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Hawkeye
12-30-06, 14:58
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 :D , 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.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite1.jpg

M4arc
12-30-06, 15:45
I really like that build Hawkeye. Simple yet effective and to the point. Can we see a picture of the left side of the lower? How about another picture when the Aimpoint arrives and everything is ready to rock-n-roll?

Hawkeye
12-30-06, 17:05
I'll get some new pics up when the Aimpoint gets here next week.

Honestly, I cant say enough good things about the way this gun handles. Absolutely amazing. Good enough that it has put me in a quandry. I wanted to do one more carbine to have a backup. My 16" Sabre is my main go to fighting gun. This one will be my emergency truck gun of course. I've got a couple of others that fill specific roles.
I had about decided to do one more 16" Sabre gun to basically have an identical backup to my current one. However, this little gun is growing like mad on me now that I have a few rounds through it. I suspect that once the Aimpoint is on it, I'll like it even better. So now I am torn between another 16" Sabre, or another one of these, only maybe free float it. Just dont know....

k9dpd
12-30-06, 18:37
Very similar to mine, mine was built as a truck gun also but after taking a class with it, it is my patrol rifle now. 14.5 Middy's are the way to go

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/k9dpd/latest.jpg

LOKNLOD
12-30-06, 19:06
Outstanding build.

Hawkeye
12-30-06, 19:28
Very similar to mine, mine was built as a truck gun also but after taking a class with it, it is my patrol rifle now. 14.5 Middy's are the way to go

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v336/k9dpd/latest.jpg

Is it just me or dont you just love the way the thing handles

mark5pt56
12-30-06, 19:40
Looks nice Hawkeye! I say to just add a cut carry handle, Larue or LMT rear and leave it be!

Mark

k9dpd
12-30-06, 20:14
Is it just me or dont you just love the way the thing handles

Its my favorite gun now, and the least expensive I have built, I was making standing offhand shots on steel at 300, so it is a shooter also

VA_Dinger
12-31-06, 08:35
Very impressive.

Hawkeye always puts allot of thought into his builds.

Hawkeye
01-01-07, 15:43
Looks nice Hawkeye! I say to just add a cut carry handle, Larue or LMT rear and leave it be!

Mark

I've already got a Troy rear sight on it. Ampoint mount is sitting here. Aimpoint should be here next week. Like I said, stupid stygmatism in my right eye slows me down. I can make the hits taking my time and really concentrating, but running irons in a class, I quickly saw the difference in my speed/accuracy combo vs when I use an Aimpoint.
You REALLY should try one of these. The handling and balance is amazing.

mark5pt56
01-01-07, 16:09
I've already got a Troy rear sight on it. Ampoint mount is sitting here. Aimpoint should be here next week. Like I said, stupid stygmatism in my right eye slows me down. I can make the hits taking my time and really concentrating, but running irons in a class, I quickly saw the difference in my speed/accuracy combo vs when I use an Aimpoint.
You REALLY should try one of these. The handling and balance is amazing.

I forgot about the eye!
My plans are for a 14.5 middy soon! My 16" middy from them should be in Wed:cool:

KevinB
01-03-07, 14:15
Nice and simple.



Where the light :D

Hawkeye
01-03-07, 14:29
Nice and simple.



Where the light :D

Like I said, some things not shown in the above pic....new pic will be up soon. ;)

Lumpy196
01-05-07, 10:54
That is SWEET.

Sam
01-06-07, 08:01
Hey Tim:
Slightly off topic but related to your picture, how do you engage the switch on that Surefire? I assume with the left thumb?

Hawkeye
01-06-07, 17:15
As promised, here are some new pics. I am extremely pleased with how this project turned out. Here is also a breakdown on the parts.

* CMT M4 upper
* CMT BCG
* CMT charging handle with PRI big latch
* CMMG 14.5" light weight 1/7 midlength barrel with perm. attached phantom fs & F front sight base
* CAV arms handguards
* Midwest Industries short picatinny rail mount
* Surefire X200A
* Troy rear sight
* Samson cantilever Aimpoint mount
* ML3 4moa Aimpoint
* Spikes Tactical lower
* Stag/CMT lower parts kit
* KNS pins (not shown in pics)
* Magpul MIAD
* CMT receiver extension
* Magpul CTR
* Vickers sling
* CProducts SS mag w/ Lumpy plate

Just a couple of thoughts on the Samson cantilever Aimpoint mount. I REALLY like this mount. Very low profile and snag proof. All the points on the corners and such are beveled off. It is very solid. Best of all, it sits just slightly lower than other mounts. With this one, the irons are about dead center instead of the lower third as on others. This makes for some very fast target/dot alignment, but more importantly to me, even if the dot is off, using the Aimpoint itself as a giant gost ring in conjunction with the front sight works great. It works very well for good hits at 25-50 yrds. I know Pat Rogers has spoke of this before as well.
Also, the Midwest Industries mount I have the X200 on is a great piece.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite3.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v86/Hawkeye1/Guns/midlite6.jpg

molsen
01-06-07, 20:28
That is bad-ass! One of my Jeep guns is a damn near exact copy. Great job!

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/1124/stagmidlengthub5.jpg

Hawkeye
01-06-07, 21:10
Thank you sir.
This thing shoots great. Couldnt ask for any more out of it, especially for how I have it set up and its intended role. I cant say enough about this barrel. Time will tell as to its long term durability, but right now its a winner.

docsprague
01-07-07, 03:10
How did you get the Punisher Skull on your lower?


As promised, here are some new pics. I am extremely pleased with how this project turned out. Here is also a breakdown on the parts.

* CMT M4 upper
* CMT BCG
* CMT charging handle with PRI big latch
* CMMG 14.5" light weight 1/7 midlength barrel with perm. attached phantom fs & F front sight base
* CAV arms handguards
* Midwest Industries short picatinny rail mount
* Surefire X200A
* Troy rear sight
* Samson cantilever Aimpoint mount
* ML3 4moa Aimpoint
* Spikes Tactical lower
* Stag/CMT lower parts kit
* KNS pins (not shown in pics)
* Magpul MIAD
* CMT receiver extension
* Magpul CTR
* Vickers sling
* CProducts SS mag w/ Lumpy plate

Just a couple of thoughts on the Samson cantilever Aimpoint mount. I REALLY like this mount. Very low profile and snag proof. All the points on the corners and such are beveled off. It is very solid. Best of all, it sits just slightly lower than other mounts. With this one, the irons are about dead center instead of the lower third as on others. This makes for some very fast target/dot alignment, but more importantly to me, even if the dot is off, using the Aimpoint itself as a giant gost ring in conjunction with the front sight works great. It works very well for good hits at 25-50 yrds. I know Pat Rogers has spoke of this before as well.
Also, the Midwest Industries mount I have the X200 on is a great piece.

Hawkeye
01-07-07, 08:03
Spikes sells them that way. I've always been a big Punisher fan. Bought this lower on a whim since the price was right. I didnt plan to ever really use it. Then I started this project and figured, why not.

KevinB
01-07-07, 10:09
John -- looks really nice.

Lumpy196
01-07-07, 12:42
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c55/ChrisV196/ILIKEIT.jpg

LonghunterCO
01-17-07, 22:29
How do you guys like that Magpul stock? I am thinking about one for my next build. Are they an improvment over the standard CAR stock?

Hawkeye
01-18-07, 08:30
CTR's are my #1 favorite stock. VLTOR's follow a very close second. Those are the only ones I'll use anymore if I have a choice.

M4arc
01-18-07, 20:31
Hawkeye, I really like that build!

I'm planning something VERY similar for my "Keep Virginia Zombie Free" lower.

That is well done and well thought out.