Retired JM

Ditto. Wish we had an emoticon with a middle finger so I could raise it to all you muldoons who got the whole week off...But I'm not bitter or anything.

Now you need to start lobbying wie and son for a new optic for your birthday/Father's day whichever comes first. Congrats on the new rig. Hopefully some ammo was included.

Merry Christmas! Thanks for posting that link. It's a great primer for those wanting to shoot with more precision and a great refresher and reference for those who have already had some training.

Oh, that. It's a pig. I was in a LRS unit in Germany and my girlfriend and her friend were walking past our company area where we having our usual weekend bacchanalia. My GF's friend made the quote from Animal House, "Those boys are nothin' but P-I-G pigs," My GF, always the artsy-fartsy type, thought it was funny and went to the craft shop and made a ceramic pig with our company emblem on it's chest. I've had it ever since.

Indeed. I got so much shiite in the garage that I could start my own surplus store. You got jokes; very funny. I had to put on some weight after I retired so I could tell people at the range that I was an Ex-Navy Squeal/Delta/Force Recon Operator.

I think so, Brain. But burlap chafes me so.

As I stated in another thread, I came to the .308 AR as a replacement for a finnicky M1A Scout. I decided to go with Armalite because it's value for price topped all the others. I could pay more for another brand, but I wasn't going to get more. With Armalite I got a well-made, accurate, dependable rifle with top-notch CS standing behind it. I decided that I liked the portability of the Scout, so I went with an AR10A4 carbine. Initially I was a little leery of the 16 inch barrel for accuracy, range and powder burn out. A little research dispelled my worries. Upon inspecting the rifle at the gun shop (Kudos to the counter guy that let me completely strip the rifle prior to buying) I realized that I had a high quality piece of machinery in front of me. The anodization of the exterior was very well executed - no thin spots or clumps. The fitment of BCG parts was tight to say the least and the carrier key was properly staked. The railed forend was nice and tight and I liked the way Armalite added screws to it to increase it's solidity. The NM trigger was good, a little grit in the take-up but it broke clean with very little over travel. Sold! Here's a pic of it shortly after I bought it, with a 4x ACOG I had laying around: The accuracy of the rifle was surprising, considering the chrome lined barrel. With the ACOG and M118LR ammo, I was consistantly getting 1.0-1.5 MOA 5 shot groups out to 600 yds. I thought the rifle could do better... So I bought a 3-10 Weaver Tactial Grand Slam from Midway USA. I generally prefer scopes with a FFP reticle, but this one had a mil/mil set up and I could live with the 2d focal plane reticle. The glass was very clear, turret clicks were firm an the scope tracked well. To mount it, I went with an ADM Recon-X one piece mount with adjustable QD levers. A VERY well made mount and I can recommend ADM without qualification. Then I decided to free float the barrel. I used the Armalite railed free float tube for this. Armalite gave me a screaming deal on it and I would have been foolish not to take it. The rifle was somewhat unbalanced because of the lightweight M4 buttstock. I replaced it with Magpul's excellent ACS unit. I put a baggie of lead shot in the side storage compartment for additional (and adjustable) ballast. The result? 200 yds, 168gr Hornady BTHP, 43.5 gr IMR 4895, COL 2.8 inches. The shot off to the left was a called flyer when my shooting bench shifted. I'm very happy with my Armalite. So far, no hiccups or failures to report. The only thing I might replace is the A2 pistol grip.

Various manufactuers have different names for it like melonite, WASP, or tennifer. Generically, it's referred to as nitride carburization. It provides a finish that's superior to bluing or parking for weather/rust, since nitriding penetrates the metal versus a surface treatment. In the bore nitriding provides a harder, slicker surface than chrome lining. Another advantage over chrome is nitriding gives a more uniform contact surface for the bullet since there are no thin spots or "micro-clumps" in the chrome linining. This results in a small increase in intrinsic accuracy of the weapon and slightly higher MVs. Nitriding also increases the longevity of the barrel due to the "toughness" and depth of the treatment. The only rifle makers I know of using nitriding are FN (SCAR), Sig (556 series), HK, and LWRCi. There are probably others, though. Here's a link to a company page that explains the melonite process: http://www.northeastcoating.com/SaltBathNitriding_1.htm I've got a 556 that I use as a truck gun and otherwise abuse. Eats everything without question, gives carbine-level accuracy and cleans up in a snap. I really think that nitriding is the way forward when it comes to rust/wear-proofing a barrel.

Welcome to the forum! Throw some pics up when your rigs are done!

Since there's no gas tube, I'm a-guessing that it's a gas blowback operated upper. Armalite has no info on their website in re the operating system, but the BCG is a CMMG unit and CMMG's own 22 upper is a blowback-type unit.

Concur, concur, concur. All ARs, regardless of caliber or operating environment, like to run wet.

That's more of a fringe benefit to a gas piston system. Where a piston system really shines is firing surpressed. Because of the nature of DI, residue from blowback is magnified - excess gas and carbon from the gas tube PLUS gas and residue from the bore . Our M4s would start to choke at around 120 rounds; the shooter would start to choke after about 30 from gas and carbon escaping from the ejection port. A piston system eliminates a lot of the residue and heat coming into the receiver, so there's much less lube burn off.

Up front, I'm not a fan of the ACR. I've had some trigger time with a friend's and wasn't that impressed with it. I own a POF 5.56 rig and have been more than happy with it. I'd say go for it. That said, realize you're going from a carbine to a precision/semi-precison rifle. Does it fit in with your shooting regimen and do you have a range or area where you can take advantage of the capabilities of the POF?

Put a little lube on the cam pin. Work the bolt back and forth to spread it. Then, with the bolt pushed all the way to the rear, SLOWLY pull the bolt forward while gently lifting up on the cam pin. You should hit a "sweet spot" that'll let you lift the cam pin out. My LWRCi BCG assembly is the same way.

Spent most of my career in North Cackalacky. Welcome!

Nicely done. Well met, sir. Looks like the Signal to Noise ratio just went down a little.

I've got one of their one inch mounts. Heavy, but VERY tough. While I prefer one-piece mounts (It makes switching optics easier, IMO), Badger Ordnance makes a set of QD rings that are pretty sturdy.

I really like the DD 7.62 Lite Rail. And I wouldn't chop the gas block, I'd simply replace it with a low pro unit. As for not selling the M1A, I'm a little conflicted. If your M1A was made in the last 5 or 6 years, I'd go ahead an sell it with no regrets. SAI's access to genuine M14 parts dried up as the M14 was brought out of mothballs for the GWOT. The commercial parts used in their stead are nowhere near the quality of the originals. That's one of the big reasons I got shed of mine. If your M1A was built in the '90's hold, squat. Don't sell it - chances are outside of the receiver and stock, it's all genuine M14. And of the two DPMS' in question, I'd sell the AP4 before the Classic. There's just so much more you can do with the Classic. Or, you might just wanna sell the lower to the AP4 to somebody wanting to do their own build. Not as much money involved, admittedly, but it'll provide you the funds for the FF rail. And when you feel like some 16" .308 AR fun, you'll have the upper to use. Just my .02 worth. RJM

I'm 99% sure that it'll be compatible, give GG&G a call/e-mail just to be 100% sure. The objective is to get the front and rear sight on the same sighting plane, so the front sight has to be taller; no other modification to the sight system is needed. Should you decide to go with a railed forend, you can use any AR15 sight set by mounting the front sight on the end of the top rail instead of the gas block. ARMS still has a QD line of mounts. But there are so many better choices out there now. As for forgetting about kit that you have, it's a sign that you've got too much kit ;)

Rear BUIS are easy, any rear sight for an AR15 will work. The front sight is a different issue, since the mounting surface is .34 inches lower than the receiver rail. I only know of three companies that make AR10 specific front sights: GG&G, Midwest Industries, and Armalite itself. For scope mounts, the LaRue and ADM one piece mounts with QD levers are hard to beat. I'm using the ADM Recon-X on my AR10 and really like it. It's a solid bit of kit. I really like the adjustable lever tension system ADM uses. So simple a caveman (or 11B) can use it. I'm using the mil-spec ACS on my AR10 as well. It's an excellent choice. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the accuracy of the Armalite. Armalite says the AR10A4 is a 2.0-2.5 MOA rifle. It'll probably do much better than that. My only gripes on the Armalite are the bolt-on gas block (The bolts got a coat of blue loc-tite prior to shooting it.) and the castle nut was unstaked (A screwdriver, hammer and 30 seconds took care of that.) When you get your stick sorted out, throw some pics up.

Wow, looking at some of the other activities y'all engage in makes me feel kinda bland. I enjoy FPS video games, though I have to limit how much and often I play them (PTSD is a motherfucker that way), reading and cooking/cocktail creation. I also keep up a regular program of running and marathoning.

You can give a Ranger two steel balls, lock him in a bare room with no windows and one door, to which you have the only key, then tell him that you'll want those balls back in the morning. When you unlock the door and ask him for the balls, he will have lost one and broken the other.

Fixed it for you. <thumbsup>

Then the bolt carrier is probably milled a little tighter for a snugger fit between the bolt and bolt carrier. My POF bolt doesn't have rings either, but their bolt carrier has some additional mass and an off center carrier key to mitigate bolt bounce and carrier tilt. My LWRCi bolt, on the other hand, has rings.