The pile of parts is slowly trickling in

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Just got everything ordered and now I'll be hitting the refresh button incessantly to update the tracking. This is my first 308 build and heres what I got coming:

 

AERO M5E1 BUILDER SET W/15" HANDGUARD (regular old black)
Proof Research 16" CF PR-10 Barrel
SLR Ti Sentry8 w/Aero melonite gas tube
2A Ti X4 Muzzle Brake along with an assortment of crush washers
Magpul MBUS gen2 front flip sights (with KNS 'V' notch post)
KAC Micro rear flip sight (peep)
Lantac 308 E-BCG
Radian NiB Raptor charging handle
Radian NiB Talon safety
2A Ti td & pivot pins
V7 Ti bolt catch
V7 Ti mag release
KNS anti walk pins
Hiperfire Eclipse
Magpul UBR gen2
JP Silent Captured Spring H2
Ergo Tactical Deluxe grip
V7 Ti grip screw.......why not?

 

Don't have a real reason for all the titanium stuff. Just wanted some higher quality bits and if I get a little weight savings out of it so be it. And all the NiB parts I just like how well they clean up. I couldn't find squat on the Lantac 308 BCG but the 5.56 jobs I have work well so I decided to give the big guy a shot. I definitely drank the koolaid on the Hiperfire triggers and love them. Wasn't real sure about the SLR adjustable gas block but after searching around everyone is claiming they are the current top dog so I figured I'd let the current take me on that one. The Radian pieces are just awesome IMO I see no reason to stray from them. 2A Armament is out of Boise IIRC and I'm hoping these Local-ish to me gents did well with the muzzle device and pins. Truth be told I'm not even all that sure the pins will be long enough. Everything I read said that the Aero M5E1's are just a little wider than other DPMS patterns and require the Aero pins. Going against the grain here we'll see if they fit. Bit the bullet on the JP Buffer not sure if I should have gotten the standard version or not? 'Suppose I can always buy some of the lighter weights if I need to. Really splurged on that Proof barrel. Optics Planet is selling them at a fire sale price right now though so it took some of the sting out.


I'm curious whether she'll let me build another one or not? I'm thinking the next one may have to be a pre-built cheapie. And I still have to talk her into a can for this rifle. I planted the seeds for that just this morning.

[AMERIKINSHIP]

I knew this wait was going to suck! In killing time on the board here I found that when folks build LR308's it is advisable to use go, no-go gauges. I did not do this with my 5.56s. So last night I ordered up the set from Pacific Tool & Gauge 

.308 Winchester Headspace Gauge Set (Go / No-Go / Field)

 

I also now see that some recommend lapping the receiver and then using some Loctite 609 to bed in the barrel fitment. I am not necessarily on the fence with that idea, but I do think I will wait and see how snug the barrel feels when I go to install it and also I may shoot it first. Might as well. Then if I decide to lap and bed it I will have a baseline comparison.

 

Question, can anyone think of anything else? I imagine those 2 items are about it as far as LR308 surprises go. I checked and my Tapco Armorers wrench fits the M5E1 barrel nut. The last couple parts should straggle in here by friday so hopefully I'll be putting rounds down range by Saturday morning. 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2017 by AMERIKINSHIP

[jtallen83]

7 hours ago, AMERIKINSHIP said:

I am not necessarily on the fence with that idea, but I do think I will wait and see how snug the barrel feels when I go to install it and also I may shoot it first.

The main purpose of lapping the receiver is to square up the shoulders on the receiver and barrel extension so they mate evenly when the barrel nut is torqued. This can have an effect as the barrel and receiver heat up. 

[survivalshop]

4 hours ago, jtallen83 said:

The main purpose of lapping the receiver is to square up the shoulders on the receiver and barrel extension so they mate evenly when the barrel nut is torqued. This can have an effect as the barrel and receiver heat up. 

 & the Loctite 609 retaining compound will help is several ways , Receiver & Barrel Extension are two different materials & expand at different rates , the retaining compound will more evenly control the expansion rate . It will also uniformly lock the two together & seal or fill in any gaps between the Barrels Extension & Upper Receiver . Even if you have to pound the Barrel/Extension in , it may still have gaps in fitment between the two . Most just push in .

[98Z5V]

On 10/17/2017 at 8:52 PM, AMERIKINSHIP said:

I also now see that some recommend lapping the receiver and then using some Loctite 609 to bed in the barrel fitment.

This is all REALLY NEW conversation, and to my own knowledge, this has been tested by NOBODY here.  Yet.  Never been done befo'... 

Don't sweat that shiit, in the least.  Build your gun.  Shoot your gun.  Find out what it needs/wants.

 

[98Z5V]

Lapping receivers has been done on 5.56 competition guns or a LONG time.  .308 AR receiver lapping tools are NEW.  We've been looking for them for a long time, based on the 5.56 stuff, but there haven't been any.

Until recently.

Do they work?  Well, they don't NOT WORK.  On 5.56 guns.  That's what it comes to.

No one here has lapped any .308 AR projects yet, and given any results.  Haven't seen one yet, here.  Will they work?  Yeah, just like they work on 5.56 guns.  Some, more than others.  What it really comes to is how true your upper receiver is made, from the get-go. Lapping the upper receiver corrects imperfections in the mating surface of the barrel extension, which IS square, to an imperfect upper receiver mating surface that WAS NOT square - that is the only time you see an accuracy increase in this process.

EDIT - Oh, by the way - you lap the shiit out of your upper receiver, like WAY too much, and you WILL decrease your headspace.  You can't get around that.  It will happen.  You WILL move that barrel extension closer to the bolt face when you do this.  You go excessive, and you WILL change headspace...

 

 

Edited October 19, 2017 by 98Z5V

[jtallen83]

6 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

No one here has lapped any .308 AR projects yet, and given any results.  Haven't seen one yet, here.

Just did it last month, results are inconclusive to this point. It for sure didn't hurt anything. Go into the headspace thing a bit more, doesn't the bolt headspace on the barrel extension? That said I did check my headspace after lapping and found it good, doesn't mean it didn't change some but it was still within tolerance. I had to lap it a good bit to make it square.

Check the last couple pages of this thread;

Lapped a Fulton Armory build as well, headspace checked fine. In this case I doubt there would have been much if any change since there was only one tiny, I mean like the head of a pin, that shined up before there were even marks all around. The extensions fit very snug so nearly all the seating compound was squeezed out.

[98Z5V]

You're talking about a minimal amount removed with normal lapping.  Bolt is headspaced off the extension, and I guess I used the wrong words.  You get crazy on the lapping, and literally take off a piece of the upper receiver (lap too much), and you'll move the whole barrel back - you can get into issues if too much is lapped, barrel moves rearward, and your cam pin isn't indexing in the cutout in the upper receiver.  That cutout looks huge in the upper, but the cam pin uses almost all that space to rotate and lock the bolt into the extension. 

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Just waiting on the reaction rod, trigger, takedown pins and headspace gauges. I don't think I'm ever going to settle for smart post again in the future, way too slow. Need to just cough up the extra and pay for the timely shipping.

Maybe it will look better when its done. I just slapped the halves together and it wasn't exactly setting my loins on fire like I thought it would. Whatever as long as it shoots a tight group I'll be happy. 

[survivalshop]

On 10/19/2017 at 1:00 AM, 98Z5V said:

Lapping receivers has been done on 5.56 competition guns or a LONG time.  .308 AR receiver lapping tools are NEW.  We've been looking for them for a long time, based on the 5.56 stuff, but there haven't been any.

Until recently.

Do they work?  Well, they don't NOT WORK.  On 5.56 guns.  That's what it comes to.

No one here has lapped any .308 AR projects yet, and given any results.  Haven't seen one yet, here.  Will they work?  Yeah, just like they work on 5.56 guns.  Some, more than others.  What it really comes to is how true your upper receiver is made, from the get-go. Lapping the upper receiver corrects imperfections in the mating surface of the barrel extension, which IS square, to an imperfect upper receiver mating surface that WAS NOT square - that is the only time you see an accuracy increase in this process.

EDIT - Oh, by the way - you lap the shiit out of your upper receiver, like WAY too much, and you WILL decrease your headspace.  You can't get around that.  It will happen.  You WILL move that barrel extension closer to the bolt face when you do this.  You go excessive, and you WILL change headspace...

 

 

    I have Lapped every AR Receiver I have ever assembled . I use a Lapping table & Aluminum Oxide Lapping Compound from Brownells , I have a great deal of experience Lapping components of all sorts , you have to have a lot of experience to do it free hand , compared to a Tool like JT used ( which I will be purchasing ), but you are only Truing up the Receiver Face . Most don't need much , you basically are only taking off any coating or finish on the Receiver face , because it can build up there . 

     As far as saying it made a difference in the accuracy of the Rifle , well, it can't hurt, if done correctly & you would have to lap a lot to alter the Head Space . 

   The Loctite Reaining Compound is a good idea & as 98 put it , it really hasn't been tested by us here to any degree , but I trust Criterion Barrels with this procedure , its where I got it from & it was this year that I started to do it , so can't say what or if it helps , but its a sound procedure . I have my 25-45 Sharps Rifle that I changed Receivers on & used this procedure on & I have Targets from before & as soon as the weather gets to a point I can sight the Ammo in , we can compare the group sizes , before & after .

   As far as the Retaining Compound squeezing out , I'm sure some stays where its needed  .I have used it in Pumps ,Bearings & Wearing Rings , among other Components & it makes a difference in their operation , less Vibration is one of the benefits .

 

  Any time you remove & reassemble a Barrel , you should check Head Space .

[AMERIKINSHIP]

On 10/17/2017 at 8:52 PM, AMERIKINSHIP said:

I knew this wait was going to suck! In killing time on the board here I found that when folks build LR308's it is advisable to use go, no-go gauges. I did not do this with my 5.56s. So last night I ordered up the set from Pacific Tool & Gauge 

.308 Winchester Headspace Gauge Set (Go / No-Go / Field)

 

I also now see that some recommend lapping the receiver and then using some Loctite 609 to bed in the barrel fitment. I am not necessarily on the fence with that idea, but I do think I will wait and see how snug the barrel feels when I go to install it and also I may shoot it first. Might as well. Then if I decide to lap and bed it I will have a baseline comparison.

 

Question, can anyone think of anything else? I imagine those 2 items are about it as far as LR308 surprises go. I checked and my Tapco Armorers wrench fits the M5E1 barrel nut. The last couple parts should straggle in here by friday so hopefully I'll be putting rounds down range by Saturday morning. 

 

 

Well guess I was being optimistic. The trigger reaction rod and pins were 50 miles away on Thursday. Then they shipped 'em 275 miles further away to Seattle. And it was also wishful thinking that I would get a package from PTG in Southern Oregon up here to Eastern Washington in 4 days. I'm getting' antsy. 

 

Slightly off subject I just looked at another guys pictures in his build thread and I have to say you guys ain't getting nothing like that. I'm no photographer, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night neither.

 

Anyone of you gents have a Trijicon VCOG on your .308? I think that's what I'm going to save up for. I had an AGOG 3.5x35 TA11MGO and loved it, but I think I'd like the ability to go down to 1x. 

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Package finally arrived. The 2A td & pivot pins don't fit. I was aware they might be too short but these are also too large of a diameter as well. The nomenclature says .278 pin size. So fair warning to anyone trying to use these with an Aero M5 lower.

[survivalshop]

On 10/22/2017 at 5:27 PM, AMERIKINSHIP said:

Slightly off subject I just looked at another guys pictures in his build thread and I have to say you guys ain't getting nothing like that. I'm no photographer, and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night neither.

 

 We haven't seen any Photo's yet of your build , so we can't compare 

 

Edited October 24, 2017 by survivalshop

[AMERIKINSHIP]

It doesn't look like much currently. Should be able to install the trigger, torque the barrel down and clock the muzzle device tonight. Still haven't seen the gauges from PTG. And at this rate I'm sure Aero will email me tomorrow letting me know that the M5 pins I thought were coming are actually out of stock........sorry 

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Can someone edit my first post and strike my 2A Ti td & pivot pins and ad in Aero M5 td & pivot pins? Seems like kind of a d!ck move to leave it as is. Don't want to see anyone else ordering these for an M5 build. Just in case I'm not the only one putting on airs with my fancy td & pivot pins 

 

[Rsquared]

4 hours ago, AMERIKINSHIP said:

It doesn't look like much currently. Should be able to install the trigger, torque the barrel down and clock the muzzle device tonight. Still haven't seen the gauges from PTG. And at this rate I'm sure Aero will email me tomorrow letting me know that the M5 pins I thought were coming are actually out of stock........sorry 

She's looking pretty good man. I like the UBR stock look.

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Edited October 25, 2017 by AMERIKINSHIP

[AMERIKINSHIP]

[AMERIKINSHIP]

[98Z5V]

12 hours ago, AMERIKINSHIP said:

Package finally arrived. The 2A td & pivot pins don't fit. I was aware they might be too short but these are also too large of a diameter as well. The nomenclature says .278 pin size. So fair warning to anyone trying to use these with an Aero M5 lower.

As far as I know, the only pins that fit the AP M5 setup are - Aero pins, made for it.  I have 3 of them built now, and I haven't found anything else that works.

 

[AMERIKINSHIP]

12 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

As far as I know, the only pins that fit the AP M5 setup are - Aero pins, made for it.  I have 3 of them built now, and I haven't found anything else that works.

 

If that is the case then they should include them. Or have it be a $10 add on option. It would be nice if they could all get together and just agree on some specs.

[ARTrooper]

Beautiful rifle, problems or not, you have something to be proud of.

[AMERIKINSHIP]

Appreciate that! I just hope it's a shooter because if it ain't and she hears me bitch about it........that'll be the last one that ever gets built! The optic that is going to go on it for now is a little underwhelming. A lowly little Vortex Spitfire Prism 1x. I do have a decent Leupold VX3 6.5-20 I will throw on it to see how it does in the accuracy department. I'm gonna start off with my BUIS and get those dialed in. Then I'll put the Leupold on and see if this barrel was a waste of money or not  Finally I'll mount the Spitfire and that'll be how it stays until further on down the road. Daddy's do it all rifle.

[ARTrooper]

13 hours ago, AMERIKINSHIP said:

A lowly little Vortex Spitfire Prism 1x

That's not horrible, I would consider it midgrade glass. Heck most of my rifles have $200 scopes or cheaper on them... I'm really bad about selling for cheap glass. lol.

[AMERIKINSHIP]

So close!