Must Have Replacements Parts for AR-15
[Intro music fades in]
Steve: Hi, Steve and Caleb with Brownells here, and today we're going to take a look at another firearm that you should have spare parts on hand for — and today it's the mighty AR-15. What do you think? What spare parts do we recommend?
Caleb: Gas rings and buffer springs wear out through normal use. And a handy rule of thumb for telling when that buffer spring needs to be replaced.
Steve: If you've upgraded your trigger, keep the original one as a backup spare. For the other small parts, pins, and springs, keep spares on hand mainly because they can get lost when you've got the gun disassembled for cleaning.
Caleb/Steve (continuing discussion): We recommend keeping extras of wear items like:
- Gas rings (they wear out over time and affect reliability/sealing).
- Buffer spring (use the coil compression check if it compresses too much or doesn't return properly, replace it).
- Small detents, springs, and pins (easy to lose during disassembly; things like takedown pin detents, bolt catch parts, etc.).
- Extractor spring and O-ring/buffer if you're running hard use.
- For upgraded builds: Keep the mil-spec trigger group as a fallback if your aftermarket trigger fails.
Steve: Overall, focus on the consumables and the little parts that can bring your rifle down if they break or go flying across the bench. It's cheap insurance.
Caleb: Exactly — have a small parts kit ready so you're not stuck waiting on shipping when something wears out at the range.
Steve/Caleb (closing): So those are our quick tips on must-have replacement parts for your AR-15. Thanks for watching!
