mineralman55

"Evil is powerless if the Good are unafraid." --- Ronald Reagan

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Quoted that a number of times. Very prescient man Heinlein.

As I've written in other "similar" posts regarding modifications to well established designs, Mr. Stoner knew what he was doing. I'll stick with the 3 gas rings. Whatever you do, just be safe. If it yields better results, more power to you!

Yep. Their max load is 45 grains of Varget, compressed. I've found Hodgdon data to be on the hot side, especially for gas guns. Sierra, in several conversations with me, said their max charges for gas guns is one increment below their listed max. Their max listed loads are for bolt guns. YMMV. Just be safe. 100 rounds thru these guns and they're still breaking in.

Here are the Sierra and Hodgdon loading charts for 175 grain rounds in .308. I've found Sierra's data to more closely represent the "real world" (alright, mine) than Hodgdon's data. I think your loads are way too hot. Back them down to ~40 grains and start there. Always a good idea with a new rifle to start with appropriate commercial rounds, then move to reloads and start low and increase the charge until you find your optimum load. Vertical grooves in the brass neck are likely debris in the chamber. Circumferential grooves in the neck are likely an imperfectly reamed/finished chamber. Keep the bolt lubed with oil, not grease for break. I found I needed at least 120+ rounds before a new 308AR breaks in well. Good luck.

I played with a separated sternum. Felt like the world was ending with each hit. Must be like that for a woman giving birth...

Just get an M&P Shield in .45acp. No muss, no fuss.

Put up some pics so we can see the grooves and splinters. 44 grains of Varget under a 175 is a very stout load for a 7.62x51. You sure you want to be that high?

Go to the Powder Valley website, click on the Powders tab, then the Shooters World tab, then click on the image of the three 1 lb. bottles at the top. This will bring you to all the info on the Tactical Rifle powder you'll need to get started. There is a burn rate chart that indicated Tactical Rifle (D073-08 or D073-01) is about equivalent to AA2200, and a little faster than AA2230 and H335. They also have only load data for three cartridges listed for it: 223 Rem; 30-30; and 308 Win. http://shootersworldsc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Shooters-world-reloading-manual-12-16-16.pdf I have personal experience only with Match Rifle. It is touted as equivalent to AA2520. A guy I know with QuickLoad who ran the numbers and said it came up exactly like AA2520, It's not AA2520, just equivalent in it's characteristics. I mention this because from scouring the web, and talking to the folks at Shooters World, Lovex/Explosia comparisons seem to be spot on (Clean Shot to AA#2, Match Rifle to AA2520)

Just received 1000 Xtreme 45acp 200 grain plated hollow points.

... and then the fight began.

Their packed lunch?

http://www.totalmateria.com/Article58.htm More than you'll ever need to know. This is a relatively new alloy, not yet fully characterized as to all its properties. Certain formulations were designed for lower density and higher strength than typical aluminum alloys such as 2024 or 7075 for applications in the aviation or marine industries. Many of these Al-Li alloys contain trace amounts of zirconium, copper and magnesium. It's very promising, but too new and expensive for general use... yet. Love seeing stuff like this.

I sure hope so!

Prayers for Van. Speedy recovery for a top notch man.

Welcome aboard. Another coonass!

It brought tears to my eyes. Merry Christmas everyone.

For all you AZ guys, The Saints finally broke out of their offensive stupor and put up some points on the Cards. Too bad the defense decided to take the weekend off. Track meets favor the Saints.

http://forums.thecmp.org/showthread.php?t=201477 The author is a friend. We've worked on a number of rifles and I wish I knew as much about M14s as he does. I'm going to see about a time line for these.

I hope you're right. After years of work designing, measuring, testing, building a business model, etc., a friend is going to begin mil-spec production of real M14 receivers (a la TRW). Probably black nitrided finish. I'll get one for sure.

Forgive me Lord, for reading that, and laughing so loudly on a Sunday morning. Hahahahahaha!

Cool. Did you buy it new?