Refit & Updated AR-15
• An updated decade-old AR-15
• Suppressed & hydrodipped
• Chambered in 5.56x45mm
Time flies, it really does. It seems the older you get, the quicker the days, months, and years seem to speed by. The owner of this AR-15 can attest to this unfortunate fact. Richard Wilson recently decided to take up shooting again after stepping away from the activity for about a decade. Why would he stop shooting for that long? We’ll let him explain.
“Why did I step away from shooting and training? Life, man, life,” Wilson says. “I was a big-time tactical class guy back around 2009 through 2012. I took local classes and even traveled to other states to take classes from the popular trainers of the time. The ‘dynamic duo’ Costa and Haley, Vickers, Rogers… I was all about absorbing the lessons that they were teaching.
I was also huge on trying out all the cool gear that was popping up at that time. Surfing forums like ARFCOM (ar15.com), Light Fighter, and Silencer Talk after work was my nightly ritual. Then life happened. I changed jobs and got promoted, which took up even more of my time, and met a pretty little lady that I’m now married to. Kids came next. I didn’t get to frequent the range like I used to. Even so, I still kept up with the firearms world and bought a few pieces here and there, but I just couldn’t find time to get back into the training side of things.”
He goes on: “It was over the last couple of years that I rekindled my love for firearms training. One night I jumped into a YouTube rabbit hole of gun and training videos and, well, you know how it goes. The obsession was revived. I thought if I didn’t make the time to do it, I would regret not getting back into it while my body could still take the abuse.”
Wilson started this project with one of his favorite ARs, one he had assembled more than ten years ago. The rifle was made up of quality parts so it still holds up well today, but some of its accessories were dated by today’s standards. Its foundation is a Noveske N4 forged lower that has a Geissele Super 3 Gun (S3G) trigger installed in it. It is also equipped with a Magpul MIAD grip and an ambi safety as well as a Magpul BAD Lever. Rounding out the lower’s original items is a VLTOR A5 buffer system with 7-position A5 receiver extension and a B5 Systems Enhanced SOPMOD stock.
Of the lower, Wilson says: “There were a lot of innovations happening at the time I built this lower. The brand-new (at the time) VLTOR A5 buffer system softened up the felt recoil of the rifle and Geissele’s S3G was a huge step up from the USGI trigger I used prior. I had to install a Magpul BAD since I was a Magpul Dynamics fan as well. I love the lever’s convenient bolt-lock-back functionality, so I left it on.”
As for what he updated on the lower, Wilson informed us that he used to have a Magpul ASAP sling attachment plate installed on the back of the receiver but never got used to the metal ring that would constantly jingle about. He replaced it with a QD receiver end plate made by Griffin Armament. Remember, the QD-type end plates that are so common nowadays didn’t exist back when he first built this rifle. Griffin Armament’s C2E end plate allows the attachment of a QD sling mount in its eight-position anti-rotation socket.
Wilson mentions that he was a Knight’s Armament Co. (KAC) fanboy but couldn’t afford a full rifle of theirs. Instead, he used several of their parts for some added KAC flavor, including a URX II rifle-length Picatinny handguard. This is one of his all-time favorite AR handguards and he insists on using it today. “I know there are lighter, thinner rails available now, but I love my quad Picatinny rails,” he says. “The built-in front sight is still one of my favorite features on any rail out there.”
Housed inside the upper is a 16-inch hammer-forged BCM barrel that he had custom fluted by Adco Firearms. He figures that he only has a few thousand rounds down it and says that it still fires accurately so there was no reason to change it during the refit. At the tip sits an Advance Armament Corp. (AAC) 51T Blackout flash hider that mounts an AAC Mini4 ultra-compact silencer. The Mini4 takes the sound level down below the 140-decibel range, especially helpful when running through hundreds of rounds during the course of a class.
Now for the items he’s upgraded on his upper. Wilson explained to us that due to the way the URX II handguard is designed, the underside clearance for the gas block is really tight. He had previously used a BCM gas block that he had ground down to fit. Although it functioned and wasn’t easily seen, it always bothered him that it didn’t look perfect. He swapped it out for a 2A Armament titanium block, which weighs a scant 0.7 ounces and is extremely low-profile, a perfect fit under the KAC URX II.
Wilson swapped out his original Mil-Spec upper receiver for a one made by Joint Force Enterprises (JFE). JFE had originally hydrodipped his AR back in the day and he looked up their website to see if they still offered hydrodipping services in case he wanted to get his new parts dipped.
He discovered that not only do they still offer that service, they added more services and even their own branded parts. He was happy to see them doing so well and decided to order up one of their JF-15 Inertia stripped uppers and had them hydrodip it in MultiCam to match the rest of the rifle.
The JF-15 upper is machined from billet 7075-T6 aluminum and comes without a forward assist. “Since I was keeping my Pic rail, I figured that I’d lighten the rifle in other ways,” Wilson says. “That’s why I used parts like a titanium gas block and a slimmed-down upper receiver. Besides, who doesn’t like some titanium bling, and I think the JF-15’s contours look stunning. I was stoked to see that the hydro job they did matched the rest of the rifle even though the parts were dipped a decade apart.” He added a Strike Industries (SI) Ultimate Dust Cover to complete the receiver.
The upper also sports another functional piece of bling in the form of the Lantac Enhanced E-BCG bolt carrier group. Wilson swapped out his Mil-Spec BCG for this beauty for functional as well as aesthetic reasons. The enhanced BCG is machined from 8620 steel and the entire assembly is electroless nickel-boron (NiB) coated, which is what gives it its shiny appearance and, more importantly, an inherently slippery surface. The carrier also features a unique gas port design that allows the gun to run flatter with a smoother feel.
Wilson paired the Lantac E-BCG with a VLTOR 556 charging handle. He previously had a BCM Gunfighter branded version of this charging handle that he loved but had moved it to another one of his ARs. He looked for a replacement and saw that VLTOR now offers it directly under their own brand. These handles come in your choice of three different-sized latches. He went with the Mod 4 version, a medium-sized latch.
With the rifle complete and updated, Wilson moved on to outfitting it with some updated accessories. But first, let’s see which ones he kept from his original build. “I had to keep my Aimpoint H-1 red dot and KAC mount,” he says. “It holds zero very well even though I’ve taken it on and off many times, and I still think it’s the best-looking mount out there. I also love the KAC 200-600m rear flip sight; it was staying on there for sure. Due to the Picatinny-ness of the rail, I knew that I could count on my trusty TangoDown stubby foregrip. It feels great and makes for a solid reference point.”
Newer items that have migrated onto the rifle include a Streamlight rail-mount HL-X flashlight and Cloud Defensive Light Control System (LCS) remote switch mount combo. The Streamlight unit is capable of throwing out 1,000 lumens of bright white light and Cloud Defensive’s LCS provides a hard mount for the Streamlight’s switch, placing it at thumb’s reach and also lending the ability to route the remote switch cable inside the mount for cable protection as well.
The Streamlight HL-X is mounted to a Haley Strategic Thorntail2 Picatinny offset light mount. The mount helps place the flashlight in the optimum position on the rail. The fabric band you see just aft of the light is a Strike Gear Cable Management System Sleeve made by SI. The stretchy sleeve features a pocket that fits a remote switch and is used to manage rail-mounted light and laser wires. Wilson uses it keep the light’s wire out of the way and to protect the forward part of the Picatinny rail where he rests it on barricades for supported shooting.
Wilson also decided to try out a 32-round AR magazine that SI makes. He feels that the more ammo you can feed, the better. The final piece he picked up for this AR update was a Griffon Industries HMMS silencer cover. After getting burnt more times than he cares to admit, he knew that a cover for his silencer was a much-needed accessory. And with that, Wilson and his AR were once again ready for his anticipated tactical class regimen.
For a mostly ten-year-old rifle, it’s still a good-looking piece. Much of it is still original and even the updates keep the original look intact quite nicely. Wilson reports that he’s already signed up for his first class and he’s amped to get back out there. Now, will his body hold up as well as his rifle? That remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure—this rifle shows that when you invest in quality parts, their usefulness will stand the test of time.
Build Sheet
Refit & Updated AR-15
Specifications
Caliber: 5.56x45mm
Capacity: 32+1
Length: 33.0-37.0 in.
Weight Unloaded: 7 lbs, 14 oz.
Barrel: BCM hammer-forged 16” w/Adco Firearms fluting
Barrel Length: 16.0 in.
Upper Receiver: Joint Force Enterprises JF-15
Lower Receiver: Noveske N4
Coating: Joint Force Enterprises hydrodip in MultiCam
Featured Accessories
Optic: Aimpoint Micro H-1
Optic Mount: Knights Armament Co. Micro Mount
Handguard: Knight’s Armament Co. URX II rifle-length
Suppressor: Advanced Armament Company Mini4
Weaponlight: Streamlight HL-X
Parts & Accessories: Geissele S3G trigger, Lantac E-BCG, AAC 51T Blackout Flash Hider, 2A Armament titanium gas block, VLTOR A5 buffer system w/RE-A5 Extension, VLTOR 556 charging handle, B5 Systems Enhanced SOPMOD stock, KAC 200-600m Folding Micro Rear Sight, Griffin Armament C2E Contour Connect end plate, Magpul MIAD grip, Magpul BAD Lever, TangoDown vertical foregrip (Stubby), Griffon Industries HMMS silencer cover, Cloud Defensive LCS, Haley Strategic Thorntail2 Picatinny offset light mount, SI Ultimate Dust Cover, SI Strike Gear cable management sleeve, SI 32+ AR-15 magazine, Ergo Rail Ladder
About the Owner
Name: Richard Wilson
Occupation: Building contractor
Special Thanks: My wife and kids
