AR-15 Reference
Every part, by type and by brand.
Pick the component you are buying, then narrow by the brand that makes it. Specifications compiled from manufacturer catalogues, with the source on every table.
- 10
- Component types
- 58
- Brand pages
- 205
- Models listed
- 31
- Guides
Component types
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Complete Rifles
Factory-built AR-15s, ready to shoot. Pick a brand to see its current model line, barrel and handguard configuration, and what each rifle is set up to do.
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Lower Receivers
The serialised part, and the one the law treats as the firearm. Stripped or complete, forged or billet - pick a brand to compare what it makes.
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Upper Receivers
Stripped uppers, assembled uppers and complete uppers. Pick a brand to compare construction, forward-assist options and handguard fitment.
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Barrels
The single component that most decides how a rifle shoots. Pick a brand to compare lengths, profiles, gas systems and twist rates.
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Handguards
Free-float rails and drop-in guards. Pick a brand to compare lengths, attachment standard, weight and how the rail locks to the barrel nut.
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Stocks
Collapsible, fixed and precision buttstocks. Pick a brand to compare weight, cheek weld and which receiver extension each stock needs.
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Triggers
Drop-in cassettes and traditional trigger groups. Pick a brand to compare stage count, pull weight and shoe shape.
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Optics
Red dots, holographic sights, prisms and low-power variables. Pick a brand to compare magnification, reticle and power source.
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Muzzle Devices
Flash hiders, brakes and compensators. Pick a brand to compare what each device is tuned for and whether it indexes a suppressor.
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Magazines
Polymer, aluminium and hybrid magazines. Pick a brand to compare capacity, body material and feed-lip construction.
Reading
Guides, ammunition and gear
The parts tables answer what to buy. These answer why, and what to do with it once it arrives.
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Ammunition
What each cartridge is actually good at, and how the common pairings differ. Start here before choosing a barrel chambering.
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Guides
Maintenance, terminology and the decisions that come up while building or upgrading a rifle.
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Accessories
Lights, hearing protection, cleaning kits and the rest of the kit that is not part of the rifle itself.
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Handguns
Pistols and revolvers we have covered, and what to know about carrying one. Outside the AR-15 core, kept for readers who own both.
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Shotguns
Home-defence and semi-automatic shotguns. A small section, kept for readers who own both.
How this works
Specifications, not prices
Barrel lengths, twist rates, thread pitches and pull weights are stable properties of a product - they stay true for as long as the product is made. Street prices are stale within weeks, so this site does not publish them. Where a price band matters for orientation it sits on the brand, not the model.
Every table names the catalogue it was checked against and the date it was checked. Where something about a brand affects whether you should buy from it today, that is a note at the top of its page, not a sentence buried in a paragraph.