Welcome to the first ever AR15.com Newsletter. This is a result of requests by both industry and our membership and is meant to bring monthly news and deals to our regular readers as well as to those not yet a part of the AR15.com community.

As AR15.com has grown over the years, it has gotten harder and harder to keep up with everything that we have going on. As a result, we have been working on redesigning the homepage, providing this newsletter, and a few other features to make sure that you don't miss anything important.

In addition, this newsletter will serve to update some of our users that don't get to the site regularly about some of the most important topics, products, and industry news.

The first "limited edition" issue is being sent to active members of AR15.com and serves as both an introduction as well as a platform for soliciting input about what we should bring you in future editions. To get started, here are a few of the things we have in mind:

• NEWS - from site news about new features (and there are a lot of new projects coming in the second half of 2010!) to political awareness, we'll be reporting to you about what's coming down the pipeline.
• DEALS- our advertisers will be putting together special offers for the newsletters. We have partnered with some of the best firearms companies and are proud to be working with them on this project.
• PRODUCTS- we will be bringing you several new products each month, and will be working with manufacturers to get these products in front of you as soon as possible. One goal will be to introduce a new product via the newsletter and have a select few to give away to our readers.
• GIVEAWAYS - each issue will have a number of giveaways. This month we will be featuring several prizes including ARFCOM-branded rifle cases from Galati. All users are automatically entered simply by clicking links from the newsletter back to the site or through advertisements.

Just like the rest of AR15.com, this newsletter is aimed at the end user and is no better than the input and suggestions provided by each and every reader. We look forward to your feedback, suggestions, and ideas about what you'd like to see covered. To this end, we're creating a dedicated forum for newsletter discussions.

The AR15.com home page was updated this month to accommodate upcoming content and make it easier for our sponsors to provide you with up to the minute deals and news. While most people go directly into the forums, the home page is going to be the place to see what's new and important; be sure to make a stop there before moving on into the forums at least once a day. Along with the home page came a few additional changes and fixes including mobile subscriptions and an updated WYSIWYG editor.

Upcoming home page content is going to include new product announcements, store promotions, NRA news, blog highlights, and videos along with the content and ads from each of our sponsors. Still outstanding update will include calendar system, mobile IM tool, and other new user and community tools; keep a look out for these upcoming changes.

A number of larger web site projects are in the works and we're looking to release in the next 30-60 days. These will supplement a couple of other large announcements we hope to bring you in the same timeframe, so once again, check the home page for the latest news.

These days many people are more easily frightened and suspicious than they were just a few years ago. Ever since terrorists brought their holy war onto American soil, and further fueled by the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, people have been keeping a fearful eye out just a bit more than they used to. For most, situational awareness can prevent a bad situation, and keep you and a loved one out of harms way. For many though, this has brought a state of paranoia. The ever-suspicious neighbor can be easily alarmed by events or actions that were once commonplace and benign. One such action is seeing someone carrying something that looks like a firearm, a container that might contain a firearm, or even worse, one of those evil assault weapons we hear so much about in the media.

In order to avoid incidents with the paranoid neighbors or the criminals who might want access to a firearm, lawful gun owners tend to avoid broadcasting the fact that they're carrying firearms. It seems that these days the preferred case for the AR-15 is one of the many "discreet" offerings that do not scream GUN! everywhere you go.

While one could argue that a rectangular soft case with internal magazine pockets or MOLLE webbing is less conspicuous than the traditional long and thin cases with external magazine pouches, the former is not exactly discreet. The old guitar, baseball or golf club cases camouflage the contents, but in a very bulky, impractical and cumbersome solution and can look out of place in many professional environments.

With the AR-15's ability to separate into its lower and upper components with the push of two pins, this platform offers a user a unique, simple, and quick way to reduce the overall length during transport to just over 2 feet in length. This goes a long way towards opening up the options for shorter and less obvious carry methods. A few excellent cases have been built and sold for this purpose, and many existing non-gun bags and cases can be used to fit these two components.

To go one step further, my goal was to fit a full-length (16" barrel) no-compromise rifle into a laptop case intended for a standard 17" laptop. This is a case that could be carried to and from work without raising an eyebrow, would not alert the neighbors who might be watching each time you left your house or your vehicle carrying your AR, and would not raise suspicion. While there are a number of soft padded cases available, I decided to use a Pelican 1490 (interior 18x11x4") in order to be able to keep it in my car or boat, throw it in a suitcase during air travel, or any other place that I chose to carry it without risking damage to the rifle. As luck would have it, I already had this case sitting around the office because I use it to carry my laptop.

Several briefcase AR designs have made it to the marketplace before. Some have relied on short barrels, and while this is great for those who want to carry an SBR, it does not help the vast majority who want to carry a non-NFA rifle.

In order to fit an upper into a small case, the upper receiver being the longest component has to be broken down further. The key is to do this without requiring tools and 30 minutes to put everything back together when you want to shoot. A few screw-on free-float handguards have been designed to accomplish this and simply screwing the handguard on and off to separate the barrel from the upper for storage. The drawback for me with these systems is that you lose the ability to have a rail system, at least with the versions I've seen, and they typically cannot be used with a standard front sight base. I wanted a rifle that made me give up none of the features I rely on with my personal ARs, but one that was easier to carry with me to the range, training, or anywhere else I needed it to go.

So how do you fit a full-length AR carbine into a laptop case? As mentioned above, the key is to use a system that will enable you to quickly attach/remove the barrel assembly from the upper receiver. One such system is the QCB upper from MGI. This upper receiver allows the user to change barrels in just seconds. This allows the system to be extremely compact and concealable as well as giving the operator the option of having multiple barrels for multiple functions. It uses standard barrels with the Delta Ring, barrel nut, sling swivel and front handguard keeper removed, so finding components could not be easier. The new QCB-D model now is compatible with piston systems and includes multiple improvements such as Hard Coat Anodized Mil Spec Finish, four full-length Picatinny style rails, new locking arm retention system and more.

I'll have the full writeup and Q&A coming in the newsletter forum as we finish up a few of the details on this rifle.

Currently I have it running with standard DI barrel, CMMG piston conversion kit, and we're working on getting an Osprey Defense solution as well, as that system gives us some additional benefits. The images above give you an idea of how this rifle comes apart and can be stored or carried. In the pictures above, we've merely set everything in the case, as a final layout and foam cutting has not yet taken place. However, as you can see there is plenty of room for mounted optics, a light, several magazines, and a QD sling.