Black_Sheep

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What? Did I miss something?

I finished up the build tonight because I forgot where I put the gas tube for safe keeping. The barrel length was dead on 16.25” during mock up so I drilled for the pin and had a buddy TIG weld it in place. It feels pretty light and well balanced. The plan is to get it sighted in at 50 yards per Swampfox’s recommendation on Thursday night before sneaking over to one of the comp bays to run a few mags through it.

Barrel, BCG and gas block showed up today. Waiting for 1000 200gr LSWC .45’s from Precision Bullet to show up.

My biggest bitch about the Aero .308 BCG is the cam pin is an odd size and they don’t sell them individually…

I may just have to do that for the benefit of my shooting pals. I have the same brake on other 5.56 rifles, if the OD is the same it’s a no brainer…

The VG6 Epsilon on my .308 works well but folks say it's pretty loud

I’ve been saving my brass so I can start reloading this winter. Please recommend a good die set for low production, high quality ammo. I am an experienced reloader, having done tens of thousands of .38, .45 and 5.56 but the wide variety of specialty 7.62 dies is a little overwhelming. Working on .38 Special today…

Criterion sent tracking info for the barrel and BCG that have been on backorder since July...

It certainly is different, you guys helped me sort out cycling issues on my build without hesitation. No Peckerheads, no smart ass remarks, just a sincere willingness to help.

A 50 round box of the Blazer ammo retails for $30 online, the powder is $30/lb. The price tag on the sleeve of primers is $23 which is considerably less than current market value.

When we wrapped up shooting tonight one of the Rangemasters said “pull over by my truck before you leave”. I pulled up next to him and asked what’s up? Bruce opened his door and started handing me stuff. His brother is struggling with Parkinson’s and decided to give up shooting.so Bruce has been liquidating his gun collection and reloading stuff. Bruce GAVE me 800 small pistol primers, a few pounds of W231 and 400 rounds of .45ACP Blazer brass cased hardball. My only gripe is he refused to let me pay him for it. I’m going to get him a gift card from Cabela’s or something like that. How much do you think would be fair for such a generous act?

It stayed put on the two guns I tried it on, but I only ran a couple hundred rounds through each. As much as I’d like to test with a higher round count, ammo cost and availability has been a limiting factor.

This ProMag Vise Block ? I have one, it's an unremarkable piece of plastic that does exactly what it needs to do. Having a fixture to hold the lower absolutely makes life easier. This Wheeler upper vise block also seems to make life a bit easier. In addition to the above items, here's a somewhat comprehensive list of things in my firearms tool kit: Both ft/lb and in/lb torque wrenches, T-Handle hex wrenches, T Handle TORX wrenches, roll pin starter punches, roll pin punches, small standard punches, small hammer, pivot pin detent tool, barrel nut alignment gauge, reaction rod, armorers tool, automatic center punch, dial caliper, scope leveling tool, gunsmithing screwdriver set. There's some special purpose handgun tools in there as well.

Good to know! 👍

I have been using CLP but recently ordered a sample size Cherry Balmz Black Rifle Balm to give it a whirl. I applied it to the bolt, bolt carrier, cam pin, etc… It won’t completely replace oil but applying it in the appropriate places seemed to make both guns cycle much smoother (16” BCM carbine and Aero 16” mid length) This morning I’m applying it to another 5.56 and my .308

That looks like crap, but it would be reassuring to know that it’ll still run even while filthy dirty. It’ll take a couple hours to get it cleaned properly. When you clean it, post up some after pics to show how A-Z works for cleaning. I did a similar torture test to my S&W 625, about 1200 rounds later the carbon build up was dragging on the forcing cone, but it still functioned.

L&G Surplus in Lino Lakes, MN

5.56 for popularity/availability 12 Gauge for versatility/availability .45 ACP just because .38 Special for versatility .22 for popularity/versatility I should probably have a 9mm due to the calibers popularity.

Wrong forum

My Aero M5 build was very similar and my experience the first time out netted the same result. Conventional wisdom says that you are under-gassed, which was certainly true in my case. After confirming proper gas tube length, gas key integrity and gas block alignment I enlarged the gas port and swapped the Aero Carbine buffer and spring for a much heavier buffer and spring package from heavybuffers.com based on rock solid advice from the forum's resident experts. More information is necessary if you want the correct advice for your specific combination. Check one of the "waterboarding" threads for what info is required... My strangely similar thread: First time out with .308 build - major issues - General Discussion - 308AR.com Community

My Aero M5 build was very similar and my experience the first time out netted the same result. Conventional wisdom says that you are under-gassed, which was certainly true in my case. After confirming proper gas tube length, gas key integrity and gas block alignment I enlarged the gas port and swapped the Aero Carbine buffer and spring for a much heavier buffer and spring package from heavybuffers.com based on rock solid advice from the forum's resident experts. More information is necessary if you want the correct advice for your specific combination. Check one of the "waterboarding" threads for what info is required...