Tactical Machining Lower project

[Duzell]

so currently
tm 15 lower 95$
spikes upper 105$
redxarms 20" barrel 129$
panther arms lpk 79$
spikes buffer tube kit 75$
magpul stock moe 54$
leitner wise bcg NITRIDE enhanced 190$
rainer arms raptor charge handle 85$
delta ring set + barrel nut (tactical intent) 15 + 10.99 $

im now looking into getting a magpul full rifle handguard , and a 20" gas tube + gas block.

im unsure if i should go with irons + red dot or just a red dot to start out with

[Duzell]

so i have a ordered parts for the gas system(yay?)

currently just debating muzzle break i need.

anyway, i have placed my leitner wise nitride bcg into the upper with a rainer arms raptor , i really like the smooth and quick action of the raptor charging handle

video

[Duzell]

ok got my troy ind. gas block for .750

it doesn't fit red x arms hbar, its just a few thousandths off.

so i stuck the t6 aluminum block into my oven. heated to 300 (a typical temp of gun when firing consistently), then smoothly fitted over the barrel. cooled, then locked in place.


waiting on my match brake, gas tube, and magpul guard

[Duzell]

ok troy industries gas block is having a few issues.

the troy dosnt fit on the barrel easy and wont fit the standard rifle gas tube

got the magpul handguard, and i think it looks very intimidating with the muzzle brake

[Justice06RR]

so i stuck the t6 aluminum block into my oven. heated to 300 (a typical temp of gun when firing consistently), then smoothly fitted over the barrel. cooled, then locked in place.

Let me clarify, did you mean your Troy gas block didn't initially fit over your barrel??

If it didn't fit in the beginning, you shouldn't force it. Get the correct size gas block. I don't know if heating it in the oven then fitting it over the barrel is a good idea.

You need to install the gas tube on the gas block FIRST, before installing it over the barrel.
Did you install the gas block on the barrel without installing the gas tube?

[Duzell]

the gas block didn't fit initially, and it seems to be a common issue ive found on the net. its says it is mil spec to that standard but its actually a thousandths off

using a heat expansion treatment, one can expand and place it over without damage to block or barrel


Update on the TM15

well i dont have a sight , but i wanted to try and break the bolt in, and see how it cycles. (if my any of my parts had issues i need to address)

so i took it to a the ranch (private property , were i shoot long distance mainly as its open)

so using the magpul mags (10 rounds) i loaded it up with .223 , tried to fire, and it sadly jammed, then stove piped, and just wouldn't work. so ejected the mag and cleared the chamber. that was with wolf gold

now i then took pmc (x tac) green tipped 5.56 (my gun is a 5.56 ar15 currently i just though with 223 being lighter it would be good break in ammo, but no..)

now i took the ar15 apart, cleaning and lubing an unholy amount of oil onto the nitride bolt. no other part was lubed . (yes im aware that can cause friction and be the reason for the initial shooting issues)

i then loaded up the xtac pmc, and aimed at a hill.(trigger is actually way lighter than i was told it should be , its said 10-7lb trigger, but it felt like a 2-3lb trigger) i fired 1 shot no issue. second, 3rd and started just pulling as fast as i could. as my spotter said, it looked like i was giving cover fire. anyway so it cycles fine with that 5.56(accuracy was good , i had NO site but i was doing a constant group the size of my thumb to pointer finger in a O ring shape. so now the ar15 is field tested and functional (needs a site and a handguard)

the biggest surprise was when the h-bars reduction of recoil. ive shot plenty of ar15's and they have a good recoil. but this one had none, i let my friends who have ar's try to shooting it and they were shaking there head afterword, saying " how is there no recoil?". i think its due to the hbar, and match brake(made it sound very loud). i was overal very impressed with my ar and cant wait to get its few remaining parts.


so far im looking at the following parts for completion of this project(before i move back to my howa GK)

-noveske keymod handguard
-bushnell ar15 1-4x power speed shoot
-magpul angled fore grip
-caldwell bipod

[Duzell]

just a few pics, of the tm15 and my buddy shooting his ruger american

[Duzell]

so ive just ordered another low profile gas block(not troy). as my troy gas block had issues and then was fused to my ss barrel . it seems recently troy has been having more issues with these low pro gas blocks. also its been about 9 months since i contacted them originally for the initial out of spec issues.

and if thats not bad enough, my muzzle break's crush washers solder flowed into the threads on the barrel front. sealing the washer to the barrel as well.


very upset at troy and this washer having done this. so stuck the barrel in oven at 500 degree. (as stainless steel heats slower than aluminum or regular steel) the material expansion by the troy worked easy enough. had to hammer it off until it finally came off. then i had to break the washer and solder off. finally got off about 5 hours later


Now your probably wondering why i had to do this removal. well ordered my new midwest ind keymod handguard and its new nut has to replace the old one. so i had to remove it to install(bloody pain)

so now my barrel is blemish free after some quick sanding and cleaning.really will give it to the red X arms 20" barrel its well made. may get another shorter one for another upper variant

so troys product and customer service in this situation really irritated me on this project so far.

i have a new optic on it (for now, going to get decent glass later ) a leapers gold read dot

now im going to save to get glass and a few more magpul goodies on it

[Duzell]

so i have ordered a new chromolly steel gas block low profile as this will help with expansion and leak prevention i thought it was worth the money

[Duzell]

so i got my midwest industries rail friday. easy install

- got a new TBS chromoly steel gas block (hope this prevents further issues) very clean and easy to hook up. much better than the troy. but dosnt look as polished and clean


also got the magpul front rear flip sites now. zeroed at 200 yards and dead center on my new distance plate

trying to get a lock on what ammo this ar likes.
so far likes ptc green LAP 5.56
winchester 223

anyway, i hooked up my bipod from the howa to the ar15 for long vertical shots(easy to do with keymod )

heavy barrel shoots well (may get fluted so i can have less weight)

im thinking of a 3-9 glass, maybe a redfeild (ive wanted one of those to play with)

anyway shoots fine. but had some stove pipes with the 5.56 winchester , im also runnig dry to speed up my guns breakin period

my nitride bolt works very well dry i did a 10 round burst at target no issue in 223. *shrugs*

i do lube it and clean it when i get home after a shoot, usually, but this time i wanted to see distance, and how well the nitride works dry


anyway had shoot with m1a and ar15

New long distance pate (for mosin and howa, lets see if the ar15 can do it?)


the new irons






night befor pics







midwest industries 1 piece keymod system

[Duzell]

Tactical machining Ar15 project vid 7: http://youtu.be/5t5h4WD9b4E

[Duzell]

so with this i have built a functional Ar15 in 5.56


im now plannig to have another upper built for a higfher caliber round

im not sure if i can get a 308 upper to work with my TM 15 multicaliber lower. but i know 300 blackout is a possibility

so far im setting this 5.56 for distance shots , ill get a redfield scope on it (i always wanted a redfeild , and good excuse)


ill make the next system in all black (so i can tell the difference between uppers, dont want to miss match ammo right?)

[Duzell]

so im going to make a new upper setup in 7.62*39 a common round at low cost

im hopefully going for a fluted 16" barrel in SS
1/7 twist from red x arms

[Duzell]

OK I've been look at cost and benefits and I've decided I'd go with the 7.62x39 as its cost down and I have a whole crud load of ammo for it already. And the specs of the bullet are higher than the 5.56 for penatration and KE at lower ranges. So I'll make the next upper dedicated for that round. And I'll make it my defense tactical upper. Using a red dot or another close range system for optics.

Before I embark on this I will finish my marksmen 5.56 at upper with a redfield scope. And then proceed to the next upper build and end another lower

[Duzell]

7.62x39/300aac upper projects
parts im planning to use

-vltor upper or northtech, or just a high end forged upper , i believe with a high end upper i can eliminate some of the issues

-enhanced NIB BCG (or nitride not sure yet)
-tgs chromoly steel gas block
-red x arms ss fluted barrel
-midwest industries keymod system
-rainer arms raptor
-ss magazines
-optic is TBD

[Duzell]

well when i was cleaning the barrels lock point *point were the bolt slides in then twists* i noticed that my spikes uppers feed ramp on the right size is not correctly shaped. now i could just sand/di-grind the sucker to correct the issue.

but i feel i should contact spikes tactical to see if they wish to correct the issue

[Duzell]

so been on email tag with spikes tactical. they keep asking for more pictures and proof that the feed ramps are wrong.

ive sent them pictures of various angles and specs and measurements

ive measured the ramps depth and ones not deep and not shaped correctly. its just out of speck.

but they are now asking it its my barrel ..... which is a cnc stainless barrel , so i checked and its correctly gaiged

still the uppers feed-ramps are not correct, and again i can just file/dremmel these down to be correct, but id think the uppers manufacturer would take the hint with the dozen pictures and honor the lifetime warranty.

im about to do a demo video showing that its not correct....

just stating if you are dealing with spikes customer support it might get annoying, with the email tag.

if it ends up that spikes is just going to keep annoying me on this repair/replacement issue i will just dremmel it and add a negative to spikes customer support . as the 300 upper will be with another company im not going with spikes again , on another build just because ive had an issue with the product and im having email tag with the customer service. even after my order was confirmed as a direct purchase from spikes

so just an update. still planing on getting a battlezone redfield scope

[Duzell]

so working on the blackout , ive looked around and i havent found any one upper thats better than the other. the reviews ive been checking actually give areo precision a lot of good praise

i think ill go with a black upper for the blackout

and a FDE upper / lower for the 7.62x39

as aero precision makes both i think this will be a good setup for the twin upper project

these will be stripped uppers

i feel that the forged being strong and lighter than a bigger billet will have a better benefit for these two rifles

[Duzell]

Ok after emails they came to the conclusion I need a new upper.
Yay right ?
Wrong they state I should buy a new upper to compare how bad the other upper is . But I should buy from them, for comparison......

So no repair/replacement
Just told to buy another upper...and won't warranty my direct purchase.....

So I just filled and polished the ramps with my father's help . Now both are correctly adjusted.

So gave spikes a chance and they blew it.
So not buying spikes receivers again

[Duzell]

ok so i had a deal i could not pass up

redfeild scope 3-9x battlezone

price 169$ , but i get a rebate of 45$, also donates funds to the wounded warrior project. as my gun is a 5.56/223 i think this will suit it best. i may get a revolution or a revenge for my howa or just break down and get a Leopold but ... *shrug*

the battlezone is setup for 223./5.56 (also has a 308 dial apparently....)

i will install on quick rings base for ar15. with this complete i will begin development of the blackout ar15 upper, then move to the 7.62x39 ar15 upper or take break from ar15 and move onto my 1911 project

also started building my fathers ar15 for him its 223/wylde barrel is Wilson combat , looking nice . and allows for higher performance on 223 and also 5.56 calibers (strange i know) his will be set for close range combat (10-200 yards)


(if i misspelled anything , this is due to spell check being my enemy )

[Duzell]

ok also ordered some quick detach rings , this is due to the backup sites i have . i doubt ill have issues with redfield, but still backups sites are there for a reason


stock
now i like my magpul moe stock but i need more

looking at the mako groups grip and stock for recoil(due to 300 aac) and cheek riser

[Duzell]

so just got my battlezone
made in Philippines (not taiwan at least)

played with it, nice and clear, adjusted the optics and i have to say i love it, now will it stand up to the ar 15 5.56?

now on "inspection" (playing, fiddling) the lens caps are rather nice, not cruddy like most, very well made (still getting flip covers lol) but i had to note id keep these on my scope as they actually look nice
turrents have positive clicks, the eye focus was stuck at first, but moved nicly after initial working. the tacs look nice and the optics are clear, id say to same standard of the leopold i have.

also setting up to send in for my 45$ rebate that all battle zones are getting till july





so this scope cost 169$ , -45$ , roughly 124$ scope , worth IT

also works for 308 caliber guns , eye relief is good and clear

[Duzell]

so looking at getting a fortis hamer charging handle in NIB
the raptor is nice, but its laser marks cause drag and i want quick movement on bolt, also looking at muzzle breaks by fortis and rainer

if the feed ramp issue with spikes is fixed i will not need a new upper for the 5.56, but if feeding is still an issue i need to get a new one (aero looks good)

looking at getting fab defense recoil stock (as this ar15 will be used for the 300 aac) and fab defense grips FDE

after this is done i will start the 300 build

[Duzell]

as previouse posts suggest , spikes had bad feed ramps , ive hopefully corrected the issue and plan to do a shoot to see if this issue is resolved (or i get a new upper)


the scope is now installed on some MAX strength utg quick detach , has 6 bolts on each ring as well as a tightening system for the latches

[Duzell]

so flips were a no go with the battlezone. its rear teeth ring bites the flips sites (closed)

so i have the Nikon M223 XR mount (good fixed mount ) with 45 degree offsets
(also like to thank you guys in my search thread for a mount, and a special thanks to bman940 for you assistance with the m223 mount questions)

Being lazy , so i have a pivot bipod mounted to flip between sites at range(45 degree turn already setup on my caldwell)

also apparently misplaced my 10 round magazines .......

so update with scope mounted , will do another update on how side irons work out