Putting together a couple of pistols

[LMarshall73]

Yeah, I know. I picked a helluva time to start an AR build, much less two. Anyway, this is the component list I have going so far:

RRA stripped lower receiver (x2) - to be purchased next week when I get home from a business trip
RRA LPK (x2) - ordered from RRA last Friday, shipped yesterday
ACE Pistol Kit w/buffer and spring (x2) - ordered last Friday
RRA 7.5" A2 .223 complete upper - ordered from RRA last Friday
RRA 10.5" A2 .223 complete upper - ordered from RRA last Friday

Am I missing anything, or will I be GTG once I get all of my parts in? Oh, and I've picked up some PMags through various vendors (and GunBroker), as well as a case of 223.

Of course, the more I think about it, the more likely it is that I'm going to SBR one of the receivers, just in case I want to put together a 16" or 20" upper down the road. Man, I love how modular these things are!

[Puffy93]

Man, I love how modular these things are!

+1
Any thoughts on optics or are you sticking with the open sights?

[LMarshall73]

Haven't decided yet. On the 7.5", I'll probably go with a carry handle mounted Aimpoint (though the Vortex Strikefire has gotten my attention). I'm considering a gooseneck mount or a railed forend for the 10.5" with the same optic.

The 7.5" is being built as a travel gun (to supplement my Glock 19). I travel quite a bit, and the past few months I've been feeling undergunned when I'm on the road (primarily due to some of the areas I work in). The ability to breakdown such a short "long" gun is one of the main reasons I'm going this route. Break it down, drop it into a laptop sized Pelican case, and be good to go. :D

[nemohunter]

looks like you'll be GTG on parts. i'm sure you will find that your 7" will be the favorite. the 10" pistols are just extra wieght to pack around and detract from the overall handiness of the design. i too use mine as a travel gun to suppliment my 1911.

[LMarshall73]

Picked up the lower receivers today for my AR pistol projects:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/9603/dsc01838w.jpg

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1817/dsc01839s.jpg

First one took about 45 minutes to put together. The second was closer to 20. I may go ahead and build 1 upper by scraping up parts as I see them available (and funds allow).

[LMarshall73]

I managed to get one upper pieced together (still waiting on the 2 I ordered from RRA). I used an upper, barrel nut, and charging handle from BCM, a DPMS Kitty Kat 7" barrel, and an RRA BCG. The rear sight came from a box-o-parts I had left over from when I was messing around with AR's in the past.

http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/1070/dsc01873h.jpg

http://img217.imageshack.us/img217/1674/dsc01874k.jpg

If all goes as planned, I will get it sighted in tomorrow. I may end up putting another lower together when the other uppers eventually arrive.

[hatt]

No handguard of any sort? I know YHM makes a pistol length forearm if you were looking for one.

[LMarshall73]

No handguard of any sort? I know YHM makes a pistol length forearm if you were looking for one.

I'm looking at a couple of options. I tend to grasp the mag well when firing (at least I did with my previous AR's), so I'm not too concerned.

[LMarshall73]

Okay, a brief range report. Hit the range twice last week for an initial function test and to sight in the irons. I took 3 mags of Wolf (I know, I know) 55gr .223 and a mag of American Eagle XM193. Started with the Wolf. First 2 shotrs went fine, then it started short stroking on me. I figured it may jsut need a little break in, so I went through the rest of the mag. It failed to feed all but 2 times. I put the second mag of Wolf in, and the second round fed fine, but didn't extract. Of course I didn't bring my cleaning kit with me, so I couldn't knock the case loose, so I went home and was able to pop the case out of the chamber just by feeding the cleaning rod down the barrel. The rim was sheared off of the case where the extractor had grabbed it.

Did some searching around here and saw some possible reasons for the short stroking and went through the pistol. I found that the buffer tube had a slight wiggle to it, so I pulled it and wrapped the threads with teflon tape. It then locked up tight as a drum.

I went back to the range a couple of days later for another try. I went through half a mag (of Wolf again) before it short stroked, but managed to get it pretty well sighted in at 25yd. I finished out the mag with 2 more short strokes. I switched over to the mag of American Eagle and it ran like a raped ape. Downside is, I have a case of Wolf .223 (minus 60 rounds) and only about 180 rounds of the American Eagle.

So, now my delimma: Does anyone know if the Wolf .223 will cycle the RRA 10.5" upper I have on order? Will the longer barrel make that big of a difference, or would I be better off swapping out the buffer? I honestly don't know what buffer came with the Ace Pistol Kit. In the meantime, I will be picking up more of the American Eagle, but I hate to have the Wolf sitting there not being able to use it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[LonghunterCO]

Sounds like you are under-gased for the wolf and the current gas port hole size. 10.5 should help this out. Wolf is underpowered. I would ask myself, what is the typical ammo am I going to be using? If that answer is Wolf or Remington USMC green box from wal-mart, then you may need to open up the gas port.

[LMarshall73]

I've got a couple of options lined up to deal with the short stroking (aside from trying to track down more XM193). After a lot of reading on a lot of sites, I ordered a Noveske KX3, as well as a 0.089" drill to open up the gas port if need be (this is the size I found to be most often recommended, and, most significantly, recommended by Spikes Tactical which is who I ordered the barrel from). So, the parts are on the way to my house while I'm still on the road for work and won't be home for another week and a half. I plan on getting everything ironed out while I'm home. Oh yeah, I've got a few other goodies enroute so I'll put some pictures up when I get everything set up. :D

[LMarshall73]

One of the best things about travelling for work is coming home to boxes of goodies! This time, those boxes contained an MI low profile gas block, MI T7 free float handguard (with some Magpul XTM rail covers), Troy front and rear BUIS, a Noveske KX3, and an American Defense AD-68H optic mount. Also got a couple of Laquer Stiks and a few other tools from Brownells. So, here's what I spent this morning doing:

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/1208/dsc01901olw.jpg

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/3899/dsc01902.jpg

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/5966/dsc01904z.jpg

It is wearing a Vortex Strikefire until I pick up an Aimpoint.

[sbiggs]

Man, that looks pretty sweet!