twong11219

Only feed my baby brass. Most say steel is just dirty stuff. Heard it tends to gunk up the chamber too, so I pass on them. Read a good review a while back comparing various brands of steel cased ammo. The test entailed shooting one rifle to each brand, all rifles spec'ed the same, then collecting data on accuracy, FTFs, amount of fouling, and barrel wear. Don't remember the exact details but only one brand stood out from the rest with the least FTFs. All brands had pretty extensive barrel wear. For some, the chrome lining and rifling were practically gone. Poly was in the middle of the bunch with some FTFs. I wish the test included a brass round for comparison. So based on the data from that test, it doesn't mean you won't be able to send thousands down range, but the life expectancy of your barrel will be affected.

I use J-B non-embedding bore paste on all my virgin or super dirty barrels. It does wonders. One little bottle goes a LONG way because you use it sparingly. I'm still trying to finish off my first bottle which is 13+ yrs old. You feel the difference when you run a cleaning patch in the bore before and after JB'ing it. The patch just glides in the barrel. You should also notice your groupings tightening up. I don't use it every time I'm cleaning. Just once in a while when I start seeing my groupings widening up. Maybe 1-2 a year depending how often I go shooting.

Well done. Very clean and professional looking. I like how you kept the lines and curves well defined.

I heard a rumor that Magpul was considering moving to PA. Who's up for factory tours? LOL! Can Hershey's make PMAG shaped chocolate bars? Don't skimp out on the 20rd bar. I want the full 30.

I thought it was me as the CCIs do feel lighter. I ran a 18.5lb spring on my 1911 and my casing were just lobbing to the side. I've sinced dropped back down to my 16lb'er. Didn't know Herters made aluminum too. Every time I see Herter, I think of steel and just pass on them. Only time I've messed with that brand was with steel 7.62s. Got the occasional slow burns.

I run aluminum 45s in my 1911 for competition. No problems with whatsoever. Ran aluminum 9s in my 92. Again, no problems. Only comment is feeding is a little harder as the aluminum casings are not a slick as brass. They drag against each other and the magazine feed lips more. Haven't had a FTF as I use standard weight recoil springs so not a problem for me.

As others have responded, the budget's tight for a complete aluminum lower let alone trying to build off a stripped aluminum lower. Your closest budget option is a complete poly lower not including NICS. At pre-Sandy times, you can get close to $200 but will still likely go over depending what type of furniture and parts you want to slap on. If you increase your budget a little, you'll have more flexibility and be able to open up to more options, ie. stocks, grip and triggers. You can opt for plain jane parts but may eventually change things up later on. Buy once, cry once instead of having a box of parts later on. Complete lowers, even if you can find one, will be pricey in current times. My recommendation is to get a lower and slowly begin collecting your parts for the build. On another note, can anyone provide info on what lower NOT to get? I've seen and played through quite a bit of lowers. I really can't see any lower being bad. Some more costly ones have additional bells and whistle like magwell, ambi mag/bolt release, frame tighteners, billet machining, etc. With that factor removed from the equation, only real differences I see are quality of the finish and the quality of machining for upper to lower fit.

Oh, come on. Quit bashing the scope. That this is MASSIVELY wicked. Based on his current configuration with the A2 FS, I was amazed he was able to fit that on. Ray: Won't that look cool perched on my 590? LOL!

I've used all 3 options. 1pc, 2pc and GI plug style. GI plug is definitely the easiest when it comes to field stripping. Overall, I prefer guide rods. The spring compresses and decompresses in a linear path. When using a GI plug, the spring will bow in the path of least resistance before it compresses, either towards the barrel or dust cover. When you cycle the slide slowly on the GI plug, you can hear the spring bow and the coils dragging their way into the plug. For my HD 1911, I use the 1pc. That way you never have to worry about part failure. Of the 3, using a 1pc is the most annoying to field strip. Gotta pull the spring off before you can slide out the rod to take out the barrel. Not the end of the world, but an additional step. For my single-stack match 1911, I run a 2pc just for ease of disassembly. I use a quality allen key and crank down pretty hard on the rod. Have not had one instance where it started loosening up. As you are already aware, need a tool to disassemble. Not a big deal IMO. I tend to field strip and wipe off all the carbon build-up at home after a match anyway.

That's what the sales guy told me. Just checked the specs on the website. Guess he was wrong. I was a novice at the time, not to say I'm a pro now, but when I was shopping, 1:7 seemed to be the twists to get. All the higher tier brands had that twist rate. I wanted the gov't profile as I didn't mind some additional weight in the front to counter muzzle lift and have a more stable barrel. My plan was to use it for 3G'ing. Another turn off was I wanted a free-floating barrel. The Model 2 wasn't. So, being picky from day 1 on my first AR, I ultimately landed on a SR15 Mod1. The other brands I was looking at during that time was Daniel D, Noveske and LMT. It was a buy once, cry once decision. Going by internet popularity and reviews was my only information when shopping. At the time, never even shot one before. After becoming more informed on AR platforms and having shot various brands, my mindset has changed. ARs are in essence Honda Civics. Leave em stock, and they'll run fine. Tinker, tweak, or modify them to your heart's desire. I'm actually working on my first build now. The upper is going to be a WOA 26" match w/ 1:8 twist. This build's going to be strictly for bench and target competition.

Fingerprinting's at the discretion of the PD of your town. Some do, some don't. You can question it, but if they say you gotta do it, just gotta roll over and yield to their processes. Is it necessary since you've already gone through the fingerprinting to get your FID in the first place, no. You can always dispute it and see where you get. Maybe speak to a higher up. It'll always lead back to NJ laws being so vague that it's left to their interpretation of it. Sucks, but that's the way it goes. I'm hoping I don't need to get fingerprinted again.

Fingerprinting is at the discretion of your town. I think most do not. Just pay the $18 for background check on top of the $2/P2P. Don't quote me on this, but I think fingerprinting is valid for 6 months also.

My only turn-off of not picking up the Stag when I was playing with it in my hands was that it had a carbine length DI and a 1:12 twist M4 barrel. I was looking for a mid-length DI 1:7 twist gov't profile barrel. If the setup met that criteria, I probably wouldn't have hesitated picking it up.

LOL! Slap on some offset mounts, and I think you can squeeze a little more on. Honestly, where's the bottle opener?

Can't comment on the Stag as I don't own one. I did look at a Model 2 in a shop that was pretty basic. Build and finish seemed so so. Was really looking for a Model 3G which I was never able to find. I just have to ask. What scope is that? It's massive!

Hamburg sells to NJ folks?

Have you tried letting someone else shoot it to see if the same thing happens? Maybe try different mags. Also, I'd send a box of the same ammo that's been giving you issues to Sig for testing.

Hey, just trying to be courteous. Some ppl are sensitive about these things. LOL!

Hahahaha! Thanks for the amazing write-up Jon. That's the perfect food for the analytical brain of mine. There's a lot to consider. At the moment, I'm limited to 100yds. I hope to find a home one day that will allow me to stretch my legs. I'm kind of working in reverse at the moment. I've been scope shopping and have been trying to trim down to a certain list of specifications. The scope would need to have very fine cross hairs with mil-dots, 30mm tube, =<50mm objective lense, no illumination. Still contemplating between fixed or zoom. Can't dish out over 1g for a scope so here's my list of possible candidates. Steiner 5003 Predator Xtreme 4-16x50mm Leupold 67405 Mark AR 6-18x40 Mil-Dot Reticle Bushnell ET4305 Elite Tactical 4.5-30x50 Burris XTR 3X-12X-50mm Trijicon AccuPoint TR23-2G Kind of building the rifle around the scope. LOL! klownpuncher: That's some grouping you got there. What's the bullet drop with such a shorty when you start putting that paper farther away? What glass you running?

Sorry, no sites I can recommend. I take it back on the 11.5" approach. Found other 5.5" XM177 style brakes, and they call them flash hiders. Could be misinformation on how they other place listed it. Since they aren't the mfg, I wouldn't trust it. If you're gonna roll with a 14.5", you may be better off with a battle-comp or dynacomp to give that XM177 moderator style, but far from it. Function over form now. Here's the 16" option made by DPMS. It's going to use the 16" barrel thread and serves no compensating purpose other than add a little weight in the front, maybe. It's all looks mostly. http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts/barrel-parts/flash-hiders/ar-15-m16-xm177-flash-suppressor-prod45252.aspx Look at the slipover version.

Can't confirm if this is NJ legal as it says it's a muzzle brake. The length is long enough to slap on a 11.5" barrel to get you to your 16" legal length. The brake is 5.5" long. http://blackthorneproducts.com/cart/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=191 You're gonna have a tough time getting close to the 607 model's length. Original lengths are 10" barrel and 3.5" flash hider. I'm thinking you can go with a 16" barrel and get a faux can or XM177 style faux brake which threads in the front to give you the look. Again, NJ may treat it as a barrel shroud which again may be a no no.

Those FNs are nice. Personally, I don't really care for the 20" barrel. Was looking at the 700Ps too. Again, nice configuration. Cosmetically, my goal is to build an M24 w/o the M24 sticker price. Still learning the world of bolt actions. I see a slight difference in twist between the M24 and other 700s. 1:11.5 vs. 1:12. Also, it's a stainless barrel vs a carbon steel barrel. Not sure if the rifle grooves are the same or not. Just going from what I remembered seeing off the top of my head. Don't quote me on these. 1. Can you tell me what's the difference between a short action and long action? Is it something to do with case length? I assume 223 will be short action and 308 long. 2. The M24 uses an H-S Precision stock w/ adjustable LOP. For the guys/gals with adjustable LOP, how often do you actually use that feature? 3. Based on the type of scope you have and that everyone's got a 1000+ yd range in their backyard, is a 20MOA scope base a standard compensation for 1000yd engagement w/o overworking the scope turrets? 4.Do any of you use cheek pads? 5. What does it take to modify a 308 for another smaller caliber other than changing the barrel and bolt? Sorry for all the questions. Since everyone's been leaning on 700 as the good starter for precision rifles, this would be the ideal post for questioning. matyb123, hope you don't mind me asking on your post.

Like everyone said, source the frame and you're good to go on your project. Not sure what you plan on building, but it may be trickier than it seems. Definitely a learning experience. Some tools you can improvise with in assembly, others you just have to dish out the dough for the tool. 1911s are very simple builds, and if you get quality parts, everything should come together fairly smoothly. There will be some tweaking and tuning involved. As for surplus builds, this is what one guy did in building his surplus 1911. Not worth buying a kit -frame in my opinion. http://how-i-did-it.org/1911-project/index.html

I've been considering other calibers as well. 260 or 284. They seem to have good ballistics and have a more flat line trajectory than the 308. I think those 2 calibers are popular in F Class competitions. My only concern is I haven't stepped in the realm of reloading yet so I'll need to deal with more common calibers such as the 308. I've been wanting an M1A as well so consolidating calibers is a plus. At the moment, I'm trying to build a WOA Match AR with a 26" stainless barrel. This will fill the niche out to 600yds. The 700 will supplement the remaining distance I want to achieve.

Not trying to jack this post, but thanks for the info Shane45.