DTtuner

Oh man, that's beautiful. Great job on the rifle! Any chance you know how much it weighs? .

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Thank you. I've been researching and looking for several months. The Upper, my first purchase on this project, was made 2 weeks ago. Every part on this rifle (Upper, BCG, Lower, Accessories, etc.) was individually looked into for at least a week or two. Sure the one "weak point" on this build MAY be the BCG. I'll shoot the crap out of this rifle and see how the BCG holds-up. Either way, it's easily replaced. For the money, I'm not sure I can find better components... unless someone makes a constructive suggestion otherwise.

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Good advise. I'm building a tool. How effective one can be with that tool depends on the individual shooter + training.

There are a few ranges within reasonable driving distance.

You guys are really getting hung-up on the 500 yard thing huh? I provided a functional RANGE. An AR platform is IDEAL for 50-300 yard engagements. It will hit stuff at 5 yards, and 500 yards. BUT not ideal in either scenario. I didn't say "Tack driver at 500 yard targets all day." Moving on...

I keep hoping to see a DSA SA58TAC... one can dream.

I abolutely agree with you. But that won't happen until Trijicon ACOG optics fall below $200. There's hope.. how much did it cost to purchase an M4 when they first came onto the market?

You know, I really haven't done enough research on the M855 round. In all honesty, I purchased M855 in bulk as my "break-in" and plinking round. Once I break the rifle in and feel more comfortable, I'll have to review different ammo types for defense. LOL! You got me there. Maybe a grizzly bear? What I was trying to say is that 5.56 w/16" barrel is "good enough" for those distances. Absolutely, 5.56 does not excel at the extremes of either CQB, or 500 yards. But it fills the gap for the purpose. I would be able to hunt and provide sustenance for myself and others, as well as defend myself in an urban setting. ...maybe I should have said "CQB to 400 yards," to keep the debate simple. CQB - give me a SBR 12 gauge shotty, or a pistol+blade. 500 yards+ - .308 squad support rifle. Ideally, I would LOVE to have a large stockpile of 77gr. rounds. But given the excessive cost, I must succomb to the reality that Zombie outbreaks and US government coup's only happen in the movies.

Sweet

What is the length of the ACE Entry stock? What's the LOP?

Lightweight is nice when you're humping 20 miles, with a rifle and an 80 lb. pack. Been there, done that. That said, my goal isn't absolute minimum lightweight. I'm going for more of a "lightest weight possible, within reason." The really, really lightweight stuff costs dollars. Or is impossible to find (C-15 lower).

Really? I'm surprised you say I'm over building. Is it the optic/magnifier? In truth, the optic is so I can get my fiance to come shooting with me. We've shot (rented) several different rifles together. The one she enjoyed the most was an AR-15 with a red-dot site. Also in truth, I enjoyed it too. The rifle will have iron sites. The optic is just "extra." As far as the rest of the rifle goes, I'm focusing on either budget, or weight. Sure the 1:7 twist, chrome lined barrel could be considered unecessary. What I like about the 1:7 twist barrel is that with proper ammunition ($$$) I can eliminate/reduce the claimed "weakness" of the 5.56 rifle: Power, Range, Penetration. Plus, No fancy bolt carrier group No fancy gas piston

If I go with the Entry stock, and it ends-up being SLIGHTLY too short, will a butt-pad be enough to cure my issue?

Ah, yes. That was an extreme idea anyway. Aimpoint T1 Micro Red dot is 3.7 oz with mount! Nice. But way too expensive for this project.

Thanks alowerlevel. That calculator gave me 7.05 lbs. Magazine included. No ammo, No Optic. With ammo and Micro optic = 8.26 lbs. So i believe i will just about meet my weight goal, minus optic and ammo.

Areas where I can reduce weight: BUIS - Magpul BUIS - 1.3 oz Optic - Vortex SPARC - 5.2 oz Optic - Bushnell Trophy TRS-25 - 3.7 oz Can front sight post be replaced with Gas block + magpul sight?

What will it be, eventually?

Probably right. It was a goal i may not meet. Let's see... Del-ton tells me the Upper is 4.5 lbs. Lower + Internals w/o Pistol grip or Stock = 13.5 oz. Pistol Grip = 3 oz Ace skeleton Entry stock = 13 oz BUIS = 2.2 oz Quad rail forend = 8.6 oz So far that's 7.15 lbs., or 112.6 oz. But, with a 7.5 oz Strikeforce, or Aimpoint CompM3/M4.. I'll be at ~ 7.6 lbs. Of course... not including Magazine, Magnifier, ammo, etc. Do these weights look right? EDIT: +3oz for CAR buffer tube/spring/buffer

I appreciate the detailed information, and I have noticed that you are very helpful and forthcoming on these forums. So, I don't mean to sound like a dick... But to be honest, there's a lot of "ballistic engineers" on the internet that claim you need this or that to be effective at certain distances. Tell you what. Go get shot at from 500 yards away by a 16" 5.56 rifle, and let me know how it feels. Calculate all you want, it will be plenty effective. Ideal? maybe not. Hit a Dime? probably not. Maximum Penetration/Power? Definitely not. 40"x 20" - What do ya' know... that's ROUGHLY center mass on a man-sized target, or a neck shot on a mid-size animal. Sure this is my first AR build, but my time spent in the military, combined with my expert marksman medal obtained year after year shooting a M16 5.56 with iron sights at 100, 300, and 500 yards goes against all the uber-ballistics you can find. This isn't a Super Sniper build. It's a shtf, hunt for sustenance, hump for days through the brush, do-it-all, go-to rifle build. If you take a look at the "Yet to decide" section of my rant, you'll see I plan to get an optic, plus magnifier. Oh, and my long-range sniper build will be a .308, eventually. EDIT: My current ammo is 62gr. M855. Which will perform well out of a 16" 1:7 barrel. True, 77gr. is better for long range, and increased penetration. But it's just not worth the cost.

PizzaBob, do you know the weight of this rifle?

Ah yes, forgot to mention Saiga .308. How far of a target have you shot with it?

I remember that noise from rifle training at boot. Very annoying. Made my M16A2 sound like a Red Ryder BB gun.