Latest build: "Sandy"

[91Eunozs]

Son (or daughter) of Kermit I suppose, 5.56 build w/FDE Magpul furniture.


This is the first gun completely built by myself...had help with the uppers on my previous builds but finally got the upper block to fit into my vice to torque the barrel nut down. Despite the challenges of getting the damn roll pins and trigger guard set screw to go in w/the FDE Cerakote on this one, it all worked out OK in the end... Only lost two of those tiny little e-clips that hold the dust cover rod in place...thank God for Ace Hardware and their awesome selection of little fiddly parts! Ironically I got the front take down pin detent/spring in super easy on the first try!




- 2Vets Arms forged lower (group buy for Descendents of Sparta Program charity drive) and Ranier Arms stripped upper (M4 ramps) - both Cerakoted FDE by 2Vets Arms
- Magpul FDE furniture (CTR stock w/thicker butt pad, MOE grip, mid-length handguard)
- AAC 51T flash hider pinned/welded to a BCM middy 1:7 twist 14.5" 5.56 barrel w/M4 ramps
- VLTOR gas block with built-in front sight and sling mount (yes I know it's stuck on there now!); redundent "I kick Hippies" single point sling loop/end plate
- Palmetto State Armory M16 BCG (for now, until I can get another from BCM)
- BCM Charge Handle (Large)
- Geissle Super 3 Gun (S3G) trigger
- Misc. PSA lower parts, buffer tube, and carbine weight buffer/spring
- KNS anti-walk pins and Spike "Molon Labe" engraved dust cover
- ARES Armory Husky Amentum sling in Coyote Brown (not pictured)
- Tan Pelican Case on next paycheck...will have it water jet cut like I did w/Kermit's. Gonna get the longer one (1700?) and include a cutout for a .22LR conversion upper.

A crappy blurry pic of the start of the build:


Fuck you Cerakote...yeah, fuck you!


But despite the copious amount of tape, I still managed to scratch the damn lower...


Oh well, the first scratch is always the toughest...no reason not to really use this one now that it's not "perfect"...want to practice my painting skills on some toy water guns and do a nice rattle can snakeskin-like (netting mask) camo anyway. Really just wanted the Cerakote for protection under a rattle can paint job anyway.

Will try to get some outdoor shots in natural light later this week...

[eeb]

Nice, do want! A scratch or two just adds character

[jackal556]

And.... drool.

[Rogue45]

Looks good! I like it...

[milesindefilade]

Very nice. Now I want an AR without a Quad Rail? Messing with my mind now.

[91Eunozs]

Very nice. Now I want an AR without a Quad Rail? Messing with my mind now.

Yeah, I went back and forth on the build for this one but eventually settled on 3 basically identical rifles for the family built around Magpul furniture. This is the 1st of those 3. I know free floated handguards are awesome and all but wanted to have a couple mostly standardized rifles/basic rifle platforms for our long-term use. Also wanted do do builds w/the new pink and gray furniture so the course was set...

I had originally intended to use different barrel lengths for each of these builds, but now all 3 will have pinned 14.5" barrels with AAC 51T flash hiders. One can to fit them all!

Next build will be the pink gun (yes, I managed to score one of the limited edition sets of the Magpul Pink!) w/carbine-length handguard and gas system...already have all the parts minus a couple small bits like the mag release that should be here today or tomorrow. The upper and lower are already mostly built and already have the pinned 14.5" barrrel in hand.

That upper will eventually transfer to the 3rd build once Magpul releases their gray furniture.

At that point I'm putting a light weight pencil barrel w/carbine gas system on the pink gun; along with a JP lightweight BCG & buffer/spring assembly. Waiting for the Ranier Arms light(er) weight upper (without the fwd assist) to get back in stock for that piece of the build...or maybe a drilled 9mm upper? At any rate... more to follow!

[91Eunozs]

Just a quick trip to my buddy' ranch to ensure she shoots OK... shoots just fine! Lots of holes in the target but that was from multiple positions from 25-50+ yards with just the open sights...no shots from the bench rest or anything since I wasn't worried about accuracy for this session, just function. Most of the holes outside center of mass are from a few mag dumps at 10 yards or so from my new Ruger SR22 pistol w/threaded barrel...but that'll be a different post in a different forum!






...and a teaser for the nearly-complete next build, "Pinky." Just need a carbine-length gas tube (thought I had one but no can find), trigger guard, and of course a BCG...but can swap one out from one of the other rifles for now until I can actually get a BCM version one of the times they're in stock for more than 15.8 seconds...



Haven't weighed 'em yet but Sandy's much lighter than my pig of a pig gun (Kermit) and Pinky's already much lighter than Sandy (no BCG will do that!)...it'll be even lighter when I get the pencil-profile barrel and a lightweight BCG (likely JP Enterprises).

More to follow.

[Ten Eight]

Nice rifles. I'm not sure how hard core you are about weight loss, but have you considered dropping the dust cover, gutting the forward assist, and filling it with the gas plug mentioned below? If you plan on shooting suppressed it helps cut down on blowblack. The forward assist is pointless imo. If you're storing them in the safe for awhile and are OCD about dust, just put some scotch tape over the ejection port.

http://www.weaponoutfitters.com/ar-gas- ... -2381.html

[91Eunozs]

not too worried about going crazy w/an ultralight build but for the pink one would like to make it as light as feasible while keeping it useful...and without inordinate expense.

It will have the Ranier Arms upper without the fwd assist...gonna keep the dust cover though. That, along w/a lighter weight 14.5" barrel, standard FSB w/the bayonet lug and sling attachment dremeled off (smaller .625" diameter version for the pencil profile barrel), and a light weight BCG/buffer/spring from JP Enterprises should knock nearly a pound off.

[0122358]

tagged

[Ten Eight]

Can you give us more info on the company that you'll be using to water-jet your case foam? I know you mentioned the name of the company in your Kermit thread, but I'd like to know what was involved. I'm wondering how it would work if you wanted to order their services over the Internet, but weren't local to deliver your case items for tracing. Did they supply the foam?

[91Eunozs]

Can you give us more info on the company that you'll be using to water-jet your case foam? I know you mentioned the name of the company in your Kermit thread, but I'd like to know what was involved. I'm wondering how it would work if you wanted to order their services over the Internet, but weren't local to deliver your case items for tracing. Did they supply the foam?

local(ish) company: San Marcos waterjet

Mom and pop outfit w/their workshop out behind their house on a few acres up North of downtown San Marcos (just Northeast of where I live)...they did a great job on my other case using the factory foam that came with the case. I took them my rifle, accessories that I wanted to include and the measurements for the SDN6 suppressor that I have waiting at the gun shop for the tax stamp to clear; they programmed their cutter and away we went. They knocked it out in one day.

Give 'em a call...really nice folks. They may be able to help you if you know exactly what you need and/or can provide measurements/offsets, etc. There's foam available on Amazon, eBay, etc. that you could have shipped to them and they can probably even provide you a CAD drawing of what it'll look like. I can ask when I pick up my next case and take them the foam to have cut for this one.

Gotta get the .22LR upper that I want to include in the case built/bought first though. Likely gonna use a Tactical Solutions upper (or maybe CMMG) along with a "Better Mag" S&W mag well adapter to use S&W M&P 15-22 mags...get the bolt lockback on the last round, etc...

[0122358]

how reliable has the middy 14.5 set up been? Ive heard they have reliability issues

[TheLastOne]

pretty sure you need to name the pink one 'miss piggy'.

nice rifles!

[91Eunozs]

how reliable has the middy 14.5 set up been? Ive heard they have reliability issues

Hmmm...I've heard the exact opposite; that is, middys are more reliable than carbine-length gas systems. Or is that only for 16" barrels?

Regardless, absolutely no issues so far...only put 3 or 4 mags worth of XM193 (PMC and cheap Independence brand) through it so far but it shoots really well. Just back from vacation in WA State last night and have all my long guns stored at my Deputy's house. Will get 'em back mañana and shoot Sandy and Pinky (Miss Piggy?) again next weekend.

[Ten Eight]

Thanks for the info. I guess ill be playing with cardboard and a ruler.

I like Miss Piggy. Get whatever optic you use cerakoted pink to match .

[TheLastOne]

(Miss Piggy?) .

Well you already got KermiT!

Need a purple gonzo AK or something.

[AS556]

What about carbine gas systems w/ 16" bbls makes em unreliable?

[91Eunozs]

What about carbine gas systems w/ 16" bbls makes em unreliable?

Nothing as far as I know... It's not that either is/was unreliable, just that the mid-length was better.

A little out of my depth since all my 5.56 experience is with 14.5" or shorter barreled rifles but "supposedly" the heavy hitters who do most of the door kicking in AFG and big Army (I'm AF w/some SF folks integrated into my previous unit) found the mid-length gas system had fewer failures to feed and to fire. Supposedly softer shooting too.

Really don't know though...my personal experience has been near 100% reliability with either length gas system and my shoulder isn't finely calibrated enough to tell by the recoil what gas system is in use.

Maybe on full auto or if I was going for max speed on follow-up shots but the only full auto shooting I've ever done was qualifying on my GAU-5 and then the GUU-5P when we switched to a different twist barrel for the heavier ammo being issued to us...never shot my service rifle in anger.

[91Eunozs]

(Miss Piggy?) .

Well you already got KermiT!

Need a purple gonzo AK or something.

I saw some Century Arms AKs up at Cabela's today and seriously considered grabbing one to diversify the collection a bit...thought better after my wife read me the riot after all the AR crap I've been purchasing lately!

Maybe when these 3 ARs are finished and all have their optics...and the cars are paid off...and we actually own that 10 acre mini-ranch complete w/cattle we're looking at down in Seguin...and, and, and...

[Doctorr Fabulous]

What about carbine gas systems w/ 16" bbls makes em unreliable?

They tend to recoil more sharply and erode the gas port more quickly. Middy's had a rep for reliability issues because of early "oopsies" and not getting them running. Word on the street is to run them with an H buffer (what my DD Middy had, FWIW) and tune as needed.

[AS556]

Hmm imteresting thanks guys. I just picked a carbine length PSA 16" so I got a bit of a late start in the AR game. Got the FN M4 barrel and been reliable for me through the couple hundred I put through it. Good mags/ammo and lots of lube probably factored into it too.

[0122358]

I know this is old, but how has that folding front sight/gas block been holding up? I'm looking at building something like this

[91Eunozs]

I know this is old, but how has that folding front sight/gas block been holding up? I'm looking at building something like this

No issues whatsoever after 4-5K rounds through this rifle. It gets a workout at the ranch or range every other week on average.

I like the VLtor folding sight/gas block combo enough that I'm putting a similar one on the gray rifle...pinned vs. clamp-on though; but have had zero issues w/this clamp-on version so far.