MaDuce

I figured something of the sort. My point was that I doubt you did anything I'd laugh at you for. The Meth users around here are stupid and downright crazy. But they are also very dangerous people. Dangerous in a sneaky way. I watch my back around them.

I may think that video is funny, but what I respect is mercy, patience and carefulness about judging others. Doesn't sound to me like something I would have laughed at you for. If you were being a bully or jerk and someone put you in your place, the other way around or if you were being downright stupid, I might have laughed. I can't think of much else I'd laugh at you for.

Longer buffer tube or shorter buffer maybe?

Interesting.

Which make and model and at what range?

LOL. That's a good way to put it. Not always true though. Handling a peculiar situation to perfection can get you an audience on youtobe as well. Example:

Kicking the driver of an overturned car in the face is what I can't get over.

I wonder how Rodney King would get along with the police in Russia.

Welcome aboard.

AWESOME!! I wanna hear from you how it shoots. Give us a range report if you're willing.

That's Awesome!!!

oooOOOOoooooooohhhh........I see.... I was unaware that anyone made a piston kit for the .308 ARs. The ones in the above link look like 5.56 piston kits to me. I somewhat understand the whole "build your own gun" thing. I just don't really register "building from available parts" and "building your own" as the same thing. I use to genuinely build my own guns allot, and then the local laws changed. Right now, I am considering a .22 Magnum bolt-action of my own design though in the past, I usually built handguns. Nowadays if I want to build my own handgun, I have to go find an already existing one to "modify" in to whatever I've come up with. Too much $ and paper work to be worth it in most cases. Plus, I'm kinda burnt out on that. I have some inventions that would allow a 10mm to be made in the size of a typical 9mm and still kick like a 9mm and MAY do a "mod" to prove it at some point, but that's about it. Still, that sort of thing is what's necessary if I want to give myself the impression that it's "my" work. To me anyway, assembling pre-existing parts in to an existing gun is more of a chore then a smithing hobby. That said, I am with you on the matter of building what you want rather then buying something already assembled. At least to some degree. The "standard" Addax ZK is not exactly what I personally prefer myself. On top of that, I have openly criticized Chris for dropping the bulldog comp for the phalanx in the past. However, Chris put the receiver I wanted on my upper and a friend of mine sold me a bulldog compensator for a ridiculously low price which I will be installing on the upper as soon as I get it. The rest of the gun is either what I would have done on my own or just lacking the accessories (like a flashlight, optic etc. If I could afford their guardian, I'd jump on it, but truth be told, if I got one, I'd replace the tac rail with a slimmer one and the muzzle attachment with a PWS FSC. There's another side to this too though. I baught the Addax ZK as my "hope I never have to use it" long gun. Once the .308 tension has released, I'll probably do like you and start occasionally building various ARs just for novelty.

Last time I looked at this thread there were people running around and yelling. I'm seeing things a little more clearly now. I am the exact opposite on conclusions. I rest on nothing but facts and hard evidence. When it comes to softening recoil, the only evidence I have seen with gas pistons having any reduction in recoil that you are going to notice is from the means by which the bolt is charged. I'm talking about softly pushing it back as opposed to quickly punching it back. As far as I know, only PWS and Addax are fiddling with "soft push" gas pistons. These basically use less force then DI or normal short strokes but remain under pressure for a longer period of time. It's like throwing a soft ball as opposed to hitting it with a bat. This only effects how fast and aggressive the bolt charges on you. As far as I know, it has no noticeable effect on the initial kick, which tends to be the worst part. I have a few friends who are hard-core AR-15 nuts and they all agree that if you want to reduce recoil and increase stability, get a PWS FSC (or bulldog compensator if you are lucky enough to find one) for the initial punch and a hydraulic recoil buffer for the charging of the action. I have a bulldog but am still waiting on my AR-15 (supposedly ships out next week) but my friend has one on his AR and has told me over and over again that it at least cut the recoil of his AR in half. These things are also much cheaper then gas piston kits. I myself have yet to try any of these gas piston kits, but all the AR-15 people I know say that if you want a gas piston AR-15, then get a complete upper from PWS or Addax Tactical. I've dealt with the people at PWS and am personal friends with the owners of Addax. They are all great people to deal with. BTW. Why don't you guys try and get Addax to sponsor this board. They sponsor others and make some pretty nice .308 ARs.

Like you, I don't think I'll be using one on my .308. Sounds like the .308 really doesn't need one and the gun is heavy enough. Accuracy wise, things may be a little different on the Addax gas pistons. I have yet to actually fire an Addax ZK, but reviews by others who have more experience with the AR-15 then I ever will describe the accuracy and stability as being exceptional. But you also have to remember that this is no parts kit you order and slap on your rifle. This is a tailor made system that's individually built, tuned and tested by a renowned AR-15 craftsman. They are renowned for both accuracy and reliability. None the less, as I stated earlier, gas pistons are not a huge selling point for me. If the AR needs a gas piston to work dependably, I am not interested in the gun at all.

Will these work on the .308? I myself ordered an Addax Tactical ZK mid-length carbine with a Vltor MUR upper receiver. I was told yesterday that it ships in a week. Those things proved incredibly reliable, soft recoiling and highly stable during extensive field testing. I can't wait to see how well they work. That all said, I tend to think gas pistons are barely worth their weight. Yes, ARs pepper up the action a bit with their DI, but at the same time, a gun that stops up any time early on from that is not a gun I care to own. Gas pistons are a nice addition to reliability, but if the gun can't function correctly without them, then I'm not interested. Fortunately, some of the higher-end AR-15s seam to work exceptionally well with or without gas pistons. Gas pistons just give you a little extra peace of mind after your gun has already reached that "it's seriously time to service your gun" point. Even with the one I ordered, I am far more interested in the record, knowledge and experience of the makers, and the care they put in to tailor making it then the gas piston it's self.

Yeah. I understand that. I'm more concerned about a gun's ability to hold up and work when/if the circumstances arrive that leave you without the means to maintain the weapon for a period of time as opposed to the freedom to neglect one's weapons under normal circumstances. In other words, I'm conscious of how the weapon will perform in a SHTF situation should it happen. Just one of many things I like to be prepared for. No that doesn't include this "2012" melt down silliness. I think I'd rather die early on then live through something like that. LOL.

Just remember this. Everyone gets antzy about this stuff and impatient, while manufacturers often struggle between that demand and the maintenance of quality and performance. I've designed and built my own guns before and can tell you that it's a huge challenge. It's allot like video game design. Some may seam simple and straight forward, but if you look at what it takes to design them, work out the bugs etc., it takes an ocean of work to accomplish and get it right. The same is true with firearm design. I love everyone's optimism, but as a realist, I won't be surprised if the laws of nature win over our optimism and the receivers take longer then expected. In the world of firearm mechanics, you don't really know for sure until you're done. Until the receivers start shipping, I'll be ready for and expecting something to come up and put things off a bit. That's just how it works. That all said, I'm really looking forward to getting one and intend to do so, assuming something else doesn't come my way first.

That's pretty much it. Though you missed one detail about the .308 receiver machining. There's a protrusion that runs along the sides of the top of the upper receiver that isn't found on the AR-15 receivers. Not a big deal, but it all comes down to my point that; while a LITTLE more complex and expensive, I see no reason apart from economics to justify a x3 price increase over AR-15 receivers. You seam to already be on that same page from what I gather. BTW. I don't think the aluminum is 25% more, at least at the start. The .454 Casull is only a few mm longer then a .357 Magnum and only about 9% of an inch wider. Put the two together and you have something that almost is or is twice the size in terms of bulk. The finished LR-308/AR-10 receiver may only be 20-25 % more aluminum, but the billet it's carved out of is probably close to double that of the billet the AR-15 receiver is machined out of.

.308 lower receivers ARE more complex and probably start from a billet nearly twice as large as that of the 5.56 lowers. This definitely means a hike up in price, but I don't see any real reason why it should be 3x as much as your average 5.56 lower. I DO think the price of .308s is a matter of supply and demand, but I have also noticed that the firearm industry is often not living in the real world when it comes to customer preferences. In this case, that means I get the impression that few are considering that the steep price might be the main reason why the demand is as small as it is. Ever since .308 prices have been growing closer to .223 prices, demand and sales have gone through the roof. I think it was something like 7 years ago that .308 ARs cost at least $1500 and usually over $2000 and were VERY limited in availability. Now you can get them for as little as $800 despite the rise in firearm costs over the last 7 years and now .308 ARs are starting to become common place.

Believe it or not, AKs are really nothing special in terms of reliability. Maybe they were 30 years ago, but not today. Their reputation exceeds reality. I do appreciate AKs though. But as you said, AKs are much cheaper and easier to come by.

Yeah, I know the guns work just fine when properly cleaned and lubed. But what about under extreme circumstances when the gun has been neglected and abused to high heaven. Can anything be done that will allow it to work just fine even under such conditions?

Really? I didn't know that. Who makes them? I just went to Armalite's website and looked at some of the uppers. Not as expensive as I thought. Still beyond what I can afford though. :(

Hello guys. I like to keep all my guns as reliable as possible. I am aware that most of the AR-15s reputation for jamming isn't really attributed to the .308 and in many cases, not the AR-15 either (false rumors etc. I get that part and that's not what this is about. Simply put, since I am building a .308 AR type rifle, I am curious of what known reliability issues there are with this overall design and what known fixes there are. Basically, what to do and what to avoid is all.

Putting paint on plastic covered electronics that will actually hold up is very tricky, mainly due to the fact that you can't use very high heat. It's not an impossible task though as long as you are willing to live with some....eh....aesthetic disappointments. First, I am assuming you are talking about your optic, not the rail. If so, there's probably no reason why NOT to use duracoat and that's probably your best bet. While Duracoat can have it's curing process completed in a day through baking, it's chemically designed to be useable within a day and be rock solid within a month, which is much easier to live with on things like optics then say...handgun frames. If you are unwilling to go that rout, a plastic spray paint might do the trick if coated with spray wood lacquer. Keep in mind though that wood lacquer will eventually get this ugly beer gold shade to it which will alter the color of the finish in a way you probably won't like. This however CAN be used to your advantage in some cases though. I personally like the color it generates when put on over olive drab and if you spray it on over desert tan, it will eventually turn to a dark earth color almost identical to that of magpul furniture. Obviously, if the finish is black, this beer gold color has no effect.

I have spent years experimenting with "off the shelf" spray paints and their applicability as bake-on gun and/or accessory finishes. Really fancy stuff like Rustolium works OK, but you'd be surprised what works even better and moreover, what it costs. There are two options which work equally well and better then anything else I've tried. Neither are going to be as strong as purpose firearm spray finishes like Duracote, but still strong enough to hold up to decent amount of wear. I'd compare overall to maybe bluing, give or take a little. If done right, it can be applied pretty thin too. The two are different brands but require the same method of application and treatment. The first is that cheap $1 spray paint sold at Wal Mart. The stuff found in a blue and white can. Use only flat. Gloss doesn't work so well. The other is Testors model spray paint. Again, only flat should be used. I spray it on very carefully and bake in an oven at 300f for 3 hours. If baked for 2 hours, the finish will be about half as durable as a 3 hour bake (maybe even less) and 4 hours runs the risk of chipping. Higher and lower temperatures create similar issues. 3 hours at 300f produces the best results I've been able to find. It's not perfect and surely no substitute for duracoat where duracoat will work but probably the best thing you're going to find in your local hardware store. I've done some rails with it in the past and never had any issues with thickness. If you intend to try this, experiment on something less important, like a can or dollar store spoon before going in to the thick of things. BTW. I have a toaster oven dedicated only to bake-on finishes. Probably not a good idea to use the same oven you bake your pizzas in.