Jgun

I bought the Lee crimp die for 300BLK and loaded a couple hundred a ran them through the die. I think I posted something on it. I was impressed with the design, and found it easy to adjust. I have to admit that I have not tested any of the rds that I crimped, so don't know how it affected accuracy, (if at all) I bought it because I have my 300 loads with the case loaded full of powder, and the bullet seated as shallow as possible, and I had some concerns of bullet setback causing an over pressure condition due to the compressed load, but so far have had no problems, so the crimp die will just be for added insurance. By the way, where did you get the 169gr copper .308 bullets, sounds like it might be a good setup. How do you find their accuracy to be vs a copper jacketed bullet?

That Elite would be a nice scope, and would cover pretty much all of me needs at this time. I guess I'll have to see if it's still available next month. (soonest I could cover that expense). I see that the offer different reticles, What makes you prefer the mil dot over the others?

certainly, the magwell machining, along with the thread for the receiver extension tube are the two most difficult/costly operations when trying to make your own lower receiever from a forging if your working on a manual mill. Good luck with it. I may be able to use your services in the future.

I presently have 3 .308 AR receivers on hand, all different manufacturers but all DPMS/Knights pattern. If it is of any help I can measure the length/width of each magwell and give you the dimensions, perhaps another member can give you the measurements for the AR 10 magwell so that you can ascertain which pattern your broach is for. If you don't mind me asking, I'm thinking that aside from having the broach that passes through the rough hole to create the finished magwell, wouldn't you need some method to fixture the reciever in exactly the right position, reletive to the broach? And since so many of the receivers have different outside contours, it could be a headache as far as fixturing. You know, as I'm writing this it occurs to me that this would only be of use for people with those 80% receivers, and I'm guessing that there aren't that many different forgings being made to sell to the general public, so maybe it could be a service that people would find useful, and that you might be able to provide. Maybe you could just offer forgings that already have the magwells broached?

My clubs max range is 200yds. I have to go to another clubs range to get to 600. Anything more than that is hours away from me. I'd just like to see if the two guns I'm presently building will be sub MOA, And sub .5 MOA for the .308 AR at 200, off the bench. For that purpose, I don't think that a 20X will be a drawback. I realize that most of us don't use such powerful optics when shooting 200, but I'm looking to take shooter error out of the equation. I know that one of those shooting sleds would be the best way, but I'm not going to spend the money on that so the 20X, and a bipod/monopod setup will be the next best thing.

As Robocop states, there are at least three different magwell types that I can think of, the original AR-10 which took proprietery Armalite mags, the DPMS/Knights pattern which "should" accept 308 P mags, and the ones set up for the FAL mags. the only one that I have ever seen a blueprint of is the AR-10. I don't think the companys that have developed the others are likely to share those dimensions. If you're going to tool up for something like this, the DPMS/knights is the way to go because that pattern has become the most popular, so much so that Armalte has released an AR-10 that accepts the DPMS/Knights/Magpul mags.

Please post a review on the 20X once you've tried it out. Although, like most everyone else I know, I like the advantages that a variable power optic offers, I have been considering a high magnification fixed power scope also, for the purpose of bench testing my guns for accuracy. I know that a quality high magnification variable power will do that as well, but the scopes I've been looking at are more expensive than my guns, so the question for me is, do I go for a 20X fixed, or do I go for something like the Millett LRS-1 6-25 X 56, to have something to use until I can afford some high end glass.

Got it George, thanks.

N Jensen, First of all thanks again for sharing your obvious expertise in this platform with us. I know that this kind of knowledge takes years to aquire. I have purchased a couple of books to help me in the building of this rifle, but I'm finding that your information/guidance seems much more clearly stated than what I'm getting from them. I had not even considered the timing of the gas system until your post addressing it. My rifle is not finish chambered yet so I realize that my measurements are going to be off, but after reading your post I took a look at my rifle tonight.What I found was that the gas plug began to apply pressure and move the op rod 1 and 1/4" revolutions before it locks against the front of the gas cylinder housing. I also double checked the gas cylinder housings port alignment to the barrels gas port and find that there is no mismatch, the barrels gas port is not obstructed in any way. I also found that when I tightened the gas plug one quarter turn after it contacts the oprod, and then marked the bottom as you advised, when I check the pistons port relationship to the housing port, they appear to be mislocated by about .025" with the piston needing to move rearward in order for them to start out in alignment. Now, here's my question. You discussed removing material from the back of the gas plug so that the piston doesn't start out either too far forward, or too far back so it would already be caming the bolt. I think I understand the concept, but I notice that my piston, that I have been told was given the NM treatment when the band was welded to the housing, appears as though material was removed from the back of the piston where it contacts the op rod. I'm thinking that if I were to remove .025" from the back of the piston, the pistons port would be in alignment with the barrels gas port, and then I could remove whatever other material was needed from the back of the gas plug in order to have the ports in alignment, with 1/4 turn of gas plug pressure against the op rod? Is material sometimes removed from the back of the gas piston to achieve the proper alignment and timing of the gas system? I have no intention of doing anything with the piston or plug until I have chambered the barrel and rechecked the measurements with a shell casing in the chamber to properly locate the bolt, but I'm just wondering if I'm on the right track here. As I understand you, I want the gas plug to be applying 1/4 turn of pressure on the op rod so as to unload the bolt, and the gas port in the gas piston to be in perfect alignment with the gas port in the cylinder housing, is that correct? Nor sure if I should be posting these long winded questions on the open forum or PMing them, I would be happy to handle it as you prefer, just wish to thank you for fielding these questions.

Could be tight chamber as mentioned above, but might also be short headspace, Since you say you are using a bolt carrier that you already had, I'm assuming that it was not matched to that barrel extension. How do you know that the headspace is OK? I'd have that checked before firing the gun again.

N Jensen, After my last long winded post, I remembered something else I wanted to ask. Maybe you might know somthing about this. What I found when I installed the NOS H&R trigger was that the trigger pull was much better than I had anticipated. The pull weight is not as heavy as I was expecting, and the break is really crisp, but there is a LOT of take up with almost no resistance, before I feel the resistance and then the break. Is there anything that you know of that I can do to remove some of that long take up?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. As this is my first M1A build, and first M1A too for that matter, I know that I've got a lot to learn. I'm not expecting too much in the way of accuracy out of it mounted in the GI stock, but it will allow me to function test, and will provide a starting point. I have a question regarding the gas cylinder installation. I purchased the unitized gas cylinder, along with the op rod, trigger, and bolt from a guy that told me that he collected them in the 70's for a planned build that never happened. He claimed that the parts were NOS, and from the appearance and measurement of them I believe him. Anyway. The unitized gas cylinder, came with a GI pistom. and the plug. It appears as though it might have been adjusted as you describe, aside from the welding. Is there a easy way for me to double check that the plug is not too long, now that I have the barrelrd action assembled? Also, thinking like a machinist, I thought that the method that the gas cylinder is secured to the barrel left something to be desired. When you tighten the gas lock, it puts pressure on the front of the gas cylinder but the rear of the front band of the cylinder, has nothing behind it, so the pressure you put on it, is transfered to the lower portion of the gas cylinder housing, and through that to the back portion of the housing which rests against the shoulder of the barrel. I turned a small spacer that is .001" smaller than the space between the front and rear bands of the gas cylinder. by doing that, when I tightened the gas lock the pressure imparted on the front of the gas cylinder is transferred directly to the locating shoulder of the barrel in a linear fashion. Do you know if anyone has tried that? As far as overtightening the gas cylinder I don't think I've done that as the gas lock stopped at 5:30 just as you'd normally want. I'm hoping that the spacer may add some rigidity to the barrel in that area. As far as aligning the barrel port with the gas cylinder port, I used a stepped pin and found that it lined up with no shims behind the back of the gas cylinder. Are there any other things that you might suggest for me to C/O on my assembly?

George, I've got a G22 top end mated to a CCF Raceframes stainless lower. Any idea if this would fit my grip? I know that CCF makes their own, but I like the Dawson stuff. I could modify the mag well if it was close, but if the Dawson fit was loose It wouldn't be something I could modify.

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with the way it's come out so far. I'm thinking it looks pretty good for my first ever M1A build. Of course I won't know for sure how well I did until I see how it shoots. I am still hoping to refinish the stock. The rear sight got here yesterday and it was damaged, so that will delay things a bit. If I can get around to finish chambering it this week. I will be ready to try it out once I've got the rear sight mounted.

THAT IS IMPRESSIVE!!!! Looks too pretty to shoot. You'll have to give a range report, and let us know how the Duracoat stands up for you. And now get back to work on the next one.

N Jensen, I appreciate your offer on the bedding. To be honest with you, I didn't build this M1A with highpower competition in mind. I've not (yet) tried that. I have been shooting IPSC , and IPSC style, pistol, rifle and shotgun, for a couple of years now, and really enjoy shooting on the move. I actually joined a club where they run those type matches. I believe that they also run some highpower style matches, and may try them once it's finished. I actually decided to build the M1A because I was looking for a new challange, something other than an AR. I did not build it in a manner that would make it legal for service rifle competition, because I've built it on an LRB M25 receiver. I had in mind to see how accurate of an M14 type rifle I could build, and the first part I ordered was a JAE chassis type stock. I am still hoping to see that some time soon. I plan to complete the gun (maybe this week if work allows) and then I'm going to try it out as is before I consider bedding it. I was pretty surprised at how well the barreled action and the stock locked up when I installed the trigger. The heel is tight against the top of the stock, and there is clearance around the gas cylinder (unitized) without any work from me. The only thing I needed to do, other than inletting the stock for the rear lug, was to relieve the sides of the stock where the heavy barrel op rod guide contacted it. I'm actually pretty impressed with the fit of it with just the minimal work I've done. This being a GI stock (with selector cutout) it's not as stiff up front as those heavy stocks. I'm not sure if this GI stock is going to show much improvement in accuracy from bedding, what are your thoughts? I thought that if I did bed it, I'd probably want to install the pillar for the rear lug, but I see that you say that you have not seen any accuracy improvement from lugged receivers so maybe it's not worth the trouble?

I just completed a transaction with new member airbornepatriot. Good guy to deal with. Items were as he described them, reasonably priced and got here amazingly fast. IMO you can do business with him without any worry's due to his new member status. I'd say he's GTG.

I have the PRI on one of my AR's. Installation is no different than any other lo pr GB. What i did with mine was to get a longer adjustment set screw, and a very small nut, that way I adjusted it and then tightened the nut to lock the adjustment, instead of relying on locktite. Don't really think it matters all that much though. I consider it to be better suited to adjusting the gas once an leaving it alone, than for using it to adjust back and forth between suppressed and unsuppressed operation.

Rhino, I went with the Krieger heavy contour in 1/10 ROT for my M1A build. I was led to believe that the 168-175's liked the faster twist. Can you tell me what your experience was with the 1/10 that caused you to go to the 1/12 after one year? I'm also under the impression that Krieger doesn't offer 5R rifling on any of their gas gun barrels, am I correct in understanding that you are purchasing their 5R blanks and installing the barrel extensions, and drilling the gas ports yourself?

Anyone seen this. I was doing a search on Young Mfg, because I'm interested in using one of their carriers in my present AR build, and I came across this video. Looks interesting. He says it's a hybrid piston DI setup. I like the idea of being able to run a folding stock. I've got to ask about this the next time I call them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD9-7nYXP1w

Don't know how the conversation went on the phone with them, and I don't know if you spoke to the owner, but I would agree with you that, if the barrels already cut down and recrowned, it should not have been too much trouble for them to put someone on it for an hour to pin and weld it ASAP. I have not delt with them personally, and this may possibly be how they run their business routinely, but I've noticed that with the increased demand for all things gun related these days, some shops have forgotten about customer service. It's one thing to tell a customer that there is a delay due to the increase in demand, but it's another thing all together to show disregard for the customer when you were the one to screw up. Sorry for your frustration, hopefully you'll see it within a month.

could you tell me what the acronym RNC stands for?

Since I don't own a suppressor this is second hand info, so take it as such. When you say get the barrel tapped, I'm assuming your talking about threading the barrel's muzzle to accept the can. Other things that are helpful to handle the extra back pressure created by the can are, a heavier buffer setup,also some people like the gasbuster charging handles because they supposedly reduce gas leakage around the charging handle. If your willing to do the work, an adjustable or switchblock gas block will give you a lot of freedom in adjusting the gas impulse to better match the pressure when switching back and forth between suppressed and non suppressed operation.

sounds good.

Sounds like you have an AR .308 XH rifle buffer. On his site Clint lists the length as being 5.2" I think. For a UBR you will need either ths CAR 10 or the XH carbine buffer to work. Think of it like Rifle length buffer for PRS or other full length fixed stocks, and carbine length buffer for all collapsing stocks, as far as weight goes, thats dependant on preference and what your going to be doing with the gun. As far as the other brands, RR, etc, You need to check with Clint on that stuff. By the way, I need an XH rifle length buffer for my present build. If you decide you want to sell it PM me.