2aHawaii
Tools and Uses => Firearms and Accessories => Topic started by: drck1000 on June 25, 2024, 08:21:04 AM
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct7AkXJIyYI
I haven't been shooting my AR(s) lately nearly as much as I used to. However, this video brought back a lot of memories and similar experiences when I first got into ARs. So hopefully this video and ensuing (hopefully intelligent) discussion will help some who are thinking about getting into ARs.
I watch many T-Rex Arms videos on gear mostly because they try a variety, shoot them alot, and share what they like or don't like. They also include more of their staff and friends/guests for a variety of perspectives, vice just Lucas. I don't agree with everything they say, but they do spend a lot of time and energy trying, testing, etc via shooting. I very much appreciate the try for yourself approach, which I spent a lot of money on my own to prioritizing value for my AR setup(s). I very much appreciate that they have similar shooting disciplines/interests in competition, defensive, etc.
I am very much a fan of BCM uppers and have a few of them. I have one Aero lower and I think it's just fine, but lowers are lowers (assuming starting with a quality one). I've tried higher dollar uppers and have sold most of them. I haven't shot nearly the quantity of rounds that this group has, but I've shot out a couple of uppers and have done many side-by-side testing, like Gov't profile vs lightweight barrels, cold hammer forged vs plain chrome lined vs cheaper/budget, etc. I have a couple of PSA uppers and they've all shot fine for me, even out to 300 yards (but minute of 12" x 18" plate).
My favorite setup is a Colt 14.5 with BCM rail, Colt lower with Geissele, EoTech EXPS, and Surefire light. So some similarities and many different "toppings" from what Brandon featured, but different contexts. Plus no suppressors in HI :(
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i own no ARs...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct7AkXJIyYI
I haven't been shooting my AR(s) lately nearly as much as I used to. However, this video brought back a lot of memories and similar experiences when I first got into ARs. So hopefully this video and ensuing (hopefully intelligent) discussion will help some who are thinking about getting into ARs.
I watch many T-Rex Arms videos on gear mostly because they try a variety, shoot them alot, and share what they like or don't like. They also include more of their staff and friends/guests for a variety of perspectives, vice just Lucas. I don't agree with everything they say, but they do spend a lot of time and energy trying, testing, etc via shooting. I very much appreciate the try for yourself approach, which I spent a lot of money on my own to prioritizing value for my AR setup(s). I very much appreciate that they have similar shooting disciplines/interests in competition, defensive, etc.
I am very much a fan of BCM uppers and have a few of them. I have one Aero lower and I think it's just fine, but lowers are lowers (assuming starting with a quality one). I've tried higher dollar uppers and have sold most of them. I haven't shot nearly the quantity of rounds that this group has, but I've shot out a couple of uppers and have done many side-by-side testing, like Gov't profile vs lightweight barrels, cold hammer forged vs plain chrome lined vs cheaper/budget, etc. I have a couple of PSA uppers and they've all shot fine for me, even out to 300 yards (but minute of 12" x 18" plate).
My favorite setup is a Colt 14.5 with BCM rail, Colt lower with Geissele, EoTech EXPS, and Surefire light. So some similarities and many different "toppings" from what Brandon featured, but different contexts. Plus no suppressors in HI :(
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there's a few components that I like to use when building an AR. I've found them to be value efficient, not cheap but not expensive and work very well:
Aero M4E1 lower. comes with trigger guard built into the lower. Threaded Bolt Catch Roll Pin. Upper Tension Screw. Threaded Takedown Pin Detent Recess. Increased Magwell Flare. Marked and milled to accept short-throw safety selectors, but will work with standard selectors as well.
Rise Armament 140 single stage trigger. great trigger for about 100-125 dollars. short pull, short reset
magpul furniture
Veriforce Tactical uppers with stainless barrel and their mini-comp. a built upper. very accurate and very little recoil and almost no muzzle rise with the mini-comp
Aero bcg. works great and not expensive
LPVO. 1-6, 8, or 10. whatever I can find for a good price
I don't like to add too much to my AR's. keep it simple, reliable, affordable
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I'm about value for you buck. For this amount of $, is this the best option, or are there others? Most AR owners in HI don't shoot theirs enough to justify something that's supposed to be "better" like a Noveske. It's the Indian, not the arrow.
I have a S&W MPII and it shoots better than the guys who are in my class with a Noveske or DD, etc...I do expect an instructor to have a "better" rifle. I mean if you had a guy teaching your class with an Anderson build, that would be concerning. Even if he can out perform you.
gUuUUd ENuFF
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I'm about value for you buck. For this amount of $, 1) is this the best option, or are there others? Most AR owners in HI don't shoot theirs enough to justify something that's supposed to be 2) "better" like a Noveske. It's the Indian, not the arrow.
I have a S&W MPII and it shoots 3) better than the guys who are in my class with a Noveske or DD, etc... 4) I do expect an instructor to have a "better" rifle. I mean if you had a guy teaching your class with an Anderson build, that would be concerning. Even if he can out perform you.
gUuUUd ENuFF
1) How do you define "better"? Mr. Guud Enuff Brah?
2) What makes you think Noveske is the "better" standard? Not saying good or bad, but just trying to quantify your "better".
3) In context of shooting drills/exercises for defensive purposes, correct? Similar contact to the shoots/training on T-Rex videos. Vice say "target shooting".
4) Why do you expect that? Based on expected higher volume because they are "instructors"? If it works, it works. Interesting that you would hold "instructors" to an arbitrary standard that you don't for yourself. I get you value the Indian over the bow, but why would having a "less better" gun diminish what you can learn from them? I personally rarely notice what instructors are shooting, at least to the details of the brand of lower or upper. I definitely notice stuff like optics.
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there's a few components that I like to use when building an AR. I've found them to be value efficient, not cheap but not expensive and work very well:
Aero M4E1 lower. comes with trigger guard built into the lower. Threaded Bolt Catch Roll Pin. Upper Tension Screw. Threaded Takedown Pin Detent Recess. Increased Magwell Flare. Marked and milled to accept short-throw safety selectors, but will work with standard selectors as well.
Rise Armament 140 single stage trigger. great trigger for about 100-125 dollars. short pull, short reset
magpul furniture
Veriforce Tactical uppers with stainless barrel and their mini-comp. a built upper. very accurate and very little recoil and almost no muzzle rise with the mini-comp
Aero bcg. works great and not expensive
LPVO. 1-6, 8, or 10. whatever I can find for a good price
I don't like to add too much to my AR's. keep it simple, reliable, affordable
Are all of your uppers builds? At least in current use?
I heard a lot of good things about the newer Aero lowers. I have one I bought from around mid 2010ish (I'd have to verify) and it's been good, or at least no complaints.
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i hear the most important factor is not burning your hand...
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Are all of your uppers builds? At least in current use?
I heard a lot of good things about the newer Aero lowers. I have one I bought from around mid 2010ish (I'd have to verify) and it's been good, or at least no complaints.
I buy the uppers already assembled. much easier. just shot one of my first AR builds a couple weeks ago at kokohead so not hard use. it's still very accurate and works without any hiccups at all
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1) How do you define "better"? Mr. Guud Enuff Brah?
2) What makes you think Noveske is the "better" standard? Not saying good or bad, but just trying to quantify your "better".
3) In context of shooting drills/exercises for defensive purposes, correct? Similar contact to the shoots/training on T-Rex videos. Vice say "target shooting".
4) Why do you expect that? Based on expected higher volume because they are "instructors"? If it works, it works. Interesting that you would hold "instructors" to an arbitrary standard that you don't for yourself. I get you value the Indian over the bow, but why would having a "less better" gun diminish what you can learn from them? I personally rarely notice what instructors are shooting, at least to the details of the brand of lower or upper. I definitely notice stuff like optics.
1) TBH, IDK what makes a Noveske better over a MPII. Due to the fact that for most gun owners, it will sit in the safe most of the time. Maybe 1 is more durable than the other? But even then, how many people are in the bush where it would matter? I mean, a Noveske cost more, so it has to be better right?
2) From my XP at the range, it seems like guys with Anderson uppers and lowers have a higher chance of the parts not matching. As in, they told me they had trouble fitting the upper on the lower. This is the only brand that I've had people tell me this, this often. But I guess once you get past this issue, an upper and lower is to house the internals. So to me, this matters more. Which I've also seen internals break during skill builders or fall out. The falling out, could be installation error by the users though.
3) I expect instructors to have better than average stuff. It's like a personal trainer, I wouldn't go to one who isn't better than what goal that I have. So if I want to get bigger, my trainer better be bigger than me. Same with strength, my trainer better be stronger than me. If I can squat say, 300lbs and my trainer can't even do 225lbs, then why am I asking him for guidance? With the exception if they're older and not in their primr. But then they have XP over looks.
This also goes for performance too. Instructors don't get to "show off their skills" too often during classes here. But over the years, I've picked up on what they did show little by little and all of them have way more skills than I do. So this too is factored in.
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I buy the uppers already assembled. much easier. just shot one of my first AR builds a couple weeks ago at kokohead so not hard use. it's still very accurate and works without any hiccups at all
Gotcha. I also primarily shoot built uppers. I have built a couple, one for more specific uses like "more precision", and not training. Another because I had spare parts. I don't consider my uses "hard use" as well, but I have seen a quite a few built uppers have issues along the way in classes. That said, I've also seen failures in quality built lowers and uppers, just seems less frequent (no data for that though).
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. I don't consider my uses "hard use" as well, but I have seen a quite a few built uppers have issues along the way in classes. That said, I've also seen failures in quality built lowers and uppers, just seems less frequent (no data for that though).
You're talking about the internals of each, and the actual upper and lower housing itself right?
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1) TBH, IDK what makes a Noveske better over a MPII. Due to the fact that for most gun owners, it will sit in the safe most of the time. Maybe 1 is more durable than the other? But even then, how many people are in the bush where it would matter? I mean, a Noveske cost more, so it has to be better right?
2) From my XP at the range, it seems like guys with Anderson uppers and lowers have a higher chance of the parts not matching. As in, they told me they had trouble fitting the upper on the lower. This is the only brand that I've had people tell me this, this often. But I guess once you get past this issue, an upper and lower is to house the internals. So to me, this matters more. Which I've also seen internals break during skill builders or fall out. The falling out, could be installation error by the users though.
3) I expect instructors to have better than average stuff. It's like a personal trainer, I wouldn't go to one who isn't better than what goal that I have. So if I want to get bigger, my trainer better be bigger than me. Same with strength, my trainer better be stronger than me. If I can squat say, 300lbs and my trainer can't even do 225lbs, then why am I asking him for guidance? With the exception if they're older and not in their primr. But then they have XP over looks.
This also goes for performance too. Instructors don't get to "show off their skills" too often during classes here. But over the years, I've picked up on what they did show little by little and all of them have way more skills than I do. So this too is factored in.
1) Noted and generally concur on majority of gun owners own guns, vice spending a lot of time shooting, training. But. . . sounds like your metric is track history through use by "people in the bush". I think many think similar. But hard to decipher what is truth and anecdotal without the context of the person using and performance. I mean I generally agree, just noting that just because X unit has used doesn't necessarily mean that much in itself. I do think some companies have higher QC, which includes testing (like bolt. Or say strict tolerances where some parts don't pass and are 'waste'. Therefore more cost incurred. I don't think just because a given brand is more expensive means it's higher quality (better). One would hope. From what I recall, Noveske was generally considered high quality. However, IMO overpriced.
2) "parts not matching" - you mean wobble between upper and lower? Or stuff not fitting well and affects function? I believe some newer uppers have the capability to "tighten" the play/wobble between the upper and lower. Personally, as long as it didn't impact performance and function and wasn't "super sloppy" fit, I don't care. For those where "internals (broke)" was that the lower itself, or say attributed to the "build"? I've had a safety tab break off, but that seemed like a freak occurence and with an LMT gun/part.
3) As long as the gun functions well, i wouldn't care. I wouldn't care if an instructor shot a complete PSA gun as long as it worked well. I don't see the correlation with weight trainer in physical strength, but I would expect a level of fitness to demonstrate and shooting skill. Noted on instructors should have a professional appearance. In the end, I pick up stuff from attending all classes, but yeah, there are some instructors who are better than others.
Have you taken full day courses? Either on-island or otherwise? For most of the formal courses I've taken, the instructors explain and demo. Where the true value is somewhat in the demo, but their diagnosis of how you think you are following the instruction.
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You're talking about the internals of each, and the actual upper and lower housing itself right?
I haven't seen the lower or upper itself crack fail. At least other than polymer lowers.
For lowers, I've seen parts break. Not necessarily "fall out". I've had a safety selector break and otherwise would have shut down the use of the gun if I didn't have a back up gun and replaced the safety. I've seen castlenuts back out, and occasionally an issues with buffer dragging.
For uppers, mostly misalignment of the gas block, or other issues with gassing leading to malfunctions. Many could be partially or mostly attributed to ammo, but hard to tell in that limited window. I've had a Colt barrel that was out of spec and led to gun not being able to be zero'ed. It was built by a "known local 'smith" and verified by Colt QC. They ended up testing and replacing the barrel.
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Gotcha. I also primarily shoot built uppers. I have built a couple, one for more specific uses like "more precision", and not training. Another because I had spare parts. I don't consider my uses "hard use" as well, but I have seen a quite a few built uppers have issues along the way in classes. That said, I've also seen failures in quality built lowers and uppers, just seems less frequent (no data for that though).
i've purchased both compete and stripped uppers for my builds.
If you can get the sights and handguards you desire on a complete upper, then you can normally save money versus buying all the parts separately. Plus you get the advantage of not having to possess the tools and know-how to assemble it yourself.
if you opt for the cheapest blemished PSA complete upper, you might wind up removing the sight/gas block and replacing it so you can install your preferred handguard.
Colt was the first to offer the OEM line of a complete AR-15s in two configurations -- with the front A2 sight/gas block or with a low profile gas block and no front sight. You have to install the handguard of your choice. You also have to install your other pieces of furniture such as pistol grip and butt stock. It's basically a completely functional AR without any furniture. That minimizes the tools, know-how, time and effort needed to complete the rifle to your liking.
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i've purchased both compete and stripped uppers for my builds.
If you can get the sights and handguards you desire on a complete upper, then you can normally save money versus buying all the parts separately. Plus you get the advantage of not having to possess the tools and know-how to assemble it yourself.
if you opt for the cheapest blemished PSA complete upper, you might wind up removing the sight/gas block and replacing it so you can install your preferred handguard.
Colt was the first to offer the OEM line of a complete AR-15s in two configurations -- with the front A2 sight/gas block or with a low profile gas block and no front sight. You have to install the handguard of your choice. You also have to install your other pieces of furniture such as pistol grip and butt stock. It's basically a completely functional AR without any furniture. That minimizes the tools, know-how, time and effort needed to complete the rifle to your liking.
I have two Colt OEM uppers. One with BCM and other with Geissele rail. That's my preferred way to go. Wasn't available when I first got into ARs, but I was able to either find complete uppers with the rails/handguards I wanted, or was quick swap out of the POS OEM handguard.
For the tools, I have friends that have them. But def understand what you mean. I also don't care about blem, and have a couple of blems. One BCM and one Geissele. Function just fine and get beat up anyways. For the Geissele one, I couldn't even tell what the blem was. I bought it from OGC a long time ago and even they couldn't say what the blem was/is.
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2) "parts not matching" - you mean wobble between upper and lower? Or stuff not fitting well and affects function? I believe some newer uppers have the capability to "tighten" the play/wobble between the upper and lower. Personally, as long as it didn't impact performance and function and wasn't "super sloppy" fit, I don't care. For those where "internals (broke)" was that the lower itself, or say attributed to the "build"? I've had a safety tab break off, but that seemed like a freak occurence and with an LMT gun/part.
3) As long as the gun functions well, i wouldn't care. I wouldn't care if an instructor shot a complete PSA gun as long as it worked well. I don't see the correlation with weight trainer in physical strength, but I would expect a level of fitness to demonstrate and shooting skill. Noted on instructors should have a professional appearance. In the end, I pick up stuff from attending all classes, but yeah, there are some instructors who are better than others.
Have you taken full day courses? Either on-island or otherwise? For most of the formal courses I've taken, the instructors explain and demo. Where the true value is somewhat in the demo, but their diagnosis of how you think you are following the instruction.
2) The holes where you pin the upper and lower don't match up.
3) I mean weight and strenght in regard to a personal trainer. Not a firearm instructor. It was an example of my opinion for the gym field.
The longest course I've taken is 6 hours. Not a full day.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ7wcdZ2u00
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2) The holes where you pin the upper and lower don't match up.
3) I mean weight and strenght in regard to a personal trainer. Not a firearm instructor. It was an example of my opinion for the gym field.
The longest course I've taken is 6 hours. Not a full day.
2) So the upper and lower could be used, but with slop (bad fit)? Or couldn't be used?
3) Yeah, I got what you meant. Just was wondering why you mentioned in reference to attributes for a quality firearm and/or instructor. I get your example was your opinion was of the "gym field". . . [box]
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2) So the upper and lower could be used, but with slop (bad fit)? Or couldn't be used?
I mean, if you tape em together, then I guess it could be used. Guud ENuFf
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I mean, if you tape em together, then I guess it could be used. Guud ENuFf
Hahaha
Are you just bs'ing? Or did you truly witness that? I mean I've seen some bubba'ed guns, but that is pretty extreme.
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I mean, if you tape em together, then I guess it could be used. Guud ENuFf
If the holes don't line up, the first thing I'd suspect would be trying to use Commercial and MILSPEC parts together. If both halves of the receiver are MILSPEC, mismatched pin holes would be a defect -- go get a refund or replacement.
if there's play (slop) after the halves are pinned together, that's normally not a problem. Optimally, you don't want the gun to rattle. However, since all the main "action" is contained in the upper, and the fire control group (trigger) is in the lower, really the most important consideration is whether or not the hammer in the lower is able to cause the firing pin in the upper (BCG) to strike the primer of the round. A gap between the halves is seldom a functional issue.
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If the holes don't line up, the first thing I'd suspect would be trying to use Commercial and MILSPEC parts together. If both halves of the receiver are MILSPEC, mismatched pin holes would be a defect -- go get a refund or replacement.
if there's play (slop) after the halves are pinned together, that's normally not a problem. Optimally, you don't want the gun to rattle. However, since all the main "action" is contained in the upper, and the fire control group (trigger) is in the lower, really the most important consideration is whether or not the hammer in the lower is able to cause the firing pin in the upper (BCG) to strike the primer of the round. A gap between the halves is seldom a functional issue.
I am aware of MILSPEC and Commercial buffer tubes. Wasn't aware of different uppers and lowers. I know and have seen the large takedown pin lowers in older Colt rifles. I've shot them, but don't own any.
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I am aware of MILSPEC and Commercial buffer tubes. Wasn't aware of different uppers and lowers. I know and have seen the large takedown pin lowers in older Colt rifles. I've shot them, but don't own any.
You're right. Millspec receivers can accept both MILSPEC and COMMERCIAL buffer tubes.
When I said commercial, i should have just said non-MILSPEC. Some makers deviate from MILSPEC is their design and manufacturing. In order to ensure they are compatible, I only buy receiver halves that are designated MILSPEC.
So far, it seems Spikes' receivers lock up well together. No discernible gap or wiggle.
PSA seems to be a little less tight, but not enough to call them loose, at least the ones i've gotten. Maybe that's the "blemish" I couldn't find? :geekdanc: :shaka:
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You're right. Millspec receivers can accept both MILSPEC and COMMERCIAL buffer tubes.
When I said commercial, i should have just said non-MILSPEC. Some makers deviate from MILSPEC is their design and manufacturing. In order to ensure they are compatible, I only buy receiver halves that are designated MILSPEC.
So far, it seems Spikes' receivers lock up well together. No discernible gap or wiggle.
PSA seems to be a little less tight, but not enough to call them loose, at least the ones i've gotten. Maybe that's the "blemish" I couldn't find? :geekdanc: :shaka:
Gotcha. Out of spec. I've mostly bought "known good" AR receivers, so haven't come across any issues. I've had one LMT gun that the fitup between upper and lower was so snug that it takes a punch to separate the upper and lower. One of the instructors was a burly/fit Aussie former .mil type. He was like "rub some man on your hands", insinuating "man up". So I was like "here, you try" and he couldn't budge the pin. :rofl:
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Hahaha
Are you just bs'ing? Or did you truly witness that? I mean I've seen some bubba'ed guns, but that is pretty extreme.
If I witnessed it, I'd move on down the line. I was told by a few who got Anderson lowers that they had issues with various uppers. Never heard of any other brand tell me this.
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Found it odd that a PEQ15 would be included in the value category. The ACOG is a bad fit for their rifle because of it's high price and precision nature of the build. A mid tier LPVO would've been better.
For most firearm owners, there's pressure to get the latest and greatest thing and spend as much as you can and they don't know any better. That you can just buy skill. Like when you see a person with an expensive precision AR15 at the range only shooting milspec ammo. An important lesson for new shooters is to know what the purpose of the firearm will be, start low and build up as skills improve. And to budget training an ammo expenses as part of the rifle purchase.
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I'm about value for you buck. For this amount of $, is this the best option, or are there others? Most AR owners in HI don't shoot theirs enough to justify something that's supposed to be "better" like a Noveske. It's the Indian, not the arrow.
I have a S&W MPII and it shoots better than the guys who are in my class with a Noveske or DD, etc...I do expect an instructor to have a "better" rifle. I mean if you had a guy teaching your class with an Anderson build, that would be concerning. Even if he can out perform you.
gUuUUd ENuFF
These are good points and people make the mistake of focusing too much on the rifle where they spend all their money on it, and have a nice safe queen or bargain in the classifieds. For people getting into firearms they should budget based on 3 things: firearm/accessories, practice, training. For a person with a $5,000 budget, which is a lot of money, $2500 might go into taking a few local classes and skill builders along with a class on the mainland. $1,000 for practice ammo. And that leaves $1,500 for the firearm & accessories. Then there's the matter of time that beginners don't account for, the hundreds of hours to become proficient.
Overall the firearm is a relatively minor item compared to everything else but is instead treated as the most important item.
As far as instructors equipment. It should simply do what is needed. If an instructor can shoot a 600 yard bullseye with a milspec AR15 with iron sights, that shows the students it's the person, not the gun. And that's an important lesson to learn.
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My builds come out to around $1100-1200 with optic. I'll try to find sales where I can on parts
I shot a friends POF AR which is nearly twice the price. Store bought rifle. They dont make this model anymore it is pretty basic
Mine shot just as good if not better. Did some shooting on some private property so was more closer targets, fast shooting, reloading. 10-50 yards
I'm not expert AR guy but for my purposes I know I don't need a $2000 AR
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Found it odd that a PEQ15 would be included in the value category. The ACOG is a bad fit for their rifle because of it's high price and precision nature of the build. A mid tier LPVO would've been better.
For most firearm owners, there's pressure to get the latest and greatest thing and spend as much as you can and they don't know any better. That you can just buy skill. Like when you see a person with an expensive precision AR15 at the range only shooting milspec ammo. An important lesson for new shooters is to know what the purpose of the firearm will be, start low and build up as skills improve. And to budget training an ammo expenses as part of the rifle purchase.
I took the PEQ15 as what he values but if you can find it in a specific price range. But yeah, context specific. I wouldn't prioritize an ACOG, but Hawaii is very different than areas where those hillbillies live.
When I was first getting into ARs, the "gun is the cheapest" part was feedback I got often and it has come true. At least for folks who shoot/train regularly. It is tougher to find quality training locally, but there are some opportunities. Although seemingly more and more rare. I also now recommend trying and shooting a lot before buying this and that. I did the buy this and that early on and eventually got to my preferred setups now. I mean if you have the means, have at it. I had the means, but I will say I wasted a bunch of $$$ on gear that I ended up not liking.
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My builds come out to around $1100-1200 with optic. I'll try to find sales where I can on parts
I shot a friends POF AR which is nearly twice the price. Store bought rifle. They dont make this model anymore it is pretty basic
Mine shot just as good if not better. Did some shooting on some private property so was more closer targets, fast shooting, reloading. 10-50 yards
I'm not expert AR guy but for my purposes I know I don't need a $2000 AR
I've owned a pricey AR. I can't say it shot any better or worse than my other more budget friendly ARs. It was more features, like monolitic rail (which I didn't end up liking).
There's also brands that I think are overpriced. That includes DD IMO. My first AR was a DD V5, which I ended up selling. I bought before their popularity took off, but seeing the pricing now I think there are lots of options for better value.
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this youtube channel has a lot of tech info on ARs from gauging specs etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSaULGxrles
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I have a PSA Freedom upper, but I think melonite barrel. I forget when I bought it, but prob close to 10 years. Never had a problem with it, but mostly bought/have it as a beater gun that I expected to be over gassed to eat up cheaper and under powered ammo. That was when Tula was super cheap and readily available, but not so anymore. . . :(
That guage for the FSP alignment was pretty cool. I have a BCM upper that I had to send back for FSP alignment.
That was pretty darn thorough inspection. I would guess the feedramp on that second one would function just fine, but that was something I noticed on my uppers early on.
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I have a PSA Freedom upper, but I think melonite barrel. I forget when I bought it, but prob close to 10 years. Never had a problem with it, but mostly bought/have it as a beater gun that I expected to be over gassed to eat up cheaper and under powered ammo. That was when Tula was super cheap and readily available, but not so anymore. . . :(
My $500 MPII can show all kinds of ammo. Brass, Tula, that bear logo steel cased stuff, etc...No issues. Can the $3,000 DD or Noveske's do the same?
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My $500 MPII can show all kinds of ammo. Brass, Tula, that bear logo steel cased stuff, etc...No issues. Can the $3,000 DD or Noveske's do the same?
That (IMO) is more about how the guns are gassed than the “quality”. Is the said Novekse a midlength?
I’ve seen BCM midlengths choke on Tula and PMC. It was mostly how the user “upgraded” the buffer and springs to “tune” to full powered 5.56 pressures ammo.
I get what (I think) you are saying. However, how much of what you are seeing are user input or error?
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That (IMO) is more about how the guns are gassed than the “quality”. Is the said Novekse a midlength?
I’ve seen BCM midlengths choke on Tula and PMC. It was mostly how the user “upgraded” the buffer and springs to “tune” to full powered 5.56 pressures ammo.
I get what (I think) you are saying. However, how much of what you are seeing are user input or error?
That's what I'm wondering. Can a factory build DD/Noveske, can it shoot any ammo without issues? Or because they're higher end, the assumption is the user wont shoot cheap steel/aluminum ammo.
That's 1 reason why I don't tinker with stuff. #1 it's usually above my pay grade. #2 don't got the tools. #3 range is out of the way to test fire. Only to have to go back home to "recalibrate" and go back to the range.
I remember installing an ELF trigger on Mrs. CMO's rifle. Got light primer strikes. Called ELF's CSC from the car and they said they will send out a new trigger. Then went back home and waited. Only to have to go to the range again.
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That's what I'm wondering. Can a factory build DD/Noveske, can it shoot any ammo without issues? Or because they're higher end, the assumption is the user wont shoot cheap steel/aluminum ammo.
That's 1 reason why I don't tinker with stuff. #1 it's usually above my pay grade. #2 don't got the tools. #3 range is out of the way to test fire. Only to have to go back home to "recalibrate" and go back to the range.
I remember installing an ELF trigger on Mrs. CMO's rifle. Got light primer strikes. Called ELF's CSC from the car and they said they will send out a new trigger. Then went back home and waited. Only to have to go to the range again.
I believe BCM notes their uppers are gassed to target use by full pressure 5.56 (193, 855) or at least they used to. Not sure if that's on any BCM ads or website, but I recall that's what they told me when I was inquiring about my upper that had a slightly canted FSP, and was asking about other things. So I think it depends. If say a user is using the gun for what the manufactuer/builder did not intend, then whose issue is it? I personally wanted at least one gun that ate up any kinds of cheapo ammo, but I know at least two of my midlengths have occasional issues with lower pressured ammo. I sold off my DD, but I also recall their feedback was to flat out avoid Tula and or laquer cased ammo. I'd have to dig up the email for specific warning/wording. It is what it is, but I ended up selling that gun for different reasons.
ARs don't need a lot of tools for most of the tweaking. I don't have the tools on hand for stuff that need barrel nut work, and can "bubba" stuff like muzzle devices, but prefer to wait until I can get to my buddy's shop to do stuff like that.
For your example of the trigger, that's a little different than the issues with functioning with uppers. But still a good example of the value in "trust but verify".