JoeTK37

Okay, pictures and a video uploading. It passes the selector test no problem. Running as shown in the video below, no issues at all. I ran dummies through it repeatedly trying to replicate the issue and narrow it down a bit. PSA complete upper, Full auto BCG, ATI poly Lower. As long as the bolt fully cycles; no short stroking the CH- loading is a non-issue. The trigger issue arises when the trigger is pulled and remains pulled as the action cycles the next round. In other words when the last round in a magazine is fired and the bolt locks back my finger comes off the trigger, I reload, release the bolt and that first pull of the trigger is heavy. What I figured out: Be it right or wrong, I guess my "technique" (follow-through?) is to depress the trigger to fire, and hold it back until the gun settles back down. Then I release the trigger almost as smoothly and slowly as I pulled it (I'm really into target shooting, slow paced, not a tactical pew pew). As I release it I can feel it reset quite quickly (Like my PPQ compared to a 22/45) the fwd travel continues just a tiny bit and its done. Whether I take my finger completely off the trigger at that point or keep it on there is no more forward movement, and the next pull is crisp, short and of nice weight. The video posted below shows the hammer reset and then move just a hair more. I highly recommend watching with sound as you can hear the reset and subsequent "click". First click is the reset, second is a little bit of fwd jump of the hammer, and finally squeezing the trigger to fire on my thumb. PS. Click the first picture to link to the video I can't figure out how to embed it And pics of the trigger group installed, best I can get

It's just the trigger pull. It fed and fired fine.

I've been using the bolt release most of the time. Occasionally the charging handle, when I use the CH I'm pulling it back all the way before letting go

PSA premium lower build kit. The basic single stage trigger. I've torn it down and it is assembled properly. I don't know if it's a binding with the hammer and bcg putting a strain on the trigger group or what. FWIW I love the pull on the second and subsequent rounds. It's great for long distance

Ok, got to the range this morning with my new, and first ever build. The trigger is a bit confusing. Running dummy rounds through, fed from the mag it feels decent, gritty but not that heavy. Live rounds are a different story. The first round chambered from a mag the trigger gets VERY heavy, at least twice as heavy as with the dummy rounds. Any round chambered from the mag after that is the exact opposite. The pull drops back down, the reset is short and the take up is almost non-existant. Grittiness is still there, but I can even see the machine marks on the contact surfaces, I can polish that out. But I have no idea why theres such a difference between the first round fed and all the others.

Thanks Tap. I'm impressed by the fit of the poly lower with the upper. No play, no rattles. I'm not going to be doing pull ups on my rifle, but for a somewhat light build that I wanted to keep cheap its perfect. And if it doesn't last who cares, I'll just pick up a "real" lower then. Might hit the shop this evening to grab a sling if anyone has any recommendations.

And its DONE!!!!!! ATI Poly Lower PSA Premium lower build kit PSA Premium 16" Upper 1/7" Carbine Length Midwest industries 12" SS Gen 2 Floating rail Magpul MBUS Vortex Sparc Magpul AFG2 BCM Gunfighter Mod 3 CH Levang Linear Comp(big props to OSA on the weld, can't even tell its been touched) Pretty bare bones and pretty cheap, but I'm really happy with the way it came out. Just have to add a sling at this point. The next one will kick it up a notch. Fully loaded weight comes in at 6.5lbs. Can't wait to get it to the range and see how it does.

UPDATE 10/3/13 The upper came this week, basic PSA upper, didn't get to take pictures yet, but I dropped it off at OSA to have the comp pinned and welded. In the meantime slowly picking up parts here and there for number 2:) The first build is budget, cheap lower, cheap upper, cheap optic, just for fun, the second will be a long range, more premium build. As of now I just have the stock and AFG for it, but the upper won't be too far behind. Going to have to pick up another lower soon. Number 2 will be FDE FDE Rifle will run on a mid length upper in the near future, not sure what to do with the Lower yet, but OSA had a bunch of different ones in stock tonight so I may grab one this weekend.

Nothing special but pictures make every thread better: Pre scope change and bipod, I guess I need to take some updated pics this weekend:)

The 20" I picked up has the grey synthetic stock, not sure if they still stock that model though, it had been exclusive to them. Joe

So the new upper(first one ever) is at the shop getting the Brake/Comp welded on. I've been reading a bit about optics mounting, along with BUIS. The free floating rail/handguard(MidWest Gen 2 SS) will deflect slightly when a lot of pressure is applied to it, and from those I've held and read up on that pretty much goes for all of them(rails/guards). So I'm curious about peoples thoughts on mounting back ups. Obviously you want the main optic on the upper itself, but in using back ups, if the front is mounted on the top rail, near or forward of the gas block and the rear on the upper, will the rail receive enough pressure to deflect and mess up zero or POI/POA if shooting off bags or utilizing a VFG/AFG? Seems like there is no other place to mount the front site, so I may be over thinking this too much. Joe

I too have the 20" model from DSG. I absolutely love it. My first long gun. I can sit at the range with it all day and punch paper. Its been 100% reliable through 1000rds ( regrettably I add that I have not cleaned it even once in those 1000rds). At 50yds with bulk ammo I get nickel size 5-shot groups, quarter size 50rd groups. Scoped it with an inexpensive Walmart Centerpoint 4-16. The scope is overkill for a .22 but I've enjoyed it immensely. The only thing I would change is to get the 16.5" model instead. Otherwise absolutely no regrets. I replaced the sear/hammer with the Volquartsen unit purely to lighten the pull a bit. Trigger was really pretty good out of the box. I picked up their edge extractor too, but haven't needed it to this point. When I do disassemble for cleaning I'll probably throw it on. Main reason I went 597 was that I DID NOT want a 10/11. I'm happy with my decision. Since then I've added a Marlin XT-22 bolt action, which is fun, but I still prefer the semi-auto 597. Joe

Is M855 .223 allowed on the range?

I went with a 597HB, mainly because I wanted something other than a 10/22. Over 1000 rounds and it's been flawless. Upgraded the scope and I get quarter size groups at 75yds. Maybe not impressive, but with my abilities I'll take it. I enjoyed it at the range so much I wanted a bolt .22. So I picked up a Marlin XT-22, basic model with iron sights. The only non-semi of anything I own, takes some getting used to, remembering to cycle the bolt. But it's fun. I don't think it's any more accurate than the 597, just something different. Only have two range trips on it so I'm still figuring it out.

I've seen it. And the reviews seem half decent. I'm a little concerned with a "dot" larger than 1moa though. Or is that silly for a gun I'd like to use from 200yds in? Usually 100 or less. Seems like it would be tough to hit a target precisely with a big ole 3 or 4 MOA dot

Starting to look at red dot optics, and despite the price I kinda like the Eotech's. Question is which height is better for the AR platform. The EXPS are raised 7mm(and have the QD mount), where as the XPS does not. I figure I'll run Magpul Mbus or Mbus Pro, but they'd be folded 99% of the time, in the event that they were needed flipped up, so I don't know if the 1/3 vs. center co-witness is a huge deal. Or is it? Which would you go with and why? Joe

I've read a bit on it here and across the web. Reviews seem mixed. But agree it focuses blast down range and not at the neighbors which is a plus.

I checked around locally and there was nothing in stock, long back orders. Unfortunately thats giving me time to reconsider a bunch of stuff which just gets more and more confusing. Scanning the marketplace and the online vendors as I try to figure out whats going to be best for me. And I keep thinking, maybe I really need to build TWO AR's: 1 CQB style, carbine length, M4 stock, 16" .223 and then swap it over to a 14.5" 300blk perhaps a red dot or 1-4x optic 1 Long Range, mid length, Magpul A2 stock, 16" or 18" .223 with a 3-9 or 4-12x scope, more of the bench gun(the new Midwest PX railed set ups look NICE!!!!!) Also, since I hate noise I was looking at the Levang Linear comp, anyone have any experience with it? I'd much rather deal with more recoil than the concussive blast it seems is so common from most of the popular comps.

Ok if ANYONE is intimidated by the prospect of building their own AR, or at least lower, get over it. It really is the most straight forward assembly I've seen. Tons of information here, YouTube and 500 billion other places on the web. I was expecting the springs to be easily confused, but given the way everything fits together thats a pretty tough feat. The complete lower took less than 1/2hr to assemble and that included digging through the tool box to find an allen wrench long enough for the grip screw and running to the grill to check on lunch(pics to follow): And the best part. Two of these cost more than my lower and they're worth every penny Still tracking down an upper that keeps me in my price range. Thats proving to be the tough part, I'm trying to avoid purchasing online if I don't have to.

Ok, as I've got my build going I'm starting to look for an upper. I'm not opposed to building it from scratch, but not entirely sure what parts list I would need, and can't seem to find any shop local to Bergen County that has everything in stock currently. Heres what I'm looking for: 16"+, its going to be a range gun. Its my first and purely a "toy". I'd love Sub-MOA but we'll get to that later. Capable at 200-300yds if I ever get to shoot at that distance. I'd like to find a local shop that has all the stuff, if you have recomendations let me know. CHEAP, looking to go $600 and under(which I realize may throw the Sub-MOA out the window, oh well). I did see this from PSA: http://palmettostatearmory.com/index.php/catalog/product/view/id/14416/s/ptac-16-m4-1-7-5-56-nato-yhm-rifle-length-diamond-upper-with-bcg-and-charging-handle/ Now I realize its not chrome lined and its 1/7 so it'll probably work better with the higher grain weights, but its sooo cheap and includes the BCG etc. So it leaves room for some good optics hhmmmmm. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Joe

After getting the "firearms" bug late last year, FID and permits coming through early this year, I've slowly built a collection of pistols and .22 rifles. I love building just about anything, so the prospect of building an AR was intriguing. I'm a paper puncher at the range and thats about it, at least for now. So I set out to build a basic and CHEAP first AR that I can play around with as I go. The plan is to pick up pieces every few weeks until I've got a complete rifle. Ideally I'd love a sub MOA range gun, but we'll see what happens. So far: ATI Stripped Poly Lower(say what you want, its cheap, and I'm actually surprised by the quality of the molding) PSA Premium Classic LPK Updates and pictures to follow as I go.

For those with 6-position M4's, what "setting" do you normally pin it at?

All I do is shoot paper at the range with my rimfire rifles and pistol. Always looking to shoot the tightest groups I'm capable of, so my question is pretty straight forward. What is your favorite, smallest grouping, target ammo? And heres the kicker, where do you find it these days? Thanks, Joe

I haven't been looking lately since I used my last permit in May. However, my first ever went to a first Gen PPQ 9mm which I absolutely love. In MY hands its much more comfortable than a Glock and has functioned 100% through nearly 1000 rounds. That said 9mm gets somewhat pricey after a bit(thankfully the price seems to be coming back down). I picked up an SR1911(was way too expensive a few months ago), and most recently a MKIII 22/45 Target with replaceable grips. I really enjoy it. A lot more reasonable to shoot price wise. I've had some problems with the mags feeding properly, but that seems to be pretty common and there are remedies. There are tons of aftermarket parts for all the Ruger .22's so you can keep it stock or pimp it out as your heart desires. And the thing is freaking accurate, with so little recoil it seems to be a great trainer for me(still a relative newb) because tendencies show up a lot more easily. But back to the original question, get the PPQ. Last I had seen at both RTSP and Ottomanelli's (Woodland Park) both had at least 1 in stock, but I don't remember what the calibers were. Joe

How is the "noise" compared to a .223?