I've been a member of M4C since 2009, mostly lurking as my post count would reveal. I spent a few years buying and shooting pistols until last year when circumstances forced me to liquidate everything down to the last cartridge. I've spent the last several months doing what I should have done: Shooting a vast assortment of pistols and rifles and improving by basic firearm skills and marksmanship.
It wasn't until now that I finally put together an AR-15. After spending much time reflecting on the 2A, it came to me that the reason we have a right to keep and bears arms is because as free citizens we have an obligation to keep and bear arms -- envisioning the way things should be: An M16 in every closet. Every American a rifleman.
I waited a year or so for the Colt AR-15 A4 to be released. With the craze not quite over it seemed like their A4 was vaporware with no real release date, so a few months ago when by chance I noticed that BCM 20” upper assemblies were back in stock for the first time in ages, I impulsively jumped and snagged one. My initial thought was to build a USMC M16 A4 clone, a basic proven setup to build my rifle skills upon, which led me to acquiring all of the USMC-issued Knight Arms parts for the build in fairly short order.
When it came to picking a BCG I spent a crazy amount of time searching and comparing different coatings and treatments and enhanced/PiP BCG designs. In the end I decided to go with the no-BS option from BCM. Above all I wanted reliability, and the bolt is the heart of the system. For the charging handle I wanted an improved design for strength but without the snag risk of some the large and toothy oversized designs, and the Mod 5 was a perfect answer that took me some time to discover since no one seems to talk about it.
(I didn't feel like pulling the RAS back off just for the sake of the parts photo.)
UPPER:
BCM standard 20” upper assembly
BCM BCG
BCM Gunfighter charging handle Mod 5
Knight Arms M5 RAS
Knight Arms vertical foregrip
Knight Arms Micro Flip-up Rear sight, 200 to 600m
Daniel Defense QD swivel mount
Grip Pod GPS-02
Once the upper was complete the lower became a much longer quest, in part due to the scarcity of options at the time and in part due to new information as I continued to search and research extensively. Very long story short, the ergonomic advantages of a carbine stock with good cheekweld won out over the traditional aesthetic of an A2 or A1. I spent a lot of time with the AR-15 weight calculator, playing with different component mixes to keep the total weight reasonable while keeping the assembled rifle from being too nose heavy. I wanted the finished rifle (sans optic) to weigh no more than a stock AR-15 A4 with carry handle and A2 stock and handguard (7.7 pounds). In the end, I overshot by 3/10 of a pound.
The V7 Heavy receiver extension is a novel component that on the one hand allowed me to improve the balance of the build without having to use one of the bulkier storage-capable stocks like the eMod, or the ship's anchor of the UBR, but at penalty of still exceeding my weight goal. The 4140 RE weighs approximately 6oz more than a 7075 RE, and combined with a light 8oz carbine stock it results in a balance that should be within sneezing distance of a similar M16 A4 equipped with an A2 stock (though I don't have one to compare it with). Center of gravity unloaded is right at the delta ring.
LOWER:
Noveske N4 lower, stripped (Chainsaw)
V7 “Heavy” buffer tube
Sprinco White carbine spring
H6 buffer
Noveske QD end plate
Wilson Combat TTU
BAD-CASS
BAD-EPS
Colt accessory kit
Colt castle nut
Seekins billet mag release button
HK Battlegrip V2
LWRCi compact stock
LWRCi enhanced trigger guard
The LWRCi compact stock is one of a couple different designs offering compact SOPMOD-style ergonomics minus the battery and other storage compartments. many of us do not use – I prefer these lighter, slimmer designs. I am a bit disappointed that the stock cannot be locked into the first position on the RE without smacking the butt. I tested the stock on a friend's aluminum RE and had the same issue. Removing the buttpad revealed that stock is slightly too short, perhaps by just a millimeter or two, causing the RE to strike the inside of the buttpad. Markm was right: LWRCi can mess up something as simple as a stock. The search feature reveals that this is a known issue, so I will likely be trying the BCM Gunfighter stock when it is released.
The HK Battlegrip offers a more vertical grip angle with a shape that I find more ergonomic than the BCM Gunfighter or Magpul K grips. Since Battle Arms does not make a full LPK, the Colt lower parts mostly completed the assembly ( the bolt catch spring was missing from the kit!) I would have liked a Seekins bolt catch, but it is evidently sold out everywhere on Earth and is going for crazy prices on eBay. The Colt castle nut? Well, none better.
The sling is a VCAS 221. I'll be saving to purchase a magnified optic though I am still on the fence as how to proceed there. I'd hoped to get it to the range today to get the irons zeroed, but events interfered.
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Originally Posted by henschman
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