My first build! Daniel Defense Mid Govt 14.5 w/ 12" Lite Rail

[brian556]

Well this is not my first AR but the first one I got to put together. I cheated and bought the DD upper from Tommy at Smartgunner.com at a killer deal. You couldn't build a better upper for cheaper in my opinion!


Parts:
Daniel Defense 14.5" Mid length upper 1-7 Govt profile barrel
12" Lite Rail
Areo Precision Lower marked Multi Cal.
Battle Comp 1.5" permanently pinned and welded
Daniel Defense full auto BCG
Daniel Defense Parts Kit
Daniel Defense BUIS Front sight
Rock River Arms ambi selector
Norgon ambi mag catch
Hogue Grip
ASAP Sling Plate
H Buffer
Mil Spec Buffer Tube



I started out watching the Midway Gunsmithing your AR15 Video which I would highly recommend for any newbie trying to do this.
Youtube is a great resource but sifting thru all the BS is a pain in the ass and Id rather just click through DVD menus

I bought some of the special tools from Larry at LTD Gun Stuff at the gun show about 6 months back
Here is what I got from him:
Action Block
Roll pin punch set
Roll pin starter set
Pivot Pin Tool
Im sure you can get by without everything listed above but I hate not being able to finish something because I don't have the right tools so I justified the tools will pay for themselves as I build more lowers.

Then I went to Lowes for:
Small Clamp Vise to mount to my desk
Punch set
Lithium grease
Small Ball n Peen hammer
forgot the blue lock tight

The lower was bought from Shoot Straight for around $100 bucks which I know is a tad high but I dont have an FFL so after transfer fees would be in the same boat without the ability to inspect before buying so it was worth it to buy it locally for me. It is made by Areo Precision which I was pretty skeptical about as Ive never heard of them before. After a little research I found a lot of recommendations for them so I gave it a shot. The lower was flawless and everything fit easily when installing the LPK. The fit between the lower and upper receiver is perfect with no wobble or play.

I started out installing the norgon ambi mag catch so I could use the mag block in the vise while installing everything else.


After that I taped up the receiver and installed the magpul trigger guard which came with the DD LPK, bolt catch, trigger and hammer assembly,

RRA ambi safety selector, and hogue grip. Everything went together perfectly and performed all the function checks as per the video recommendations such as Mag release, bolt catch, Trigger operation, tested for fire on reset (as I had a lower start doing that and it was dangerous) and fire safety selector operation. Never let the hammer fall on a dry fire with the lower separate from the complete upper. I guess its bad. I watched a youtube dude do it like 50 times to show his assembled lower was working great.

When putting the buffer tube on the receiver I ran into the castle nut not fitting on the tube. It would thread on about one turn and stop. I checked for burs on both threads and cleaned everything but would not work. Was almost like it was the wrong thread. I was bummed as I wanted to install a collapsable stock buffer tube but was dead in the water at this point. (12 am beer #3)
I remembered I had a Magpul PRS stock and full length tube assembly in my gun locker so my project changed direction just so I could finish the damn thing that night. I installed the monster stock and was able to have the rifle completed in about 2 hours. I spoke with Larry and he said he was shipping me a new castle nut in the mail yesterday for free! Great guy to deal with and very helpful.
I ordered my CTR stock, Knights Armament Ambi mag release, and RRA Ambi charging handle which should be in next week to finish things off.
Last on the list is a decent BUIS rear flip sight and a T1.

Any suggestions on a good BUIS Rear sight? I want the dual apertures and would like an elevation wheel too. The carry handle was just thrown on so I would something to sight through

[Militant83]

Nice looking rifle..even though personally I wouldnt have used the PRS stock on a 14" build. But seeing how you already had it laying around I see why you chose that route. Cant beat saving a little bit of money by alreadyhaving something.

[fivefivesix]

the lmt rear sight gives you the a2 rear sight without the carry handle, my second pick would be dd rear sight. they both use a sight wheel but the lmt is better if you were formally trained or have the directions on how to set the sight
heres a link for the lmt rear sight
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/LMT-T...ight%20l8a.htm
they go fast. i was notified by email that they were in and in a few days they were gone.
and here is a link for the dd sight
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin...on&key=A1-BUIS

[jeremy stanke]

Nice looking rifle..even though personally I wouldnt have used the PRS stock on a 14" build. But seeing how you already had it laying around I see why you chose that route. Cant beat saving a little bit of money by alreadyhaving something.

he used the PRS just to finish the build, if you read a bit further down it says he ordered a CTR

[brian556]

the lmt rear sight gives you the a2 rear sight without the carry handle, my second pick would be dd rear sight. they both use a sight wheel but the lmt is better if you were formally trained or have the directions on how to set the sight
heres a link for the lmt rear sight
http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/LMT-T...ight%20l8a.htm
they go fast. i was notified by email that they were in and in a few days they were gone.
and here is a link for the dd sight
http://www.gandrtactical.com/cgi-bin...on&key=A1-BUIS

Thanks for the info!
I'd really like to get the lmt style one. Just wish they made something similar in a flip up type.

[DDgunslinger]

Looks like a solid build to me, I look forward to a ranger report.

[LowSpeed_HighDrag]

Looks like a really solid shooter. You dont see A2 carry handles very often anymore, I like it.

[scootle]

Thanks for the info!
I'd really like to get the lmt style one. Just wish they made something similar in a flip up type.

I don't own one, but apparently Matech has a couple of options for elevation-adjustable rear BUIS. I'm looking into them as well as a more useful backup option to a RDS setup:

http://www.riflegear.com/p-442-matec...ing-sight.aspx
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=10875

There is also an option made by KAC that has the 200-600m settings as well, but I can't find a dealer who stocks them. Some discussion here:

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=69164

Good luck!

PS I dug up the good link I found reviewing all the available rear BUIS options... hope it's helpful: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...rted-rear-BUIS

[brian556]

I don't own one, but apparently Matech has a couple of options for elevation-adjustable rear BUIS. I'm looking into them as well as a more useful backup option to a RDS setup:

http://www.riflegear.com/p-442-matec...ing-sight.aspx
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=10875

There is also an option made by KAC that has the 200-600m settings as well, but I can't find a dealer who stocks them. Some discussion here:

https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=69164

Good luck!

PS I dug up the good link I found reviewing all the available rear BUIS options... hope it's helpful: http://www.weaponevolution.com/forum...rted-rear-BUIS

Thank you very much Scootle! The link to the different BUIS on Weaponevolution.com is extremely helpful. Ill be posting updates on here after my parts come in and I run it at the range.

[brian556]

I received my castle nut as promised by Larry so I figured while I was waiting for my CTR stock and junk to show up I would go ahead and swap out the PRS stock and buffer tube for the commercial collapsable buffer tube and H buffer. Ive never staked a castle nut before so I took a few pictures just incase anyone was curious of how it was done. I first did some research on this site believe it or not and went out and bought a prick punch from Sears

The hardest thing I found was trying to get the little magpul ASP plate mil spec key into the slot on the tube. I learned most of my small tools have become magnetized to some extent causing the little bastard to keep moving out of place. After dicking with this for about 10 minutes it finally fell into the slot and I locked the castle nut down.
I went out to my garage and put the lower in a vise and tried to support it by the base of the buffer tube as not to break anything when I smacked it with the hammer and punch

Before:



After:



Not much to look at but it'll do

Then just for shits and giggles I went ahead and put my Stag collapsable stock on it till my CTR arrives along with the M4 optic and some rubber rail covers. I have also ordered some XTM panels to cover both sides with and will use the ladders for what ever is left on the top and bottom.



Still have not made it to the range yet!!!!! It's driving me nuts. The kids are out of school this week so no range time for me. Gonna try and squeeze out tonight when the girl gets home just to see if the freakin thing even works

On a side note, The heavy ass PRS stock did balance out the rifle really well and I wonder if it wouldn't be a bad idea to run it with it on. When I went to the standard one it did feel more front heavy as expected.

Aaaaaand the norgon ambi mag release sucks! not sure if it needs to be broken in or something but I have the hardest time getting it to let go of a mag with ammo in it under a closed bolt (tactical reloads) my Knights armament is so much easier to operate so I ordered another one.