Jgun

Don't know if any of you guys have paid any attention to the supposed VLTOR Fortis/Bren Ten resurrection, but I noticed last night that the FL co. that had been listed as the sole wholesale distributor for the gun has apparently either gone belly up or pulled out. As I understand it there are a lot of very unhappy consumers that placed preorders (including deposit) that have been patiently waiting for the release, and many are now scrambling to get their deposits back. I have been interested in buying one of these pistols since I first saw on Vltor's site that they were planning to reintroduce it, thinking that they would be capable of solving the manufacturing problems that plagued the original. I'm just lucky that I don't have the kind of disposable income that would have allowed me to send off a grand to be one of the first lucky few to own a new gun that hasn't even hit the market. I really hope that they do make it to production eventually, and that it's the gun that Cooper had envisioned, but with all of the drama that has surrounded this, I think I'm going to wait and see what the gun press has to say about the finished product before I jump.

Boy do I know how that is!!!!

Although it's always nice to have the option to reconfigure your gun if the need ever arises, and although the area where the panels are located is not a stressed area on the upper, I think that if someone ever does destructive testing on these, it will be determined that they are not as rigid as a Vltor MUR, which is what it appears to be patterned after. I never cease to be amazed by the ingenuity of designers. Looks like something I would do, just to prove that it was possible. I saw a SHOTSHOW video on the Beretta ARX180 which is a plastic gun, so not really directly comparable to an AR, but the ability to reconfigure the gun from right hand to left hand with no tools or parts replacement was truly impressive.

First off, welcome to the forum, giving my opinion on your stock questions, and these are just my personal opinions, I find that in general, I like the CTR over the MOE. I don't really notice any weight difference between the two but the friction lock on the CTR makes it less sloppy on the receiver extension, which is something that I really hate. I think other members may disagree about the weight question, but I like a light gun and to that end I try to use lightest components that do the job, Some people complain that the gun feels front heavy when you use a really light weight stock with a heavy or long barreled gun, which is why the UBR is so popular, besides being an excellent rock solid stock. If you are sensitive to the balance of your gun and don't like it front heavy (I know some that prefer it that way) I would recommend the UBR over the CTR, although you should be aware that the UBR adds I think, around a pound to the total weight of the gun over the CTR.

The Lancer L-15 lower for my 300 has the same type of right side bolt release button as your ARF.COM and the POF lowers do. (it also has an extra large mag release that I really like.) I still haven't ordered the SD3G Trigger for this yet so have not had a chance to actually shoot the 300 with that lower, but I'm hoping that the BAD will fit so that I can have it set up like that the first time I try it. At this point I'm most comfortable with a gun that has the BAD and I'm not that quick to pick up new techniques (old dog new trick) that I really want to get used to using the right side bolt release button, especially since none of my other guns have it.

Any luck with the ABS number?

Robocop, Take a look at this site. You might do well to give these guys a call. It would certainly be nice if they could fix you up in a more reasonable time frame than what I had to endure. If this doesn't work for you let me know and I will resume my search for a contact number for ABS. http://bettincustomguns.com/Carbon%20Barrels/Carbon%20Barrels.htm

Yes, Well done. Whenever I look at guns set up like this, it always makes me think I should build something with a bright stainlees barrel, and a handguard that shows it, very classy.

Didn't see this before or I would have responded sooner, Unless others with more experience want to offer better options I might suggest first of all that you get tape, masking or duct, to protect the side of the lower, maybe a couple of layers so as not to marr the side of the receiver, next, if the broken piece of the allen key is out of the hole You should go buy an "easy out" it's a tool that looks like a left hand drill bit. It will dig into the hole for the allen key but as you turn it counter clockwise it should unscrew the bolt catch pin. make sure you spray penetrating oil on the bolt catch. If that doesn't work, I'd be looking to see if I could get enough grip on the part of the pin exposed in the catch area to get some type of thin vise grip on it and unscrew it. Wait, I might try the latter first. Good luck

Well said, and although this may apply to a greater extent with handguns than with rifles because as the range increases manufacturing deficiencies tend to have a more significant effect, I've personally seen some of the worlds best competition shooters do things with a stock Glock than most people can't match with the most expensive hand built pistol. That's were building an AR becomes so desirable. If you build a rifle based on a top of the line barrel mounted to a quality receiver, most of the other components can be initially bought cheaply (relatively) and upgraded later. The only possible flaw to that approach (IMO) is that you may not recoup as much of your investment from a homebuilt vs an off the shelf factory assembled rifle should you decide to sell it.

Shortly before I took delivery of my barrel I was having trouble getting in touch with Mike the owner of ABS. I was getting worried that I might not ever see my barrel after having already payed almost the full amount we had agreed upon for the barrel. When I finally tracked him down, He told me that he had had some medical problems that had kept him out of the shop for several weeks. he also told me that they were in the process of finishing up a large barrel order for the Marine's, and that they were finishing up all present orders and weren't accepting new one's at that time because they were in the process of moving to a new (maybe larger?) location. If I can locate my old contact information, I will attempt to get in touch with him this next week. If I'm able to do so I will post any updated contact info I get.

YWHIC, is that a DPMS lower mated to the DPMS upper in your photo? I keep wanting to paint, or more likely powder coat an AR in desert tan, but am reluctant to do it to a gun that doesn't have any finish problems to begin with. I figure it's a one way trip and not something I can undo if the tan finish turns out not to be as durable as I'd like. Maybe I'll do it to an AR-15 build.

Your asking a loaded question there. It's like asking someone which you should buy Ford or Chevy. Since you don't plan to build, and your main parameters seem to be price and barrel length, I would let those things guide you more than Armalite or DPMS. I see that another member has a post (I think in fighting rifle?) saying that he bought a DPMS for 1K. One thing you might want to consider is that there seems to be a wider range of aftermarket stuff made for the DPMS platform than the Armalite, but if you don't plan to ever switch any parts (not likely if you keep reading this forum) than that will not matter to you. One other thing, the Magpul Pmags are very popular and are only available for the DPMS platform guns, not the Armalite.

I'm not sure if I missed a previous post from you on this, but from what I've read about this in the forum, I understand the delayed unlocking of the bolt caused by the extra weight is supposed to be especially useful with hot loaded ammo. Are you going to be shooting handloads? if so, I'd be interested on load data to go along with the photo's if possible, so I can better judge the effectiveness of the device for reducing pressure problems caused by the bolt unlocking too soon with the hot loads.

When I first watched the video I went and got my gun equipped with the BAD and went through the drill. What I was thinking was that possibly in a high stress situation you might clear a jam faster with less hand movement. I'm figuring that it would be, hit mag release with right hand, mag drops,pull charging handle with left hand while still holding mag release button, reach for and insert mag, depress left side bolt release (unless you have a BAD on gun besides) and right hand back on trigger. Now if you do the same thing with a gun equipped with the BAD it would be, hit mag release, shift right finger to push up on BAD while pulling charging handle with left hand. reach for and insert mag with left hand, push left on BAD lever and back on trigger with right hand. I don't see where the tandem function button would save much time, besides which if you train with a gun so equipped, your in trouble if you have to switch guns in a hurry and have to clear a jam in that gun. They make the point that the BAD can get snagged on things and that you have to put you finger in close proximity to the trigger to work the BAD, and the BAD does obstruct my left side mag release somewhat, but I think those possible drawbacks are outweighed by the ability to retro fit your guns with the BAD. I think that a new system that would require me to either get rid of all my current guns , or practice two different procedures in order to be able to work my old and new guns might not be ideal for me.

I don't know if this is the ideal place to post this, but I wanted to get input from the shooters here that have taken tactical courses with AR's vs asking the guys that are shooting the tactical matches. I see that Rainier is showing this new AR lower with the mag release that also actuates the bolt catch, supposedly to speed up clearing jams. Anyone care to offer any opinions on the value of it vs the BAD lever, or can you think of any drawbacks to the combined functions of the mag release? http://www.rainierarms.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=2412

I forgot to ask you, did you buy the Demon takedown pin recently? I've been trying to buy one of them for a while now and all I get is that they're out of stock, and no one answers my emails as to when they expect more in.

Not sure if I understand you correctly, but the components for the .308 platform are basicaly the same as for the .223, just scaled up in size. So, if you install the charging handle in the slot (without the bolt carrier group installed) does it slide back and forth without binding when it latches in the closed position? Next, since the bolt cams on the barrels locking lugs in the same way as an AR 15, it rotates in a counterclockwise direction (when viewed from the back) when it locks up. You might want to check to see that the bolt will cam in the carrier while in your hand out of the gun. My DPMS chromed BCG was very stiff when it came in the mail and didn't loosen up until I put 100 rds or so through the gun. Maybe the twisting you describe is the bolt resisting the caming action and the carrier trying to twist the opposite way. Is the carrier when viewed from the rear held upright, twisting in a clockwise direction? You would definitely be smart to check your headspace on this build before firing the gun.

For some reason I have a fondness for the double guns. They just "feel" right when you shoulder them. I guess I didn't look too closely at your pics, whats the capacity of the Beretta semi?

That sounds like the ingredients for an awesome SBR. I really like the Vltor uppers, and the DD rails are also one of my favorites, I think their locking system with the uninterrupted top rail is hard to beat. I can't wait to see the pics and read the range report.

I see in the link to the AR-15 cws in Imschur's initial post that they show a picture of the back of two cases. The discription says that they are the same load from the same gun, with and without the carrier weight. I have two questions pertaining to this. The first one is, is the powder staining on the case head around the primer, the first symtom I should expect to see from excessive pressure when working up max loads? Or are difficulty to extract and primer flow likely to happen first? The primer piercing that I've heard about, is that something I will see with greater pressure than those other signs of overpressure? The second question is, I have installed an adjustable gas block on my current build in order to tailor the gas impulse to match my lightened bolt carrier. I'm trying to figure out how it would work if I were to consider adding weight to a BCG that was purposely lightened. It seems counter productive. If the heavier carrier cycles smoother with less recoil, I'm wondering why the lightweight BCG's are so popular with the competition guys, maybe slightly faster cycle times for faster follow up shots?

What did you use to cut the foam so cleanly around the gun/accessories?

The only other hand guard that I could think of that meets your criteria for removable rails and is also pretty light, is the D series from JP Rifles. It's a freefloat also (which isn't a bad thing) and seems to be available in more lengths than the Apex, but would require you to break out the tools to install it.

I thought that Clint from heavybuffers.com had said that the AR 10 carbine buffer tube is slightly longer than the AR 15 carbine buffer tube. What you say sounds logical but if it were me I'd call up ACE before I started ordering parts. Besides which, since your not going to be able to adjust the length of pull you should make sure you know which you prefer, rifle length or carbine length stock, because they sure feel different when you shoulder a gun that has one and then try the other.

So, does that mean that you can build a 7.62X39 AR 15 using GI .223 mags and all you have to do is use a 7.62X39 barrel and bcg? if so can you use pmags as well?