"Rebuilding" my Noveske

[Wake27]

I've been toying with the idea of changing up some things on my factory Noveske. Here are some older pictures, but you get the point of the rifle itself.





Its a 14.5" CL Noveske N4 Light w/ VIS & SWB.

Main objectives:
Shave some weight
Gain more rail space
Soften the recoil if possible (not that its bad at all, but I seem to remember the issued M4's and M16's I've shot as recoiling even less)

As much as I love it, its hard to justify the 9" VLTOR VIS when I can get a much longer rail and still drop a decent amount of weight. Apparently though, one does not simply detach a VIS from the upper. So I'd have to get a whole new Noveske MUR upper and use my current barrel on that. I've also decided that the Switchblock is kind of pointless because if I was going to suppress anything, it'd be an SBR. So I'd need a lo-pro gas block too, though I'm still trying to figure out whether I need a .625 or a .750. I'm very heavily considering the 13" SMR MK1 as the rail. Apparently its kind of hefty, but if the calculations I've made are correct, with the new, lighter barrel nut, its right around 10 ounces lighter than my current setup. Since I'm dropping the SWB, I want to switch the Blackout to the BCM Comp. And finally, I'm debating the VLTOR A5. I see it recommended all the time here, but can't decide if I want to mess with mine since I've never had any reliability problems and as far as I can tell, that's the main objective of the system.

So I think the parts would look something like this:
Noveske MUR upper
Noveske middy gas tube
Noveske low profile gas block
Geissele 13" SMR MK1 (and new barrel nut)
BCM Comp Mod 1

Anything not sound right to you guys? I've never considered building a rifle because I just prefer to buy a factory built one. That being said, I'd have all work done by ADCO most likely.

[MrFJones]

That sounds like you have it all correct. I have been doing roughly the same thing myself and found it to be pretty easy. You will want a punch set and a barrel wrench if you don't already have one. It's also a good time to change out any furniture or a trigger if you are so inclined to do so.

[MrCleanOK]

Unfortunately, you bought a rifle with a pretty "permanent" upper receiver.

• Obviously, your upper is monolithic, you're tracking that. For any change there, you'll need a new upper and a new handguard.
• Your barrel is already drilled for that specific switchblock. Once a gas block and barrel are drilled to be pinned, they are mates for life unless you switch to a set screw or clamp type gas block (which is a reliability downgrade). You can't drill the same barrel twice.
• Your flash hider is fixed to that 14.5" barrel with a welded blind pin. Destroying a $100 flash hider to replace it with the BCM comp won't really get you much improvement for the cost of hiring someone to do the work.

Months ago, the right answer would be "sell what you have and buy what you want". Given the current state of the market, who the heck knows what the right answer is. I would still hold out for that option if possible. You can always call ADCO and ask for a cost and time estimate for what you want to do. Don't be surprised if they can't do anything about your gas block. It will probably be a few months before you can find the parts you'll need anyway.

[Wake27]

Unfortunately, you bought a rifle with a pretty "permanent" upper receiver.

• Obviously, your upper is monolithic, you're tracking that. For any change there, you'll need a new upper and a new handguard.
• Your barrel is already drilled for that specific switchblock. Once a gas block and barrel are drilled to be pinned, they are mates for life unless you switch to a set screw or clamp type gas block (which is a reliability downgrade). You can't drill the same barrel twice.
• Your flash hider is fixed to that 14.5" barrel with a welded blind pin. Destroying a $100 flash hider to replace it with the BCM comp won't really get you much improvement for the cost of hiring someone to do the work.

Months ago, the right answer would be "sell what you have and buy what you want". Given the current state of the market, who the heck knows what the right answer is. I would still hold out for that option if possible. You can always call ADCO and ask for a cost and time estimate for what you want to do. Don't be surprised if they can't do anything about your gas block. It will probably be a few months before you can find the parts you'll need anyway.

Thanks, this is the feedback I was looking for. I was expecting to replace the SWB with Noveske's 2 screw gas block but didn't know there'd be any issues with that.

[Ironman8]

Thanks, this is the feedback I was looking for. I was expecting to replace the SWB with Noveske's 2 screw gas block but didn't know there'd be any issues with that.

As long as you dimple the barrel for the set screws, loctite the set screws into the GB, and have a rail that completely covers the gas block (which it sounds like you are)...then you should be more than fine.

You can also stake the screws into the GB, but I'm not so sure how necessary that is...

[Wake27]

As long as you dimple the barrel for the set screws, loctite the set screws into the GB, and have a rail that completely covers the gas block (which it sounds like you are)...then you should be more than fine.

You can also stake the screws into the GB, but I'm not so sure how necessary that is...

Again, ADCO would be doing everything and I've heard good stuff about them so I'm sure they'd take care of it all. Good to know that it wouldn't be a problem though.

[Ironman8]

Again, ADCO would be doing everything and I've heard good stuff about them so I'm sure they'd take care of it all. Good to know that it wouldn't be a problem though.

ADCO is good to go. Used them before and they did great work.

[ScottsBad]

Hi, I know this is an old post but you could save half a pound by simply ditching the EOTech and getting a T-1. The switch block might be heavy too. Before you get rid of the monolithic upper replace the switch block with a low profile gas block.

Finally, you don't need an A5 vltor. Just make sure you have a good spring (tacticalsprings.com) and a quality buffer Spike's H or Spike's ST2 (depending on the spring you choose). I'd get a blue spring and a ST2 and a white spring and a H buffer then you can experiment.

Also, recoil may feel better with a BattleComp muzzle device.

Just my 2 cents.

[nickdrak]

The Geissele is a great rock solid handguard but if you are looking to drop weight the Noveske NSR 13.5 weighs about 1/2 as much as the Geissele.

[Wake27]

I know the EOTech is heavier, but I much prefer its reticle. I will be putting a T-1 on my other AR. As for the buffer, the Noveske one is already solid, as with all of their products. If I were going to change it, it'd only be for the A5, but that doesn't seem as necessary. And the goal of this is to create something lighter, but not a lightweight build. For that, I would consider the NSR, but I just want to shave some weight, not as much as I can. Based off recommendations from Todd and others here, I'm just going to piece together a new upper when everything calms down and then sell off my current one instead of rebuilding.