xmclone build - in progress *now with pics

**elia.jon1** · 08-05-11, 22:22

So i've decided to build a non-nfa clone of an xm177e2....or e3 in this case. e1 was 10.5 e2 was 11.5 since mine is 12.5 i will just call it an e3.

so far a have most of the parts for the upper, over the next few days i will get more and will get more pics up...

i'm left eye dominant so against the grain of authenticity i will not use a foward assist a1 upper, i'm going to use a c7 i already have

i've got the upper completely stripped for cleaning and some grey black moly resin

i have read a lot of people use a cut down bushmaster barrel. well bm does not sit too well on these forums and is questionable with twist rate and chamber specs, so instead of buying the bm barrel having it cut and re crowned ( and since several folks told me they ended up with ~ 12.5 inch barrels ) i went to daniel defense and got a lightweight 12.5 . it has 1/7 twist a good in spec chamber and is chf.

i started by smoothing out the fsb and removing the bay lug

i still have some work to do with that but its getting better

since my search for a correct stock has come up without anuything so far i'm going to use a 4 pos fiberlite stock until a proper aluminum one comes to me. i had this already and i personally will prefer the 4 pos over the 2. i still need to get the correct nut for the tube

i have the teardrop forward assist and the parts for the upper. i'm torn between the original a1 aperture and a a2 i have sitting around

within a few days i'll update this with pics of the bricks clone moderator and grenade ring. i got the small barrel parts from dd also and they should be here monday.

i have friends who weld so the pinning is no problem. after talking with brick i'll end up with 16.25-16.5 inch oal on the barrel measured correctly.

the upper will be done next week, but the nodak lower will take a little while longer.

let me know what yall think, and if you have any ideas tell me what i need to do to make this look better.

i can only get so accurate with this thing due to some of my shooting needs, it will be one inch longer and have an "updated" upper compared to a xm177e2 so i've dubbed this a "xm177e3"

**usmcvet** · 08-06-11, 19:48

Sounds like fun. I would just use the A2 keep. The A1 is too small for my liking.

**elia.jon1** · 08-08-11, 19:45

i got my grenade ring and moderator in. still waiting on the small upper parts , delta ring, barrel nut, hand guard cap.

but here is a mock up of the upper. barrel will come in at 16.25-16.5 inch

sorry for the crappy cell phone pics

**sdacbob** · 08-10-11, 11:10

Nice looking setup. I would go with the A1 sights.

**elia.jon1** · 08-24-11, 12:48

UPDATE**

I got the upper assembled, i used the a2 rear, got the the correct a1 front sight.

i put it on my lower and test fired it with a bcm bcg and ran ~120 rds off m855 and ~40 rds of rem through it.

it functioned 100% made me smile and handeled great.

now i did put a a1 slip ring on it even though it should have a delta ring but i wanted to be different, i think some of each type of ring were used.

i'll get some good pics of the upper up and now is the slow part of the build. the nodak lower

**Blanksguy** · 08-24-11, 17:10

elia.jon1,

What gas-port-size did the Daniel's 12.5" barrel come with before you installed the front-sight-tower (?).

Regards, RichardS in MI.
US Army, Retired.

**elia.jon1** · 08-29-11, 10:14

i looked at it but i did not mic it. i made sure i could move the fsb enough to drill it if i needed but i put it all together drilled pined and welded and then ran the m855 through it. after it did ok with that and then did ok with the Remington 223 i didn't give it much more thought.

it apeared around 1/8th of an inch but that is an eyeball wag.

i will make sure and mic it soon. when i moly resin the thing i will have to punch out the pins and spray under there because i scratched the park a little when i first removed the fsb. it was very very tight.

if you are thinking of doing this i would highly recommend the dd 12.5