In which I build an AR out of (mostly) spare parts.

[Circle_10]

The title says it all, I had a bunch of parts that weren't being used so i decided to build another AR out of them. I had to buy a couple things - the receiver extension, buffer and spring, and the Magpul MBUS - but everything else was something I already had laying around from being swapped out, or from being bought and than going unused when I changed my mind about a build.
The result is.....kinda boring actually, compared to a lot of other people's custom builds. Be that as it may, I assure you there was method to my blandness.



This isn't a gun I'd use to make dynamic entries into Bin Laden's compound or perform a HALO jump with. The reason is that I'm a lifelong civilian and thus don't do a lot of those sort of things. But what *do* I do a lot of?
Well I drive my Jeep down a lot of back roads through the woods and fields of rural Maine. So I decided to throw together a carbine that would probably perform well in the role of riding around the great outdoors with me.


First of all, the elephant in the room. Yes that's a fixed stock on a carbine gas gun. Fixed stocks have previously found their way on to my two main "serious use" ARs. I dunno what to say besides I just like the way it handles.
The number "06" denotes the fact that this is AR #6 for me. I'm OCD and I have a notebook where I keep track of the round counts through my guns, parts replacement and the dates thereof etc..and the whole process is simpler if the guns are identified with numbers.


Upper: ( Spoiler alert, It's a lot of BCM stuff)
BCM upper receiver rattle-canned with grey primer
BCM "14.5" (It's actually 14.7") carbine pencil barrel with a pinned and welded A2 flash hider (BCM offered this barrel option from like 2010-2013 IIRC).
BCM PKMR handguards and VFG.
BCM Gunfighter Mod 4 charging handle
Toolcraft FA bolt carrier and MPI C158 bolt.
Magpul MBUS rear sight.

Lower:
Surplus Arms and Ammo lower receiver (These might be made by Aero) rattle-canned with grey primer
Mostly Stag LPK and FCG I think.
Hogue beavertail grip
White Oak receiver extension, buffer, and spring
Brownells repro Type D stock in brown.

Other stuff:
The simple black sling that came with my Colt 6520
Primary Arms 2.5x prism scope.

Although I tend to avoid cheap optics, the PA 2.5x has been a pretty good little scope considering I paid $160 shipped for it. I bought it on a whim and used it for about six months, some of them really frigid winter months, on a different gun than finally ditched it for a Steiner P4xi. It's a rugged little optic with an interesting reticle but it just didn't have the versatility I wanted for the other AR, but for this "spare parts" build I decided to bring it out of it's premature retirement. It's no ACOG for sure but based on my prior experience with it I think it'll do okay for what I want it for.
The PA prism didn't let me down the first time around from the standpoint of holding zero and holding up to regular use, but if it *were* to go tits up on me I can swap it out for a spare Aimpoint PRO I have in short order. I just wanted some magnification for this gun.

With the 2.5x the gun shoots about 2" to 3.5" at 100 with various M193. Interestingly that's pretty close to what I can do with irons and M193 as well, so it seems that for this gun it's not actually much of an accuracy enhancer, although I can do it faster and better identify targets with the optic.
This is one of the better 100yd groups. Per Primary Arms, the optic is zeroed for 50yds, but I didn't bother to hold low to compensate, hence the somewhat high hits.


The MBUS rear sight was also zeroed at 50 yds.

Minor upgrades I intend to do in the short term include getting a fixed stock sling adapter, and possibly a better sling, and an ambi safety.
I'm not ruling out putting a light on it, I have a Surefire G2X on my HD carbine, but I'm leaning toward not putting one on this gun just because it doesn't seem quite as necessary given the intended use.
Maybe I'll get a black stock, maybe I'll paint the brown one, or maybe not. It doesn't seem like a pressing matter, and to be honest I kinda like the mismatch color scheme.

[MistWolf]

That's kinda cool. If it were mine, I'd paint the rest of the furniture to match the stock.

[Circle_10]

I debated doing that too actually but when I looked I didn't see a shade of brown at the hardware store that matched the color of the stock particularly well. Plus I don't know how that rubber overmolded grip would take to being painted. It would probably be pretty tacky for a while.

[nate89]

Nothing wrong with a 'throw this stuff together' gun. I had a 20" palmetto barrel with an A2 FSP that I had a machinist friend cut down to 16" and built a gun out of that. Same thing, not my 'bet my life on it' gun, but it is a true dissipator which I thought was unique, and with no opening of the gas port it still runs 100% (shows how overgassed PSA barrels generally are).

I do like the grey look on the receivers. I may try that out.

[Amicus]

Almost every time I have started this kind of project, I wind up buying new parts anyway. Your accuracy is better than most people could expect; congratulations on that.

I too put rack numbers (or letters, depending on the series) on the stock, but I put the numerals "upside down" so they are easily read while holding the carbine. I was really jealous for a minute when I thought it was rack number "90".

While I would not put a PA sight on certain "serious" carbines, they make a nice little product. I had one that I bought when they just started out in 2010. I thought it was unkillable. Then, I mounted it on a Rem 870 ... I just can't bring myself to toss it so it sits on my old optics shelf.

Great job.

[Circle_10]

Nothing wrong with a 'throw this stuff together' gun. I had a 20" palmetto barrel with an A2 FSP that I had a machinist friend cut down to 16" and built a gun out of that. Same thing, not my 'bet my life on it' gun, but it is a true dissipator which I thought was unique, and with no opening of the gas port it still runs 100% (shows how overgassed PSA barrels generally are).

I do like the grey look on the receivers. I may try that out.

Based on what I'm seeing already my grey rattle can job probably isn't going to hold up well over time, but an AR with heavily worn paint does have a certain charm all it's own....provided it comes by that wear honestly of course.

Almost every time I have started this kind of project, I wind up buying new parts anyway. Your accuracy is better than most people could expect; congratulations on that.

I too put rack numbers (or letters, depending on the series) on the stock, but I put the numerals "upside down" so they are easily read while holding the carbine. I was really jealous for a minute when I thought it was rack number "90".

While I would not put a PA sight on certain "serious" carbines, they make a nice little product. I had one that I bought when they just started out in 2010. I thought it was unkillable. Then, I mounted it on a Rem 870 ... I just can't bring myself to toss it so it sits on my old optics shelf.

Great job.

Haha, yeah I've got a long way to go before I get to rack #90, but it's something to strive for anyway.

Generally I wouldn't use a PA optic on a first-line home defense gun unless I were seriously short on cash and needed an optic for my defensive rifle *right now* for some reason, just because, as decent as their products seem to be, they are still Chicom made budget stuff. The 2.5x is poorly suited to a home defense purpose anyway because it's, well 2.5x. I have shot with it rapidly at close range and it is doable but there's a reason I've got an actual Aimpoint on my HD carbine.
Based on the beatings the PA prisms seem to be able to take in the videos I've seen, and my own experiences with mine, I am comfortable using it on a "field gun" though. And I do have the open sights as a backup (I shoot with iron sights fairly often as well) if I find myself needing to ditch a failed a failed optic while out in the woods.
My main criticism of the PA 2.5x is while I personally like it and it's good at what it does, from an objective standpoint I question how useful what it does really is. The fixed 2.5x magnification is really too low at longer ranges, and too much up close.
I think it's a good product, particularly for it's pricepoint, and the etched reticle is a nice feature (I actually use it with the illumination off most of the time) but terms of capability it's outclassed by a good LPVO like my Steiner P4Xi even if I personally find the Steiner somewhat unwieldy by comparison in terms of handling and maneuvering with the gun.
But given the intended use and the terrain the PA would most like see use in, I've at least found what I think is a pretty serviceable niche for mine.

[Circle_10]

Just to follow up on my thoughts above on the Primary Arms 2.5x, I decided to try something just now.
I use the see-through Butler Creek Blizzard scope covers on the PA instead of the solid ones that came with it, but just now I put a piece of tape over the objective lense and with the illumination on it appears that, much like an Aimpoint with the objective lense cover closed, with a solid objective lense cap and some practice you could use the PA as kind of a crude occluded eye gunsight at close range provide you keep both eyes open. Whether or not this is superior to just learning to work with the magnification at close range remains to be seen but it's something to mess around with at the range I suppose.

[Amicus]

Nothing wrong with keeping up your occluded sight skills, but I find that occluded sights, my hardware, and my doctrine don't always work well together.

The first thing I do when I pick up a firearm is check its condition (loaded, cartridge chambered, etc.). The second thing is to remove or flip up all lens covers; no point in holding a firearm you can't aim (lesson learned the embarrassing way, fortunately without painful repercussions). The firearm stays that way until I put it down. This works well for me as almost all my firearms wear a type of ACOG. Shooting occluded with ACOGs is not really practical.

But, in your case, let's say you are driving around the woods, admiring the maples and what's left of the pine trees. You dismount, take your carbine (in occluded mode) and scan for close targets, or whatever. Fine. Now you pop up your regular (not transparent) Butler Creek for longer range. Fine again. Now you see a rabid fox/skunk/opossum/raccoon coming your way (they do act funny when you encounter them), are you going to take the time to snap down that front lens cover, or do you want the 2.5x sight skills to deal with the problem at short range?

Just a thought, considering your stated purpose.

[Circle_10]

I was thinking more like if you *knew* you knew in advance you were going to need to use the carbine at close range for something you could go occluded before undertaking that task. But never having tried it there's a district possibilty I'm going to suck at it anyway. So yeah I dunno how viable the occluded eye idea is for me period really, I'll give it a try though just to experiment. My guess is after trying it I'm going to be like "screw this" and not bother with it again. Learning to shoot up close on 2.5x is what I've practiced so far and is probably the more viable solution, but I want to run a couple hundred more rounds through the gun anyway so I might as well see how occluded eye shooting works for me in the process.

[Straight Shooter]

That grey looks very close to Magpuls Stealth Grey...do you know the specific name of it? Im using Stealth grey on an ongoing build, and may have to spray paint
my rail.