BigNate

Thanks much…. I’ll be ordering tomorrow.

D’oh… correct…. I’ll keep looking…

This one? https://www.huckleberryarms.com/product-p/armel0370.htm ? It’s out of stock there -but if that’s the one I’ll dig a bit…

I realize that I'm late to the game here... but my advice for a new shooter is to pick up something like a bull barrel buckmark 22lr semi pistol. Why? 1) It's not "scary" to shoot. This might not be a huge thing - but it might be. If you want her to enjoy shooting, its smart to start her out with something that is not intimidating and that does not "hurt." I watched an idiot at the next table over hand his 70ish year old (looking) mother a snubby .357 (box of 158gr .357 was the only revolver ammo on the table). She pulled one round, almost dropped the gun, and refused to pick it up again. A subcompact 9mm is not nearly that bad - but its going to be a bunch snappier than a bull barrel 22lr semi. Again - this may or may not be an issue - but you want to protect her desire to shoot by making it fun and not painful... 2) It's super cheap to shoot - you can go out and put 325 rounds through it for $20. Doing the same thing with 9MM - if you buy the cheapest bulk brass case stuff I can find on AmmoSeek is going to cost you $80ish (you might save a few cents by shooting steel case stuff - but....). Shooting a lot is important to a new shooter becoming competent - and an experienced shooter becoming "good." If you can plink for hours on $20 and not get smoked doing it... you (and she) will want to shoot more... For clarity - I'm not suggesting that the 22 be a carry gun... and if you can only get one - you've probably gone down the right road - but I'm a big proponent of everyone having .22s in their safe - for both the reasons above. My 2 cents...

I've been reading up on the 8.6 Blackout and decided that I needed to waste some dollars and build one. Anyway - I went digging for info and found only two references - both of which were more focused on reloading for that cartridge - so I figured I'd start a thread... The gun will be an SBR and I'll be reloading for it and working on both sub and super-sonic loads. The immediate purpose of this build at this point is to play with the cartridge. I'm usually a "more is better" guy when it comes to guns as a tool for personal defense and the cartridge has my interest as something that could bridge the gap between the 45-70 lever gun that goes into the woods with me, and the AR15 by the nightstand. There's a lot of ground to cover before this would replace either of those (both of which I trust with my life) - but the idea of very heavy bullets delivering more than their normally expected share of energy due to dumping the extra rotational energy is intriguing. I have the following parts so far(most of this is stuff that I have accumulated and has been waiting for a project): Aero Precision M5 bare lower Aero Precision M5 Upper (assembled) Ballistic Advantage .308 BCG (understand these to be Aero Precision units - the Aero was out of stock and BA had a good holiday sale going) Odin Works .875" adjustable gas block (was going Superlative Arms but a buddy had the OW unit available at a great price so I'm starting there). Planning to try to make it work suppressed. Radian Raptor SD 7.63 charging handle Wilson Combat 10.4" handguard (used - was on another aero based AR10 - will work for now) Standard used lower furniture for the moment - once it is up and running I'll probably upgrade Larue MBT-2S Standard lower parts kit Stuff that I need to figure out: Buffer and spring Barrel Gas Tube (pending barrel selection) Muzzle device (will likely be a function of suppressor selection. If I let myself do what I think I want to do I'll be ordering a SilencerCo Omega 36M - but the devil on my shoulder has not yet fully beaten down the accountant on the other shoulder) So now - the questions: Barrel Manufacturers - I find AR10 barrels in 8.6 from Faxon, Mos-tek, and PRO2A. I know Faxon, but don't know the other two. Mos-tek wants almost twice the price of the other two. Unless I get a compelling reason to do so I'll probably just buy a Faxon as they are a known quantity. I always want reasonable quality or better - but this is not a gun that will ever be shot at great distance and I doubt that I'd get a ton of value out of whatever makes the Mos-tek "better" (assuming that it is actually better). Any other manufacturers to look at? Any good or bad to say about any of these? Barrel Length - This is an SBR build - so I'll be going shorter than 16". I want a compact platform for carry in the woods and for all the other reasons that people want SBRs. I'm leaning to 12" mainly based on what I see in the load data from Q (see below) and the fact that it gives up appreciably less velocity than the super short barrel in most cases. Interested in input from the mob as to what I need to consider in this space. Buffer Tube, Buffer, and Spring. This is an area where I really don't know where to start. If I were going to just "guess" I'd start with the Aero tube/buffer/spring kit and go from there - but I'm guessing this is going to need something special. Muzzle energy for the supersonic rounds above is in the 1700-2100ftlb range... for the subsonic they are in the 700ftlb range. Where do I start? With the adjustable gas block I like to think that if I pick the right buffer spring and buffer I'll be able to shoot both sub and supersonic rounds through the gun with just a gas block adjustment - am I wrong? Any advice on where to start with spring and buffer weight? Thanks in advance...

Its a shame that they are ending these. Guessing there is more money in selling the SOCOM 16's and squad scout variants. My "Loaded" rifle has a bunch of Match goodies added (spring guide rod, trigger tuned by Arrington Accuracy, piston, etc.) but I've always stalled when thinking about bedding it. Not a skill I have much of - and I don't want an early pass to screw up the stock. Some day I'll stumble on a beat up old stock - buy it - and use it as the Guinea pig...

My "M1A" answer, as opposed to an AR15 platform gun, is largely a function of the fact that my bugout location is in elk country and a significant slice of my "how to stay alive when it all goes to crap" plan includes eating things that are big enough that I want to shoot them with something bigger than 77 grains. I'm sure someone's uncle has killed a moose with a 5.56 - but I'd prefer to have more umph than I can get in that cartridge. If it really happens, you can bet that I'm taking a bunch of guns with me - but in the hypothetical "only one gun" scenarios I'm a fan of the .308 for improved terminal performance not just in people but in much bigger critters (and zombies - don't forget the zombies...). The extra energy, energy at range, etc. is more important in my bug-out scenario than the weight of loadout. Just my 2 cents.

Agreed... That one is HUGE. I REALLY like the list. I'm not a huge fan of 21 and 22 - probably because I'm too literal and find 21 to be something totally appropriate for a war-fighter at war in theater - but not so much for most of the civilian knuckleheads who tend to utter that slogan... I'm have no plan for how to kill the office ladies - or the FedEx guy when he walks through the door - no need for that. Frankly - I have a plan to protect them - they are my trusted friends. As to #22 I find no reason not to be friendly to most people - you've just got to know when to turn off "friendly." Just my 2 cents. I'd also add something like: "If you find yourself in a gun fight, know that he who acts with the greatest violence (in the immediate moment) is the most likely to walk away. Once it is time to go - GO - violence of action is almost always your friend. You are in a fight for your life - act like it."

My SHTF "you can only take one" gun is still my M1A (in 7.62X51 of course). To this point I only have one AR-10 and it is the Armalite AR-10(T) that weighs about 15 lbs. I really do like the AR-10(T) but between the weight and the fact that I don't yet have 1000s of trust building rounds through it - it can't be "the one."

Very nice riffle - and fantastic write-up! Thanks for sharing!

It'll be February for me. My nephew is getting married on Friday night and a wedding on that side of the family (my wife's Irish-Catholic side) means an Uber to a nearby hotel - not driving home so that you can be up at zero-dark-thirty. Mrs. BigNate reminded me of this and that the hotel in Mesa is already paid for. Guessing that if I tried to make it to the shoot my BAC at 0700 would disqualify me from competition. If this were a nephew on my side of the family, well, I'd be home and in bed by 8:30PM and the one glass of cabernet would have worn of in plenty of time - but her side plays the game by a different set of rules, and one of the secrets to a happy marriage is to play along so Saturday morning I'll be paying for the sins of Friday night. 😄 That said - my 20 round steel mags arrive this week... See you in February.

Sorry I missed it... Was up the hill with family looking at soggy pine trees and pissed at the rain that melted all the snow.

Congrats!

I was actually looking for this video - to add to this thread. Dude in the first vid was luck that he did not get punctured. If ya gonna be dumb... ya gotta be tough.

I’ve been happy with mine. Looking forward to your review.

I grew up in a semi-rural area north of Phoenix and we were on a long stretch of very well maintained dirt road (it was a "major" road maintained by the county - about 3.5 miles long between the nearest paved cross streets). A bunch of us kids had little dirt bikes - XR80s, XR200s, etc. so we were into the dirt-bike scene - but our parents kept us on "trail bikes" for "safety." Regardless, we all drooled over the 2-stroke stuff. Well one of the local adults had a CR500 with an aftermarket pipe. I have a distinct memory of hearing him coming down the road and running the 50 or so yards up to the shoulder of the road to see him go by. You could hear him a mile off and if you moved quickly some times you'd get there before he was in view. There'd be a dust plume in the distance and he'd appear over the little rise going about 90 MPH wound out in 5th. I have this frozen image of the guy standing on the pegs, crouched over the tank, in cut-of shorts and a wife-beater - no helmet - his mullet whipping behind his head. This happened pretty much every Saturday morning for a while then it stopped. I presume that he died... but maybe he just sold the bike.

The term I've started to use is "biscuitus" cause when I get home at the end of the day it's like...

I have a Marlin 1895GS in 45-70 - and I've shot both .458 SOCOM and .50 Beowulf based ARs and there is ZERO comparison. The lightest 45-70 cartridge in that lever gun hits my shoulder WAY harder than either of those other two in the semi-auto AR. Unless your grandson is a 67 lb 10 year old who is a new shooter - I'd be surprised if recoil is an issue. Just my 2 cents.

In my internal dictionary "eye box" = "eye relief" - the range in distance between my eye and the optic where the image looks like the one on the left and not like the one on the right.

I missed going this month - and yes - I really missed it. Unfortunately "life happens." See you next month. Two thing in response to that... 1) There is a guy in one of the other squads that I swear should probably have a walker with him - he does NOT move well - but he is out there having fun. Seriously - he starts moving between stages maybe 5 minutes before everyone else and he gets passed on the way (the walk might be 20 - 30 yards). I offered to help lug some of his gear last time out and he grinned at me and said something to the effect of "you want to rob me of my exercise?" I'd bet that if someone showed up in a wheel chair folks would figure out how to help them through the course. It is a good group of folks. 🙂 2) I'm in my 50's and seriously fat and out of shape. It is doable - and good for me... Seriously - one of the best thing's I've done with my time recently.

It is by far the best scope I've owned. That said - I'm quite green in that space - most of the glass I own is non-turreted stuff in the $299 range... I have one "better grade" scope - a Vortex Viper HS (this guy https://vortexoptics.com/vortex-viper-hs-2-5-10x44-riflescope.html ) and there is zero doubt in my mind that I get a lot more out of the Arken than I do from the Vortex - certainly in terms of features - and subjectively in terms of clarity of image etc. I've not done a 1:1 comparison - but I've been pleasantly surprised at image clarity from the Arken. My only complaint so far is that the eye box is "narrow" - but I don't know that this is better or worse that it is in other scopes of the same power. I do believe that the 6-24 is more suited to bench stuff than the Accurized AR match shoots that I've been doing with it so I picked up an Arken SH4 4-16 MIL that I'll start using out there next month. The eye box on this one is more forgiving. I'll have both of them out at the fall shoot - happy to have @JBMatt or @98Z5V or some of the other guys use them a bit and give their more educated comparisons.

I didn't - the Mrs. signed me up for a whole bunch of other crap on Saturday - I'll see you next month...

This thread is exhibit 1 for why I love this place... 🙂

For quite a while now my "woods / bear gun" has been a Marlin 1895GS (short barreled .45-70 lever gun). It pains me to admit that a carbine length AR-10 in something with .308 or greater energy levels is probably better in quite a few ways... although the simplicity of the lever gun action, the short light platform, and the umph of 405gr flat nose bullets at 2000fps still holds plenty of appeal. All that - and there is something appealing about carrying an old(style) cowboy gun in the woods... (stock photo - not mine - but just like it...)

Great entry mechanism right here... 🙂