What are a few easy upgrades for my AR15?

We get emails monthly about the most useful upgrades to help round-out your AR15 for home defense. Like all things, everyone begins with a budget in mind and then works to knock out crucial upgrades while they develop their weapon setup & home defense plan. We wanted to call out a few key elements that are essential for home defense if you choose to protect yourself with a rifle (AR15) platform. For this article, we’ll assume you have a weapon and an optic.

First thing, a weapon-mounted light. While this seems like an obvious starting point. You really need to find a light that fits your ergonomic habits. My home defense gun sports a Cloud Defensive OWL (soon to be discontinued) for 3 main reasons.

1. The light pad is integrated with no wires to get caught-up.
2. The battery seems to last forever, is rechargeable, and comes with two batteries so you can swap out without downtime.
3. Ergonomics… the light is set up on the very front of the weapon, right where I’d naturally grab it. Then, there is a radius (True North Gripstop) on the underside of the rail that helps “lock” my hand into position without thinking about it.

Second thing, a sling. I see so many home defense setups that lack a sling and it worries us. Grab a good quality 2-point sling and begin training on how to rapidly deploy/enter your sling so that you can transition to working out of the room where you store your gun (and begin working through the rooms of your dwelling). Remember, 2 points, good quality and last but not least, practice!

Final thing, ammunition consideration. For a few aspects, you’ll need to consider what the best ammunition for home defense is based on your unique situation and setup. What matters most (when choosing a rifle) is the strategy based on where and how you live and how that meshes with the use of ball (vs. expanding/HD) ammunition. We think it’s best to write out a plan where you have access to both types of rounds. You may only choose to deploy one in 99% of situations. However, having a choice is crucial. (Note – it may apply to ZERO situations depending on your dwelling).

Related: Should I use a Shotgun for Home Defense?

Stay tuned for more opinions and updates on critical factors regarding your setup, plan, and personal safety coming from TacPack in the future!

Now get planning!

-The TacPack Team