Consumables and learned from the 90's that they can go away. So you need to not only plan on what you can carry today, but what you may need for 20 years from now.
I've purchased 6 PPS Classic magazines every year for the last decade. Why? I knew eventually it would go out of production and 20 years from now I don't want to be my friend that carries a P7 and pays over $100 for a used magazine when he can even find them. Now if I have a mag shit the bed, I've got another 50 or so still in packaging. And I did have that happen this year. I came across my first mag that had feeding issues in multiple guns.
I've purchased 10 P99/PPQM1/SW99/MR9 mags every year for almost the last 20 years for the same reason.
Just in the last month I've purchased an additional 12 Okay Surefeeds and 12 steel Duramags plus picked up my standard two P-Mags per week at my LGS.
25 per gun. Magazines are consumable items and should be treated as such so you need enough on hand plus what you might need for the future. Now this may become less of a concern with 3D printing in the near future though.
I honestly don't know how many AR mags I have. There's a 35 gallon tote in my basement full of AR mags: P-Mags, Geisselle D&H Mags, Duramags, and Okay mags are what you want.
If there are any Eurofucks in here, seriously, how is it possible for your government to threaten financially crippling fines against the populace if they decide to take a walk outside and y’all aren’t up in arms against them?
I mean literal hands and arms, obviously, as there seems to be a disturbing amount of noguns faggotry over there.
I think I bought the last Savage 110 southpaw that BellasProAss had in their inventory. But they only had the shitty weaver scope bases so I've got to go looking for a scope base.
Finally got an AR. FN Tac2 with BCG bolt and trigger group. Always been a fudd/commie with guns. Still can't decide if my really bad shit going on gun is it or my MAK I've practiced with for years. Gotta bubba SA85 that I'm putting back right
Shit that has ammo produced for it here in the USA. One of the few things Biden can do is ban ammo imports. After Obama did that with Russian ammo, and due to the prices now, I sold my Mosin's and SKS's for that reason. The era of cheap comblock surplus is over. Likewise the largest producer of ammo for historical arms is PPU out of Serbia (IIRC). And I can remember what it was like trying to find stuff like .30-40 Krag for decades at a time until Winchester or someone decided to do a product run.
Those who are bragging how they can still afford to shoot their AK's et. al. maybe singing a different tune in a couple months.
I'm straight up building a 12.5 .308 pistol because it will be awesome. Going to use aero precision m5 parts due to their sexy good looks and good reputation.
I can build a lower. Does this mean i can build an upper? Looked into it and so long as i use good parts that fit on my .308 build it doesn't look like i can't despite not being good with tools. Going to get the forward assist and dust cover already on and then i just do barrel gas block/tube and rail.
I don't have a bench vise, does this mean i am fucked?
Since it's not a 5.56 AR should i headspace this gat? I don't want to blow up my gun or my pretty face.
Anyone know if the rise armament drop ins fit an m5? Or the chip mckormick?
12.5 .308 mid length barrel. Where can i find one?
Alternatively, i am down with buying a finished upper if i can ever find one. But i don't imagine that will be likely.
If you're gonna build it all from scratch make sure you get the right AR-10 pattern parts for everything. I believe DPMS style is the most popular but mismatch doesn't work. I'd say a bench vise is pretty critical for building uppers in my experience, AR-15 only though. Good luck with the shorty fireball maker. I shot a friend's chopped PTR in .308 and it's stupid fun. Makes the fabric/tarp roof on the shoot house bow out when you shoot in it. Impractical, yes. Fun, also yes.
Headspace should technically be set when the barrel extension is installed on the barrel, combined with an in-spec bolt. With all new parts you will be fine 99.9% of the time.
With there said, a good set of gauges is cheaper than a new face. Not a bad thing to have in general.
HESCO 4401's for the plates. If you are talking absolute budget carrier I'm going to go ahead and say it: Condor. As much as people want to call their stuff airshit, it's actually improved quality wise. If you want something that's not made in China the Slickster is solid option between $$$ and what you get.
The cheapest one I see on Amazon is called the Gfire and looks a lot like the old Condor. I'm sure it wouldn't hold up in the sandbox for 6 months, but has something like padded shoulders and should hold up fine for larping in the basement...or in case peaceful protests break out in your neighborhood for a couple nights.
But there's a reason why my slickster has Level III lightweight PE plates now instead of ceramics.
The last Condor plate carrier I saw actually had padded shoulders where the slickster doesn't. And that makes a difference with 16lbs of Ceramic Armor. There's a reason why I went with lightweight level III PE plates this time around.
I don't think people around here are as elitist as the old place. The only problem I really have with Condor stuff is that their buckles are their weak point. Rest of the stuff, material/stitchig/etc., is pretty good these days.
If only i could friend. But sadly, the racist, homophobic and evil nstional firearms act of 1934 says that any shotgun barrel less than 18 inches is evil unless you pay some faggot $200.
Have you ascertained what kind of choke your 18inch barrel is?
Most stock barrels are cylinder choke like that which means they will work fine for a defensive shotgun.
What you're gonna wanna do is pattern your gun. Take your defensive loads and shoot a large target at ranges from 5 yds to 20 or so. This gives you an idea of the spread you are working with. Modern ammo and guns are so good the pattern is usually .5 inch wide per yard of travel. This is a huge improvement over the 1 inch per yard of travel it was when i was a kid.
As to.barrels? I dunno man. In all my years i've never seen it quite like this. Local gun stores might have one. Also mossberg of all people makes a great 870 barrel. That is what is on mine.
Probably means it's cylinder bore, especially if it was an issued gun. But not all fixed bores are cylinder bore. Before changeable chokes became mainstream many guns had fixed chokes in full or improved for hunting and skeet/trap. Some side by sides and over unders even had one of each. The logic being the full choke was second for a follow up shot which would theoretically be longer distance.
I'd bet damn near anything. Improved cylinder if you're lucky. Either way you can run slugs and buck no problem and feel good about it. A good shotgun solves many problems.
If you want to shoot a round and then take it apart to put the new cartridge in the adapter i guess that could work. You will also be shooting a round out of a straight up.no contact barrel. It is the literal definition of a hot dog down a hallway.
Shotguns are great, get an AR lower or AR while you can as soon as you can, no joke. Shotguns occupy the ranged threat niche of a pistol in terms of where you use them. Inside 30 yds they are a decisive gat. Outside that slugs are required.
The AR makes you a threat at any range with capacity and quick reloading. Again, i love the shotgun, my sugar tits Benelli M4 is loaded in the corner. But the AR is the du jour for gun fighting for a reason.
It works ... not as good as baked Cerakote but works. Duracoat is the most popular cold set. Cerakote makes a cold set too and it’s on par with Duracoat. I think the “C” series from Cerakote is the air-cure but you’ll need to check their site to make sure.
If you’re setup with blast media, spray and ovens, mix your color as directed by Cerakote and spray test materials and bake as directed. If you’re making a custom color, then mix up two or three different colors that look similar and test in the oven on scrap pieces.
Once you get your color right, sandblast your gun, degrease with acetone, then get to work. It’s pretty simple overall but like any process, it takes practice to be good.
The only gun-specific tool that you absolutely need to have is an armorer's/castle-nut wrench.
Learning the entire cycle of operations, i.e. exactly how the gas system works in relation to the BCG, ect. will help you diagnose any specific issues and may guide your part choices.
The most important thing for accuracy is the barrel, but even cheap rack-grade stuff is serviceable if free-floated, about 2-3" moa from a $89 BCA is the worst I've seen from an AR. Unacceptable imo, but if its a red-dot close range gun? up to you.
I don't actually own an armorer's guide, but having one may be worthwhile if you want to learn quickly. AR's are basically legos, especially if you aren't doing a barrel/gas block install. The BA Hanson barrels are probably to easiest to build an upper with imo, since they come with a gas black pre-dimpled and pinned. If you're just assembling a lower, you just need to follow a video and it'll be hard to screw anything up beyond loosing springs and detents. Try assembling inside a clear freezer bag if you don't have spares!
Barrel: I'd go Nitrited>Chrome>Stainless until you get up to the $250 range, where I'd go for a chrome-lined Criterion.
Bolt Carrier Group: Most important part of the rifle. Nitrided is my favorite finish due to how easy it is to clean. My first rifle has a Toolcraft nitrided 9310 bolt in it, which I now avoid in favor of C158 bolts. Nitriding is surface hardening process, and 9310 is already challenging to temper correctly to avoid being too brittle. Nearly all failed AR bolts are nitrided 9310. Phosphate isn't much harder to clean, and may be all that is available right now anyway. One common source of malfunctions are bad extractor springs- replacing the springs/o-rings/inserts with a BCM/Springco/Colt kit is never a bad thing. Extractors are a wear item if you manage to shoot several thousand rounds.
Trigger: The best deal in triggers is the Larue MBT-2s. It's all I can justify beyond a decent mil-spec trigger. Giessle G2S is worse imo, and my SSA just 'feels' different and isn't better in any way.
Optics: I'm a big fan of rifle-length iron sights. If you're building a 16" mid-length I prefer a red dot or LPVO. Primary Arms is my preferred value LPVO/prism scopes, the Holosun's dot-in-circle are a bit sharper for my astigmatism. Aero Precision makes the lightest/cheapest mounts, but you really need an Arisaka-style scope leveler to install, since scopes tend to rotate in the rings as you tighten down.
Muzzle Device: I'd start with an A2. By far the best value, and a break isn't worth the blast/flash aside from competition.
BCA says 1 MOA out of anything over 18". I bought about a dozen barrels when they were on clearance for $35ea during the Golden Era. I was skeptical until I built a couple of gundeals bucket of parts guns on Poverty Pony Lowers & Uppers and BCA was right. Both guns shoot under 1 MOA with factory ammo.
I was going to use that gun in 2-Gun this year and see how well it held up through 13 matches...until "Rona basically cancelled the season.
The whole build was suspect- I wouldn't have been surprised if the upper was warped from being installed with a pipe wrench or if the crown got fucked up by a steel cleaning rod or the godawful muzzle brake that was installed. The group was with some sort of brass case, factory loaded. I wasn't about to ask for a turn behind the rifle, but I probably could have been able to shoot a bit better than the owner- he was just bitching loudly about his sub-par groups, lol.
The 6.5 grendel forum has had some sub-moa BCA barrels posted, but the overall reputation is meh from my research. Also, my only stainless barrels have been made by PSA. I think that the stainless isn't as reliable as chrome or nitiride shooting steel-case even when clean for me.
I haven't dropped $ on a precision bolt gun yet and have no experience, but I would instinctively gravitate towards steel vs. aluminum. For mounts I like Larue alot. The rest of the forum is kinda elitist, but the Snipers Hide buy and sell has some crazy good deals on accessories/mounts like that.
It's a $500 rifle in .30-06 that will be wearing a $200 PA scope for now. Ended up getting an EGW aluminum base rail which is the brand that the tactical model comes with from the factory plus that's what I could find in the silver matte color in stock. They do make a version in Stainless steel that I'll keep an eye out for plus I have aluminum scope rings on hand in 30mm. They're Burris tactical rings...not the fanciest, but even if I do "long range" shooting competitions around here the farthest range is only 600 yards and its on steel IPSC targets.
Although $485 for the gun, $40 for the scope rail, $50 for the rings, $200 for the Scope and $105 for the Harris bipod I'm in for less than $900. Hope to have a rifle that I can finish in the top 1/3rd of the local "long range" competition with a set up that was under $1000. I know some of those guys have spent 10 - 15x that on their guns.
Biggest problem right now is ammo. Usually I like to bring 6 - 8 different brands/types and figure out what works best in that rifle. Nothing like showing up the local "pros" shooting something like Federal 180 grain soft point hunting rounds.
Cheapest Red Dot that's worth anything is the TRS-25 by Bushnell at less than $100 usually. It will work, hold zero, but won't win you any friends at the range.
For a few dollars more the SIG Romeo 5 has a much longer battery life and shake-a-wake tech on it.
I ran the TRS-25 on my Stag Model 3 for years until I realized that a red dot wasn't supposed to look like a bundle of grapes or have a comet's tail. I chocked it up to it being a cheap red dot until I was at a carbine course and discovered that no, that's due to the eyes having the 'tism.
I'd go red-dot, then an MBUSSET. Holosun or Primary Arms should be under $150, I'd pick a color/reticle from the manufacturer's website, then search the product code on gun.deals
C_DOES on youtube does the best videos on views through an optic, which has helped me choose.
My neighbor works for Energizer and he gave me one of their tactical flash lights. I put it on an offset mount I had and I ran it for a 2 gun season on an AR carbine. Held up okay and I think the light is $30ish. You can buy them at Home Depot, Target, etc.. Doesn't have a mount, but a regular 1" off set mount will work.
Spez II: You can get an offset Chineseum mount for $15 or less. Won't say it will hold up for sandbox duty, but for most HD situations it would probably be fine.
Let’s make this a weekly thing. Nice break from the shit posting.
How many mags do you autists buy for your rifles / PCCs? My gun store has a sale and I mag try to stock up on P mags
Many as you can. They will not get cheaper.
Minimum 5 per build
5 per build per finger, c'mon
I shoot for 10-20+ per type. I don't add mags for yet another 5.56 build.
Get at least a dozen then prioritize a 3D printer.
10 makes sense but why more than that? That’s more than you can carry I’d guess
I have 28 loaded PMAGs in a 50 cal ammo can. It’s easy to throw in the car and then I don’t have to reload on range day
Consumables and learned from the 90's that they can go away. So you need to not only plan on what you can carry today, but what you may need for 20 years from now.
I've purchased 6 PPS Classic magazines every year for the last decade. Why? I knew eventually it would go out of production and 20 years from now I don't want to be my friend that carries a P7 and pays over $100 for a used magazine when he can even find them. Now if I have a mag shit the bed, I've got another 50 or so still in packaging. And I did have that happen this year. I came across my first mag that had feeding issues in multiple guns.
I've purchased 10 P99/PPQM1/SW99/MR9 mags every year for almost the last 20 years for the same reason.
Just in the last month I've purchased an additional 12 Okay Surefeeds and 12 steel Duramags plus picked up my standard two P-Mags per week at my LGS.
Magazines are a consumable. Train with them and you'll occasionally break one or wear one out.
25 per gun. Magazines are consumable items and should be treated as such so you need enough on hand plus what you might need for the future. Now this may become less of a concern with 3D printing in the near future though.
I honestly don't know how many AR mags I have. There's a 35 gallon tote in my basement full of AR mags: P-Mags,
GeisselleD&H Mags, Duramags, and Okay mags are what you want.Big tex always has a good price on mags. Just picked up five pack of glock 17 pmags for $57 or so.
If there are any Eurofucks in here, seriously, how is it possible for your government to threaten financially crippling fines against the populace if they decide to take a walk outside and y’all aren’t up in arms against them?
I mean literal hands and arms, obviously, as there seems to be a disturbing amount of noguns faggotry over there.
Bought a 2020 VP9. It is the sex.
Also bought the last aero precision m5 lower on the internet. Quite literally i think.
I think I bought the last Savage 110 southpaw that BellasProAss had in their inventory. But they only had the shitty weaver scope bases so I've got to go looking for a scope base.
Finally got an AR. FN Tac2 with BCG bolt and trigger group. Always been a fudd/commie with guns. Still can't decide if my really bad shit going on gun is it or my MAK I've practiced with for years. Gotta bubba SA85 that I'm putting back right
Welcome to the AR! It's the mainstay for a reason.
Don't be afraid to buy lowers and mags and for fucks sake get AR10 parts while you can!
I've been learning 3D at work and been making special bang bang things on Bridgeports for guys at work for a while. Where to get 3D blueprints
Shit that has ammo produced for it here in the USA. One of the few things Biden can do is ban ammo imports. After Obama did that with Russian ammo, and due to the prices now, I sold my Mosin's and SKS's for that reason. The era of cheap comblock surplus is over. Likewise the largest producer of ammo for historical arms is PPU out of Serbia (IIRC). And I can remember what it was like trying to find stuff like .30-40 Krag for decades at a time until Winchester or someone decided to do a product run.
Those who are bragging how they can still afford to shoot their AK's et. al. maybe singing a different tune in a couple months.
I'm straight up building a 12.5 .308 pistol because it will be awesome. Going to use aero precision m5 parts due to their sexy good looks and good reputation.
Alternatively, i am down with buying a finished upper if i can ever find one. But i don't imagine that will be likely.
I built my first AR lower without a bench vise and...well...that's why I have a bench vise today.
Most of the lower triggers work between AR15 & AR10 platforms. The holes are in the same spots relative.
If you're gonna build it all from scratch make sure you get the right AR-10 pattern parts for everything. I believe DPMS style is the most popular but mismatch doesn't work. I'd say a bench vise is pretty critical for building uppers in my experience, AR-15 only though. Good luck with the shorty fireball maker. I shot a friend's chopped PTR in .308 and it's stupid fun. Makes the fabric/tarp roof on the shoot house bow out when you shoot in it. Impractical, yes. Fun, also yes.
Bench vise is like $30 at harbor freight. Be sure to use a coupon. If you save your receipt you can return it after you're done.
I keep looking for a problem in your suggestion but can find none.
Bench vise is always the first tool for any shop. Mount it to a board and then you can clamp it to your table, ect.
Headspace should technically be set when the barrel extension is installed on the barrel, combined with an in-spec bolt. With all new parts you will be fine 99.9% of the time.
With there said, a good set of gauges is cheaper than a new face. Not a bad thing to have in general.
What's the best budget plate carrier/armor setup?
HESCO 4401's for the plates. If you are talking absolute budget carrier I'm going to go ahead and say it: Condor. As much as people want to call their stuff airshit, it's actually improved quality wise. If you want something that's not made in China the Slickster is solid option between $$$ and what you get.
This is the way. But I would skip the condor and go slickster for comfort.
If you can find it in stock....
The cheapest one I see on Amazon is called the Gfire and looks a lot like the old Condor. I'm sure it wouldn't hold up in the sandbox for 6 months, but has something like padded shoulders and should hold up fine for larping in the basement...or in case peaceful protests break out in your neighborhood for a couple nights.
But there's a reason why my slickster has Level III lightweight PE plates now instead of ceramics.
The last Condor plate carrier I saw actually had padded shoulders where the slickster doesn't. And that makes a difference with 16lbs of Ceramic Armor. There's a reason why I went with lightweight level III PE plates this time around.
Condor is what i have. Not too bad.
I don't think people around here are as elitist as the old place. The only problem I really have with Condor stuff is that their buckles are their weak point. Rest of the stuff, material/stitchig/etc., is pretty good these days.
Yeah, lead shot doesn't fuck up steel rifling but as far as i know it fucks your pattern up pretty good. Doughnut-ish is what i heard.
I'd just get a field barrel for shot. Unless it's Benelli where spare barrels cost wayyyy too much. And i love Benelli.
Need an 870 field barrel? Hmu.
Sure but my arms are super short. Mind uh.... sawing then down a bit for me?
If only i could friend. But sadly, the racist, homophobic and evil nstional firearms act of 1934 says that any shotgun barrel less than 18 inches is evil unless you pay some faggot $200.
I’m amazed the atf hasnt juat written in ‘and we get to finger your butthole too for reasons’ somewhere on it
And thus began Ruby Ridge 2
Have you ascertained what kind of choke your 18inch barrel is?
Most stock barrels are cylinder choke like that which means they will work fine for a defensive shotgun.
What you're gonna wanna do is pattern your gun. Take your defensive loads and shoot a large target at ranges from 5 yds to 20 or so. This gives you an idea of the spread you are working with. Modern ammo and guns are so good the pattern is usually .5 inch wide per yard of travel. This is a huge improvement over the 1 inch per yard of travel it was when i was a kid.
As to.barrels? I dunno man. In all my years i've never seen it quite like this. Local gun stores might have one. Also mossberg of all people makes a great 870 barrel. That is what is on mine.
Probably means it's cylinder bore, especially if it was an issued gun. But not all fixed bores are cylinder bore. Before changeable chokes became mainstream many guns had fixed chokes in full or improved for hunting and skeet/trap. Some side by sides and over unders even had one of each. The logic being the full choke was second for a follow up shot which would theoretically be longer distance.
I'd bet damn near anything. Improved cylinder if you're lucky. Either way you can run slugs and buck no problem and feel good about it. A good shotgun solves many problems.
If you want to shoot a round and then take it apart to put the new cartridge in the adapter i guess that could work. You will also be shooting a round out of a straight up.no contact barrel. It is the literal definition of a hot dog down a hallway.
Shotguns are great, get an AR lower or AR while you can as soon as you can, no joke. Shotguns occupy the ranged threat niche of a pistol in terms of where you use them. Inside 30 yds they are a decisive gat. Outside that slugs are required.
The AR makes you a threat at any range with capacity and quick reloading. Again, i love the shotgun, my sugar tits Benelli M4 is loaded in the corner. But the AR is the du jour for gun fighting for a reason.
Well Mossberg is still in business, Remington is not...
Being a hard core Benelli guy i always respected mossberg, then the dumpster defender happened and i loved them for it.
Ten foot spread at ten yards. No consistency either.
Who can talk me through cerakoting a pistol?
I like the "Cold War Gray" color I picked but I don't know how to do it and I'm worried it will be too dark
Are you setup to coat and bake? Or are you doing cold set like duracoat
I didn't know you could even do it without heat ...is that worth doing?
It works ... not as good as baked Cerakote but works. Duracoat is the most popular cold set. Cerakote makes a cold set too and it’s on par with Duracoat. I think the “C” series from Cerakote is the air-cure but you’ll need to check their site to make sure.
If you’re setup with blast media, spray and ovens, mix your color as directed by Cerakote and spray test materials and bake as directed. If you’re making a custom color, then mix up two or three different colors that look similar and test in the oven on scrap pieces.
Once you get your color right, sandblast your gun, degrease with acetone, then get to work. It’s pretty simple overall but like any process, it takes practice to be good.
Youtube Vids:
School of the American Rifle
Small Arms Solutions
Midway & Brownells for assembly guides
The only gun-specific tool that you absolutely need to have is an armorer's/castle-nut wrench.
Learning the entire cycle of operations, i.e. exactly how the gas system works in relation to the BCG, ect. will help you diagnose any specific issues and may guide your part choices.
The most important thing for accuracy is the barrel, but even cheap rack-grade stuff is serviceable if free-floated, about 2-3" moa from a $89 BCA is the worst I've seen from an AR. Unacceptable imo, but if its a red-dot close range gun? up to you.
I don't actually own an armorer's guide, but having one may be worthwhile if you want to learn quickly. AR's are basically legos, especially if you aren't doing a barrel/gas block install. The BA Hanson barrels are probably to easiest to build an upper with imo, since they come with a gas black pre-dimpled and pinned. If you're just assembling a lower, you just need to follow a video and it'll be hard to screw anything up beyond loosing springs and detents. Try assembling inside a clear freezer bag if you don't have spares!
Barrel: I'd go Nitrited>Chrome>Stainless until you get up to the $250 range, where I'd go for a chrome-lined Criterion.
Bolt Carrier Group: Most important part of the rifle. Nitrided is my favorite finish due to how easy it is to clean. My first rifle has a Toolcraft nitrided 9310 bolt in it, which I now avoid in favor of C158 bolts. Nitriding is surface hardening process, and 9310 is already challenging to temper correctly to avoid being too brittle. Nearly all failed AR bolts are nitrided 9310. Phosphate isn't much harder to clean, and may be all that is available right now anyway. One common source of malfunctions are bad extractor springs- replacing the springs/o-rings/inserts with a BCM/Springco/Colt kit is never a bad thing. Extractors are a wear item if you manage to shoot several thousand rounds.
Trigger: The best deal in triggers is the Larue MBT-2s. It's all I can justify beyond a decent mil-spec trigger. Giessle G2S is worse imo, and my SSA just 'feels' different and isn't better in any way.
Optics: I'm a big fan of rifle-length iron sights. If you're building a 16" mid-length I prefer a red dot or LPVO. Primary Arms is my preferred value LPVO/prism scopes, the Holosun's dot-in-circle are a bit sharper for my astigmatism. Aero Precision makes the lightest/cheapest mounts, but you really need an Arisaka-style scope leveler to install, since scopes tend to rotate in the rings as you tighten down.
Muzzle Device: I'd start with an A2. By far the best value, and a break isn't worth the blast/flash aside from competition.
BCA says 1 MOA out of anything over 18". I bought about a dozen barrels when they were on clearance for $35ea during the Golden Era. I was skeptical until I built a couple of gundeals bucket of parts guns on Poverty Pony Lowers & Uppers and BCA was right. Both guns shoot under 1 MOA with factory ammo.
I was going to use that gun in 2-Gun this year and see how well it held up through 13 matches...until "Rona basically cancelled the season.
The whole build was suspect- I wouldn't have been surprised if the upper was warped from being installed with a pipe wrench or if the crown got fucked up by a steel cleaning rod or the godawful muzzle brake that was installed. The group was with some sort of brass case, factory loaded. I wasn't about to ask for a turn behind the rifle, but I probably could have been able to shoot a bit better than the owner- he was just bitching loudly about his sub-par groups, lol.
The 6.5 grendel forum has had some sub-moa BCA barrels posted, but the overall reputation is meh from my research. Also, my only stainless barrels have been made by PSA. I think that the stainless isn't as reliable as chrome or nitiride shooting steel-case even when clean for me.
I second what this guy said. Guy who started SOTAR is where I learned most of how I maintain my ARs, or should I say lack of maintenance.
These folks will sell you the kit to DIY: https://www.goldplating.com/pages/guns
Some cerakote finishes are surprisingly shiny/metalic
What's everyone's favorite scope base for a Savage 110 (rounded receiver)? I think I'm going to need a rail and would prefer a 20MOA base.
I think a lot of the people here are too adhd for precision rifles.
I haven't dropped $ on a precision bolt gun yet and have no experience, but I would instinctively gravitate towards steel vs. aluminum. For mounts I like Larue alot. The rest of the forum is kinda elitist, but the Snipers Hide buy and sell has some crazy good deals on accessories/mounts like that.
It's a $500 rifle in .30-06 that will be wearing a $200 PA scope for now. Ended up getting an EGW aluminum base rail which is the brand that the tactical model comes with from the factory plus that's what I could find in the silver matte color in stock. They do make a version in Stainless steel that I'll keep an eye out for plus I have aluminum scope rings on hand in 30mm. They're Burris tactical rings...not the fanciest, but even if I do "long range" shooting competitions around here the farthest range is only 600 yards and its on steel IPSC targets.
Although $485 for the gun, $40 for the scope rail, $50 for the rings, $200 for the Scope and $105 for the Harris bipod I'm in for less than $900. Hope to have a rifle that I can finish in the top 1/3rd of the local "long range" competition with a set up that was under $1000. I know some of those guys have spent 10 - 15x that on their guns.
Biggest problem right now is ammo. Usually I like to bring 6 - 8 different brands/types and figure out what works best in that rifle. Nothing like showing up the local "pros" shooting something like Federal 180 grain soft point hunting rounds.
Cheapest red dot?
or
Cheapest MBUSSET?
where to buy. prices.
Cheapest Red Dot that's worth anything is the TRS-25 by Bushnell at less than $100 usually. It will work, hold zero, but won't win you any friends at the range.
For a few dollars more the SIG Romeo 5 has a much longer battery life and shake-a-wake tech on it.
I ran the TRS-25 on my Stag Model 3 for years until I realized that a red dot wasn't supposed to look like a bundle of grapes or have a comet's tail. I chocked it up to it being a cheap red dot until I was at a carbine course and discovered that no, that's due to the eyes having the 'tism.
good glasses. so important.
Sig Romeo5. I own two. One on my 10.5 AR and one on my Benelli M4. They fucking rule for the price point.
Loctite all the things and replace the mount with something good. Loctite all the things.
I'd go red-dot, then an MBUSSET. Holosun or Primary Arms should be under $150, I'd pick a color/reticle from the manufacturer's website, then search the product code on gun.deals
C_DOES on youtube does the best videos on views through an optic, which has helped me choose.
Anyone know a decent rail mounted flashlight for ~$50? Obviously I'm not expecting anything fancy, just best bang for the buck
My neighbor works for Energizer and he gave me one of their tactical flash lights. I put it on an offset mount I had and I ran it for a 2 gun season on an AR carbine. Held up okay and I think the light is $30ish. You can buy them at Home Depot, Target, etc.. Doesn't have a mount, but a regular 1" off set mount will work.
Spez: This is the light he gave me: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Energizer-TAC-R-700-Rechargeable-Flashlight-ENPMTRL8/306305732?NCNI-5
Spez II: You can get an offset Chineseum mount for $15 or less. Won't say it will hold up for sandbox duty, but for most HD situations it would probably be fine.