Cliff R

Finally had a range day yesterday. It was nice to get together with my brother and nephew and expend some ammunition. I bought a Ruger 10-22 fiberglass stock rifle and outfitted it with a cheap Tasco 4-12 scope. Overkill for the little 22 but damned does that thing shoot nice. First group at 25 yards were in a dime, and not much bigger at 50 yards. Was using some older Remington Thunderbolt ammo which isn't all that great. I'll test it next time with Super X or CCI and post some pics. BAD news on the latest PSA pistol build. They really messed up something with that upper, it woln't run chit. Jammed every single round, double fed twice and locked up so hard once I had to destroy the case to get it cleared. The round actually got above the BCG and locked in nose down with a live round in the chamber...WTF? In all my years of shooting M-16's and AR-15's I've never had that deal happen or anything close to it. I even tried a different buffer and spring, lubed it, different magazines, nothing helped at all. It acts under-gassed or not gassed at all. Will be contacting them today to return it. On a good note the other upper I purchased ran flawlessly, just one of their "low" end 16" nitrided deals. I ran at least a dozen mags thru that one w/o any issues at all. Ran a bunch of ammo thru my latest Springfield Armory Compact 9mm (just picked it up couple of weeks ago) and it was also flawless. I like the 16 + 1 deal in that platform, and very accurate for a 3" barrel.......Cliff

Got it thanks!....

Many thanks to all. Please keep the thoughts and prayers coming. Steph enlisted prayer early on thru here Facebook account when they found big problems with Cali and a few of the "experts" even recommended terminating the pregnancy. For several months it was all gloom & doom from the specialists and they news just kept getting worse and worse with each fetal MRI. We all held together strong and praying for the best outcome and so far much better than we ever expected despite arriving 6 weeks early...........

I haven't seen it, but really haven't looked around much on this board. The problems associated with oils is that they tend to run-off when things heat up. Problems with grease is that they get thick when things cool down and have poor penetration properties. Probably why the Military went with a product that cleans, lubricates, penetrates and sticks around to protect parts from rust, oxidation and corrosion. In any case I'm sure that you put the R & D needed to come up with a good product, and I'd be interested in reading about it if you can provide a link to it........tks.....

Even better news today. We've been anxiously waiting for the neuro team as previous fetal MRI's showed separation issues with brain and possible fusing of the halves, etc. They fully expected to have to install a shunt, but she is fine. They told Steph that this abnormality correcting itself is so rare they didn't even mention it to her. She also only has a partial fusion of the cerebellum not completely fused as diagnosed earlier. This gives here a much better chance later on. Even better for now she passed the first tests for oral feedings. All good, good and good news today. We are all so excited and happy for all these little miracles!......

Let's try this:

Thanks. I'm sort of computer illiterate but will post some pics of Cali when I figure out how to get them from Facebook....

Correct, but even with that said I would NEVER under any circumstances use heavy "grease" of any sort. If you are doing a "break-in" and apply heavy thick lubricants like grease they can induce additional "drag" in he components especially in cold weather. Quick "break-in" would favor lighter lubricants to let the moving parts "bump and rub" a bit and move freely in the assembly. As far as what to use otherwise, I really don't think it matters much. I've had folks tell me than in lieu of buying expensive weapon specific lubricants they just use full synthetic motor oil like 0W-20. I had this discussion recently with a guy who builds a decent amount of these weapons and he uses Dextron type 6 full synthetic transmission oil claiming it helps clean and minimizes powder build-up, etc. Keep in mind that with direct impingement vs piston operated a decent amount of powder is blown into the receiver when you fire the weapon. Anyhow, with most any "modern" lubricant the film strength will be excellent so I tend to agree that it probably doesn't matter what you use for the most part just have something there so it's not "dry" and creating excessive and unwanted friction. I actually hate to make specific recommendations with this sort of thing. Just go to any Automotive or even a Forestry Forum and you'll get a ZILLION opinions of different types of lubricants for engines, transmissions, 2 cycle power equipment, etc. It's not much different with weapons stuff from what I've seen. I still use CLP simply because I have pretty much a lifetime supply of it as I ran the Armory at every duty station I was assigned to and did all the weapons training, weapons maintenance, etc for each of my units.......

Yep, we're rooting for here and she has our full support. So far everything is going much better than expected, feeding tube comes out next, that's a really BIG deal and so far she can suckle and it appears she may be able to bottle/breast feed. What really sucks about all of this is that we can't go to the hospital and have to watch all of it on clips Steph and Teddy are sending us by cell phone. Hopefully she can come home soon.......and I'll be really glad when all of this Covid 19 chit is over with!...........

LOTS of opinions on lubricants for AR platforms. Everyone has their own favorite "snake oil" of some sort and I'm sure they have had great success with it. Personally for civilian use I really don't think it makes much difference what you use as long as it has enough to keep the parts sliding nicely against each other. The problem with using EXCESSIVE amounts of lubricant on the parts is that in the field the weapon will be subjected to dust, dirt, debris, water, mud, sand, silt and if you are running a lot of mags thru it powder residue. Excessive lubricant at this point becomes a dust/dirt/powder magnet and can create a thick and gooey residue as well. You may or may not have the opportunity to clean the weapon effectively till the mission is completed. I've always found that just a few drops of whatever lubricant we were issued (used to be CLP) on the metal parts then wiped clean was adequate for most scenarios. Of course this refers to Military grade weapons built to Military specifications with the correct coatings on the associated parts. I am NOT a big fan of using any type of grease on the BCG and related upper parts. Probably OK but grease is thick and sticky and gets even worse in really cold weather. A dab of grease on the hammer/trigger isn't a bad idea as those parts would be the only ones in the lower not parkerized, blued or coated where the surfaces meet each other......FWIW......

Forgot to comment on interchangeability above. Everything related to this deal has a specification and in theory many parts should drop in from one weapon to another. But like anything else components range from low to high for specs, and no two are exactly the same despite the best efforts of those building them. Don't even want to go into "Googling" up parts and looking for a few dollars savings one supplier over the other. I've had next to ZERO luck with that deal no matter WTF I'm working with, so I er toward top of the pile even when it empties my wallet a little more. Anyhow, IF the fix is nothing more than dropping in a different BCG, and/or some super-lubing, etc, then really no need to put the entire assembly under a microscope, change the part, the gun runs, go have fun with it......

Take a black magic marker and "paint" the BCG on the outer friction surfaces. Cycle it a few dozen times and look for "witness" marks or light areas, scratches, etc. There may simply be a "tight" spot or burr inside his upper someplace. Don't forget to check the charging handle as well and make sure there isn't something in that part of the upper pushing it down, or miss-alignment, etc. Don't forget about the buffer and tube, any dents, dings or tight there will effect cycling as well.......

Thanks. She is now breathing on her own and Steph said the feeding tube comes out next. All good news so far, she's a fighter for sure......thoughts and prayers greatly appreciated!.......

That's bad ass! Update on Cali, they ran some tests today and she can see, and has hearing in her only ear. They are going to remove the C-PAP in a day or so and the feeding tube. She is only being treated at this time for being 6 weeks early and so far none of the other issues or abnormalities appear to be an immediate problem. She cries when she's hungry, looks around when she hears your voice, and able to suckle, so they are hoping she won't need the feeding tube. They are also going to wait on draining any fluid off her brain as the swelling has gone down and no longer an issue. All good news, but she still has a LONG road ahead of her........thanks for the thoughts and prayers........

Greatly appreciated. The experts are quite surprised at the moment as she made great progress but we will not know about the hearing, eye sight, and other potential issues with her brain for a while. We're all rooting for her and hoping she'll be able to come home to us soon.......

I sure hope so. They discovered some issues back when they did the 2nd ultra-sound which resulted in several fetal MRI's. All we got was bad news for that deal, no ear on one side, jaw missing on one side, clubbed foot, brain sections not separated correctly, etc, etc, etc. All of us were devastated at first, and one specialist even recommended terminating the pregnancy. That was couple of months ago, and we've been praying for her ever since and hoping that things would improve for her by the time she was born. So far everything is far better than expected but she will have a long road ahead of her.........

Tks. They discovered some problems with Cali early on and thru ultrasounds and fetal MRI's discovered that she has a few abnormalities. Coming into the World 6 weeks early was another surprise. So far everything is going better than expected even with the early delivery. We're rooting for her here and hoping she can come home soon.......

Thanks guys. So far all is well. Bad news is that no one can go the hospital with this Covid 19 thing going on and Cali woln't get to come home for several weeks...

I'm seeing a little "curly Q" with the Romeo 5 but it's not a big deal. I'm just looking for something to pick up quickly with both eyes open and close range. I have two dedicated AR's for long range Varmint hunting. Both are deadly on groundhogs to 300 yards and I can't remember ever missing one out to that distance. The Eotech doesn't show any issues like the Romeo 5. I shot both of them with both eyes open and can pick up and get on target quickly. I much prefer the Eotech if comparing the two but haven't done any long range shooting with either of them. Had some range time planned for this weekend but had to go to my daughters on short notice. Cali was born this morning at 9:35am, about 6 weeks early. I'll put up a few pics when I get back. It's my daughters second child and doing well so far despite being early and having some issues that they found out about couple of months ago thru ultra sounds and feta MRI's........

Turns out my eyes aren't overly fond of the Romeo 5 either. I was sighting it in the other day and the circle doesn't appear perfectly round when I look at it. It's more like 4 small circles overlapping each other. It's not bad, but enough to notice. I called their tech line and they told me to look thru it and rotate it at the same time, which I did. IF the pattern rotates with the optic the optic is defective. If it stays the same your eyes are chit.......well......and this is no surprise, my eyes are the issue.......

About a year ago I was at a local gun-show and a new vendor had a big pile of Leupold scopes he was selling for less than half of what you normally see them for. There wasn't a line forming to buy them up, and I was a little skeptical so avoided them. I'm wondering if they were off-shore cheap copies as well? In most cases when something looks to good to be true.........buyer beware!........ "Yes ... I bought 2 pair last year of Amazon. Broke one during installation." That's what I suspected and glad I spent twice as much for them.......

You are welcome. It's even a difficult topic to "Google" as some miss-information exists on the Internet....imagine that! Always best to pull up one of the .gov sights and read the regulations. Even so some of the language they use can be a bit confusing so it's best to read it two or three times to make sure you completely understand it. There are also "opinions" found on line on several of these topics like selling firearms to another person on a "cash and carry" basis. One of those is face to face long gun sales. Just because it may not be in direct violation of any local laws in your State, and not in direct violation of any Federal Laws, it still doesn't get you past the responsibility to make sure whoever you are selling the firearm to is actually a resident of your State and NOT a prohibited person. I know you see all sorts of sales in parking lots at Gun Shows, and even at the tables when the seller says that it's part of a "personal collection", or he may be selling it on consignment for another, etc. These days I'm NOT selling to anyone for any reason without going thru someone with an FFL. The buyer shouldn't mind the additional cost and time involved, and rest assured if they woln't pass the background check they are going to disappear into oblivion anyhow........FWIW.....

I used to do this for a living but things may have changed some since I retired. When we encountered weapons during a boarding or other stop or crime scene we looked at barrel length, which includes the entire barrel from the back to end. It had to be 16". It could be shorter, if the flash hider/muzzle device was pinned/welded in place to make the total length 16" or longer. Then you have overall length or combined between the receiver, stock and barrel, 26". Anything shorter raises some issues with the Fed's (SBR).. For pistols barrel length isn't part of the equation, nor is overall length, although LOP or Length Of Pull factors into the equation. Basically the weapon just has to qualify as a pistol and not a rifle. I believe this is how these AR pistol builds are sliding in under the regulations. I NEVER encountered a "pistol" AR build back when I was doing that sort of thing, they just weren't that popular back then. We did encounter select fire/full auto weapons and SBR's, and legal owners of them know that the appropriate paperwork MUST be available for them and up to date. Something else to note here is that it is ALWAYS best to start with a stripped lower, so it can be classified as "other". If you bought a complete lower or rifle that was originally built as a rifle, you can not build it into a pistol. Not known to the general public but the "system" where we called in to find out if any given serial number for a weapon found at a scene to check it's status was so messed up you couldn't trust the results. Just about every single one I ever "ran" while on scene either came up stolen, came up as completely something other than what it was, or didn't come up at all. I learned not to jump all over that deal as 95 times out of 100 the results were not accurate. There again, I retired in 2003 and since they may have cleaned up that deal some. Another thing that can get you into trouble is adding a vertical, angled or other type of fore-grip to a pistol build. Best to leave all that alone out there in case you get stopped or get into an incident where you had to use it for self defense and LE will be taking a closer look at it. Last item to mention is that nearly 100 percent of the violations I charged folks with was dumb chit like taking a hack saw and cutting most of the barrel off a single shot H & R shotgun, then sawing off the stock to make the damned thing WAY shorter than the legal OAL. You'd be surprised at how many folks do that sort of thing and make themselves subject to the same fines and jail time as carrying around a full auto M-16 which they didn't have a Tax Stamp for!....Stupid, just stupid, you've only got ONE shot and takes a LONG time to fumble for more ammo and reload it.....DUH?.........

Aren't they copying Magpul back-up sights as well? I saw some for sale when I bought mine a few days ago that were about half the going rate but I avoided them......

For sure. If you ever get over this way let me know and we'll have a few. My wife stocked me up for the Apocalypse, got to love her, she bought a case of assorted Bourbons earlier this month for my birthday and the Wilderness Trail was one of them. It's made with a "sweet mash" process not sour mash. The sweetness hits you right up front, then caramel and vanilla, and a nice clean finish almost like peppermint. It' get 9 out of 10 stars on most ratings and not overly expensive. ALL the good ones start out that way, then by the time we figure out how good they are the become difficult to obtain and prices go WAY up on them......