LOKNLOD
08-05-08, 23:09
Last week, I recieved my dedicated .22LR upper built by Grant at G&R using the Tactical Solutions bolt and barrel. Since my hope is to be able to use this setup to get some training/practice value at a lower cost, I opted to go with the setup to duplicate an M4 upper as close a possible with standard handguards and a pinned fixed FSB. Handling this setup reminds me of how light and handy a basic carbine feels in the hand. As much as I like the way more heavily "improved" carbines handle, it makes an argument to me for having just a basic carbine with a red-dot.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/1.jpg
On Saturday, I got to do some shooting with it, and ended up firing roughly 300 rounds through it, with few issues. I did experience a lot of failures to fire -- all due to dud .22 rounds. The ammo I had on hand was some bulk pack Federal, which has been following me around for proably 7 or 8 years now, including spending most of this summer out in my (hot) garage. So I'm not the least bit surprised that I had some issues with it. They all had evidence of solid rim strikes so I don't think it was related to the weapon itself. I did have 2 failures that were possibly the gun's fault -- both times it loaded a new round and then "stovepiped" the empty casing (smahing it flat in the process). I'm not sure what caused this, and to be honest I didn't really spend much time trying to diagnose it. Both happened fairly early, and if I was going to be out in the 103° heat, I wanted to be shooting, not troubleshooting.
I started out by roughly zeroing both my Aimpoint ML2 and Trijicon Accupoint TR-21R at 25 yards. I didn't have a bench to shoot from (far from ideal, I know) but accuracy was acceptable, with no trouble keeping rounds on the 1.5" circles I was shooting at. I had one little cluster fall in a quadrant of the circle, so that was roughly a 3/4" group. After that, I spent some time plinking at cans -- not very "tactical" but it let me have some fun while running rounds through it.
Before I get to more thoughts, some pics for those who might want some more info on the setup. These also show how dirty it got after only about 300 rounds.
Here's the bolt in the closed position. You can see how the barrel extends into the upper, and this is part of the reason why the upper's overall length is closer to a 14.5" AR than a 16".
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/2.jpg
Here's the bolt locked back. Note that this is as far back as the charging handle can be pulled, and that the bolt is only held back by the follower on the magazine. Pulling out the mag (it won't drop free from this position) lets the bolt forward.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/3.jpg
Here's the bolt/carrier assembly.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/5.jpg
Here you can see how the bolt slides in the carrier.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/10.jpg
Here is the rear of the bolt/carrier assembly, as installed. You can see the cutout for the buffer retainer pin -- since the bolt slides in the carrier, and the carrier remains stationary, not engaging the buffer/spring.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/4.jpg
This is the chamber area.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/8.jpg
Closeup of the Black Dog Mag.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/9.jpg
Now, here is one issue that showed up tonight when I pulled it out to take the pictures. This little o-ring fell out:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/11.jpg
I think it belongs as shown here, but honestly don't remember noticing it before. I'll have to follow up on this, as I think it functions as a little recoil buffer. I hope this doesn't turn out to be something that needs constant replacement.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/6.jpg
Some thoughts:
This is perfect for teaching a new shooter on the cheap.
This setup will be handy for close range drills like alternative shooting positions, pistol transitions, or others where all you need to do is poke a few small holes in paper, that perhaps don't get as much attention as we'd like because of the high ammo cost.
This also made a very effective test bed for comparing my new Accupoint to my old Aimpoint for close range shooting.
This is not the best way to get your reloading skills fine tuned. It'd be acceptable for practicing a "tactical" reload (replace and retain half-empty mag during a lull) but the bolt-hold open setup won't work for practicing a "speed" reload (bolt locked, empty mag drops free).
At current 5.56 prices, this upper setup will pay for itself in less than 2000 rounds...that's a good value, to me. Plus, I Ihink ARs are fun to shoot -- and this lets me shoot an AR (more or less) without feeling guilty (or going broke) just plinking.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/1.jpg
On Saturday, I got to do some shooting with it, and ended up firing roughly 300 rounds through it, with few issues. I did experience a lot of failures to fire -- all due to dud .22 rounds. The ammo I had on hand was some bulk pack Federal, which has been following me around for proably 7 or 8 years now, including spending most of this summer out in my (hot) garage. So I'm not the least bit surprised that I had some issues with it. They all had evidence of solid rim strikes so I don't think it was related to the weapon itself. I did have 2 failures that were possibly the gun's fault -- both times it loaded a new round and then "stovepiped" the empty casing (smahing it flat in the process). I'm not sure what caused this, and to be honest I didn't really spend much time trying to diagnose it. Both happened fairly early, and if I was going to be out in the 103° heat, I wanted to be shooting, not troubleshooting.
I started out by roughly zeroing both my Aimpoint ML2 and Trijicon Accupoint TR-21R at 25 yards. I didn't have a bench to shoot from (far from ideal, I know) but accuracy was acceptable, with no trouble keeping rounds on the 1.5" circles I was shooting at. I had one little cluster fall in a quadrant of the circle, so that was roughly a 3/4" group. After that, I spent some time plinking at cans -- not very "tactical" but it let me have some fun while running rounds through it.
Before I get to more thoughts, some pics for those who might want some more info on the setup. These also show how dirty it got after only about 300 rounds.
Here's the bolt in the closed position. You can see how the barrel extends into the upper, and this is part of the reason why the upper's overall length is closer to a 14.5" AR than a 16".
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/2.jpg
Here's the bolt locked back. Note that this is as far back as the charging handle can be pulled, and that the bolt is only held back by the follower on the magazine. Pulling out the mag (it won't drop free from this position) lets the bolt forward.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/3.jpg
Here's the bolt/carrier assembly.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/5.jpg
Here you can see how the bolt slides in the carrier.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/10.jpg
Here is the rear of the bolt/carrier assembly, as installed. You can see the cutout for the buffer retainer pin -- since the bolt slides in the carrier, and the carrier remains stationary, not engaging the buffer/spring.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/4.jpg
This is the chamber area.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/8.jpg
Closeup of the Black Dog Mag.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/9.jpg
Now, here is one issue that showed up tonight when I pulled it out to take the pictures. This little o-ring fell out:
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/11.jpg
I think it belongs as shown here, but honestly don't remember noticing it before. I'll have to follow up on this, as I think it functions as a little recoil buffer. I hope this doesn't turn out to be something that needs constant replacement.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f392/LOKNLOD/6.jpg
Some thoughts:
This is perfect for teaching a new shooter on the cheap.
This setup will be handy for close range drills like alternative shooting positions, pistol transitions, or others where all you need to do is poke a few small holes in paper, that perhaps don't get as much attention as we'd like because of the high ammo cost.
This also made a very effective test bed for comparing my new Accupoint to my old Aimpoint for close range shooting.
This is not the best way to get your reloading skills fine tuned. It'd be acceptable for practicing a "tactical" reload (replace and retain half-empty mag during a lull) but the bolt-hold open setup won't work for practicing a "speed" reload (bolt locked, empty mag drops free).
At current 5.56 prices, this upper setup will pay for itself in less than 2000 rounds...that's a good value, to me. Plus, I Ihink ARs are fun to shoot -- and this lets me shoot an AR (more or less) without feeling guilty (or going broke) just plinking.