James0822

Howdy Hoot and Tripledeuce, so you didn't have to do any grinding or polishing to the feed ramp even? I seem to remember somewhere reading the the LAR-8 has a more pronounced feed ramp because of the design around the FAL mags. I want to build a new RRA upper with a DPMS 260 barrel for my LAR-8 and this was the part that halfway worried me about the whole idea. Thanks James

Update... picked up the upper from the smith and had him show me the strap wrench he uses. I see now why he couldn't bust it, pretty much a joke for any kind of real torque. Came loose for me without heat. My shiny new 18" Ridgid might have had something to do with that though :)

Good news on the Loctite! I may be wasting my time but I'll try it without heat first since I don't have a torch either. I can always pick one up, nice to have around.

Wow it looks like forum member Hoot had the same issue! This maybe a little tougher then I originally thought. I don't have a heat gun. I'm going to check with RRA and see if they use Loctite.

While going to college I worked in my uncles hydraulic shop for a couple years. I have busted down 500-1,000 lb dump bed cylinders but the difference was I didn't worry much about damaging anything. Spray a litte paint and they were good to go. I think I'll order the vise block and give it a shot. Thanks!

Not sure about heat. I can ask him about that when I pick it up. I was actually thinking that it would have anti-seize, aluminum on aluminum like that. Loctite probably has some anti-galling property to it though too huh?

This is the best picture I have since the upper is still at the smith. The brake is just mocked up so I could see what it looked like. Basically it is a stock Predator with aluminum free float. It appears the nut is part of the handguard but again not an expert by any means!

Howdy all! I was hoping to get my Predator threaded for a comp but my smith just called to say come pick it up, he can't get the handguard loose. He has done a thousand ARs and he claims to have the right tools but can't budge it. I'm not an AR expert at all! Should I find someone else, or is this a common trait with the LAR-8? Has anyone ran into this? Thinking I'll just get the vise block from RRA and get it done but I don't want to ruin the upper either. What do you guys think? James

Thanks Slash. I am dropping my upper off today to get threaded for the JP. Hopefully it will work nicely with the HB I got from you last week. The LAR-8 HB is very nice BTW!

Shot 46 rounds this weekend with the HB and spring from Slash. Dispite my handloads at the starting charge I had 100% reliability. Well almost, I tried my $55 5-rd steel mag from RRA and it double fed on the second round. It obviously has issues totally unrelated to the gun. Messing around with it after the range session I figured out I can make a round pop up by just pushing in and releasing fast with my finger. Easy to see why it double feeds so I hate to even mention it in this context. With my mild loads the recoil reduction was noticable. I would expect factory loads with higher port pressure at the gas block to be even better. Anyone interested in a good, inexpensive load - 42.4gr TAC Nosler CC 155gr ww case rem 91/2 This only does about 2540fps in my 20". I knew it wasn't very fast but this weekend was the first chance I had to chrony it. I want to bump it up a little closer to 2700fps and see if the accuracy holds. I tried CCI200 as well, not quite as accurate and the sd. was higher. But the surprising part the velocity was ~ 2475fps. I didn't think a primer change alone would make that much difference. Interesting too with the CCI200 I was on the ragged edge for the last round bolt catch to kick up. With the rem91/2 worked 100%.

Thanks I thought it might be loud for bystanders. I guess I went from one extreme to the other. I was actually going to go with the BattleComp BABC (smaller openings are quieter?) but the JP came highly recommended by the guy threading the barrel for me. Figured he knew more about it then I did. I love the look of the JP as well.

Thanks for the info Spaniky. I got my HB and spring today, very nice. Interesting the new spring is shorter then my factory LAR-8 spring. If the heavy buffer doesn't work with my lighter loads I'll have it for max hunting loads at a later date 8)

Any opinions on the JP tactical brake? Getting ready to put a large profile on my LAR-8 so a little late if you have bad news for me :)

Of the few people that have had feed issues with their LAR-8 your the first I have seen that continued to have them after switching to the Poly mags. I do understand the heavy buffer fixed your double feeds but how old is your LAR-8 (mid or rifle?) and how many rounds would you guess you have shot through it? Do you hand load, or factory only? I should be getting the Heavy Buffer and new spring today. I hand load but typically only load to lower pressure levels. Curious if my loads will even cycle with the HB I'll find out this weekend. I can always bump the charge up until they do.

Hoot, for you to say something is "not hard" is like an F-15 telling a Cessna it's not hard to break mach1! lol

Thanks for the info. What I was getting at was a recoil pad while it does reduce "felt" recoil it does not actually reduce recoil or muzzle jump/rifle movement. So it wouldn't seem to have a positive affect on follow up time like a HB and/or brake would.

Good point about a recoil pad. It does reduce felt recoil. The felt recoil however in MY opinion is not really significant. Maybe it is because I am used too much larger calibers i.e. 300/338 wm. What I am looking for is the fastest follow up possible. Will a heavy buffer help that? Not sure. I am convinced a brake will, I'm putting a JP tactical on mine very soon.

I have had exactly 3 double feeds out of the first 210 rounds through my predator. Always with a steel mag, none with my Poly mags so not exactly worried about it. You sparked my interest enough though on the heavy buffer, I gotta try one. Thanks!

Hey Edge, I have a RRA Predator, love it! Curious if RRA knew you handloaded, or even cared before they replaced your rifle? I will say I was a little dissapointed to see that little note in the box with my new rifle about handloading and the warranty.

Not a problem sir. Forgive my photo skills :o The followers on the Thermo and RRA appear the same but I think the spring rate is a little higher on the RRA. I didn't catch that before.

Here is a little photo comparison. Left to right metric Thermold, RRA Poly, RRA 20-rd steel . The RRA poly mags have a squared off catch (like the steel) and a very thin shim molded in under the catch to lift the front slightly. I noticed too that when locked into place there is almost no up/down movement. Both the Thermold and steel mags will push up slightly after being seated. The forward/reward movement should be a little less with the shim but I can't tell much of a difference. I doubt the shim is more then the thickness of a piece of electrical tape. It does make the front edge of the mag line up very nicely with the feed ramp. There was a little note with the RRA mags saying that 243 and 7-08 uppers should only be used with the LAR-8 mags not FAL by the way which I found interesting.

Hoot, I would say the Thermold mags have noticably less room then the steel but I have never actually measured. My hand loads are 2.80" OAL which is seems just about the max I could go. There maybe another .001 or .002. I know not what you wanted to hear. My actual RRA mags will be in on Friday so I can do some comparisons.

Thanks! I noticed RRA charged my card this morning so my new mags must be on the way too! Very curious to see if there are really any significant differences from the standard metric Thermolds.

Woohoo first post, hey everybody! I bought a Predator HP a couple months ago new. I couldn't wait on RRA and just took my chances and ordered the metric version Thermolds directly from the Thermold website. RRA tech told me theirs were slightly different for the LAR-8 but I have around 100rds and they have been working great for me. They do look identical to the one pictured above. I just wish Thermold or RRA would release a short 10 round poly now. I like the shorter length for hunting. James