This one started out as one of those lower receivers that I bought a few years back when it looked like Obama and the Dems were actually going to pull a serious semi-auto ban. Remember how they tried to exploit the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School to do that? Well I snapped up a couple extra lowers at a price I'm ashamed to admit, and one of them eventually became my suppressed .300 Blackout SBR with the 9" barrel.
The other one sat around unused and unappreciated for a while, and I kinda figured that the last election might go to the Hildebeast and if that happened, this AR receiver would likely have attained some good value, monetarily and otherwise. Of course that didn't happen, and now the market is so glutted with ARs and AR receivers that you can hardly give them away, much less sell them for what I paid for this one. So what to do with it?
Well recently I started cleaning out the house, to include the gun room, getting rid of excess property and making a bit of cash where I could. I sold off enough junk that I could easily afford to complete this rifle, or at least get off to a good start. And here's where it now stands, as of today:
It now sports a flat-top upper and an 18" barrel made of 416R Stainless steel. It has the .223 Wylde chambering and a 1-in-7" twist. In short, it's a pretty credible barrel that should provide decent service, ideally as good or better than my A2 HBAR and with a lot less weight. Its got the very lightweight low-profile keymod full-length free-floating hand guard, and I'm about to go back into the lower and upgrade the trigger and add an ambidextrous safety, because I am a lefty. It also currently sports a vintage M16A1 stock, both to trim a bit of length and weight off and also because I just happened to have one lying around.
The rifle is also going to get a good variable-power optic--I'm looking hard at the Leupold Mark AR 3-9x40mm--and a suppressor. I'll finish it off with a quality sling set-up and a light bipod and it should be just the thing for some of those intermediate-range shots I might have to take should we get another Katrina event or the Dems regain power and their Antifa brownshirts start running amuck.
Stay tuned. This rifle's gonna get good.
you might want to go with a little more power on that scope.
ReplyDeleteThe rifle setup you have created will carry out to 600 yards easy and a higher magnification at the top end will help a lot.
Maybe a 4.5x14
I'm not looking to go too far with this. I want to keep this one fast and light. For ranges beyond 500 yards or so, the next rifle coming will be a 6.5 Creedmore, and that one will have the long-range optics.
DeleteI'll be following....
ReplyDeleteYeah, that beauty will definitely reach out an touch someone! My daughter's AR that she took to Perry this year is similar, but with 20" barrel and I think A2 upper. And the 8lb hunk of lead in the stock! You can definitely launch the 75 or 77 grain bullets with that twist rate.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the evolution of this rifle!
Can you recommend an ambi safety? I'm learning to shoot lefty. Cross dominant eyes are a pain.
ReplyDeletePretty much everyone makes or sells them now. Palmetto State Armory has one that's priced decent and I'll be trying one of theirs on this rifle. The company that offered the ones I used to buy seems to have vanished, which is too bad because I liked theirs. Pretty much all the same though.
DeleteLooks like a nice little setup you're building there!
ReplyDeleteNice - what trigger are you thinking about? Agree with Steve about the power at least for longer ranges, but you might think 1x8 if you are thinking more urban application - you'd maintain the close in capability that way. But bet you've already been considering all that. :-)
ReplyDeleteStill evaluating scopes, which is why I haven't bought one yet. I do like having a zero-magnification option though. Not decided yet--just want it to be a good one.
DeleteThis scope is on sale at Midway.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.midwayusa.com/product/1009625941/millett-dms-2-rifle-scope-30mm-tube-1-6x-24mm-illuminated-brc-1-reticle-matte
I bought the scope intending to upgrade an existing rifle, and the idea turned into building an 18" rifle much like yours.
I like it's features. Don't know jack about Millett though.
DeleteClear image, smooth adjustments, it has the newfangled turrets that all the cool kids have, it is illuminated and mostly I bought it because Midway is selling it for about $130.00 less than Amazon, and $140.00 less than Optics Planet.
DeleteI mounted it in a Weaver Mount because the mount was cheaper than the Bushnell PEPR and I wanted to check it out.
http://www.weaveroptics.com/rings_bases/tactical/thumb_nut_spr_optics_mount/
http://www.burrisoptics.com/ar-p.e.p.r.-scope-mount
The mount seems well made and I will level the scope and torque the mount fasteners when I get a little bit farther down the things my wife has tasked me to do before the end of summer list.
Nice!! I just built a similar rifle with a 20 inch 223 wylde barrel and a nikon 3x9 scope. The 20 inch barrel ups the velocity enough that it pokes holes in my 3/8 pig target!!
ReplyDelete