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Post by as556 on Sept 13, 2014 18:29:23 GMT
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Post by dannusmaximus on Sept 13, 2014 20:28:50 GMT
I had a crappy Tier 7.4 Bushmaster carbine that was supposed to not be able to cycle a single round without a malfunction (didn't know that when I bought it, but afterwards I read so on the internetz...). A buddy who knows such things tinkered with it a bit, essentially doing all the things that Mr. Pannone said to do (upgrade the springs, put in the O-ring, heavier buffer, etc.). Cost me a six pack of decent beer - - he already had all the parts lying around. Long story short, I have beaten the shit out of that carbine, and it has performed without a single hiccup through 3 different multi-day carbine classes, new magazines and beater magazines, and thousands of rounds of whatever ammo I could find or afford. I fully agree with Mr. Pannone's assessment.
Now, I will be taking my new middy to the range in the next few weeks for a zero-ing session, and will need to fiddle around a bit with buffer weight, springs, ammo, etc. With this article in mind, I'll post my results.
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Sept 14, 2014 2:39:01 GMT
Yeah, there are some things that can easily take a low tier rifle to a fully functioning rifle. Nice thing about the AR-15 is that it's super easy to fix and parts are readily available.
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Post by as556 on Sept 15, 2014 17:26:55 GMT
Sometimes I hear good things about Bushy and others really bad. Same with DPMS. I haven't owned either, so I can't really say. I did notice M. Pannone used a DPMS barrel on one of his rifles in the article.
I definitely agree if you overhaul the internals of a lower end gun it will help a lot. I essentially did the things in the article before I read it without even intending to. All I knew was I was having failure to go into battery issues and logically that meant I had to figure out how to get the carrier to go into battery with more inertia. The BCM extractor spring I only got cuz it's so cheap. Voila, I now have an extremely reliable rifle.
I'm not currently using the O ring. I thought too much extractor tension could be as bad as too little. Should I use it? I had a stuck case with Hornady Steel Match 75gr BTHP using both the 5 coil extractor spring and O ring.
Also since we are talking about ARs, am I right in thinking that because my PSA runs Tula even with the XP buffer spring and H buffer that it's likely overgassed?
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Sept 15, 2014 18:28:08 GMT
Also since we are talking about ARs, am I right in thinking that because my PSA runs Tula even with the XP buffer spring and H buffer that it's likely overgassed? Probably. But that's not a good or a bad thing, it's just a thing. The AR-15 has two holes on the side of the bolt. Once the gun cycles and the gas starts to push the bolt carrier back and everything is in motion the holes allow the gas pressure to drop considerable. If you watch a slow mo of the bolt carrier you'll see gas coming out of these holes. Much ado about nothing. If it's running, it runs. Sleep well in this fact. |
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Post by as556 on Nov 5, 2014 3:11:26 GMT
Sold that upper. Going to build a new rifle off the lower. GBM, for a 14.5" will steel case be reliable with a mid length gas system provided an appropriate buffer is used? Or should I just get a carbine gas in that length? Will likely be a BCM upper.
Also, this gun may be pressed into use shootin' baddies. Since the muzzle device is going to be pinned would a comp be a bad idea? Is there a FH that works and is the same length as an A2? Any word on the BCM A2X? Thank you, good sir.
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Post by Gingerbread Man on Nov 5, 2014 14:00:01 GMT
Sold that upper. Going to build a new rifle off the lower. GBM, for a 14.5" will steel case be reliable with a mid length gas system provided an appropriate buffer is used? Or should I just get a carbine gas in that length? Will likely be a BCM upper. Also, this gun may be pressed into use shootin' baddies. Since the muzzle device is going to be pinned would a comp be a bad idea? Is there a FH that works and is the same length as an A2? Any word on the BCM A2X? Thank you, good sir. It should run steel (Wolf) just fine, my 14.5 inchers do with midlength. They won't run Tula but screw Tula. Carbine gas will always prove more reliability because it's over gassed. More gas, heavier buffer. I run an H3 in my 7.5" pistol gas system. I have a 18" carbine with a carbine system, it's very aggressive with slinging brass. The buffer is there to slow the carrier down, that's it's only function. The heavier buffers were originally made to control the cyclic rate of the full auto M4. The return action is solely handled by the spring. Nice thing is you can swap buffers REALLY easily. I'd say start with the H, then adjust if necessary. If it's not running steel, try a carbine buffer then switch back to the H or greater when runnning brass. Well, it really depends on the comp. Some are very flashy and some are not. Some flash hiders work very well as comp and still work as flashiders. I'm running a DD superior suppression hider on it works more like a comp than a hider. The FSC is awesome and is about as flashy as the A2, maybe a smidge more. I have a DD extended A2, it rocks and does damn well keeping the muzzle down as well as flash. I've never run a BCM A2X but BCM always makes good stuff. I saw a review of it on youtube and it did what it was supposed to do for way less than the FSC. Personally, I'd feel very comfortable installing the BCM on it. They're are other comps out there for less but if you're into BCM, you're not doing it wrong. |
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Post by dannusmaximus on Nov 6, 2014 1:50:17 GMT
Sold that upper. Going to build a new rifle off the lower. GBM, for a 14.5" will steel case be reliable with a mid length gas system provided an appropriate buffer is used? Or should I just get a carbine gas in that length? Will likely be a BCM upper. Also, this gun may be pressed into use shootin' baddies. Since the muzzle device is going to be pinned would a comp be a bad idea? Is there a FH that works and is the same length as an A2? Any word on the BCM A2X? Thank you, good sir. FWIW, I'm using an 'H' buffer (one heavier than the carbine buffer, I believe) on my new middy dissipator (carbine length barrel, middy gas system), and it cycled everything I fed it, including steel case Wolf, with no problems. I used the same buffer on my Bushmaster carbine, and it likewise cycled fine through several classes and many thousands of rounds of pretty much anything I could find to feed it with. I discuss some of the specifics of the test firing on page 3 of this thread: freedomandliberty.boards.net/thread/175/middy-optic-advice?page=3 |
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Post by as556 on Nov 7, 2014 5:26:31 GMT
Cool, thanks guys. Looks like the middy gas is more forgiving than I gave it credit for. Still deciding between the to systems. Kinda intrigued by the Dissy concept, might have to look into that more. Its basically got a low pro gas block under the handguards and a faux FSB permitting longer sight radius and a size up in handguard length?
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Post by Browning35 on Nov 7, 2014 13:14:14 GMT
I still need to get a couple springco springs, I have the other stuff.
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Post by as556 on Nov 7, 2014 16:08:18 GMT
Want to trade something for my spring? Its for a 16" with carbine gas, which I don't have anymore. Probably 2k rounds on it, but like I said its rated at 3/4 million. Anything you don't want thats worth around 10-15$? Ill cover the shipping on my item.
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Post by dannusmaximus on Nov 7, 2014 16:47:16 GMT
Cool, thanks guys. Looks like the middy gas is more forgiving than I gave it credit for. Still deciding between the to systems. Kinda intrigued by the Dissy concept, might have to look into that more. Its basically got a low pro gas block under the handguards and a faux FSB permitting longer sight radius and a size up in handguard length? Yep, that's pretty much it. My understanding is that you can also get carbine length gas systems with the rifle length handguards, but the consensus I found was that you might as well get the longer gas tube as well. Here is a link to the exact upper I ordered, pretty good view of the barrel and gas tube assembly with the handguards off: www.aimsurplus.com/product.aspx?item=XSTU5950MOE&name=Spikes%20Tactical%2016ETA: Avatar picture twins, for the win!!  |
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Post by Browning35 on Nov 7, 2014 17:12:31 GMT
Want to trade something for my spring? Its for a 16" with carbine gas, which I don't have anymore. Probably 2k rounds on it, but like I said its rated at 3/4 million. Anything you don't want thats worth around 10-15$? Ill cover the shipping on my item. Yeah, I'll take it. I'll PM you |
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Post by as556 on Nov 7, 2014 17:28:37 GMT
Sounds good Browning. Dannus, didn't even realize that lol. Ill take 3 o clock, you cover 9?  |
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