Adding QD Mounts To Your AR-15

One problem, if you consider it a problem at all, with the AR-15 platform of rifles is the sheer amount of accessories and add-ons that you can look at regarding just about every aspect of the rifle.  Be it be sights, optics, optic mounts, stocks, fore-grips, rails, rail accessories, etc., it can be a fairly daunting task to even try to figure out what you want to buy.  Let's discuss a few ways of adding QD mounts to your AR-15 rifle. When adding QD mounts to your AR-15, there are generally 3 places you'd want to have a mounting location (in this case we are going to address attaching a sling to your rifle).  First, you'd want to add amount to the front of your rifle, somewhere on the rail section.  Second, you'd want to mount one somewhere on the rear of your rifle, likely on the buttstock.  Lastly, another popular place for adding QD mounts to your AR-15 rifle is on the receiver end plate.  For this article, we will be adding these QD mounts to attach a Blue Force Gear Padded VCAS sling.  The padded VCAS sling has sewn in QD push buttons to minimize the hardware on the sling.  It is wider and also and padded for additional comfort. **UPDATE: I have found the Vickers sling from Blue Force Gear to be a bit bulky, hard on the neck after several days of training, and have now moved to the Redback One Combat Sling, which I feel is a big improvement over others offered on the market.  I am using a QD mount on one end that attaches to my stock and one HK style hook attached to a Magpul RSA on the rail** As far as adding a QD mount to an existing rail system, the options are out there and the idea is pretty simple.  Mount the QD socket to the rail wherever you want it, and you're done.  For my Daniel Defense RIS II rail, I chose to go with the Daniel Defense Rail Mount QD attachment point. Daniel Defense Rail Mount QD Swivel Attachment Point Many manufacturers machine a QD socket into their hand guard as an integral portion of the rail system.  This makes for a clean look and usually they are present on both left and right sides of the rail.  One added bonus when adding QD mounts to your AR-15 like this is to look for a socket that is rotation limited, which limits twisting. Don't have a rail and are running a Magpul MOE hand guard?  One of the best options I've found is from Impact Weapons Components found here.  They sell a QD component that they call their MOUNT-N-SLOT that fits right into the slotted portion of an existing MOE hand guard.  This can be mounted into any existing slot anywhere on the rail where it fits.  Installation is very easy and is rock solid for attaching your sling.  Adding a dab of blue loctite wouldn't hurt as well. Rails with both M-LOK and Keymod attachment methods are also widely used and a quick google search can turn up a wide variety of options for securing a female QD mount to your rail. IWC's MOUNT-N-SLOT QD Sling Attachment Point   IWC's MOUNT-N-SLOT QD Sling Attachment Point Have an MOE stock as well?  You've got a couple options.  You could upgrade to the Magpul CTR, which only differs from the MOE in that it incorporates a friction lock but also has an integrated QD mount as well.  Other Magpul stocks offer integrated QD mounts, but Impact Weapons Components also has a solution for your existing MOE stock.  Check it out here. So that covers where you might incorporate a QD mount on your existing rail, a Magpul MOE type rail, and even changing or upgrading your stock.  Another popular and valuable place to look at when adding QD mounts to your AR-15 is to put an integrated QD mount is where your receiver end plate is.  Daniel Defense, GG&G, KZ, Noveske, and more all make some sort of variation of the QD end plate.  I prefer the Noveske version as it is one of the cheapest around, small, lightweight, made of all steel construction for proper staking.  This simply adds another option for slinging your rifle without any additional bulk...its really a nice bit of gear for how cheap it is.  BCM sells this as well, is recommended, and can be found here. Noveske QD End Plate Now you're done adding QD mounts to your AR-15 and you now could have a minimum of three different locations where you could sling your rifle without adding too much cost, giving you many options for figuring out what is going to work for you. The IWC MOUNT-N-SLOT with the BFC VCAS Sling Noveske QD End Plate with BFG VCAS Sling QD Mounts and a BFG VCAS Sling Can Make a Nice Combo!