Step One...

Last night, I finally had a few minutes of nothing better to do. I took the opportunity to lay out the Rock River Arms AR-15 lower parts kit next to the Spike’s Tactical stripped lower receiver and start actually, you know, assembling the two parts of the puzzle into a more or less complete whole. I thought I’d take a few moments to share some lessons learned last night that I hadn’t seen in my surfing the DIY how to world of AR-15 assembly on the internet.

First, unless you are an experienced gunsmith and/or were trained by the military as an armorer, I highly recommend you spend a little time on YouTube watching the videos of how to actually do the assembly. I found the CMMG, Inc. and Brownells videos to be very helpful, if slightly divergent on order of installation. That is not to say that I don’t have a few minor quibbles with how they present the information.

For instance, if you were to just watch the CMMG tutorial video, you might just believe that the front pivot pin, spring and detent can be easily inserted without tools. Word to the wise, do not attempt this step without the proper pivot pin installation tool unless you enjoy hunting around your work space for an almost microscopic, brass detent. I was lucky. My detent slipped and fell onto the piece of bubble wrap that was lying on the tray I was using as a work bench instead of shooting across the room under spring tension.

I also disagree with the order of installation on both videos. Brownells starts with the magazine release while CMMG starts with the bolt catch. The magazine release really isn’t a bad place to start. In fact, you could argue for it being tied for first with safety selector switch, spring, detent and pistol grip. It is preferable to do the magazine release BEFORE the bolt catch; however, it is required to do the safety selector before you install the trigger group as the safety selector switch will NOT go in if the trigger is already in place (ask me how I know…yes, that’s right, someone had to install the trigger twice) as the trigger partially blocks the safety selector mounting hole (which is proper when you think about it as the safety functions by blocking the hammer from moving up and down). The magazine release is simply a matter of ease of installation. The release is a lot easier to screw in if you don’t have to worry about clearing the bolt catch each time you turn the release into the release button.

Let’s talk about tools for a moment. You’ll notice I didn’t mention anything about a vise block. Brownells recommends using a little hunk of wood or plastic that fits into the magwell opening so that the receiver can be mounted into a vise for easier parts manipulation, etc. Personally, I didn’t find parts manipulation to be an issue (with the exception of the aforementioned pivot pin issue which would not have been helped by the vise block anyway), and I’ve got fairly good sized hands. I do recommend that you go ahead and invest in a non-marring hammer (brass or otherwise). I opted for a lighter weight, steel, claw hammer tapping on a punch set. Fortunately, I didn’t have any errant strikes, but the potential for an ugly tool mark was there. Lastly, unless other manufacturers do things differently, you will need a hex head screw driver with a shaft at least four inches long to install the pistol grip. I have a hex head tool…which is not four inches long making things a tad difficult. I will remedy that after a brief detour into a tool store this evening.

Overall, things went smoothly despite my newbie yet easily correctable mistakes. The trigger and safety selector switch work just fine. The trigger, as you will recall, is a single stage, and it’s a tad heavy. I don’t have a trigger pull gauge, but my guess is that the pull weight is somewhere between five and seven pounds. That is way too heavy for a precision rifle, but this is not intended as such. I am building this one up for home defense, range fun, USPSA carbine matches and maybe the occasional Bambi/wild hog encounter while out walking in the woods. Other platforms will handle mosquito swatting duties out past 100 yards. More important to me a smooth, steady pull and a crisp break. I will reserve judgment on this trigger until the build is complete, and we get a chance to see how it performs at the range. In the meantime, that’ll do Donkey.

Guest Blogger: Captain Tightpants

Shepherd K here. This evening, I have an extra special treat for you all: my first ever guest poster. Captain Tightpants, from the blog I Aim To Misbehave, was quite engaged in the comments on my last post and was concerned that he was hijacking the comments section with his thoughts on a particular caliber of ammunition. I suggested that he apply himself to the task of fleshing out his thoughts into a full blown guest post, and here are the results. For those not acquainted with the good Captain, he is former military (Navy if I recall correctly), current police officer (bomb squad...if you see this man running, please try to keep up), ardent Firefly fan and generally a nice guy. Enjoy.

The purpose of this is to simply explain why I chose to invest money, time & effort in a .300 Blackout rifle - not necessarily to convert you to my way of thinking. While I find that this round is going to meet a number of my needs & wants, your individual mileage and desires may vary. Also, I'm doing this as a short-barrel rifle (with a tax stamp transfer) and picking up a suppressor down the road... both of which are doable in my location without too much drama.

As any gun person knows, over the past 30-some years a number of "newest, bestest" cartridges have been introduced, all of which swore to be the next great thing. Some have had success (.40 S&W for one), some have achieved niche followings (10mm, 6.8 SPC), and some have faded into obscurity (.45 GAP). One of the latest rounds to burst onto the scene with some acclaim has been the .300 Blackout (.300 BLK) round, developed by AAC and more or less based on the .300 Whisper cartridge. Of important note with the round is that the company took the approach of getting it SAAMI spec'd & have gone out of their way to let others load it, market it etc. - which has been one reason for the explosive growth of this cartridge. A great number of manufacturers from the mid-range to the high end have jumped on the bandwagon with rifles, barrels, and ammunition growing by the day.

The .300 Blackout round (7.62x35mm) is designed with a number of considerations in mind:

- Function with minimal changes from a standard M4-style or similar 5.56x45mm platform. All you need to change is the barrel. It uses the same magazines, bolt, carrier, etc. for any of these weapons. This is a significant savings in materials if you're changing a weapon, and it greatly increases the availability of spare parts, weapon enhancements and such. Additionally, these magazines are capable of holding the same capacity as they do in 5.56x45, as opposed to reduced capacity in such rounds as the 6.8mm SPC.

- To provide a round which more or less matches the ballistic capabilities of a 7.62x39 (AK-47) style round for enhanced terminal ballistics, barrier penetration and such. While I won't get into a caliber-wars debate, it's hard to argue that a .30 caliber hole will be more effective in ensanguination than a .22 caliber hole. There are several M4 style rifles chambered in the 7.62x39 round it is true, but they require proprietary magazines, bolts and such - and have a poor history in terms of reliability to date.

- To provide a subsonic round with optimal sound and flash suppression when suppressed. For comparison, the .300 Blackout with 220 grain subsonic ammunition is quieter than an MP5SD, while firing a round almost twice the grain weight and 129% more muzzle energy. It also holds this energy to a greater range.

I can safely say that AAC met these goals. Now, let's discuss some of the other good points of the round.

- Reloading is inexpensive compared to the alternative rounds - in fact, you can take standard .223/5.56x45 brass and with minimal effort reload it as .300 Blackout. Much cheaper than having to buy specialized brass.

- If you're looking at things from a financial or a prepper standpoint - think about the cost savings. The only thing different is the barrel. Everything else from front to back is the same as an M4, ammo is reloadable as above etc. As opposed to having to find off-brand stuff or specialized tools & parts this is a big thing for me. Also, due to the lower pressures, internal ballistics and dynamics of this round barrel life and wear on the weapon is greatly reduced.

- Effective range and terminal ballistics are in line with what I need. Is this a 500-800 yard sniping weapon? No - but I don't expect that out of my 5.56 either. On the other hand, between point blank and 300 yards I can expect all the accuracy and performance I want out of a duty-type rifle, if not more. If I need to go out further that's what my bolt gun .308 is for...

- I like the thought that I am getting much better terminal ballistics out of an M4 platform, still in a low-recoiling round. Furthermore, in terms of hunting, the vast majority of places won't let you use .223 for things like deer - but the .300 is a perfectly good round. Again, now we've broadened our applications from one platform. Furthermore, the ballistics were specifically developed around the shorter barrels. 5.56 out of the Stoner-designed platform was originally built to work off a 20-inch barrel, and as you lose barrel length you have corresponding issues in loss of power, decreased reliability, and increased wear on the weapon. .300 BLK was spec'd for SAAMI out of a 16 inch barrel; out of a 10.5 inch barrel it has about 23% more muzzle energy than an M855 5.56 projectile does out of a 16 inch.

- In terms of the suppressor side of things. Instead of thinking "I need a suppressed weapon, so I'm stuck with a 9mm instead of a full-sized rifle," now I can do both with one platform.

As for the most common comparison round - the 6.8mm SPC round (which is a perfectly viable round and I'm not badmouthing it) - here are the issues.

- 6.8mm SPC requires a different bolt, magazine etc. - which beats the advantages I discussed already for the .300BLK.  Plus it has a reduced magazine capacity. Buying 13 dollar P-mags vs. $25+ specialized mags is a big price difference. And I can use the same parts, magazines etc. in both my rifles now as opposed to just one.

- Ammo cost is significantly different. Going with the low-end practice stuff (Remington UMC) 6.8mm SPC at Midway, the 6.8mm SPC is 16.99 a box, while the .300 BLK is 11.99 a box. That's a third less per box - it adds up, and that's also not even counting the advantages of being able to reload 5.56 brass if needed.

- 6.8 doesn't have the breadth of application in terms of subsonic to supersonic rounds and performance.

- For whatever reason, the various manufacturers haven't jumped on 6.8 even after a number of years like they have the .300 BLK. In fact, a few large companies this year stated they were dropping 6.8 from their product line due to it not being a good financial return right now. Personally I believe this stems from the fact that the Freedom Group (who owns both AAC and Remington) has put their horse behind the .300 BLK cartridge, and is minimizing the corporate support for the 6.8.

- In 6.8 SPC's defense - it is generally a flatter shooting round, and does have a slightly longer effective range. However this really doesn't come into play where I work and live - it's only an issue beyond 300-400 yards or so, and there are very few places here I even have that kind of visibility, much less a clean shot at something.

So - what are the downsides to .300 BLK right now? The two big ones I can think of are:

- At the moment it doesn't have quite the breadth of available rounds that something like the .223 or .308 has, so choices in hunting and defensive loads aren't as broad. I expect this to continue to improve throughout the next year.

- Again, due to the relative newness of the round, there is a lack of documented terminal ballistic effectiveness reports. As above, time will tell on this.

And for the record on what I'm acquiring? A 10.5 inch barrel Noveske rifle and an AAC suppressor to go with it. Unfortunately the paperwork and ATF involvement means I won't actually get hands on with it for about six months...

Anyone Up For A Puzzle?

That maniacal laughter you hear...just ignore it.

More to follow in a couple of weeks when the yet to be ordered Magpul collapsible buttstock arrives.

Is It Here Yet?

Before moving on to the post de jour, I have the pleasure of welcoming another follower. Family Best of the self titled blog decided there was something worthwhile here. Family Best, I don't have much to offer in the way of regular, thought provoking and insightful content, but I do do my best to answer all comments as possible. Welcome. Make yourself at home. 

As mentioned in the previous post, I've been sitting on a Spike's Tactical AR-15 lower receiver hoping upon hope that it will hatch into a full blown AR-15. No such luck. However, I received a nice email from Rock River Arms this morning letting me know that the lower parts kit I ordered left their warehouse on the big, brown truck of happiness. It is scheduled for delivery on Monday.

That sound you hear...it's just my foot tapping.

I ordered the kit with the ERGO pistol grip and a single stage trigger. After talking with several people and reading a lot of information online (ad nauseum...ad infinitum), I wanted the two stage trigger. Unfortunately, it's on indefinite back order. Bummer. Rather than put on my frowny face (sorry...I've been listening to Despicable Me a LOT lately as it's usually playing on the Navigator's DVD player while The Queen is in the backseat with M&M), I decided a single stage trigger was better than no trigger. Besides, I can always buy a stand alone two stage replacement trigger kit for it later if the single stage frustrates me.

Look for more gun related content next week.

It Followed Me Home...

...Can I keep it?

On Sunday, I went to yet another gun show. This time in Dallas.

The original intent was to go with the oldest nephew's roommate to a show since he missed out on the last show with the younger nephew, and he had mentioned an interest in getting a rifle. Unfortunately, the roomie missed out on this one as well due to being called into work for an all nighter due to a server crash. No worries. There will be another one.

I went ahead and went to this show since another friend of mine wanted to go as he had never been to a show either. This friend was born in Romania, and has lived here in the U.S. for about the last 20 or 25 years. He has never owned a gun, and I don't think he's ever shot anything larger than a BB gun. This friend brought along his cousin and the cousin's wife who just recently came over from Romania with the hopes of living here in the states permanently.

My friend is in the process of thinking about his first firearms purchase. He's leaning towards a 9mm semi auto and expressed an interest in the Browning Hi Power. At least he has good taste. I urged him to go to a range, get some instruction and rent a variety of guns to see what he is comfortable with. I also offered to take him and his wife out for a new shooter introduction. Hopefully, I'll be able to give a new shooter report before summer rolls around.

His cousin, however, WOW. I think we created a monster. I don't think I've ever seen someone quite so intensely enthusiastic about guns. Especially when you consider he grew up and was living until recently in a socialist country where firearms are heavily restricted. He was asking lots of questions and WANTING to learn about guns. Awesome. He and his wife will be getting a new shooter intro too as soon as we can arrange a suitable time.

Anyway, I had come into possession of a Taurus 24/7 OSS .45 with an M6 laser and compact flashlight as partial trade for an item I had for sale. As my faithful readers will recall, the Taurus is not on my wish list of guns. I took it as partial trade with the understanding that it had been purchased new with the laser for a little over $400 and was probably worth $250 or so on the used market. I briefly considered keeping it because it does have some nice features for a striker fired pistol, but I didn't like the trigger after dry firing it and wouldn't want to put money into it to get a trigger job done.

So, the Taurus went with me to the gun show as trade/sale fodder for something that IS on my wish list. After a couple of aborted attempts to make a trade for the Ruger SR40 that I've had my eye on lately, I was passing a table minding my own business when a gentlemen behind the table asked me those little five words: "Whatcha got in the box?" I handed it over for him to take a look, and he asked me what I was looking to get out of it. I threw out $350 to $400 as an opening salvo, and he broke out the Blue Book of Gun Values. It showed that the Taurus in 95% condition was worth about $365 (not including the laser). He offered $300 which I accepted since: 1) it was more than the notional trade value considered in the original deal that brought it into my possession, 2) it was $100 more than I had been offered on it in the previous two attempts to trade it away, 3) I wasn't likely to beat that by much, if any, trying to private sell it based on the Blue Book value, and 4) it put cash in hand to go purchase the key component to what will become the EBR zombie annihilator.  

It's a Spike's Tactical multi cal stripped lower receiver. The build plan is still in development; however, here are some of the ideas firmed up so far. I definitely want it to have a stainless, fluted barrel threaded to accept a sound suppressor (eventually), compensator or flash suppressor. I am leaning towards a 20" barrel length. I don't want anything longer than that and not shorter than 16". I want it to be a flat top to accept flip up iron sights, scope or holo sight. I'm still debating the stock. Since this will primarily be for target shooting/fun at the range and not serious competition or home defense, I'm thinking the A2 fixed stock will be fine. But, part of me wants the 6 position adjustable stock with the cheek piece. I still need to research triggers and twist rates and bolt carrier groups and gas vs. piston and all that. The important thing is that I have purchased the only part that the ATF considers to be a firearm. So, even if Congress is stupid enough to ban "assault weapons" again, I can still get parts.

More updates as events warrant.