WhiskyNiner
02-09-13, 20:29
Got my first build put together and went to the range. 91 rounds, no failures of any kind. Tickled to death. The photo isn't Stickman quality, but who's is but Stickman?
PSA upper. Someday I'll build my own upper from scratch but this one was pre-built. I put on the MI rail, though. Barrel is 1:7, chromed, pressure tested, MP'd, CMV, forged sight, 16". BCM CH, large.
Spikes bcg. HP/MP, shotpeened, properly staked. M16 carrier.
PSA stripped lower. Windham LPK. BCM H buffer/tube/spring. Magpul stock. Staked.
The lower went together very nicely. I'd never heard it said that the FCG pins slipped right in. I'd always seen people banging away at them with a hammer...thought they were a friction fit. They were pretty easy, I thought.
The bolt stop lever went in pretty easy. I made a pin holder tool out of 1/4" stock, drilled out the hole, and ground off what needed it. It worked very well to start the roll pin. I got a tip from a YouTube video to put the slightest bit of bevel on the roll pin, and it worked great. A drop of oil didn't hurt. I used a pair of pliers to seat most of the pin. They are of the type where the jaws find parallel and remain that way through the event. Tape on the jaws, tape on the receiver, and squeeze. Easier than opening a beer. Finished the pin with a punch and a few taps.
Learning Opportunity-Inventory your parts kit before you start. One of the detent pins for the takedown pins went missing, or maybe wasn't there to begin with. I dumped the kit into a frisbee, and didn't move it around much, and still wound up missing one of the two. Lucky the LGS had some. I got two, just in case. I caught another tip from YouTube to hold the pin down in the spring hole with needle nose pliers and hold the pin in the hole with a razor blade, then install the takedown pin. Worked great.
Lubed everything thoroughly with M1 5w-40 TSUV. Sloppy wet.
An hour wait at the range. Got to people watch...I enjoy that most of the time. The parking lot was full. Some ahole was going through and hit the rear bumper of a guy's truck hard enough to move it over a foot. The ahole was writing a note to maybe put on the truck and the word went out inside. The guy who's truck it was that got hit headed for the door and took off his jacket...to uncover his SHERIFF t-shirt underneath. Everyone laughed and were glad they weren't Mr Ahole.
Bought brass .223 at the range since all I have is steel cased ammo. On the wifes M&P 15 we had problems with steel cases. Not a LOT, but enough to be a pain. I had no problems whatsoever today over the 91 rounds I shot up (I inadvertently left 9 rounds in my pocket from loading the magazines while the the shop was repairing my target hanger.)
The targets bob and weave from being sent down range and from the cable, so it's impossible to do any accuracy tests. But everything worked, all the rounds went off and the cases came out. A successful day.
I stole a rear MBUS off the wife's gun, as well as the front vert grip. I'll replace them when I get a rear sight, my FDE grip, and FVG in a week or so. Her M&P is the optics ready version, and I had a Bushnell red dot sight on it. It co-witnessed lower 1/3 with her two MBUS'. Putting the same RDS in mine and it's so short it won't co-witness at all. I enjoyed the RDS but was going to try a cheap version of the EO sight on mine. Proof of concept vehicles. What works best for me? Dunno, new to all this AR stuff. I still like my FAL and M1A, but this AR thing is pretty cool. Maybe my next build will be a 7.62 build.
I'd like to take a class or two to begin with, and think this combo is fair to begin with. What it will look like in the end remains to be seen, but I think it's an ok start.
Thanks for looking.
15319
PSA upper. Someday I'll build my own upper from scratch but this one was pre-built. I put on the MI rail, though. Barrel is 1:7, chromed, pressure tested, MP'd, CMV, forged sight, 16". BCM CH, large.
Spikes bcg. HP/MP, shotpeened, properly staked. M16 carrier.
PSA stripped lower. Windham LPK. BCM H buffer/tube/spring. Magpul stock. Staked.
The lower went together very nicely. I'd never heard it said that the FCG pins slipped right in. I'd always seen people banging away at them with a hammer...thought they were a friction fit. They were pretty easy, I thought.
The bolt stop lever went in pretty easy. I made a pin holder tool out of 1/4" stock, drilled out the hole, and ground off what needed it. It worked very well to start the roll pin. I got a tip from a YouTube video to put the slightest bit of bevel on the roll pin, and it worked great. A drop of oil didn't hurt. I used a pair of pliers to seat most of the pin. They are of the type where the jaws find parallel and remain that way through the event. Tape on the jaws, tape on the receiver, and squeeze. Easier than opening a beer. Finished the pin with a punch and a few taps.
Learning Opportunity-Inventory your parts kit before you start. One of the detent pins for the takedown pins went missing, or maybe wasn't there to begin with. I dumped the kit into a frisbee, and didn't move it around much, and still wound up missing one of the two. Lucky the LGS had some. I got two, just in case. I caught another tip from YouTube to hold the pin down in the spring hole with needle nose pliers and hold the pin in the hole with a razor blade, then install the takedown pin. Worked great.
Lubed everything thoroughly with M1 5w-40 TSUV. Sloppy wet.
An hour wait at the range. Got to people watch...I enjoy that most of the time. The parking lot was full. Some ahole was going through and hit the rear bumper of a guy's truck hard enough to move it over a foot. The ahole was writing a note to maybe put on the truck and the word went out inside. The guy who's truck it was that got hit headed for the door and took off his jacket...to uncover his SHERIFF t-shirt underneath. Everyone laughed and were glad they weren't Mr Ahole.
Bought brass .223 at the range since all I have is steel cased ammo. On the wifes M&P 15 we had problems with steel cases. Not a LOT, but enough to be a pain. I had no problems whatsoever today over the 91 rounds I shot up (I inadvertently left 9 rounds in my pocket from loading the magazines while the the shop was repairing my target hanger.)
The targets bob and weave from being sent down range and from the cable, so it's impossible to do any accuracy tests. But everything worked, all the rounds went off and the cases came out. A successful day.
I stole a rear MBUS off the wife's gun, as well as the front vert grip. I'll replace them when I get a rear sight, my FDE grip, and FVG in a week or so. Her M&P is the optics ready version, and I had a Bushnell red dot sight on it. It co-witnessed lower 1/3 with her two MBUS'. Putting the same RDS in mine and it's so short it won't co-witness at all. I enjoyed the RDS but was going to try a cheap version of the EO sight on mine. Proof of concept vehicles. What works best for me? Dunno, new to all this AR stuff. I still like my FAL and M1A, but this AR thing is pretty cool. Maybe my next build will be a 7.62 build.
I'd like to take a class or two to begin with, and think this combo is fair to begin with. What it will look like in the end remains to be seen, but I think it's an ok start.
Thanks for looking.
15319