Customer Reviews

Mastering the AR-15 DVD: Disassembly & Reassembly, How to Shoot Basic & Advanced, Cleaning & Maintenance

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you take this video for what it is supposed to be, it is a very good video. I would not recommend it for the accomplished AR shooter or gunsmith. If you are just starting out with the AR, this will answer a lot of questions on shooting, maintenance, cleaning, etc. The DVD is broken up into chapters and it makes it easy to go back to a section/lesson.

I have many years of shooting experience up to carrying full auto weapons for my job. Even with that, I have not done anything more than shoot another person's AR to try it out. When I finally got one, I had no idea about its inner working, disassembly or cleaning.

This video answered all of those questions for me. I followed the on-screen instructions and was able to disassemble and reassemble my AR with no problems including removing the trigger, hammer, firing pin, etc. All of it can be done with a minimum of standard tools, which was nice. I think a small hammer, small punch and an allen wrench will allow you to do about everything you need to do on an AR.

The video also touches on shooting the AR in different positions and explains the need for them. In that aspect, the video is okay but if you are looking for advanced shooting techniques or a basic rifle school, this is not your video. In Lenny Magill's shooting segments, he assumes that you have a basic knowledge of rifles to start with. There are no instructions on sight alignment, breathing techniques, combat loading, etc. That is okay in my position but if you are looking for a "how to" in shooting, look elsewhere.

For example, Lenny Magill tells you such things as, you should move if you are being shot at (no kidding). He demonstrates that by blasting a few rounds at targets while he is backing away. That is great for the concept but if you don't know the gait/moving style to move and shoot, you are out of luck. He doesn't explain it very well other than you should do it.

Jim Clark of Clark Custom Guns does have some good instruction in it and on his combat shooting techniques. Again, the shooting styles are not in detail but pretty interesting and great to watch his speed shooting with his competition AR.

The bottom line is, if you are new to the AR-15 and looking for instructions on how to keep your AR in top condition and do routine maintenance, this is a great place to start.

Contemplating buying an AR-15, I purchased this DVD by Lenny Magill, and I was not disappointed.
The photography was excellent! shots were clear and easy to see especially on the disassembly and cleaning sections.
There were good action parts where Magill fires the weapon while stationary, prone, moving etc.
This is a must have DVD for the AR novice as well as a nice refresher for those who've had experience with this weapon already.

I suppose if you had just stumbled onto an AR-15 and had never even held a gun before, this MIGHT teach you something, but it was otherwise a big letdown. There is nothing at all special about the content, nothing you won't learn just from reading the manual that came with your rifle. Most of this info you should already know if you own any firearms to begin with.

In a technical aspect, the production quality is, well, non-existent. If you told me that it was just a couple of guys who picked up their camcorder on the spur of the moment and said "lets make a film", I'd believe you.

A tip to the makers: If for whatever reason you decide to make more films with the questioner standing off camera, rehearse them with the interviewee BEFORE you start taping so that they don't have that deer-in-the-headlights stare for a few seconds while they think about it and figure out what you meant.

I bougth this to learn how to take down, maintain and re-assemble an AR. I was in the waiting period for mine and having never even touched one before wanted to find out how to maintain it properly. As far as covering maintenance I think the disk did a pretty good job. I didn't really care for the rest. The guy in the video started out at a very basic level, telling you how to hold the gun how to shoulder the gun but then I noticed in a few parts he's not doing what he told us to do earlier. Over all it's not horrible but it's not great either.

This is a very informative DVD regarding the AR-15. I definitely learned from it, and reinforced rudimentary knowledge as well.

This is not an armorer's instructional video, but it covers the basic function, use and teardown of the AR-15 rifle.

All in all, good stuff.

Purchased it for the maintenance section which does the job. Other than that, its some rather rudimentary insight into shooting positions and patterning. However, I did find the maintenance section and a few other chapters useful.

It's an OK DVD. I would rate it a good deal for $10, if it was titled INTRODUCTION to the AR-15. But I bought it because I wanted to learn. And to be honest I could have spent a week or two in the library and then I COULD HAVE WRITTEN THE SCRIPT FOR THIS VIDEO. I'd hardly call that a MASTERY.

With a title like "Mastering..." and a high price tag, I expected animated computer graphics describing the operation of the gas tubes and recoil stuff. And a tour of an AR-15 factory, showing how it is made and from what. An explanation of the materials chosen and how they are treated and why. What were the M-16 design decisions? How is it rated by gun historians. A comparison of it with other combat rifles and why the AR-15/M-16 is similar and different, superior or defficient.

Show me how it operates when wet, dirty, muddy, dusty, sandy. (ala MythBusters style). Show me a dirty one that hasn't been cleaned. How about optic scope pictures of the barrel of one that is new, vs. one that has had a few thousand rounds, vs. one that has had 10's of thousands of rounds fired. Discuss with an experienced military researcher who can tell what parts fail and how, what spares should you carry if any? How about having the producer buy a few hundred rounds of 20 different brands/prices of ammo and doing accuracy and reliability tests? What about comparing how accurate the stock rifle is compared to other makes and models? (averages over a few dozen samples of course). Are there any chemicals you are likely to come into contact with that can damage your rifle?

What are the different features found on the brands of ammunition, and of what value are those different features?

The section of the Video on cleaning and maintaining the AR-15 basically stunk. A guy just takes the rifle apart and puts it together and says something to the effect .. ya' don't really have to take anything apart, just run a patch with some solvent down the barrel, run a dry patch or two, and then a little oil, if it is really dirty run a brush through there after the solvent has a chance to soak for a while.
I'm sure this guy is very experienced with his rifles. But that presentation SUCKED. And he used a screw driver to undo a Hex head bolt!? What the heck kind of gunsmithing is that? He said he modified peoples triggers a lot... wow.

I can tell you from being in the Army that we sure did have to clean around the cartridge retractor hook thing and the face of the bolt (the part that hooks around the rim of the cartridge to pull it back out of the chamber, and where the seat of the cartridge sits against the bolt) we were told that if you didn't clean this area well that you could get feeding or ejecting problems.

And what kind of balistics gel penetration does a round have at 100yds.? What about after going through a wall? After going through a car door?

Hey, I'm no expert on the AR-15. But I watch a lot of History channel and Discovery channel and stuff like that, and I think that when paying this kind of money for a DVD they could at least come up with a show as good as an episode of Mythbusters and How-It's-Made and Dirty Jobs put together. I know I am asking for a lot, but hey, the title is MASTERING...

Information is good, some stuff could be left out as it is useless info. The authors cleaning procedure is good for those that seek instruction for thorough take down and cleaning of the rifle. Good tactical tips.

Rather than pick this apart I will say this. Go to YouTube and search for AR-15 cleaning and assembly. You will get all of the info that this video has. Next get Clint Smiths Thunder Ranch Urban Rifle video... then watch this and you will see just how embarrassing this poor fellow is. His shooting is just plain bad. I can shoot way better with a compact handgun while moving than this guy can with a full sized AR and I am not that good a shot. He handles the rifle like an armature. Two points worth mentioning: A piece of paper is not an "aiming square." (Maybe an aiming rectangle?) The IDPA targets you are using already have an 8" "Aiming circle." In the future keep your camera man behind the firing line as he likely isn't paid enough to be shot. If you know nothing this guy might be impressive (in slow motion) if you know something you will find this kind of funny.

A little background on myself. I watched this video at my buddy's place cuz he said I could use a good laugh. I'm an MP for the US Army, and familiar with combat movements and the M16/AR-15. With that said, I would have to say this video is only best if you are completely unfamiliar with the M16/AR-15, if you want to "play army" in your livingroom, and have no social communication skills whatsoever. Here's the point. If you need tips on cleaning and firing your M16, make a military friend or visit your local gunshop. Don't count on this man's DVD to help you with anything except field stripping your AR. The only purpose this guy had to make this DVD was for a few extra bucks on the side and boasting his "youtube" equivalent combat techniques- which I might as well have been watching a paintball game (no offense to the paintball players out there). I gave this DVD 2 stars because he DOES show you to properly field strip the AR, and gives you the basics. However, it is a POOR ATTEMPT to solidify any advanced help or personal advice on areas of cleaning, combat movements and firing techniques.
BOTTOM LINE: I would only buy this if I were completely new to the weapon and it's military firing background, AND it were $6.95, AND it would sit in my untouched section of dusty DVDs.