AR Build - Buttstock/Buffer Install

The Big Brown Truck Of Happiness arrived today with my latest shipment from Rock River Arms. In addition to the buttstock/buffer, I also ordered a selection of magazines to see what I liked.

I ordered the Milspec Tactical CAR Buttstock, which is simply a standard M4-style collapsable stock. The install was very straightforward and simple. I followed the Brownells instructions, but opted for blue Loctite on the buffer tube threads instead of staking the castle nut. I got to use my AR-15 Armorer's wrench for the first time, and I'm happy that I purchased it.



For the magazines, I ordered 2 of each type RRA offers - PMAG, standard milspec, and Fusil MIG-welded steel.

I am somewhat of a traditionalist, and I don't particularly care for the use of plastic in firearms in general. Even though the PMAGs get rave reviews, I was quite skeptical that they could be as good as steel magazines. After opening up and inspecting the magazines, it became evident to me that the PMAGs are not just a remake of an AR magazine in plastic. No, they are quite an improvement on the original design, and I can see why folks love them. The ridges and channels that guide the follower in the housing make it impossible for the follower to tilt. They are also considerably more solid than I expected them to be. I am looking forward to seeing how these magazines perform once the rifle is built.


When comparing the magazines, the Fusil mags have a nice solid feel to them, as well as a beautiful black finish. The reviews I've read online indicate that they're tough and durable. When compared to the mil-spec mags, they certainly seem to be worth the extra five dollars.

I'm unsure of what I'll be ordering for my next shipment, as the upper will pretty much need to be all there for any further assembly. It will likely include the bolt carrier group, as RRA currently has the chromed option on sale for the standard carrier group price.

AR Build - Lower Parts Install

After week-long boondoggle of UPS mishandling my package, my lower parts kit finally arrived today.

I ran up to Harbor Freight to get some punches after arriving home. Apparently they do not carry roll pin punches at the North Austin location. I opted for a simple multi-size set of steel punches in black oxide finish (they also don't carry anything but a honking 5/8" punch in brass), along with a nylon/rubber mallet.


I had a hard time coming into this build figuring out exactly what I needed in the way of tools. Certainly there are armorer's sets for building an AR, but those are prohibitively expensive for the first-time builder. Here is what I have learned are the essentials for putting a lower together:

A Bolt Catch Punch
I learned this the hard way today, by ruining my bolt catch roll pin. If you look closely at the photo (you can click it to enlarge), you may be able to see the mangled end of my magazine catch roll pin slightly protruding from the rear of where it's supposed to be. This will have to be replaced with my next order of parts. An ordinary punch WILL NOT fit there, because the shank is centered in the punch, and the handle can't fit against the lower, parallel to the pin. These punches can be found from pretty much anyone who sells AR tools. Both Midway and Brownells have them available. The trigger guard roll pin is also the same diameter, so this punch can be used there as well.

A Nylon mallet
I picked one up from Harbor freight for about five dollars, but you can find them at all kinds of places, including Midway and Brownells. This is useful for using your punches, but also helps you finish off installing the trigger and hammer pins without marring the finish of your receiver and pins.

Punches
Specifically, 1/16, 3/32, and 1/8 inch sizes. While the 1/16 is not strictly necessary, It's nice for lining things up while you're working. The 3/32 is good for the trigger guard release, and the 1/8 can be used to get the mag release completely screwed in to the button.

Now, these are the things I found that were needed for a successful install. Here are the things I wish I'd had today:

A Vise and a Lower Receiver Vise Block
While you can put together your lower without these, there's only so many fingers you can use while holding the lower in your hand. A vise will keep you from making mistakes due to the distraction of holding the receiver. It will also allow more precise work. You can get a vise at any hardware store/mega home improvement mart. Vise blocks appear to be available from pretty much anywhere that sells AR tools, including Midway and Brownells.

A Pivot Pin Installation Tool
Installing the pivot pin spring and detent can be a pain, and one slip can send your detent flying across the room, never to be found again. I was able to avoid this fate with some finagling, but a purpose-built tool for this would have certainly sped things up and lowered the risk. Again, this can be found at places that sell AR tools, including Midway and Brownells.

So there you have it. My lower is mostly assembled, The buttstock (M4-style telescoping carbine) is already on order, and should arrive in about a week. Then, I move on to the expensive stuff. Everything besides the CMMG stripped lower is being assembled with parts ordered from Rock River Arms.

Thanks to aepilotjim and the rest of the folks from the GBC for their assistance in this endeavor. For a good guide to assembling your AR, check out the How To Build An AR-15 videos over at Brownells.

The AR Project Begins

This is my rifle. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

Well, not quite a rifle yet, but it's mine. It's a CMMG stripped lower. I had my FFL order it from Midway USA, and it came in this morning. I'm going to be doing this build over a few months, and will document my progress here. Next on order will be the lower parts kit, and then the build process will begin.

My tentative plans are to build an M4-style carbine, with a 16" mid-length barrel/handguard configuration. I look forward to the build and documenting my progress here.

Road trip on the horizon...

Christina over at Lucrative Pain has graciously invited nearly everyone she knows for a shindig at her place this coming weekend, including several of the bloggers (gunny and otherwise) I've been following for a good couple of years now.

Being a Friday night party and all, most in attendance will be relatively local to her area. Having missed Phlegmmy's Texas Gunblogger meetup early last year (due to lack of employment and therefore discretionary spending money at the time), I've decided I'm going to make this one. I'm told this is not a gunnie-only meetup, but general bloggers and even non-bloggers alike getting together for a party. I also figure it's the neighborly Texan thing to do, seeing as how she's only recently moved to the state. Also, I love road trips, and this will be the first of any significant distance in the truck.

I'm taking off of work midday, and it's something like a 5 hour drive up to her place. It just so happens that Dublin is located along my planned route, so I'll be stopping there to provide some premium Dr. Pepper for the party.

I'm looking forward to it!

Blogger, reloaded.

I'd start off this post with some sort of apology for my absence, and promises that I'll do better to keep up with a more regular schedule... but I won't. I've been busy with life events and whatnot, and my downtime has been utilized for other purposes.

"What life events?", you ask?

Well, I got married. After 4 1/2 years (or thereabouts) of dating and engagement, we finally made the commitment of marriage to one another. I am glad to have done so.

Since the beginning of the year, I've picked up a couple of new activities to occupy my time.

First is reloading. For Christmas last year, I received a Lee 50th Anniversary Breech Lock Challenger Kit from my now Mother-in-Law. In short, this is a single stage reloading press (including all the fixin's except dies) with some pretty useful features. I started out with 9mm, as it's by far the caliber I shoot the most (and had collected the most brass for). I've since expanded to .380, .38 Special, and 9x18 (Makarov). I hope to add .45 ACP and .223 in the near future, but that depends on my acquisition of firearms in those calibers. An AR build is already in the works, which I'll document here as I go along.

I'll have several posts in the future about my reloading activities and experiences. Expect some to be bullet, powder, or caliber-specific.

Secondly, I've taken up fishing. I'm certainly not very good at it yet, but I've got friends to help me along. I really want a boat to fish in, however that requires storage space that a (non-bachelor) apartment simply doesn't provide. My bride tells me a house is required. I'll have to get cracking on that one. Anyhow, as I mentioned, I'm not terribly good at fishing yet. It's an enjoyable activity, and certainly beats sitting around the house.

I'm sure there's plenty I'm leaving out here, but that will have to wait until later. I'll try to get another post up later in the day.

Stoeger Condor Update

Better late than never, I promised a followup post about my impressions about the Stoeger Condor.

I didn't get nearly the bird hunting in this season that I did last year, so I've only gotten a moderate amount of trigger time on the Condor. However, my latest experiences with the gun have been positive.

Starting late in the season last year, I switched my dove loads over to Remington ShurShot #7-1/2 shot. I found that this load more reliably takes birds and gives better pattern density than the cheap Winchester Super-X that you see on sale during the run-up to dove season. The biggest difference between these two is the Remington loads use 1 1/8oz of shot, while the Winchester loads only use 7/8 oz. That's nearly a 30% increase in shot when comparing the two. To me, the performance is certainly worth the slightly higher price.

Anyhow, I've had great results with the Condor with the few dove hunts I got in this year. Having only hunted dove with an 18" open cylinder previous to this, It took a bit of work to get myself adjusted to a 26" improved/modified pair of barrels. Later in the season when dove are fly further out and higher, this is certainly an advantage. I'm quite happy with the range I was able to make hits with the Condor. My only negative experience when dove hunting was when the doves were swarming above me just as I was reloading. Ejectors would have speed things up here, and I can certainly see their advantage now.

Most impressive, however, was its performance of the Condor hunting duck. I had the opportunity to go on my first wader hunt for wood ducks in the East Texas Piney Woods, and loved the experience. Range and accuracy was most impressive out of the Condor, shooting Remington ShurShot #2 (1-1/4oz) 3" steel. I was able to make a hit on a fast mover just above the trees, flying perpendicular to me. The steel patterned so well that I hit the neck of the bird and nearly shot it clean off, dropping it DRT.

I wish I had more photos to give you, but hunting in waders doesn't exactly lend to lots of photography. Next season, I'll be sure to have a quality point-and-shoot to bring along.

Opening Day...

...of dove season, and I've got nowhere to hunt.

My friend and hunting buddy has control of a year-round hunting/fishing lease not far from town, and I've been hounding him about getting on it since last year. It's a great spot for dove, duck and the occasional hog, and has a sizable tank for fishing.

A spot came into question this year after one of the members of the lease hadn't contacted him for renewal. It came down to the wire and was looking good... but I found out today that the last member renewed. So, I'm back to hunting as a guest this year.

It's not all bad, though. My hunting buddy and I are hitting up the lease tomorrow, so we should get some good hunting in before the birds get too skittish. Also, my girlfriend's brother-in-law and sister recently moved back to town, and he's got some family land out east that's got good hunting on it. He has promised a weekend trip out there for some hunting this season. It's unfortunate that I won't be able to reciprocate with local trips.

The new Stoeger is going hunting with me tomorrow, so I should have a report and some photos to post here. I'll also be hitting up the skeet range over the weekend, so I'll have some decent trigger time with the gun before next week.

I finally got around to completing the hunter's education course this past weekend, so I'm now legit to hunt on my own, if I ever get the opportunity. I took the online written course, so only needed to take the 4-hour field course to get my certification. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the instruction. My course was taught by a TPWD volunteer named Sean, and it was obvious that he loved giving his time to help others become responsible hunters and conservationists. My hat's off to you, Sean.