ARs, AKs, etc.

[Set-In-Stone]

I finally was able to get out a little over a month ago and send some rounds down range. I had a few mis-fires, but all in all, the rifle seemed to work flawless. Now I just need to figure out how I can use it more. With the new law in NewYork, I'm a criminal if I leave my house with it now ? Looks like I have one expensive paper weight !  :angry:
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkxH0Ks1NpE

 

[Swissy]

oh goody goody goody goodie!
 
Got my new barrel (Rainier Arms 20" Ultra Match with lo-pro gas block pinned), my rail (APEX 15" GatorGrip), BattleComp BABC in stainless, and other assorted goodies. Once my Blue Moly gets here, I gots me a kickass .308 to finish building. And yes, pics will be forthcoming

 

[BlindedByScience]

5-6 months. Sorry.

 
My last two ran almost exactly eight months.  Sorry again..... ???

oh goody goody goody goodie!
 
Got my new barrel (Rainier Arms 20" Ultra Match with lo-pro gas block pinned), my rail (APEX 15" GatorGrip), BattleComp BABC in stainless, and other assorted goodies. Once my Blue Moly gets here, I gots me a kickass .308 to finish building. And yes, pics will be forthcoming

 
I'll bite...what do you put the anti-seize on?  Barrel?  Barrel nut?  Both?

 

[Swissy]

Yup... barrel threads. That way, down the road, it's possible to change the barrel without reefing on it like the Hulk to break it loose. Might want a longer barrel, might burn it out, etc..  but it helps.
 

oh goody goody goody goodie!
 
Got my new barrel (Rainier Arms 20" Ultra Match with lo-pro gas block pinned), my rail (APEX 15" GatorGrip), BattleComp BABC in stainless, and other assorted goodies. Once my Blue Moly gets here, I gots me a kickass .308 to finish building. And yes, pics will be forthcoming

 
I'll bite...what do you put the anti-seize on?  Barrel?  Barrel nut?  Both?

 

[wanlail]

Lol. Guess it is true when they say - submit, check, blank it from your mind and be surprised when it comes in.

 

[Bxcigrfan]

Friend of mine is at the Middletown gun show and a stag model 3 which on stags sight is 895$ is selling for 1400$ and mine friend is buying it cause that's all there is. Still haven't found my upper. Going to have to order it and stay on the waiting list and receive it next year.

 

[wanlail]

What kind of upper are you looking for?
 
Every once in a while, you can snag a decent deal for ARs online. Some of the vendors haven't taken to gouging hard just yet. Although it seems that it is few and far between right now.

 

[PetersCreek]

I'm still waiting on a bolt for my Blackout build but my reloading dies came in the mail on Friday.  I'm also still waiting on a trim die but just for fun, I decided to make a dry run on converting 5.56 x 45 brass into 7.62 x 35 rounds.  

Left-to-right: a standard 5.56mm x 45 case; a case after going through the resizing die; the reformed case trimmed to length; and an assembled dummy round (150 gr Hornady bullet, no powder or primer). I'm really looking forward to getting some live rounds loaded and sending them downrange...even if I have to pirate the BCG out of the 5.56 AR.

 

[looking for knowledge]

That looks nice Brett. My goal is to get into reloading after the supply and demand evens out again. Sure wish I would have started years ago. I have the blackout built, but only test fired 30 rounds for function. When a guy only has less than 200 rounds, and cannot find any more anywhere, it takes some of the fun out of sending lead down range.

 

[Swissy]

Man, ain't that the truth.But I'll go one further... I have ammo for my 5.56, yet I am hitting the range less as it's so damned expensive to replenish it - WHEN you can find it! Every local store here has nothing. Only the more unusual, or lesser used, is in stock. But look for .223, .40, .45, 9mm, .308 and so on? Forget it! And, when someone gets a supply in, it's 1) jacked in price and 2) limit 2 per customer.
 
I'll be happy when the nuttiness ends...

 

[BlindedByScience]

Man, ain't that the truth.But I'll go one further... I have ammo for my 5.56, yet I am hitting the range less as it's so damned expensive to replenish it - WHEN you can find it! Every local store here has nothing. Only the more unusual, or lesser used, is in stock. But look for .223, .40, .45, 9mm, .308 and so on? Forget it! And, when someone gets a supply in, it's 1) jacked in price and 2) limit 2 per customer.
 
I'll be happy when the nuttiness ends...

 
Same thing happened during the Clinton Ban, same thing happened the first time OB came into office.  My guess is that this will blow over in the next few months, slowly get back to more or less normal after that.  But, as soon as I can, you bet I'm stocking up....;-)

 

[Swissy]

Man, ain't that the truth.But I'll go one further... I have ammo for my 5.56, yet I am hitting the range less as it's so damned expensive to replenish it - WHEN you can find it! Every local store here has nothing. Only the more unusual, or lesser used, is in stock. But look for .223, .40, .45, 9mm, .308 and so on? Forget it! And, when someone gets a supply in, it's 1) jacked in price and 2) limit 2 per customer.
 
I'll be happy when the nuttiness ends...

 
Same thing happened during the Clinton Ban, same thing happened the first time OB came into office.  My guess is that this will blow over in the next few months, slowly get back to more or less normal after that.  But, as soon as I can, you bet I'm stocking up....;-)

Yeah, it happened before, but this time it seems worse. Dunno, maybe it's me, but it sure seems that it's farther reaching and deeper than last time. I hope I'm wrong, but I really wonder how we'll recover from this one. Maybe my tinfoil hat is on too tight... :laugh:

 

[DePasta]

Was at the shop today...they have some polymer lowers in....looking at having them do a build for me.

What are your thoughts on polymer lowers? I am looking for an intro gun for plinking and home defense. I may be better off waiting a few months in hopes things loosen up.

 

[BlindedByScience]

Was at the shop today...they have some polymer lowers in....looking at having them do a build for me.

What are your thoughts on polymer lowers? I am looking for an intro gun for plinking and home defense. I may be better off waiting a few months in hopes things loosen up.

 
My opinion....is that every one I've seen is junk.  Honestly, I'd wait and get you hands on a 'real' lower.  
 
The lower doesn't matter nearly as much for accuracy as the barrel and upper, but it does matter.  Can make a huge difference in reliability, however....

 

[PetersCreek]

That looks nice Brett. My goal is to get into reloading after the supply and demand evens out again. Sure wish I would have started years ago. I have the blackout built, but only test fired 30 rounds for function. When a guy only has less than 200 rounds, and cannot find any more anywhere, it takes some of the fun out of sending lead down range.

 
I hear ya 'bout sending what little you have downrange.  I was able to buy one brick of small rifle primers at a gun show last month and the local shops have zero on the shelves.  So, I'm torn about what to reload: .223 or .300 or both.
 
I had a short but successful trip to the range today, to work out a short stroking problem.  I couldn't adjust the gas block enough to pick up the next round or lock back on an empty mag.  I R&Red the gas block but it turned out to be the BCG.  I swapped BCGs between my two ARs and they both worked fine.  I figure after I break in the new BCG on the 5.56, I'll give it a try in the Blackout again later...or not, since they're both working.  With that settled, I'm gonna call the Blackout build done...the basics anway:

I'm still waiting on my Troy backup sights to arrive and after that, it's down to doodads and more time at the reloading bench.  It seems to like the 150 gr Hornady SPs over 15.5 gr of Win 296 and 125 gr Noslers over 16.8 gr.  I think I might just chrony a few next weekend.

 

[looking for knowledge]

Nice! :thumbs:

 

[BlindedByScience]

That looks nice Brett. My goal is to get into reloading after the supply and demand evens out again. Sure wish I would have started years ago. I have the blackout built, but only test fired 30 rounds for function. When a guy only has less than 200 rounds, and cannot find any more anywhere, it takes some of the fun out of sending lead down range.

 
I hear ya 'bout sending what little you have downrange.  I was able to buy one brick of small rifle primers at a gun show last month and the local shops have zero on the shelves.  So, I'm torn about what to reload: .223 or .300 or both.
 
I had a short but successful trip to the range today, to work out a short stroking problem.  I couldn't adjust the gas block enough to pick up the next round or lock back on an empty mag.  I R&Red the gas block but it turned out to be the BCG.  I swapped BCGs between my two ARs and they both worked fine.  I figure after I break in the new BCG on the 5.56, I'll give it a try in the Blackout again later...or not, since they're both working.  With that settled, I'm gonna call the Blackout build done...the basics anway:

I'm still waiting on my Troy backup sights to arrive and after that, it's down to doodads and more time at the reloading bench.  It seems to like the 150 gr Hornady SPs over 15.5 gr of Win 296 and 125 gr Noslers over 16.8 gr.  I think I might just chrony a few next weekend.

 
Interesting load.  I always ran 296 in my .44 mag pistol.  748 was the explosive of choice for .223...guess .300BLK has a very different time / pressure curve....??

Edited to add - I see that H110 is the recommended powder for supersonic loads. I used H110 / 296 in my .44 mag loads interchangeably as they are so darn close in burn rate. One warning with both those is do NOT use those powders for reduced loads. They are heavy deterrent coated high NG double based spherical propellants and NEED high pressure to properly ignite. Deterrent inhibits NC combustion. In some rare cases, reduced loads with those powders can lead to serious OVER pressure situations.

 

[Breedy]

Was at the shop today...they have some polymer lowers in....looking at having them do a build for me.

What are your thoughts on polymer lowers? I am looking for an intro gun for plinking and home defense. I may be better off waiting a few months in hopes things loosen up.

 
My opinion....is that every one I've seen is junk.  Honestly, I'd wait and get you hands on a 'real' lower.  
 
The lower doesn't matter nearly as much for accuracy as the barrel and upper, but it does matter.  Can make a huge difference in reliability, however....

I've seen a couple and am very Meh... Some people have run them with few issues and people are 3d printing themselves with better and better results... Hell there is a. 50bmg upper you can strap on to standard lower. So I don't think the stress will be enough to break it in the short term.

Palmetto State has had lowers in stock over the last few days at ~$130. I've heard them around at some of the local shops as well at similar prices. So supply is partially catching up and as legal wrangling drags on I think you will start to see more and more things on the secondary market.

Some things to consider 1. How much do you plan on shooting 2. What investment are you willing to make 3. Does the shop have complete uppers in stock or lower parts kits (pretty much everything is in short supply, specifically Bolt Carrier Groups)?

Personal thoughts are IF they can sell you a complete rifle (polymer lowers with standard upper) at a fair price do it, IF you plan on shooting a decent amount I recommend the following long term strategy. Eventually replace the polymer lower with a standard and then slap a. 22 caliber upper on the polymer lowers. Now you have 2 rifles and one should be significantly cheaper to shot.

 

[looking for knowledge]

 



Was at the shop today...they have some polymer lowers in....looking at having them do a build for me.

What are your thoughts on polymer lowers? I am looking for an intro gun for plinking and home defense. I may be better off waiting a few months in hopes things loosen up.

 
My opinion....is that every one I've seen is junk.  Honestly, I'd wait and get you hands on a 'real' lower.  
 
The lower doesn't matter nearly as much for accuracy as the barrel and upper, but it does matter.  Can make a huge difference in reliability, however....

I've seen a couple and am very Meh... Some people have run them with few issues and people are 3d printing themselves with better and better results... Hell there is a. 50bmg upper you can strap on to standard lower. So I don't think the stress will be enough to break it in the short term.
 
I owned a Cavarms poly lower a few years back. It was very light, strong, and I would trust them with my life. The fit and finish left something to be desired.
 
Speaking of .50 BMG uppers...

 

[PetersCreek]

Interesting load. I always ran 296 in my .44 mag pistol. 748 was the explosive of choice for .223...guess .300BLK has a very different time / pressure curve....??

Yep, the round calls for a peppy powder with bulk appropriate to the reduced case volume vs .223. In addition to H110 and Win 296, Hodgdon's published data include Lil'Gun, Trail Boss, and IMR 4227. The round's developer, AAC, suggests A1680, at least for subsonic. H110 was my first choice but unavailable locally. When I learned that 296 is (practically) identical, I snagged a couple of pounds at the first opportunity.

I got the word on reduced loads. As I recall, Hodgdon warns against reducing loads by more than 3%.