I have just about finished my new truck gun, and thought I'd post a few thoughts on it. I wanted something simple, but slightly more effective for me than my previous one. My previous truck gun, or ERC (emergency response carbine) as I have nicknamed it , was a 14.5" A1 sighted M4. It had a 1/7 twist Bushmaster M4 barrel, and for a while ran a Surefire rail, which I eventually changed back out for regular M4 handguards. It was a really good shooting weapon, that ran great. However, after a solid 2 day class, and a few subsequent range trips, it became apparent to me that the carbine length iron sight radius and my slight stygmatism in my right eye, were just not as compatable as I wanted them to be. I could make hits, but not nearly as fast and clean as I could with an Aimpoint.
So, I pondered it for a bit and decided it was time to do a new build. I parted out and sold off the previous one. I started with a new lower from Spikes Tactical here in FL. I normally like to use Denny's lowers, but made and exception on this one since the price was right.
In that went a CMT/Stag lower parts kit, CMT receiver extension, Magpul CTR stock and MIAD grip. The CTR and MIAD are two must haves on pretty much any AR for me anymore. The only exception is a VLTOR which I also love.
I got a new CMT M4 cut flat top upper, bolt, and carrier, to which I added a Troy flip up rear sight.
For the barrel, it took some time to decide. I am pretty much sold on 16" midlength barrels. However, I wanted to keep this gun as light as possible, within the parameters of how I wanted it to work. So, I went with a new CMMG 14.5" lightweight midlength barrel with a perm. attached Phantom flash supressor. To that I added a set of Cav Arms M4 profile midlength handguards, a side sling swivel, a Vickers sling, Midwest Industries short rail mount on the hanguards, and a Surefire X200A. On top, I went with a Samson cantilever Aimpoint mount and a ML3 Aimpoint. That about rounds it out. The only thing I dont have yet is the Aimpoint, but it should be here next week.
I went to the range today to go ahead and sight the irons in. I have discovered that just the little bit further forward location of the front sight on a midlength makes a lot of difference for my eye vs a carbine. Still not as fast as an Aimpoint but better than carbine irons. I wasnt sure what to expect from the CMMG light weight barrel. I zeroed it at 50 yards, and was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be quite the accurate little shooter. Felt recoil on it was another surprise. With as light as this gun is, I expected it to be a bit more than with my other 16" midlength carbine. It turned out to be less. Not sure how that happened, but this is a VERY light recoiling gun with little muzzle rise. Hammering on a target at 25yrds was very fast and easy.
I put somewhere between 200 and 300 rounds through it of Lake City M193 and Georgia Arms canned heat. Not a single malfunction. All I need to do now is get the Aimpoint mounted and zeroed and it will be ready to go. I cant say how pleased I am with the way this gun turned out. It functions perfectly so far, its very accurate, and its really light. This is definnitely a fighting gun. I have a class lined up that I am going to the first part of March, and I plan to take this gun to run in it and give it a little workout.
Here is a pic, but its from a week or so ago, and doesnt show a lot of the items mentioned above. I'll update it as soon as I can. Sorry for the pic quality but my camera is on its last leg due to an unfortunate training related accident at a carbine class earlier this year.