My Newest Build... MATEN

[mineralman55]

Okay, I finally got moving. I've accumulated a bunch of parts over the last two years and decided to get my MATEN build started. One evening I assembled the lower, the next day I assembled the upper. Pretty easy overall. The "fun-est" part was installing the barrel. I bought the Plastixrevolution No-MAR upper blocks but didn't have a vise big enough to hold it. Instead, I bolted some angle plates onto my mill table, squeezed them together with some bar clamps and "bam", it worked beautifully. Whatever works, right?

Parts: Mega MKM matched upper/lower (the machining on these is incredible); DPMS lpk; Mega 18" barrel; Hardened Arms BCG headspaced by Rainier; Syrac Gen2 gas block; PWD Triad muzzle device; Magpul fixed buttstock; Ergo grip; KAC iron sights. Hopefully I'll get to the range this weekend. When you guys say "break it in wet", do you literally dunk the BCG in oil or ATF, or put a lot of motor oil on it prior to shooting?

[mineralman55]

More pics

[washguy]

Hey Mineral    Mega's are sweet !  Yep the upper and lowers are really well machined and do fit great !  Ive read where folks literally dunk the bcg in oil then sling it off.....me personally...I just give a new rifle a healthy dose of mobil one or Mpro 7 in/on the bcg....you dont wanna bake in oil or grease in the chamber,but I put just a tad of grease on the new bolt lugs and work the action a bit without ammo. Be sure and clean your barrel before break in.... I think the important thing is to lube up nice and good the proper ar lube points as described in an ar manual.... everyone has their " special " way of break in lubing...Yes ill run mine wet on the first out of the box break in,but oil running down my arm from the rifle...Nah ...dont forget to lube up the buffer spring ...I think that relubing your bcg is key  after shooting a new rifle a while...like some folks say  "If ya aint got oil spray on your shootin glasses then you aint wet enough"

Wash

[Fish On]

Nice build man .. first new posts Ive seen on here in a while , Those Mega set's are super nice but far outta my price range ... Ha  .. I built my entire LR 308 for about 100.00 more than your stripped upper / lower set cost you .... Anyone wanting to build an LR 308 on a budget can do it for a reasonable price but it takes time to find quality parts on sale or on clearance , I started with an 80% lower that I picked up during Xmas for 60.00 shipped ...Good luck finding a deal like that till around Xmas again ... I didn't spend big money on a big brand name barrel either ... Just a cheap Anderson 18" middy  90.00 shipped ... that is a tack driver , my buddies cant believe how accurate it is .. As long as I can kill a hog at 200 yds Im happy with it , and to look at IMO its Bad Ass , completely wrapped it in Mossy Oak Infinity vinyl which gave it a factory camo dipped look at an 1/8 of the cost .....
 As for Lube Ive been running my BCG with full synthetic Castrol , seems to really work well compared to other stuff that costs more ...I don't have it dripping off the thing but plenty wet enough to run like a top ... Only issue I had was the rear take down pin wasn't tight enough so I had a slight cycling issue at first ...Put in a new take down pin tightened it up nicely and it runs well now ... So for those that have cycling issues with your DPMS style LR 308 don't forget .... that your upper needs to be on the lower super tight to keep the mag setting where it need be to cycle properly ...I was amazed that a sloppy rear take down pin was the cause the problem but  it was .. 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2016 by Fish On

[mineralman55]

Got out to the range this morning. The planets must have aligned, because everything went just about perfect. Started out with some Federal 168 BTHP GMM. Perfect function, no FTF or FTE. I had the gas block just right from the start Cycled the first round and locked back. So I turned it in one click (1/4 turn) and no cycle. Backed it out one click and away we went. After 10 of the FGGM, I switched to some 168 BTHP reloads and I put about 40 rounds downrange, mostly just for function/break in and adjusting the KAC iron sights. Settled on one more click out as the reloads needed it. Had to cut the session short as the Triad device came loose and I didn't have a wrench. I think this is going to be a real shooter once it breaks in. Can't say enough good about the Mega equipment.

BTW, I was a little worried about the final position of the Syrac gas block on the barrel, so I took everything apart last night when I cleaned the barrel (thank you Washguy, the barrel needed it.) Measurements of the block showed the front limit of the rather large gas port to be exactly 0.300" from the back of the block. The front of the barrel gas port is exactly 0.300 inches from the barrel shoulder. Someone did their homework! All I had to worry about was the cylindrical alignment during the install.

Edited July 3, 2017 by mineralman55

[mineralman55]

BTW Fish On, very nice build on a real budget! I'm not familiar with Anderson barrels. Got a link for them?

I assume you machine the 80%. Who's? Come with aluminum or plastic fixtures? Do it on a mill or a drill press? Enquiring minds want to know.

[392heminut]

Here you go MM; http://www.andersonrifles.com/product-category/barrels/

I used an Anderson 16" barrel in my Matrix build. So far all I've done is put 80 reload rounds through it for break-in and haven't put it on paper yet so I can't say how accurate the barrel is.

[mineralman55]

Second range session wasn't quite as good as the first. I learned a few things overall. It was a very pleasant, warm, sunny afternoon. Only one other shooter there testing out his AR15 with a brake on it (more on that.) First, I really like the Triad muzzle device. It controlled the muzzle just fine. Not quite as well as the Griffin Armament 308 Compensator on my SI 308AR, but very well indeed. Also, as there were only two shooters, so I asked the range officer to give me his impression of the side blast from the Triad. He listened from both sides of my shooting position. He was impressed. It didn't bother him in the least, said it was less noisy than the centerfire bolt guns typically there. That's a good start, as I actually do want to be a good neighbor at the range. The AR15 guy was about five positions away (~30 feet) and it was LOUD. The three of us discussed the muzzle devices and agreed that while his brake controlled the rifle well, the Triad was more pleasant to be around.

This time I brought just one box of my reloads: 168 Sierra BTHP, 39.46 grains TAC, 2.795" OAL, LC 1x fired cases. This is a very accurate load that functions all my M14s and my 20" SI 308AR. I know the load is at the bottom end of the load range. I had a bunch of FTF, a few FTE, short stroked a lot, wouldn't lock back the bolt. Accuracy was very good, but function sucked. It weakly threw the cases out of the rifle, and generally acted under-gassed. I never thought having a mid-length gas system would make that big of a difference. The SI is a rifle length that functioned just fine with these.

What are your reloading experiences of mid-length versus rifle-length systems?

Oh, yeah. The Mega charging handle sucks. It's small, not easy to grab. I love the white emblem on it, but I'll be changing it out with a Mech Ops one.

Edited March 7, 2016 by mineralman55

[survivalshop]

  I'm not a fan of open prong Muzzle devices , don't care if they are quit or reduces flash . If you plan on hunting with this rifle , just know that those open prongs seem to grab things you would not think your rifle could hang on too . They seem to find things to catch on going through the woods .If you hunt in the woods , that is .?

  That's not a bad loading , your rifle may need a higher round count to cycle the action with that load ( still breaking in ). I don't have Chrono data on my 18" barrel yet with the TAC & 168 gr. , but will shortly . I have plenty for a 16" & 20" , all Barrels have a Rifle gas system .

Edited March 7, 2016 by survivalshop

[shepp]

On March 6, 2016 at 8:17 AM, mineralman55 said:

 

Oh, yeah. The Mega charging handle sucks. It's small, not easy to grab. I love the white emblem on it, but I'll be changing it out with a Mech Ops one.

That was the first thing I thought when I saw the picture of it. Great looking rifle! 

[mineralman55]

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.

[mineralman55]

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.

[survivalshop]

 Nice .

 I don't even buy lower parts sets with std FCG's in them , I get individual components & good FCG's , the ALG FCG is 100 times better then std. ones & the MechArmor type is 100 times better then it . There seems to be a few FCG's like the ALG line coming out .Not bad Triggers in them , I had a Spikes Tactical Enhanced FCG , NIB coated that was a nice 5.5# trigger .

 Still I can say enough about my Geissele 's .

[washguy]

you done great Mineral.....Mega's are sweet!     wish I had more of em      Wash

[mineralman55]

One year follow up:

Still love the Mega MATEN. Real quality piece of equipment. I'm a hopeless experimenter, until I find the right combination of things, and then I'll stick with that combo forever. Tried a couple different muzzle devices, but came back to the Triad as the best overall compromise. Some muzzle devices seem to affect accuracy, I can't understand why if they're made properly. Swapped out the lpk OEM trigger for the Rough Justice trigger. Night and day. RJ is almost too sensitive for someone accustomed to 2-stage triggers, but I like the RJ. Rifle accuracy is very good, better than I am. I stick with my Knight's Armament iron sights. Once in a while I put on a Leupold 3x9 just for the fun of it but always remove it (Bobro quick-release base is the cat's meow). Irons are more challenging. I have a Hardened Arms phosphate BCG. It ejected the cases somewhat weakly to ~1:30, but it functioned flawlessly. The big problem was, it developed extensive pitting around the firing pin hole after ~1000 rounds. I called HA about it, and they sent me a complete, brand new BCG. That's customer service! I tried it out this weekend, flawless function, and the ejector is very powerful, consistently tossing the cases out 6-7 feet at 3:30. Excellent. The new bolt has the one-piece gas ring, not three gas rings. Interesting.

The most important thing I learned over the last year is not necessarily about the rifle, but about my reloads. The biggest disappointment has been the Nosler bullets, both 168 and 175 BTHP (in fairness, I haven't loaded up their 155s yet). They're just not very consistent. I don't know if it's their shape, or QC, but one batch will be pretty good, the next will be not worth a darn. This is both overruns and "blems". I've got 1000s of them, and once they're done I'll be sticking with Sierras. I'll post more details in the reloading forum.