Slowly upgrading my old carbine

[snakedoc257]

Thought I'd share some photos of my project. I just received my Troy Battle Rail today and I'm very happy with it. Fit and Finish is good and it was very easy to install.

I've had this carbine for a long time and it's served me well. It's a little outdated so I decided to start upgrading it.

[Psybain]

Looks good! How long did the install take?

[bobsolla]

it looks really nice!i really like troy rails and have them on one of my 300 blackout builds.

[RMiller]

I really like it.

[snakedoc257]

Thanks,

Maybe twenty minutes, but not any more than that. The longest part was cutting off the delta ring, spring and snap ring. I taped the weapon off and went really slow with a Dremel tool. After that just had to take off the side sling swivel bracket, drive out the bottom sling swivel and the rail popped right in. It feels solid and is lighter than I expected.

I may go back and cut off the front hand guard ring. You can leave it on, but it was a tight fit when sliding on the rail and it is just barely missing the rail.

I chose the Troy over the MI because of the weight. Troy specs say it adds 9 oz. to an m4 and MI specs say their comparable rail adds 14 oz.

[snakedoc257]

Here is some more pictures of install.

[HKBanger]

I'm definitely interested in one of their new BattleRail's. I spoke with Troy yesterday and they told me the 11" BattleRail Bravo weighs in about 13 oz which is a huge step up since their past offerings for quads weighed in around 20+ oz!! Looks nice.

[snakedoc257]

Here is a picture after I got the Troy rail covers installed. Also picked up a few Battle mags. Will test them tomorow and see how they do.

[bobsolla]

Here is a picture after I got the Troy rail covers installed. Also picked up a few Battle mags. Will test them tomorow and see how they do.

it looks awesome!my friend picked up a three pack of those troy battle mags for his new colt 6920 last week and they seem well made,but yet to bring it to the range.

[BH321]

Here is a picture after I got the Troy rail covers installed. Also picked up a few Battle mags. Will test them tomorow and see how they do.

How do the Battle Mags feel? It may just be me, but those little tabs on the bottom of the floor plates would bug me, how do they feel? Keep us briefed on how everything works out tomorrow because everything looks great so far.

[VIP3R 237]

How do the Battle Mags feel? It may just be me, but those little tabs on the bottom of the floor plates would bug me, how do they feel? Keep us briefed on how everything works out tomorrow because everything looks great so far.

All Battlemags come with a flush floor plate if you do not like the tabs.

[KrampusArms]

Like the rail. Pretty good idea extending past the FSP. Give that short carbine some more reach.

I have an upper with that barrel profile. That thing must be heavier than hell now. Whats it weigh?

[snakedoc257]

They definitely feel different than the Pmags. I think they could use a little more texture to improve gripping surface, but we'll see today. It's raining here, so it'll be a good day to test.

I'm still unsure about the tabs on the end. The tabs are a little flexible, not sure how to describe them, but they aren't a rigid plastic. I'm concerned a little because pushing the tab in is how you break down the magazine; not sure how well that is going to work out when dropped, but we'll see. These did come with the flush floor plate, so you can change them out. I decided to leave them on and see how they do today while performing mag changes out of my kit.

As far as the weight, Troy specs say this Battlerail adds 9oz. I've yet to weigh it, but I'll do that today and report back. It's definitely not a light rifle, but I've lugged it around a while.

[Tzook]

What about getting a nice BCM or LMT bolt carrier to beef up reliability? That'd be a huge upgrade

[snakedoc257]

Yesterday was the first time shooting with the rail and battlemags. I experienced no stoppages. I didn't have a chance to shoot past 50 yards, hopefully I will today. Definitely a different feel being able to grab the rifle further out. I like it!

I didn't get to shoot as much as I wanted, but I'll be at the range all week, so I should be able to ring my carbine and these mags out a little bit.

I placed these mags on my vest carrier, and I don't think the tabs really helped any. They are almost too small to grasp, so I'm not sure of the advantage. Was the idea for them to be like a Ranger Plate or something? Shock absorption if you drop them on a hard surface maybe? I wouldn't grab a full mag and try and seat them by just this little tab. I'll keep them on for a little while and see what happens. I attached some pics of them. As you can see I dropped them before I even got started. That wasn't on purpose, I was getting my gear together. The partially loaded picture was after dropping it during a reload.

https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e88446df51&view=att&th=13a21b0ab135f73e&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=1414722863808643072-1&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e88446df51&view=att&th=13a21b0aa3a31716&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=1414722895271165952-1&zw

https://mail.google.com/mail/ca/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e88446df51&view=att&th=13a21afa8c41b733&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=1414722829337755648-1&zw

Also, the follower doesn't seem to be as solid as a Pmag. If you push on the front of the follower it will cant, unlike my Pmags. However, I didn't have any malfunctions and I got them a little dirty.

I wasn't able to get near a scale yesterday, so I don't have a total weight yet. I'll get it on a scale today and report back.

Tzook, a BCM carrier is next, along with a BCM charging handle. Once I wear this upper out I'll replace it with a BCM mid-length upper. I've had this carbine since December of 2004, and it's never given me any trouble. I ordered it from RRA with a chrome lined barrel. Used it in many classes and drug it in and out of patrol cars ever since. It still shoots great and its accurate.

I maintain it, and I only shoot factory ammo through it. With that said I know it's not a BCM, LMT, or a DD and I won't argue that it is "as good as" like some would do.:D I'm just working with what I've got and improving it as I can. Thanks for the input, keep it coming.

[Tzook]

Hey, nothing wrong with that. It doesn't need to be a BCM to work! I think you're making a good choice with the BCM charging handle, I have one that came on my Noveske (marked Noveske) and It's the best CH I've ever used, bar none.