Showing off Mama's new toy

[Casp 119]

Just finished getting this together a few days ago. No handguards yet, that'll have to wait 'til next check comes. Otherwise, it's complete, and shoots real nice. S&W lower, Del-Ton lower parts kit, DSA buffer tube, BCM complete upper with 16" SOCOM-profile heavy barrel. Next month it gets some OD green MOE handguards and an H3 buffer.

 

Disclaimer: I am good at a lot of things, photography does not seem to be one of them.

 

 

 

Only problem: Rear sight is a cheap NcStar A4. The body of the sight is out of spec. Too wide, so the clamp bottoms out on the sight body rather than the rail and doesn't clamp down tight. It had a lot of side-to-side and forward-backward play. Tight enough to stay on but loose enough to be annoying. As they say, buy cheap, get cheap. I fixed it though; lifted the sight up with a piece of .008" aluminium shim stock (read: empty soda can) and now it's rock-solid. Eventually I'll step up to something better when I have the money, probably a BCM A4 carry handle.

[Bean.223 365]

Just finished getting this together a few days ago. No handguards yet, that'll have to wait 'til next check comes. Otherwise, it's complete, and shoots real nice. S&W lower, Del-Ton lower parts kit, DSA buffer tube, BCM complete upper with 16" SOCOM-profile heavy barrel. Next month it gets some OD green MOE handguards and an H3 buffer.

 

Disclaimer: I am good at a lot of things, photography does not seem to be one of them.

 

 

 

Only problem: Rear sight is a cheap NcStar A4. The body of the sight is out of spec. Too wide, so the clamp bottoms out on the sight body rather than the rail and doesn't clamp down tight. It had a lot of side-to-side and forward-backward play. Tight enough to stay on but loose enough to be annoying. As they say, buy cheap, get cheap. I fixed it though; lifted the sight up with a piece of .008" aluminium shim stock (read: empty soda can) and now it's rock-solid. Eventually I'll step up to something better when I have the money, probably a BCM A4 carry handle.

 

 

Looks sweet Monster!!!

 

I had the same problem with the VERY SAME sight. I got a ARMS #40 and love it. I keep meaning to replace my forward sight tower with a YH flip up gas block....just havent gotten around to it yet....damn Saigas keep stealing my cash!!!

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

That is looking like a very nice build!

 

Put a Daniel Defense free float rail (either Omega, OmegaX or Lite) on there with OD rail panels.

I've the DD OmegaX 12"FSP on mine.

 

Stay flattop and put a Troy folding rear BUIS on it.

Figure out what you really want it for, CQ-100yards, then mount a good RDS (I love my Vortex Strikefire), 100yard + target then mount a good scope, the Millet DMS 1-4x24 is danged nice.

 

A decent flashlight and your all set.

I've a TRL-1 mounted on the top rail in front of the FSP, with a pressure switch on the side.

 

...............................................................

 

A H3 buffer, are you sure, on a carbine?

Are you experiencing a specific problem with the bolt, or just trying to get the brass ejection angle between 2-4 o'clock?

I've very seldom seen a carbine need a H2, much less a H3.

Normally a H2 is just fine tuning over a H buffer

..............................................................

 

Edited July 26, 2010 by ChileRelleno

[Casp 119]

Thanks for the advice Chile, but I already know what I want. Mostly due to budget constraints, I have no intention of adding a free float tube or optics anytime soon. As for the buffer, my policy is to run the heaviest buffer possible that will still cycle reliably. If the H3 is too heavy, I can disassemble and swap weights between it and the standard buffer to make and H and an H2. You ever heard of Pat Rogers' "Filthy 14" carbine?

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

Thanks for the advice Chile, but I already know what I want. Mostly due to budget constraints, I have no intention of adding a free float tube or optics anytime soon. As for the buffer, my policy is to run the heaviest buffer possible that will still cycle reliably. If the H3 is too heavy, I can disassemble and swap weights between it and the standard buffer to make and H and an H2. You ever heard of Pat Rogers' "Filthy 14" carbine?

Yeah, I've read about his loaner middy and it's 28-29K+ rounds. Wasn't it like 25-26K rounds before they ever cleaned it at all, though they did replace the BCG 1-2 times before that.

And I think your H3 is supposed to be in combination with a heavy buffer spring, the idea being that the heavy spring and kinetic energy of the H3 slam the bolt home regardless of heavy carbon fouling? Correct?

 

 

Is that CTR OD? Kind'a looks it, are you going to change out the PG later to match too?

Going to look nice, I can see it, Two tone black/OD, CTR stock, Miad PG and MOE handguard... Nice.

I'd still leave it flattop though, plenty of good stand alone rear irons to be had, I just never was a carry handle type.

Edited July 26, 2010 by ChileRelleno

[Casp 119]

Well, the idea behind the heavy buffer is keeping the system balanced. A gas operated rifle, like any other autoloading firearm, is a balanced system. Gas pressure, spring power, and moving mass weight; change any one of those things, and the other two should also be changed to match. On a standard 20" rifle with a fixed stock, the gas port pressure is 13,000 PSI and the buffer weighs about 5.1oz. On a carbine-length gas system with a collapsable stock, gas pressure is increased to 27,000 PSI (more than twice as much) and the weight of the standard buffer is decreased to only 3.0oz. The weapon cycles faster and harder, which is harder on the rifle physically (the main reason they make non-rotating hammer pins), and is the source of the M4's persistent failure-to-extract and torn-off-case-rim problems. It really should be running a buffer heavier than the standard 5.1oz rifle version. H is 3.8oz, H2 is 4.6oz, and H3 is 5.4oz.

 

I know this can also be balanced out by changing the gas pressure by varying the size of the gas port, but I know BCM drills mil-spec .062" gas ports on their barrels, and I don't want to screw around with a manually adjustable gas tube. So, I'm going to try my luck with the H3. Right now, with the standard buffer, it is currently ejecting to about 4:30. As I said, if it turns out too be too heavy to cycle I can always swap weights between the buffers myself, but I really, really doubt it's going to be a problem.

 

The stock is a MOE, not a CTR. Again, I'm a poor college student and I already have $900 soaked into this thing. Eventually I intend to replace it with the ACS though. I realy like the UBR, but you can't run that with an ASAP plate (which I like, and already have installed. I'm thinking of wrapping the ring with vinyl air tube to eliminate the jingling sound when there's no tension on it.) I also do intend to put a MIAD grip on it, and then stick a Samson Field Survivor tool in it. If you haven't seen those, they are NEAT. Slot screwdriver, carbon scraper, oil ampule, broken shell extractor, cotter pin hook, front sight tool, and a mag feed lip gauge and adjuster. Like the AK/SKS buttstock multitook on crack. They make one that fits in the standard A2 grip, but it's not as secure that way I think.

 

Thanks for the compliment on the looks! I live deep in the forest, so I see no reason to make a SHTF rifle all black here. If I still lived in Mojave I'd be doing the whole thing in FDE tan instead... oh wait, if I still lived in Mojave I wouldn't HAVE and AR-15. It is definitely going to look slick though. Only thing that kinda sucks is that the finish on the BCM upper doesn't quite match the finish on the S&W lower; the upper is a little darker and smoother. Hard to tell unless you're up real close...

 

I personally don't like the way carry handles look, especially the rail-mounted A4 version, but after carrying it back and forth between the shop and the yard for shooting, I can actually see the appeal to it. It's the perfect balance point to grab the rifle, and I tend to carry it up-side-down by the rail, where the carry handle would be anyway. Since I don't plan to dish out the $$$ for a good optic right now, I don't really see a reason not to have one. Of course, I haven't 100% made up my mind on it yet. It would certainly help my decision if the carry handles weren't so expensive themselves!

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

Well, the idea behind the heavy buffer is keeping the system balanced. A gas operated rifle, like any other autoloading firearm, is a balanced system. Gas pressure, spring power, and moving mass weight; change any one of those things, and the other two should also be changed to match. On a standard 20" rifle with a fixed stock, the gas port pressure is 13,000 PSI and the buffer weighs about 5.1oz. On a carbine-length gas system with a collapsable stock, gas pressure is increased to 27,000 PSI (more than twice as much) and the weight of the standard buffer is decreased to only 3.0oz. The weapon cycles faster and harder, which is harder on the rifle physically (the main reason they make non-rotating hammer pins), and is the source of the M4's persistent failure-to-extract and torn-off-case-rim problems. It really should be running a buffer heavier than the standard 5.1oz rifle version. H is 3.8oz, H2 is 4.6oz, and H3 is 5.4oz.

 

I know this can also be balanced out by changing the gas pressure by varying the size of the gas port, but I know BCM drills mil-spec .062" gas ports on their barrels, and I don't want to screw around with a manually adjustable gas tube. So, I'm going to try my luck with the H3. Right now, with the standard buffer, it is currently ejecting to about 4:30. As I said, if it turns out too be too heavy to cycle I can always swap weights between the buffers myself, but I really, really doubt it's going to be a problem.

 

The stock is a MOE, not a CTR. Again, I'm a poor college student and I already have $900 soaked into this thing. Eventually I intend to replace it with the ACS though. I realy like the UBR, but you can't run that with an ASAP plate (which I like, and already have installed. I'm thinking of wrapping the ring with vinyl air tube to eliminate the jingling sound when there's no tension on it.) I also do intend to put a MIAD grip on it, and then stick a Samson Field Survivor tool in it. If you haven't seen those, they are NEAT. Slot screwdriver, carbon scraper, oil ampule, broken shell extractor, cotter pin hook, front sight tool, and a mag feed lip gauge and adjuster. Like the AK/SKS buttstock multitook on crack. They make one that fits in the standard A2 grip, but it's not as secure that way I think.

 

Thanks for the compliment on the looks! I live deep in the forest, so I see no reason to make a SHTF rifle all black here. If I still lived in Mojave I'd be doing the whole thing in FDE tan instead... oh wait, if I still lived in Mojave I wouldn't HAVE and AR-15. It is definitely going to look slick though. Only thing that kinda sucks is that the finish on the BCM upper doesn't quite match the finish on the S&W lower; the upper is a little darker and smoother. Hard to tell unless you're up real close...

 

I personally don't like the way carry handles look, especially the rail-mounted A4 version, but after carrying it back and forth between the shop and the yard for shooting, I can actually see the appeal to it. It's the perfect balance point to grab the rifle, and I tend to carry it up-side-down by the rail, where the carry handle would be anyway. Since I don't plan to dish out the $ for a good optic right now, I don't really see a reason not to have one. Of course, I haven't 100% made up my mind on it yet. It would certainly help my decision if the carry handles weren't so expensive themselves!

Well I see you've your ducks all in a row and not a feather amiss... Not a danged thing wrong with your thinking

If I were thinking it as far as you're, I'd go H2, M16 BC and a chrome silicon spring (SSS Spring)... But then your financially bound... Wait, so am I... That explains those damned CC bills

 

Woops, missed that, indeed a MOE.

Yeah, if I could have afforded the UBR, I would have one, settled for the VLTOR EMod, which I like very much.

I too have the ASAP, and use the Ms2 sling, very versatile. Do you think the vinyl would work, and not bind up? It'd have to be very tightly fitted.

When you ordered the SOCOM Upper, it looks like you added the BCM BCG, that is a (auto/M16 BC), correct?

 

Yeah, seen it, handled it and decided it could stay on the vendors table.

Edited July 26, 2010 by ChileRelleno

[Casp 119]

Yep, It's an M16 BCG all right. BCM doesn't make them any other way.

[elia.jon1 1]

the rifle looks nice, but i need to tell you a secret....

 

the only difference between uppers put together by bravo company, model 1, and del-ton is....

 

....that laser etched bcm

 

they use the same uppers, all of them, and so does dpms, on its flat tops....

 

i dont know about bravo, but i know del ton uses wilson barrels....

 

but, the rifle looks great, i'll be happy when i get my moe mid length hg's

[22_Shooter 1,560]

Nice looking rig, Caspian!

 

Another rear sight to check out, if you don't mind a fixed one, is Daniel Defense's fixed rear sight. AIMSurplus has them for $66 and free shipping. They also have Magpul MBUS rear sights if you need quality folding sights for cheap.

 

 

the rifle looks nice, but i need to tell you a secret....

 

the only difference between uppers put together by bravo company, model 1, and del-ton is....

 

....that laser etched bcm

 

they use the same uppers, all of them, and so does dpms, on its flat tops....

 

i dont know about bravo, but i know del ton uses wilson barrels....

 

but, the rifle looks great, i'll be happy when i get my moe mid length hg's

 

Comparing complete BCM uppers to complete Model-1/Del-Ton/DPMS uppers as the same? Sorry, but no. You can tell yourself all day long that they're the same, but in the end, they are not.

 

If we're talking about stripped uppers, then yeah, they're all pretty much the same.

[Casp 119]

Thanks, Shooter. I was gonna say that myself. Technically they do not all use the same uppers, they use the same upper forgings all made by the same couple companies. Almost no one does the forging in-house, but they do all the machining in-house, and some companies have tighter QC than others. Any one company's stripped upper is just as good as another's, unless you get a lemon. The difference in the companies, as far as I am concerned, is how likely you are to get a lemon. But yes, as you both said, they are all about the same otherwise.

 

The upper receiver itself is not what concerns me. The barrel and bolt carrier group concern me. What I'm paying for is a barrel that is 4150 vanadium, not 4140 chrome-moly, and a barrel and bolt which I KNOW have been high-pressure proof tested and Magnaflux inspected, not a set that may have been inspected on a sample-test basis. What I'm also paying for is an M16 bolt and bolt carrier (not a semi-auto AR-15 bolt carrier with metal removed in bad places for bad reasons) which have been shot-peened for surface hardness, something that only Colt, Bravo, and possibly Lewis do to their carrier groups.

 

Bravo makes them the same way Colt makes them, and Colt makes them the way they are SUPPOSED to be made. Everyone else cuts corners. Some cut more corners than others. Some do a better job cutting those corners. And in many cases, to the civilian operator of a semi-automatic rifle or carbine, these cut-off corners will never be noticeable, but I'm not wasting my money on something I know isn't top-of-the-line, when it can come back to bite me in the ass on my primary "Oh Shit" weapon.

 

And yes, I know, I could have gotten a nice, rugged AK for half the price if not less, and I'm a dork for showing off an AR-15 on an AK message board, but oh well. (Besides, I hate Arf-Arf-ARFCOM.) I have no objection to the AK, and will own one eventually (definitely getting a Saiga-12 when I can afford it) but I'm just more of an AR person. After all, it's America's Rifle.

 

Back to your regularly scheduled programming: I received my handguards today, along with a MOE trigger guard and a couple more mags. And yeah, I'm definitely in the market for a better rear sight. What I have is passable for now, it's not coming loose, but I do want to upgrade. Not sure yet what to get. Unfortunately I'm too broke for that at the moment anyway. It'll be a few weeks before I can fit it into my budget, so I'll burn that bridge when I come to it.

 

 

Edited August 6, 2010 by Caspian Sea Monster

[22_Shooter 1,560]

Very nice setup. I was debating on waiting for the midlength MOE handguards to come out when they were first announced to throw on my middy BCM, but couldn't hold out any longer (good thing, because they're still not out yet, lol). I might still pick up a set of the carbine length MOE handguards for my 9mm AR, though.

 

I'm not sure if you're into VFG's, but Magpul makes one specifically made to fit MOE handguards and it's only like $20.

 

 

 

And yes, I know, I could have gotten a nice, rugged AK for half the price if not less, and I'm a dork for showing off an AR-15 on an AK message board, but oh well.

 

I love my AR's, just like I love my AK's. I'm just a gun whore, in general. If it works, I like it.......and all of mine do indeed work.

[kdbutler 563]

I like it. Nice AR.

[sjgusmc21 850]

Very nice build! Yeah, I went with the BCM barrel and BCG as well. So, what is wrong with the rear sight? Unless it is a cheaply made one, it should work just fine. Worked fine for me in the Corps. I learned my lesson about buying cheap rear sights. I am going to buy a BCM Rear sight/carry handle after I get done with my PTR-91 stuff. I have a Matech 600 Meter Backup Sights (GI Issue) on it right now. Thought I would give it a shot. Anyway, great job and have fun with it!

[Nailbomb 10,221]

With that furnature setup is reminds me a little of stormis Dawoo...

 

Sounds like a solid build. Let us know how it performs, and how you feel a few thousend rounds through it about the buffer.