Please Critique this build for me

[ghostman1960]

Give me the good the bad and the ugly. This is my first build so to say. I started with a S&W lower and installed a MOE stock on it. Also not pictured is a MIAD grip and trigger guard. The upper is a DSA mid length with a fluted barrel. I have no clue who made the bolt and carrier. The hand guards are from Cav Arms and the Buis is a Magpul. The optic is a Bushnell 1x32. Which is a surprisingly good optic by the way. Anyway here she is:

http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt45/ghostman1960/002-2.jpg

Here it is with the rail system installed and the MIAD grip and trigger guard.
http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt45/ghostman1960/007-1.jpg

[sevin8nin]

i'd be more curious to see who makes the bolt/carrier. Do you have pictures of the gas key on the bolt carrier to see if it's staked well.

Ordinarily, i'm not a big fan of lego rifles that are built out of multiple manufacturer's parts, but if the rifle works consistently for you, then i'd call it good. I don't have any experience with the bushnell 1x32, so i can't comment there.

[ghostman1960]

i'd be more curious to see who makes the bolt/carrier. Do you have pictures of the gas key on the bolt carrier to see if it's staked well.

Ordinarily, i'm not a big fan of lego rifles that are built out of multiple manufacturer's parts, but if the rifle works consistently for you, then i'd call it good. I don't have any experience with the bushnell 1x32, so i can't comment there.

http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt45/ghostman1960/stuff039.jpg

[Jay Cunningham]

The optic is a Bushnell 1x32. Which is a surprisingly good optic by the way.

What is your basis for this statement?

[ghostman1960]

What is your basis for this statement?It hold s zero like a rock. Very fine dot for longer distance shooting. I like the T rectical. it has red and green settings for daylight and low light settings. 9 different brightness settings. The glass is clear as can be. And its built like a tank.

[Jay Cunningham]

It hold s zero like a rock. Very fine dot. I like the T rectical. it has red and green settings for daylight and low light settings. ( different brightness settings. The glass is clear as can be,

Under what conditions have you used it?

[ghostman1960]

Under what conditions have you used it?

Just range conditions from bright sun light to low light conditions.

[richdkim77]

I'm curious how much you spent on that complete setup?

[Jay Cunningham]

Just range conditions from bright sun light to low light conditions.

You need to be able to trust it in the cold and the rain. How many rounds through the rifle with the optic mounted?

[ghostman1960]

I'm curious how much you spent on that complete setup?

Adding it up right now it came to under 900.00 I would say.

[ghostman1960]

You need to be able to trust it in the cold and the rain. How many rounds through the rifle with the optic mounted?
Well I went in on a case with a friend of mine so that gave me 500 rounds. I have about 150 rounds left. So I have shot 350 rounds with that optic on it.

[Jay Cunningham]

Well I went in on a case with a friend of mine so that gave me 500 rounds. I have about 150 rounds left. So I have shot 350 rounds with that optic on it.

All benchrest, or have you been shooting offhand and positions?

[ghostman1960]

All benchrest, or have you been shooting offhand and positions?

Mostly bench. I have not shot off hand since I changed the stock. The MOE stock has no sling swivel and the sling I have been using previously does not fit through the slots on the MOE stock. I suck at shooting offhand with out a sling.

[Jay Cunningham]

I'm grilling you like this because I haven't heard much about that optic. How much did you pay for it?

You need to get thy ass off tha bench and do some offhand shooting. You need to heat the gun up to see if anything breaks, so during "break in" some rapid strings are good to get stuff hot.

What's your bolt look like? MPT/HP? Black extractor insert? Five coil spring?

[Jay Cunningham]

Does the upper have M4 ramps?

[ghostman1960]

I'm grilling you like this because I haven't heard much about that optic. How much did you pay for it?

You need to get thy ass off tha bench and do some offhand shooting. You need to heat the gun up to see if anything breaks, so during "break in" some rapid strings are good to get stuff hot.

What's your bolt look like? MPT/HP? Black extractor insert? Five coil spring?

I paid about 185 for the optic. I posted a pic of the bolt in this thread.

[ghostman1960]

Does the upper have M4 ramps?

Yes it has M4 feed ramps.

[Jay Cunningham]

You posted a pic of the gas key on the bolt carrier.

[ghostman1960]

I'm grilling you like this because I haven't heard much about that optic. How much did you pay for it?

You need to get thy ass off tha bench and do some offhand shooting. You need to heat the gun up to see if anything breaks, so during "break in" some rapid strings are good to get stuff hot.

What's your bolt look like? MPT/HP? Black extractor insert? Five coil spring?

I have no idea what any of those things are as far as extractor inserts or 5 coil springs. I dont even know who made the bolt and carrier. I got it from an old guy sitting at a table at a gun show. When I asked him who made it he looked at me like I was from mars. But for 75 bucks I figured I would give it a try. So far I have not had any problems with it. I am relatively new to this so bare with me.

[ghostman1960]

You posted a pic of the gas key on the bolt carrier.

Oh. See?

[Jay Cunningham]

You asked in the title of your thread to critique the build, so I'm trying to find out about it.

[ghostman1960]

You asked in the title of your thread to critique the build, so I'm trying to find out about it.

And I appreciate your trying to find out. I am just not up on all of the terminology yet. Where do I look to find those things? I don't see anything in the extractor and wouldn't know where to look for the spring on the bolt. I am thinking it is just a plain jane bolt.

[Jay Cunningham]

Take a look at a couple of the stuck threads at the top of the AR General and Technical forums.

[ghostman1960]

Take a look at a couple of the stuck threads at the top of the AR General and Technical forums.

Will do. Thank you.

[JLSKIP]

In regard to the Bushnell optic:

The glass is clear, but tinted blue.
It holds zero acceptably well.
I liked the reticle design and the choice of a red or green illumination.
It is built like a tank, and therefore it is heavy like a tank.

I own one and and have seen someone else use one at a regional group training. Both had the same failure, where the reticle will blink on and off due to the recoil of the rifle, a connection issue with the brightness/color dial or due to the spring in the battery compartment losing it's strength.

While my sample count is low, the failure rate is high from my experience.

I would not recommend this optic for anything other than a .22 plinker. If you can return it or sell it off, I would advise you to do so unless a reticle that works intermittently is acceptable to you.

Money can be hard to come by sometimes, but I do not regret saving up to buy an Aimpoint H-1. Sometimes you don't know how much your peace of mind is worth until after you've spent the money.

[ghostman1960]

In regard to the Bushnell optic:

The glass is clear, but tinted blue.
It holds zero acceptably well.
I liked the reticle design and the choice of a red or green illumination.
It is built like a tank, and therefore it is heavy like a tank.

I own one and and have seen someone else use one at a regional group training. Both had the same failure, where the reticle will blink on and off due to the recoil of the rifle, a connection issue with the brightness/color dial or due to the spring in the battery compartment losing it's strength.

While my sample count is low, the failure rate is high from my experience.

I would not recommend this optic for anything other than a .22 plinker. If you can return it or sell it off, I would advise you to do so unless a reticle that works intermittently is acceptable to you.

Money can be hard to come by sometimes, but I do not regret saving up to buy an Aimpoint H-1. Sometimes you don't know how much your peace of mind is worth until after you've spent the money.

I may be one of the lucky few as I have not had the recticle blink on and off in over 300 rounds so far. How many rounds did you have through yours before you noticed your problem?

[JLSKIP]

I don't think mine failed until I was in the 600-800 round count on that particular rifle/optic. At least if it fails at the range you can take it off and work with you iron sights.

Ultimately you will be best served by defining what you want your rifle to be used for, a mission statement if you will. Is it just a plinker? Is it a plinker that will also serve as your primary or secondary home defense? This info will help the other members respond to your request for feedback on your build.

[ghostman1960]

I don't think mine failed until I was in the 600-800 round count on that particular rifle/optic. At least if it fails at the range you can take it off and work with you iron sights.

Ultimately you will be best served by defining what you want your rifle to be used for, a mission statement if you will. Is it just a plinker? Is it a plinker that will also serve as your primary or secondary home defense? This info will help the other members respond to your request for feedback on your build.

Primarily a range/ plinker and SHTF gun if in the rare event of another major hurricane hitting down here with the zombies wandering out their neighborhoods into mine again looking for a little recreational looting. Otherwise it would be a secondary home defense weapon as my G19 is my primary gun for that.

[Jay Cunningham]

Ultimately you will be best served by defining what you want your rifle to be used for, a mission statement if you will.

Very good advice.

[Devil Dog 999]

I am interested in hearing what M4heads have to say about the upper. The reason I ask, is that I just ordered the same exact one for my first frankenbuild. Thanks in advance. P.S. In my rookie opinion, she looks sweet. :o
Good enough for plinking and zombie abatement.

[ghostman1960]

I am interested in hearing what M4heads have to say about the upper. The reason I ask, is that I just ordered the same exact one for my first frankenbuild. Thanks in advance. P.S. In my rookie opinion, she looks sweet. :o
Good enough for plinking and zombie abatement.
Since you already ordered one you probably know that the barrels are made by T/C and are 1/9 twist and nitride coated. They are not chrome lined. The biggest bummer is that the FSB is not F marked. Another annoyance was that the original hand guards were terrible and loose as a goose. I put a set of Cav Arms hand guards on mine and they are tight now. I have read that DSA is now shipping their uppers with the Cav Arms hand guards on them now as a fix for the loose hand guards that they originally shipped with. Mine is pretty accurate. I usually average 3 inch groups off the bench using my red dot site at 100 yds with Fiocchi 55gr ammo. I am sure a better shooter than I could do better with it though.

[ghostman1960]

Almost finished.

http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt45/ghostman1960/007-1.jpg

[ghostman1960]

http://i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt45/ghostman1960/021.jpg