COBrien

I'm having trouble figuring out just what the purpose of the DigiTrigger is, based on info on their website. I haven't watched the video (currently at work...). Lower/electronically adjustable pull weight? Doesn't seem like it. Additional safety via grip safety? Meh. Semi vs. Binary trigger? Several products available that are much cheaper. Somebody help me out here.

Walmart isn't a union store. In fact, if more than 2 of their employees are congregating in a location, management has a duty to break them up. Any attempt at unionization or collectivization results in mass firings. They simply won't have it.

Yeah, that's the issue we have. We get to pick between hauling people or hauling stuff in the Durango. 98% of the time, it's just us and the kids. So car seats in the second row, third row down flat. But when we have people to carry around (i.e., in-laws in from Colorado this week), the 3 y/o's car seat goes to the third row, and we now have just enough room for a golf bag and a loaf of bread back there.

Did you buy a JK or JL? If it's a JK, keep an eye on the heater temperature. Casting sand left in the 3.6L finds its way into the heater core and clogs it up, usually on the driver's side first. Cold air for the driver, hot air for the passenger. Nothing except thorough cooling system flushes will even touch it... I'm getting rid of my JK for exactly that reason (and the fact that we've got a 3 y/o in a car seat and a 6 m/o in a carrier, so there's little room for much else in the Jeep), and looking to get into a full-size crew cab pickup. EDIT: Oh, also, nice ride, DNP! My wife wants all the space of a minivan, without having a minivan. So we bought her a Durango R/T last year.

Same story here. My Fulton Armory .308 upper was pretty good out of the box -- didn't take much lapping. 2 Fulton AR-15 uppers were okay. A no-name Cerro Forge AR-15 upper was comparable to the FA AR-15s. The upper I've had that needed the most lapping was an Aero M5 (not E1). First pass revealed a high spot over about 1/4 of the circumference, and it took quite awhile to get her evened out.

The wife and I each have a pair of old (like, 2014) Walker's Alpha electronic muffs, and those are good enough for us for most purposes. If I'm shooting at an actual range, around other shooters (especially indoors), I will run a pair of foam earplugs under the Alphas. For the kids, we have kid-sized passive muffs (23 dB NRR). So far, the kids haven't joined us on the range yet (3 y/o and 6 m/o), but we wanted to have muffs for them when they/we are ready. They won't be shooting anything more than .22 LR for quite awhile, so those should be plenty for them. Eventually I plan to step the kids up to electronic muffs, as well. As an aside, I'd like to get myself a pair of slim, behind-the-head, electronic muffs for hunting. Or maybe some sort of "Game Ear" type product... Of course, the best hearing protection is a suppressor. But widespread and de-listed use is up to the legislators, in their infinite wisdom.

Fair point. I was trying to take the lazy way out and say, "Well, Michael from Criterion checked it, and he says it's good, so..." I just have limited garage time after the youngerns go to bed, so I'm trying to make the most of it. Still have a Griffin Hammer Comp to install on the Dissy (with Accu-Washers...), boresighting to be done on the CSASS, further boresighting to be done on the RART (just eyeballed it down the bore at 0100 one night across the garage, want to actually set my laser boresighter up with 20ish yards across the front of the house and get it closer). Trying to get all this done before the in-laws come in this weekend for Christmas. FIL (the one I gave the 80% lower and buildout parts to last year) really wants to go to the range this visit. Since my FFL/SOT is a good friend, we'll be meeting him at the 2,000(ish) yard range, where he'll let me "demo" my can. I think the FIL will get a helluva kick out of shooting a .308 suppressed.

Alright, so before brother 98 threw in his support for the Accu-Washer system, I'd already pulled the trigger on some jam nuts, shims, and peel washers in 5/8-24. Then, on the advice of @98Z5V, I picked up some Accu-Washers. I was thinking I'd get all this stuff in front of me, then decide which looked to be the most reliable. I finally did that last night, after I got the 6 m/o to bed. First thought was, I'll run the jam nut down to the barrel shoulder, then shim it. Was still gonna need some 0.030" of shims. Ehh. Then, I thought I'd run an Accu-Washer between the brake and the jam nut. Good look, but I wasn't all that confident in the flatness of the jam nut. So, I ended up running a #17 Accu-Washer against the barrel shoulder, with a #10 Accu-Washer (IIRC -- it was 0100 by the time I buttoned everything up...) on top of it. Getting the brake timed perfectly was going to require excessive torque. So I tore it all down and tried a #9 Accu-Washer. Hand-tight, it was just a RCH past where it needed to be. Torquing was only going to make it worse. So a #10 it is, then! Couple little schmears of Mobil 1 grease (yeah, the red stuff) on each side of the #10, some RockSett on the muzzle threads, and she timed up pretty damn good. Still took a bit more torque than I would have preferred, but it is what it is. By the time the RockSett goes off, she ain't goin' nowhere. Also mounted my Bushnell Nitro 2.5-10x44 FFP scope back on the rifle, but this time in a Warne LR-XSKEL (20 MOA) mount. Then mounted up my new Griffin M2 45° irons. This rifle is shaping up pretty good at this point. Still have to boresight the scope and will boresight the irons before my first -- err, second -- range trip. Debating on checking headspace just to satisfy myself that it's been done. Criterion hand-selected this Fulton Armory bolt (with this carrier), so there shouldn't be an issue. But that was with everything assembled on the Gibbz upper. Seeing as how Fulton Armory puts out a had-and-shoulders better product than Gibbz, should I be concerned about checking headspace here?

Mine should be in tomorrow (was supposed to be here today, but USPS is a government entity, after all...).

I'd heard of the Accu-Washer system around here, but had never taken the time to actually learn how it works. Seems like a solid way to mount any muzzle device, and (except in rare circumstances, like where you've got 0.100" of gap to take up...) would only require 1 washer.

Is your muzzle going to be threaded 5/8-24? Many suppressor-mount brakes have a "blast shield" or something similar available. For instance... https://www.griffinarmament.com/taper-mount-paladin-2-port-brake-1/ https://www.griffinarmament.com/taper-mount-blast-shield/ Or... https://www.griffinarmament.com/30sd-suppressor-mounts/ https://www.griffinarmament.com/qd-blast-shield-gen-2/ These are just a couple of examples, and only from one manufacturer.

...make that $49.98... Picked up a set in 1/2-28 also. Because, well, the Dissipator will also be a host. And so will the Ruger ART (for an Optimus Micro, eventually...). Likewise with the kids' .22LR ARs. And, while we're at it, might as well set up the wife's patrol rifle with a Griffin M4SD Linear Comp. As soon as Griffin gets some more made...

I hadn't seen the spec sheet that shows the actual thicknesses, in thousandths. Just looked at that, and it looks like you're 100% correct. There goes another $24.99! 🤣

It is going to be a suppressor mount. Just waiting on my GA 30SD to be released from BATFE jail. I’ve looked into the accu-washer system, but was still going to have to stack 3-4 washers to get where I needed to be. Or, at least, that’s what it looked like when I was checking into it.

After having the upper in my vise and installing the barrel, the barrel extension-to-receiver fit was pretty good. Decided against LocTite at this time. New issue, though... Went to install my Griffin Armament 30SD muzzle brake (in preparation for my 30SD being released from jail in 4ish months), and the brake bottoms out on the threads with about 0.100" of space between the base of the brake and the shoulder on the barrel, and the brake is 270° out of time. So I need about 0.131" of "shimmage" there. No way in hell am I going to stack that many shims. I poked around online, looking for a 5/8-24x.100" or so spacer, and came up dry. I did find a 5/8-24x.200" jam nut, and had thoughts of torquing it down tight against the barrel shoulder (with RockSett), then shimming against it to time the brake. I also ordered up some 5/8-24 peel washers, .067" thickness, thinking one whole washer plus one washer with a lamination or two (0.003" each) removed might get me where I need to be. I've never had a muzzle device that wasn't threaded deep enough (or a barrel that was too long in the threads). Or, if I have, it's been covered by a crush washer and I didn't notice. What's the best strategy here?

Those KAC Micro 600 rears can be found on eBay dirt cheap (in comparison to what KAC wants for them...). Look for ones that are marked "USMC." Those are sights that were issued on a deployment, considered "expendable" by QM (and, therefore, not accepted at "turn-in" time, even unused in OEM packaging), and brought home by Marines. I think I picked mine up for $83(ish), shipped. I was actually talking about the A.R.M.S. #41-L "A-Frame" gas block w/ folding front sight. If you're wanting rail-mounted, you're now out of my depth -- the only rail-mounted front sights I have experience with are the plain-old MagPul BUIS and Troy non-folders.

I've got a KAC Micro 600 rear on my Dissipator, and it matches up just fine with a "F" marked front sight block or the A.R.M.S. 41-B folding front sight gas block (very cool sight, BTW). I'd assume the vast majority of flip-up sights, regardless of manufacturer, would be engineered to work with mil-spec sight heights.

I'm glad to hear positive reviews on McGowan barrels. I've been looking at them for awhile now, and was actually introduced to them by SRS (Superior Rifle Systems), who sells "branded" McGowan barrels. Considering an upper in a non-standard caliber in the next year or so, and McGowan was high on my list. Since Criterion doesn't sell anything other than the 2 or 3 hottest-selling calibers these days...

Man, this simple little project is taking a long time to get together... I finally got a chance to strip the Gibbz upper last night, after Momma took an overtime shift in dispatch and I got the kids to bed. Took me all of 20 minutes to get 'er apart. I bubble-wrapped the barrel and dropped it off with a buddy this morning. He's going to "touch up" the blasting forward of the gas block where I made some shiny spots while installing said gas block. Should have it back before Thanksgiving (hopefully tomorrow...), and I'll get everything assembled on the Fulton upper. Before I assemble, though, I'm considering using some Loctite 609 or 620 to "bed" my barrel extension. Of course, I don't have the barrel in my hands to check the fit of the extension to the receiver (if it's tight enough, I may not need it, but I doubt it'll be a "thermal fit"). Anyone have advice/recommendations?

PSA may very well rectify their issues. But they haven't yet, after how many years of peddling the PA-10? Look, PSA is a great place to buy a "cheap and cheerful" AR-15. Or parts for any AR-platform rifle. But I (personally, and most certainly not on behalf of the mods/admins at 308AR.com) will continue to discourage folks from spending hard-earned money on a PA-10 until PSA gets their sh¡t together.

https://www.armorally.com/ Generally has the best prices on Aero Precision and Ballistic Advantage parts. https://www.righttobear.com/ I've found some smoking deals on small parts (gas blocks, especially) here. https://www.opticsplanet.com/ Always has good prices, and all orders over $50 ship for free. Leave a review on a product you've purchased from them, and you get a coupon code for 7% off another order. PSA is also a good place to buy parts. If you sign up for their e-mail newsletter, they have Daily Deals and Weekly Deals that often can't be beat anywhere else.

I'm dumbfounded that this hasn't been said yet... STAY AWAY FROM PSA if you're buying something that's already assembled (i.e., complete lower, complete upper, or complete rifle). They still haven't figured out the issues they have, and continue sending out a cobbled-together mess of a rifle, which the end user has to immediately swap parts on just to get the thing to run. Manufacturers beta-testing products on consumers who generally don't know any better gets under my skin... I built a .308 AR for a friend for $1,000, all-in. This included a Ballistic Advantage barrel, Aero receivers, ToolCraft BCG, and some other parts that were midway up the price continuum. If a guy shops Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales online and is willing to drop down a notch or two on price, he could probably build something substantially similar in the $700-800 price range, and it would stand head-and-shoulders above ANY PA-10.

FA upper, port door, and SSS Gas Vent showed up yesterday. Got the kids to bed, got Momma off to work, and got the receiver lapped. Unlike the AR-15 uppers I got from FA, this .308 upper didn't take much. In fact, all I did was lap the anodizing off. No unevenness at all -- just a nice, shiny solid ring. Then I installed the port door and gas vent. I'm not sure how much I like the fit of this upper to my lower. But, with them not being purchased as a matched set, I can't fault FA. I'll sand down one of my Accu-Wedges tonight and get it "just right." Next up is dismantling the Gibbz upper. I'll be dropping the barrel off to a friend to have him "touch up" the sandblasted finish forward of the gas block. When I installed it, I hadn't thought about how snug a fit the gas block would be, so I have shiny lines all the way to the muzzle. Lesson learned -- a small metal shim on the non-threaded side, and run the clamping screws in from the threaded side to spread it open a bit. Debating on going back together with a SLR Sentry 7 I have lying around... I can already hear the immortal (immoral?) words of @98Z5V, though... Don't complicate shite with complicated shite!!

I finally just bit the damn bullet today and ordered up a FA upper. Along with a port door and gas vent instead of a forward assist. Does the vent help? I dunno. Can it hurt? I suppose not. There's another $200(ish) in this build. But if it gets her to the range and running, it'll be worth it. That Gibbz upper will make a nice conversation piece in my office. I can't, in good conscience, sell that fvcking thing down the road to someone else.

Okay, so lack of sleep due to an infant and a spouse working night shift has got me messed up. I just checked GunBroker, and the best price I could find for an 870P Walnut is $449. The 870 HHD is available at the $399, some as low as $343. So the 870P is out of my range -- I can't justify (to myself, let alone the wife...) spending that much more for heavy springs, a metal trigger group, and parkerized finish for a HD shotgun for me. If I want the shorter, "corncob" forend that bad, I'll pick one up from Remington or Numrich and swap it.