Winter Build ... Now w/PICS

Upper
- B. King's Firearms (BKF) M4 Mod 0 assembled upper. First time using a BKF product and I like it, I like alot.
- Ballistic Advantage 16" 223 Wylde Hansen SS .625 w/pinned lo pro gas block. First BA barrel, I am hopeful!
... talk about a tight fit. Had to use the freezer, hair dryer method to get them together. With 33ms on everything.
- BKF Melonited gas tube
- Aero Precision (AP) Atlas S-One w/BA logo 15" M-Lok HG
- Forward Controls Design 1815 ... first time using one of these.
- BKF BCG
- Breeks Warhammer CH
- Troy Micro Sights
- Primary Arms 2.5x Prism. Red dots are starting to look like starbursts for me, so trying a prism.

Lower
- Palmetto State Armory (PSA) w/PSA EPT LPK
- AP carbine buffer tube kit
- Sprinco Blue spring
- Magpul CTR, Grip, and trigger guard in OD
- Magpul BAD lever ... first time for one of these.
... this is all together.

Everything assembled and torqued, lubed to manufacturer spec.

- heldfast

Attachment 69647

Looks like from the sticky, we're supposed to discuss why we built it the way we did. Fair enough.

I wanted lightweight to carry for hours, balanced, accurate from field positions, reliable, and durable - a stalking gun so to speak. Its never gonna see a mag dump, or 20,000 rounds a year, but its also not a BR rifle. And it has to do all that in cold, brackish wet where I live. I also wanted to incorporate some parts from different makers that had been recommended to me like the 1815, or the BAD lever. And budget was simply no more than it needed; I don't ride for any brand. Barrel was the first choice, and it really came down to the BA or the Faxon Match gunner; the BA was the best deal at the time, and I'm intrigued to see if the continuous taper does in fact reduce stringing. S-One was in keeping with the lightweight, minimalist approach. I've also gone full circle on comps but a plain A2 didn't seem right for this, so a buddy sent me to FCD. While I don't expect to ever have to cut wire with it, I'm happy to know I can :)

I also wanted to stick with forged, and initially had a BCM blem for this, but I went with BKF instead which appears to be a BCM under a different label. It feels like companies are at their best where BKF is right now. BKF also had a bundled nitrided BCG with all the expected specs bundled with a breeks warhammer charging handle. And their melonited gas tube. Gotta say BKF did not disappoint, everything is in great shape, well packaged. There was some residual dry lube on the upper receiver, but that's okay with me.

Rest of the parts I had on hand, except the Blue Sprinco which my research suggests will work well with BA's port size if I stick with a standard buffer.

Happy with the weight, came in at 6# .2 oz with the Troy irons only, which is 3oz less than a 10.5" 5.56 upper I had to compare it to.
Overall under 7# with Prism, balances well.
Attachment 69649

Attachment 69650

Attachment 69651
Plan was to paint it a sort of Arctic Endor Camo, hence the OD furniture, but BA rolled out a nice marquee on both sides of the handguard. We'll see!

Looks good. I got cold just reading the thread, You should really like the prism. I really like the etched and illuminated reticles. I have a 1x and 2.5. Also had a 3 but it went with a 300blk I sold. It takes very little time to adjust to the 2.5 at distances under 10m. Just simulate in your house, etc and it's a quick learn. The very first time at a close-in distance is "interesting". Like an in your face, "Oh heck" pop-up target moment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bamashooter

Looks good. I got cold just reading the thread, You should really like the prism. I really like the etched and illuminated reticles. I have a 1x and 2.5. Also had a 3 but it went with a 300blk I sold. It takes very little time to adjust to the 2.5 at distances under 10m. Just simulate in your house, etc and it's a quick learn. The very first time at a close-in distance is "interesting". Like an in your face, "Oh heck" pop-up target moment.

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Thanks for the comments on the prism! Haven't had a chance to take it to the range yet, but hope to this week. Warmed up into the 30s so it shouldn't be too bad!

How is this working for you?