BayouBob

Thanks mrraley, I was about to decided my old brain was sliding away but I knew I had seen one somewhere.

Does anyone know of a source for stainless flash hiders with a 5/8 x 24 thread?

The JP brake pictured above will absolutely eliminate recoil and muzzle rise in a light recoiling rifle like a 308. A note of caution though. Don't even shoot it once without really good hearing protection. The blast from the pressure wave coming back at you is stunning. Don't shoot it when anyone is beside you on the range either; it will be even worse for them. Mine caused my groups to open up a bunch but I suspect that was just another quirk of my CMMG, probably affected the barrel harmonics. They do make your rifle look awesome.

I'm using the JP (Cooley type) on my CMMG MK-3 and it just about completely removed the muzzle rise and recoil. I'm trying to decide though if it is affecting my groups. They seem to have opened up since I put the comp on. To make sure I'm going to have to take it off and shoot the same loads in the rifle without the comp.

They do appear on Gunbroker from time to time but I have'nt seen any dealers offering them.

This project is never going to be finished. I'm starting through the loads again. After some pretty good groups with factory loads I started working with Hornady SST's, Nosler Accubonds, and Sierra GameKings. My groups just kept opening up and I was back to an occasional FTE/FTF. I kept adjusting the gas port screw and kept getting failures. I finally realized the gas block had worked loose and was literally rattling out there on the barrel. Might be why the groups went to hell. After stripping out the tiny little cap screws CMMG has used red Loctite to hold the handguard on with, drilling them out and finding some stainless replacements everything is back together. Tomorrow I'll go back to square one with the handloads. More reports to come.

Here is the CMMG in its final form. It has a PRI adjustable gas block, a JP stainless brake, a Burris 3-9 with the 1 mil e-dot, Nikon P-mounts, the CAA-UPG grip, a Sims large grind to fit pad, a Cheek-eze cheek pad, and the new Sims Kodiak sling. With 10 extra mags and a soft case I've got a little over $2,200 in it. The load development needs to proceed in short order; there are some hogs waiting for me in about 3 weeks.

With everything settled but which load I am going to stay with long term I got down to some shooting with the CMMG 308. With Federal Premium 168gr. Sierra Matchkings the rifle was staying in 3/4 inch at 100 meters. If I can find a load with Sierra Game Kings that will do that I will be quite happy.

Off the 308 subject but just for fun here is the latest project. It's Colt LE with an AP Customs carbon tube, aluminum gas block, Burris LRS 1-4, a Tri-Dellta micro brake and a Streamlight TLR-1 HP. With the AP tube the bare rifle weight was down to 6 pounds on the postal scale.

For 98Z5V, Here's a shot of the Montana 325 WSM. It's wearing a Burris 3-9 with the 1 mil electro dot reticle and DNZ mounts. It will keep 200 gr. Barnes TSX Bullets at 3,000fps in an inch at 100 meters if I am having a good old eyeball day.

It's a Montana from the New York bunch, not one of the original Oregon rifles. (Stainless synthetic) I bought it and a mate in 270 WSM. They are light and sweet and pretty well cover anything a guy would want to hunt in North America. Good triggers on both; the 325 came from the factory a shooter. The 270 took 6 months of work to get to the point of 1 inch groups.

Brass looks okay. No noticeable distortion or marks. I am going to try some Winchester brass. I have been using just Federal. It could be that the case necks have really thick walls. I am also digging around in my bottomless pit of a brass pile to find some brass fired in a different rifle to run through the die just for comparison. I've been using the Unique lube for several years and it is absolutely the best I have ever found. Thanks for the advice.

Put the first few rounds down range with the Burris Electro Dot scope mounted just to get it on paper. (I make notes of all my loads in my book and while I am working up I write on the case what the load is. I forgot to mark the cases of this batch so I don't know which load was which.) Just shooting at 50 meters to sight in and shot about a 1" composite group of a dozen shots. Nothing to brag about but I'll go back with the loads marked and start looking for magical combinations. Right now I'm focusing on Hornady A-Max and SST's and Nosler Accubonds. Varget and IMR-4895 with Federal cases and primers are on the menu for starters. The JP muzzle break just makes the recoil go away completely. If there had been anyone else at the range they might not have enjoyed it as much as me; it is loud! Anyway, it was a fun day at the range. Finished sighting in my fiance's little 5 lb AR-15; sighted in a Kimber in 325 WSM, Started working with 55gr. bullets on my Sig Sauer AR-15 heavy barrel and fired some more pairs out of my Chapuis double rifle.

I played with a DPMS carbine at Gander tonight and I wasn't even tempted. (Well, not much.) I still like the way the CMMG feels and balances. Picked up a large Sims grind to fit pad to replace the slip-on Sims pad I've been using. Laser sighted a Burris 3-9 electro dot scope. I have a couple of loads worked up using Hornady A-Max bullets that look promising. If I can keep the sweat out of my eyes at the range I'll put the results in the reloading the CMMG thread. Thanks for all the advice and support.

This will be a final (unless something else happens) report on dealing with CMMG's customer service. After 2 trips back to the factory plus a new BCG I was left on my own to solve the problem. As several folks pointed out from day one, the rifle was over gassed. Realizing that CMMG lacked the knowledge and willingness to cure the issue I installed an adjustable gas block and instantly cured the FTE's. It took CMMG 4 months to realize that their gas port was too large. They told me they didn't have any barrels to replace mine with which means they don't make their own and had a bunch of improper barrels already in stock. (They didn't figure out on their own that they were over gassed; it had to be pointed out by customers.) Their last attempt to fix my rifle was to replace the carbine stock with an A2 stock and buffer. That helped but didn't completely fix the ejections issues. I notice that their newly re-done web site still shows the Mark 3 with the carbine stock. My last 2 communications to them were to let them know that I had spent over $300 of MY money to make THEIR rifle function. Needless to say, I never heard back from them on that. The rifle feels good and is accurate. Potential buyers should be aware that they may have to spend some extra money to get the rifle to function properly. Over a period of 5 months it became quite obvious that the personnel at CMMG are abysmally ignorant about the functions of the AR platform rifles. Their quality control is non-existent, and their customer service, while polite, is useless. My opinion is based on my rifle and experience as well as 2 other rifles I have personally handled and at least 4 other folks I know who have had similar experiences in the past few months.

Are any of you guys reloading for your CMMG Mark 3? I am now wondering about the chamber deminsions. I have never experienced brass so hard to re-size. (Federal and Remington) I use Hornady Unique lube and I literally have to beat the arm of my Rockchucker to get the brass in and out of the die. I have tried dipping the neck in mica but it didn't help. I even sent a note to Hornady asking if I had a bad set of dies but I tried a set of RCBS dies and the same thing happens. The brass isn't deformed in any way so the only thing I can figure is the chamber is badly oversized. Any thoughts? By the way I have been reloading for over 40 years and have loaded countless 308 rounds fired out of other rifles.

Interesting. Tried a couple of loads with Nosler 165 gr. Accubonds and Hornady SST's. Nothing special yet but the rifle shoots different bullets of similar weight and style with similar charges to radically different points of impact. Nosler, Hornady's and Sierra's hit 8 to 10 inches apart at 50 and 100 meters and with no particular pattern. It's not just one shooting high or left; each bullet brand shoots to a completely different place. Most of my rifles will shoot similar bullets close to each other but some of these aren't even on paper with each other. The Sierra Match Kings still seem to be the best grouping but I have a long way to go. That's the fun part.

Matt, You are correct. I was thinking UAG rather than UPG. They also make the same grip for an AK-47; I got one but haven't put it on yet.

Matt, Actually it is the Command Arms grip. It comes with 3 different back straps and 3 different front straps so you can really fit it to your hand. I have big hands so I use the high profile backstrap and the full finger groove front strap.

I think it is the most comfortable grip made. (And I'm the kind that tries everything looking for just right.) I have them on 5 AR's.

Put the JP Tactical Compensator on the Mark 3. Recoil went to nothing. It wasn't bad to begin with and the Sims pad had tamed it but now it is just about the same as a .223. I can see the bullet hit the berm at 250 yards through the scope and I can see the little green circle appear on the Shoot-N-See target at 100. Had to close the gas port down 1/4 when I put the comp. on to put the ejection back at perfect. The set-up as shown is: CMMG Mark 3, 18 inch barrel, A-2 stock, Sims pad, Sims sling, (great sling) CAA grip, Nikon mounts, Pentax scope, ambi. latch, PRI adjustable gas block, JP compensator, P-Mag. Now to work on loads. I'm hoping I can get good groups with Nosler 165gr. Accubonds. More to come.

UPS just delivered the JP compensator. Included in the package from JP are a pair of ear plugs. Thinks they are trying to tell me something? This should be fun!

Yeah, it does get hot. For a 308 it is actually a pretty thin barrel. I usually take more than one weapon to the gun club just so I can shoot something while another barrel is cooling off. I'm okay with having to leave a little time between mags. I bought the rifle partly because it is light and will be easier to carry in the swamps so the trade off is worth it to me. For someone who's primary purpose is range or competition shooting it might not be the best choice. I am just now getting ready to be serious about working up loads for groups so it will be interesting to see how barrel heating affects grouping.

Ran a few dozen more factory rounds through it today. Everything worked properly except for the 10 round mags; most of the time they wouldn't feed even manually with Remington FMJ's. The mags aren't marked and I can't remember if they are ProMags or DPMS. Wish I could figure it out so I'll know which ones to avoid. I like a shorter mag for shooting from the bench and for hunting just because they aren't in the way. Maybe I can find my invoice and know what I bought. (Getting old and senile sucks!) Update: Good old Midway and their order management system. They were ProMags. Should have known; that has been my experience with their products but there were some good reviews out there that indicated they had improved. Guess not.

Just ordered a JP Cooley compensator. Even though it is just a 308 the comp should take enough of the recoil out to make it possible to keep the scope on target between shots. The A2 stock actually seems more appropriate for this rifle. It really isn't a carbine and since I am almost 6' 5" I still added a Sims pad to it for length. I don't particularly care for the standard carbine stocks anyway. If I go back to a collapsible it will probably be a Magpul or and Ace. All my rifles are set up for hunting rather than zombie control so I may just stick with the A2.