is a post count thing or do you really think posting on these threads is going to convert any of us to keeping our rifles stock?
I ask only in the spirit of good fun and not to hurt feelings.
Also, keeping with the threads intent my new Troy hand guard will be here in two days if the the OP is still in the market for something new.
I know you are not replying to me but I will take a stab at it. Too often the people who are asking about about modifying a budget rifle like the Sport II are not doing it from a use standpoint. They do not have an intended purpose for the rifle which is dictating the choices they are making when modifying the rifle. There is not specific task that the rifle is not able to do that is driving the change. Its not a shortcoming which they have discovered after extensive range time.
A lot of the people buying a Sport II have not shot the platform enough to know what the rifle can and cannot do in its stock form. When you pay $500 for a NIB rifle but have not shot at least few thousands of rounds, $450 to $700 worth of ammo, how do you know what needs to be changed? They are making changes because marketing and other shooters are telling them they "need" to. Some shooters choose to tell new shooters they don't "need" to do anything but shoot the gun.
This may not apply to you but it applies to the vast majority of those buying budget entry level rifles who then modify them. More experienced AR15 shooters then ask why are you modifying the rifle? Most of the time the mods fall into 3 categories.
The way the rifle looks is the major reason I see on this forum. They want to remove the A2 post. They want a rail so that it looks cooler. The GI stock and grip are not tactical cool enough so they must go. It is not a matter of function. It is a matter of looks. They for some reason bought a rifle which does not match their mental image of what an AR15 should look like.
The second it that it has been drilled incorrectly IMHO that you must accessorize all AR15s. They need hang a light, a sling and scope and handstop etc... so they need a rail. Too often the buyer does not know how to use the things they are buying but they need them. They weight down their rifle with stuff making it less functional for anything but bench shooting which the Sport II carbine style rifle really was never meant for. IMHO
Finally there are some real functional changes that are use based. Sometimes grips, stock, trigger and even handguards simply do not work for the user and they need to change to something else but IMHO this is the minority.
I think a lot of experienced AR15 shooters are trying to tell newer shooters of the platform to shoot the basic platform so that the changes you make are based on use and knowledge not marketing. For example too many people swap a trigger before they learn how to shoot a GI style trigger well. I am a big fan of ditching the inconsistent stock triggers on ARs but I always shoot them before I do it. Some end up staying. Most still get replaced not because I cannot shoot them but instead because I know I can shoot a different trigger better but it is my time on the stock triggers that gives me a proper frame of reference. It is not just marketing.
Trust me I know because I have gone that route but started with a much more expensive starting point. Mine was a Colt LEO marked 6920 years ago. So when I comment and say leave it alone I am stating it from a point of experience and knowledge not to bump my post count.
I give the same type of recommendations when it comes to custom 1911s and other custom guns. Shoot the gun learn the platform. Learn what you works for you and what doesn't and then make changes. In the world of 1911s I always have a bone stock Colt 70 series gun in the safe as a frame of reference. It is the baseline of my 1911 shooting and they help me choose what to change on other guns. Often I will take the 70 series gun and shoot it with its small sights and stock trigger at it amazes me what it can do.
I reply the way I do because I am trying to help people not make the mistakes, sometimes costly mistakes, I have made in the past.
s-l500 by hd_rolling, on Flickr
