Zeroed my new Colt SOCOM barreled upper...

[Hammer_Man]

I recently put together a new rifle using a Noveske N4 receiver set, Colt SOCOM barrel, Colt barrel nut, Colt Delta ring assembly, Knights RAS II hand guard, Matech rear sight, and Surefire SF3P flash hider. When I zeroed my new toy this evening, I found I had to adjust my windage almost all the way to the right to bring my groups into the middle of my target. All my other ARs seem to be just a few clicks away from center.
When I asembled the upper, I had to torque the barrel nut to appx. 70 ft. lbs to get it to time properly, and torque the flash hider to 30 ft lbs to get it to time properly. Both of those torque values are a bit higher than I'm comfortable with, could these high torque values be causing a noticable windage shift in comparison to my other ARs? Could I have gotten a barrel that is on the edge of allowed tolerances? I know it should all be well and good, because at the end of the day I was able to get my groups in the middle of my target. I just can't help but wonder if I did something wrong during assembly, or if my barrel or receiver could be out of spec somehow. Should I just shoot the crap out of it and stop worrying? Any insight would be appreciated.

[sidewaysil80]

Call Colt. I had a CCU that required me to max out windage adjustment in order to center my groups. They took it back, concurred something was wrong, and rebarreled it. Be prepared for a four month wait though...

[Hammer_Man]

Call Colt. I had a CCU that required me to max out windage adjustment in order to center my groups. They took it back, concurred something was wrong, and rebarreled it. Be prepared for a four month wait though...

I'm glad to hear they took care of it for you. I'll call Colt, and Arms Unlimited Monday morning and see if they'll extend to me the same courtesy.

[Bob Sacamano]

Good reason to assemble upper, then send it out to have the FSB ALLIGNED with rear sight, then pinned.

If there was some wiggle room between the alignment pin and receiver, you could try to remove barrel nut and re-install while favoring a side (left?). Could not hurt to have a super reaction rod handy to hold it all in place while tightening the barrel nut.

[Hammer_Man]

Good reason to assemble upper, then send it out to have the FSB ALLIGNED with rear sight, then pinned.

If there was some wiggle room between the alignment pin and receiver, you could try to remove barrel nut and re-install while favoring a side (left?). Could not hurt to have a super reaction rod handy to hold it all in place while tightening the barrel nut.

The upper receiver to barrel fit is very tight, which is why i like Noveske receivers. I don't think re-aligning the front sight base is possible, because it was drilled and pinned from the factory.

[mack7.62]

Call Colt. I had a CCU that required me to max out windage adjustment in order to center my groups. They took it back, concurred something was wrong, and rebarreled it. Be prepared for a four month wait though...

This is not a Colt assembled upper, I don't believe Colt will be much help.

[Hammer_Man]

Just an update. I contacted Arms Unlimited about my barrel, and they told me to contact Colt, as the barrel is under warranty. I spoke to a Colt customer service representative yesterday, and he advised me to send it in for inspection. I was provided with an RMA for shipping, and I hope have everything sent off this weekend, when I have time to make it to the post office. I will update this thread as things progress.

[sidewaysil80]

It will take forever unfortunately, but at least they are helping you out.

[markm]

My money is on the Upper being wonky. I don't put much faith in Noveske's current offerings... And even when they were good, they weren't worth their high price in my opinion. The torque values are nothing. I've broken colt nuts loose that had to have been above that.

[Hammer_Man]

My money is on the Upper being wonky. I don't put much faith in Noveske's current offerings... And even when they were good, they weren't worth their high price in my opinion. The torque values are nothing. I've broken colt nuts loose that had to have been above that.

That would be what I'm afraid of most. I hope it doesn't come to that, as I don't want to deal with the headache of getting a receiver warrantied. I know they would probably replace it if it was faulty, but that would mean having to make more phone calls, and more trips to the post office, etc.. In a way all this run around makes me want to give up building ARs all together. I really enjoy the building process, but none of the local stores stock good parts, so that means I have to mail order everything. Unfortunately when something goes wrong, I can't just drive to the store and exchange something. Instead I need to make phone calls/emails, and wait on shipping/turn around times, etc..