Sionics cerakote Upper / Lower set

[Surf]

Thanks to Iraqgunz and Josh at Sionics I picked up 3 sets of cerakote upper lower sets from Sionics. I put the first of the 3 together. I have an FDE and Tactical Grey set and will be putting them together soon.

Upper
- Sionics Upper Burnt Bronze Cerakote
- White Oak Armament 16" Midlength Match SS 1/8 barrel
- Precision Armament AFAB
- Vltor LPGB
- Franklin Armory 13" Rail
- LMT BCG
- Rainier Arms Raptor CH

Lower
- Sionics Lower Burnt Bronze Cerakote
- Geissele SSA trigger
- Bad ASS selector
- Colt small parts
- Magpul MOE+ Grip
- Magpul CTR Stock
- Vltor A5 with A5H3 buffer
- Noveske QD end plate
- Magpul Battery Assist Device

[Airhasz]

Great build, color, parts, Sonics rec looks excellent.

[Jeffro2912]

That came out looking very nice, any thoughts on the AFAB yet?


'Merica

[cwgibson]

I agree that is a nice looking lower.

[Iraqgunz]

Surf,

That looks really nice! Looking forward to seeing the other ones.

[Shorts]

Great to see that set. I've had a looksie and was impressed at their offerings. (I chuckled at the Bronze set you have. Their site was blinking the red alert "Last Items in stock!" for that color). Looking forward to the Gray build.

[Surf]

Here is the Titanium Grey

Upper
- Sionics Upper Titanium Grey Cerakote
- BCM BFH 16" Midlength 1/7 barrel
- BattleComp
- BCM LPGB
- Franklin Armory 13" Rail
- LMT BCG
- BCM Gunfighter CH
- LMT BUIS fixed

Lower
- Sionics Lower Titanium Grey Cerakote
- Geissele G2S trigger
- Bad ASS selector
- Colt small parts
- Magpul MOE+ Grip
- Magpul CTR Stock
- Vltor A5 with A5H3 buffer
- Noveske QD end plate
- Magpul Battery Assist Device
- Magpul Trigger Guard

[Iraqgunz]

Looks great. I built one very similar with that same color scheme and a Geissele MKII rail.

[SteveL]

Great looking rifles Surf with top notch components.

I wonder if I could get your thoughts on the Magpul BAD. It seems a lot of knowledgeable people here don't like them much so I would like to hear your thoughts on them.

[Surf]

Great looking rifles Surf with top notch components.

I wonder if I could get your thoughts on the Magpul BAD. It seems a lot of knowledgeable people here don't like them much so I would like to hear your thoughts on them.

Sure. First I am not dismissive of others experiences. I do take input, however most of my decisions are based on my own personal experiences and vetting of anything new. I may look at things from a risk vs. reward standpoint. I don't just take the words of others as gospel, no matter who they are. There are a lot of "Guru" preachers related to this topic / industry and even more who are willing to follow what they say, good or bad. I have no "vested interests" or no proverbial "dog" in the "Industry" fight so to speak and to think that like or dislike of certain techniques, products etc are not positively or negatively influenced due to a certain bias would be naive at best. If I use the word "you" in this post, I am not singling you out specifically, but generically speaking to anyone who might be reading this.

Having said the above..... I have been running this type of a device pre-Magpul. There were those of us making our own devices such as these for a long time. I still have my original device mounted on a rifle, so I have a long history with them. I seem to opt for the Magpul version as they have a no-frills lightweight design and I have a bit of history with the original prototype and person who introduced it to them. I will first note that by policy I am restricted to a certain rifle manufacturer so that swayed my direction for a solution.

First what are the downsides?

Device running through the trigger guard, potential for "catastrophic" failure rendering the trigger un-usable and turning the rifle into a club. I have been using this type of device for about 10 years now, with the tens upon tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds fired through at least 15 different rifles I have one mounted on. Running this device in pretty much every environment / situation. I personally know many many people running them in hard use applications similar to how I run them. I have seen them run in many courses by many people. In all of that use, I have had zero, yes zero "catastrophic" failures. I have not personally witnessed a single incident where the device has had a "catastrophic" failure. Yes indeed I have heard of such a white whale existing and quite honestly don't doubt the potential. I could also get struck by lightning but that doesn't mean I won't go outside when it rains either.

Putting your finger inside the trigger guard or potential for that to happen when using the device. If that is happening to someone, it is an improper manipulation technique and boils down to a training issue. If your finger pokes, pushes or protrudes into the trigger guard when manipulating the device you're doing it wrong. An up or down sweep "outside" of the trigger guard is all that is necessary.

Bolt not locking to the rear on last round or locking the bolt premature. None of the weapons that I own or more correctly that have this device mounted on have this issue. I have seen it, and changed a bolt release, detent and spring to fix that issue for someone else, but that is a rare thing for the rifles I run / build. I would guess that you would see this more often with certain manufacturers or parts more than others. Bottom line here, if the rifle does not like the device, don't run one. I do run a stock weapon set up quite a bit also.

Bolt going forward from bumping the device. I can only think of a handful of times that I have had an occasional bolt go forward when setting a rifle down or bumping on gear in some type of administrative situation where the bolt was locked back, but I have done that without a device also. Those administrative situations are rare as we generally don't do that, we are normally buttoned up even when empty. Just like we don't normally have pistols in slide lock in our holsters. So that administrative situation is not an issue as far as I see it.

So what are my advantages? I have 3 main advantages that are all based on "efficiency". Being efficient increases speed and effectiveness. Effectiveness with a weapon in a duty or defensive situation speaks for itself. Of course training, proficiency and vetting of all weapons and equipment is a must.

Ambidextrous operation. I am relegated to using a certain manufacturer for work applications, therefore ambi lowers are not an option. I also cannot cut into the weapons either. So options for ambidextrous set ups are limited. The battery assist devices makes life as a lefty far more efficient.

Malfunction clearances. Allows me to keep better retention with keeping my primary grip on the weapon. I can decrease the downtime of the weapon significantly. Even under ideal conditions I am much more efficient and can save about 35-40% off of the time my weapon is "down". I have done it hauling ass also. Not ideal to do something like that but it sure helped. I can also perform one hand or disabled clearances much easier also. A lot of people do that type of training with a pistol, but less with a rifle.

Last and while of lesser benefit, it is still a big plus, is the efficiency and speed of reloads. Again I can cut off over a half a second on a reload in an ideal situation and I am pretty darn fast with just running my thumb up and hitting the bolt release. But the interesting thing is that under less than ideal situations like improvised or alternate shooting positions or again when hauling ass, it is much easier, more efficient and quicker at releasing the bolt. In these situations I do not always get an ideal grip on the mag. Sometimes I only get a grip on the bottom of it. Bouncing around, or being stuck in an awkward firing position makes hitting the bolt release more difficult. With the primary shooting hand grip on the rifle and the release is right at your finger tip.

I know some of these things will sound like nitpicking but I am all about increasing my efficiency. There are those that will say "I am not going to risk my life on something that runs through the trigger guard, could fail and get me killed". It is all about weighing potential risk vs. potential reward. So for myself and my own experiences, I have seen zero issues in hundreds of thousands of rounds over 10 years of hard use. The calculated odds of failure in my mind is extremely minimal. About as minimal as a catastrophic bolt failure at the wrong time. On the other end of the measuring stick, I see not just a measurable increase in efficiency and speed, but an overall significant increase in performance in many areas. Is the device for everyone? No it is not. Why the hate from many? I think it was just that, hate. Hate for the chamber check roll (I don't do it), hate for the exaggerated outstretched grip (While not exaggerated I have an outstretched grip), hate for a theoretical based concept of product design which many think is money making based, hate for the popularity of certain training DVD's, etc... I think that is a lot of hate going on. Is it the end all be all device? I hope not, I hope we continue to progress and ambi lowers or other options are being engineered. Again I am stuck with certain options not being an option. If the device does not work on a particular rifle, don't use it. If you are not proficient with the device or don't like it, don't use it.

I will say that I do think that there have been issues that were blown way out of proportion by those who choose to dislike the device for whatever reasons. Catastrophic failures, I am sure have occurred just like any catastrophic part failure that is inherent to a rifle. I think that the device has gotten a bad rap for the wrong reasons and that opinion was heavily fostered by some people with significant influence in the AR world as I mentioned in my opening paragraph. Most of the BS you see in courses with the device, where people look like a monkey ****ing a football, is overwhelmingly due to a lack of proficiency using it. But that goes for all the other stuff someone brings to use in a course and are trying to get to learn how to use it. Fumble a reload because of a new loadout / gear set up, no biggie your just getting used to it. New user with the BAD lever and hit the device and send to bolt forward at the wrong time on a reload and you will get openly humiliated and if you are not burned at the stake you will be quickly ripping it off your rifle to avoid more ridicule and then you will become "one of the flock" and pass on this failure experience. As per my normal self, I could care less what others say or do. I take input, do my own home work and ultimately I base my own decisions on my own vetted results.

Hope this answers your question(s).