The Accurizing Wedge
Posted by Andre on 12/15/2011
If you have an AR15, there are literally millions of options as far as accurizing and customizing.
If your new to the "black rifle", you may be scratching your head wondering where to start.
Today I'm going to talk about one of the cheapest upgrades there are. The "accurizing
wedge".
They go by many names. Accu-Wedge, noise eliminator,
receiver wedge.
All of them are made of a rubbery material, have the same basic shape and all essentially do the same thing. That is to
reduce the play between the upper and lower receivers of the AR15.
Why would you want to do this you might ask?
We'll first it should be known that not all receivers are created equal. Most of the time this
is evident when the anodized finishes of the upper and lower don't match. Different manufacturers
have different anodizing processes and while the functional end result is the same, the coloring
can vary from a light matte grey to a glossy black. Also, dimensions can slightly vary when the
raw forging is machined.
That's where the rattle comes from. While almost all of the makers of these wedges say this effects
accuracy, the difference is very minute and it should be said right now that removing the play is
primarily a cosmetic change.
If your wondering if your rifle has a rattle its really easy to find out. Just grab the pistol
grip and the handguard at the same time and twist. You should know right away. You might be suprised.
I have seen some really high end guns, from manufacturers that shall not be named, rattle like baby
toys. It kinda make you wonder...
But I digress, usually if your building your own AR15 from a stripped lower and you are using many
different brands than you are almost guaranteed to have some kind of receiver play.
That's where the wedge comes in.
Like I said before it is a small rubbery L-shaped wedge that fits under the rear takedown pin inside
the lower reciever and it puts vertical pressure on the upper reciever, holding it firm.
Now unless yours has enough play to throw off the bolt carrier to begin with, it won't change the
actual function of the gun. Cyclic rate and trigger feel are completely unaffected. And because it
doesn't change anything with the barrel or bolt face, mechanically the gun will still be as accurate
as it was before installing a wedge.
So why install it?
Because accuracy has just as much or more to do with the person on the trigger as it does the actual
weapon. What I mean by that is if every time you shoulder your weapon it rattles like its going to
fall apart than I doubt very much that you feel confident in its ability to hit a target. The wedge
gives the shooter more confidence in the weapon. By removing any weak spot in the rifle you can
focus all of your attention to more important things like trigger pull and breathing.
When its time to take a shot the only thing you want to be thinking about is taking the shot.
I hope this post will help those who are considering getting one of these wedges as they are an easy
way to turn that old AR15 into YOUR old AR15, and sometimes that makes all the difference in the world.
Until next time.
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