mineralman55

"I'm not going to leave the fate of the world to you f*&koffs!" Isn't that what Trump is saying now?

More grist for the diagnostic mill. I took the TNArms rifle out for another spin with the dWilson bcg with its new extractor. The action had strong extraction but once fully extracted it let go of the case which just sat on top of the mag follower without ejecting. Tried it with several different mags. If I loaded a single round in the mag, the bcg locked back just fine, but didn't eject the case. Same thing every time. No ejection, the bolt let go of the spent round at the same place and time. So I switched out the bcg with the Hardened Arms bcg from another rifle. Cycled fine, perfect function, threw the cases out at ~4 o'clock, locked back on the last round, all was good. I switched the bcg back and got the extraction but not ejection again with the bcg locking back on the last (only) shot. Okay, so it's not the buffer/spring, or the gas system. Dave at dWilson mfg suggested I switch out just the bolts and see what happens. That's next. I really want to get this sorted out.

The more relevant question to ask is, did the Marines get enough ammo and firepower? You know, budget cuts and all.

Uh-uh. Pleading the 5th on this one.

That reminds me of a joke that's so dirty I'm ashamed of myself.

(Thread jack...) That goes without saying, but I respectfully disagree with the idea that we shouldn't use the 1x fired military brass. I've reloaded 10s of thousands of 1x military cases fired in five different rifles. The few problems I've experienced were due to improper techniques/procedures on my part and not to the brass. Good procedures (and a good case gauge) are an absolute in what could become but is not necessarily an inherently risky activity. (Thread un-jack...)

Hope your combo build turns out well. Yes, the TNArms lower's top deck is slightly wider than the mating surface width of my Aero M5 upper, but it is of no consequence. They mate up quite nicely after I sanded off a few thousandths. Dave at TNArms said they're designed that way to ensure a tight upper/lower fit. I noticed the TNArms lower doesn't fit either a SI-Defense or Mega upper. That's just life with the 308AR's non-mil spec set of parts. The Aero uppers are very nice, and should work out just fine. I'm still debugging my build, but I don't think it has anything to do with the upper/lower. When I get it finished, I'll post it up.

Wow!

A pre-WWII 185xxx, two WWII (3.08xxxx and 3.65xxxx), two post-WWII (5.4xxxxx and 6.0xxxxx)

You guys aren't helpful, but you are funny!

Interesting. I couldn't sleep last night, so I got up, got on my computer and logged into 308AR.com. Wow! Talk about alien landscape. The pages were really bizarre, and there was no forum whatsoever. Glad it transitioned well.

I actually did that, putting a Hardened Arms 308 bcg into it. It seemed to function well. I may have to buy another bcg just to try it out, but before going to that expense, is there something I can do with the gas system besides checking that it is clear, unobstructed and properly aligned?

Update on this build. It has great accuracy, but this rifle has had trouble cycling. It's not the ammo, as I always start off a new rifle with Federal GMM, and some quality reloads that have functioned reliably in a similar rifle. At first, it absolutely wouldn't extract more than an inch or so, feeding was unreliable and the cases would get hung up on the ramp. It fired just fine, but wouldn't cycle. I called Dave at dWilson mfg, and he gave me lots of options to consider. I sent the entire bcg back to him for inspection and comment. He changed out the extractor with an updated design, test fired it successfully, and sent it back. No complaints there, top notch service Dave! Tried it again, and feeding is good but it wouldn't fully eject. It would get 80% of the way out and just stop. I called Clint at Heavy Buffers, discussed things there, he seems to think I have the proper assemblage of stock parts (Magpul MOE SL adjustable stock, AR Stoner mil-spec extension 7" inside depth, Slash's heavy carbine buffer and associated spring (27 coils)). So now I need to look over the gas block and tube. any suggestions on how I might test these out? I really need to get this one sorted out.

?

With each passing "incident" involving anything Goodell and the NFL, I get less and less interested. I love football, but despise the NFL.

Final thoughts on this build. It was a two month project beginning-to-finish to build, test, retest, contemplate, retest. Got out this weekend with it again, accurate, perfect function, all the cases ejected into a nice little pile at 4 o'clock indicating consistent mechanical function. No dents on them either! I'm satisfied with the results. Lessons learned: first, don't use grease on an AR. I greased up the bcg (Hardened Arms phosphate) a couple times and it caused lots of stoppages. I cleaned out the grease (just a tiny dab on the backside of the lugs only) and used lots of Rem Oil. Result: great function. Second, the triggers coming on the recently manufactured lpk really, really suck, ahem, Lewinsky go on vacuum. I cannot believe how gritty and coarse they are. I'll be changing out the trigger group with the Rough Justice trigger. I have two in hand, just need to find the time. Third, I finally got the chance to try out the relatively new Match Rifle powder. I really like this powder. It meters perfectly and repeatedly, and the results so far have been outstanding. Target below is 9 shots, pulled one. It's only 50 yds, but the target was available and I was too lazy to walk out to the 100 yd line. It leaves a little more residue in the barrel than I like, but I'll live with it. Overall, I really like the Mega matched set and barrel. Quality pieces of work, good results despite being a relative neophyte at building 308ARs.

What??!! You think this is rocket science? I've bought two or three off-the-stand issues of Recoil. It is mostly well written, has some very complete and good reviews on various equipment, and occasionally prints some snarky remarks on things. There's a lot of effort put into it, just not my regular cup of tea.

Welcome aboard. What lower are you building upon? Make sure the upper you buy is compatible with the curvature just in front of the buffer tower. Some are angled (Mega Arms) and some are curved. Aeroprecision sells some very nice, completely assembled uppers.

Welcome from Bayou country. Those Megas are sweet!

Grandparents wanted to get into the act. Still going strong after 70+ years.

Finally cleared my plate enough to allow for some range time yesterday. Third outing was multi purpose. Try new loads in the Maten, sight in and test out my new TNArms/Aeroprecision 308AR, and try some new loads in my Maten. The Maten was flawless this time. I'll attribute the lack of cycling the last time out to the low/underpowered TAC reloads. I started with the gold standard of Federal GMM 168 BTHP. These functioned fine and were very accurate with perfect function. But I've been itching to try out some of the relatively new Shooter's World Match Rifle powder. They tout it as "AA2520" equivalent. Well, after only one outing I like what it does and can say I am very pleased so far. This is only six shots, and at ~25 yds, but the Mega functioned fine, the spent cases were as clean as any other reloading, and the accuracy is there if I do my part. I tried loads of 42, 42,26, 42,56 42.86 and 43 grains underneath a Sierra 168BTHP. All cycled, all were very good accuracy, but the best was 42.86 grains of Match Rifle. I'll be loading up some more. Love this Mega.

Yep. I don't get a chance to get to the range as often as I'd like, so when I do get there, I tend to shoot a lot of rounds. I don't care what anyone says, shooting full power loads in a .357 or .44mag is not an all day activity. 4.1 grains of Trail Boss underneath a 158 LSWC, or 6.5 grains of Trail Boss underneath a 200 LRNFP are accurate, powderpuff, all-day shooters. In the 45ACP, 4.1 grains under a 230 LRN is an accurate, easy shooting round. For those of you looking for another low-recoil powder try Ramshot Competition. It was actually developed for "cowboy" loads, and it works great in the .45ACP and .357mag. It works well in the 44mag, but not as well as Trail Boss. (This is a bit off the original topic, but I'm rambling for the fun of it.)

In an M14 it's an "op rod", but you know that :-) There were never reports of Garands failing at the bolt/op rod interface, but for some reason John C. thought it should be "improved". The roller bearing on the M14 bolt works and works well, but I never thought the bolt on the M1 needed improvement.

Trail Boss is a great powder for so many pistol loads. I really like it for .45acp, and it is outstanding for 357mag and 44mag. Believe it or not, those funny little donut shapes actually feed well through a Uniflo.

/\ /\ /\ /\ I may not be a sniper, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night...