Archive for the ‘Weapon Selection’ Category

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Setting Up My Carbine

Saturday, June 13th, 2009
My idea of a SHTF carbine

My idea of a practical carbine

This is a carbine that evolved over 4 years, from when I first started taking formalized firearms training until now.  I’m sure that it will continue to evolve as new products are introduced to the market and as my ongoing training may take me in different directions.

I wanted to explain the different features of this set up and why I chose them.  This is a weapon that would fit almost anyone’s definition of a “Frankengun”, it is made up of a variety of parts from multiple manufacturers and installed over a period of years but it works…

Starting from the muzzle:

A2 Flash Hider- I needed this gun to fit in a 36″ Contico gun case and found that anything longer than this wouldn’t fit.

A2 Front Sight Base- I wanted the durability of a pinned in gas block and the ruggedness of a fixed front sight.  I added a tritium front sight post in case my optic fails and I still have to be able to acquire a sight picture in low light.

Colt 1/9 twist barrel- This came as part of previous upper that had an A2 carry handle upper receiver, I had Steve at ADCO firearms turn the barrel down from the original HBAR profile to .750 under the free float tube.

JP/VTAC free float tube- After using other rail systems I found the only things I needed mounted to the tube were a light and a sling attachment.  For a carbine length rail system that works out to about 5 inches of rail being utilized out of 28 inches of rail available.  I chose the VTAC because the bolt on rails are modular allowing you to position them where you need them without having the cheese grater effect common to other rail systems.  It also saves you from having to buy rail covers for those rails that you are not using.

Because the JP tube is round and doesn’t have all those rails it makes it extremely comfortable to hold on to even without gloves.  The Front Sight Pocket extension was added because it allows me to reach further out on the weapon for greater control as well as to push the weapon mounted lights past the Front Sight Assembly.

The Surefire G2′s and VTAC light mounts-These were selected because it was the cheapest light mount combo that I could find and still trust for durability.  I have two on there because I have seen G2′s fail almost out of the box so an “extra” light on board the weapon adds only a little bit of weight but gives you a 100% redundant system.  The 2nd light also helps when transitioning from strong side to weak side, this allows my hand placement to mirror each other regardless of which side I’m shooting from.

M4 upper receiver- I chose to swap out the original A2 upper since the picatinny rail on the M4 upper would make it easier to mount optics.  I’ve since added a Badger Ordinance Gen I tactical latch for my charging handle, I first saw one when attending a carbine course at Gunsite years ago on an M4 from an SOTG Marine who recommended it.

Aimpoint M2- Battery life was the critical decider since I wanted a system that could be left on for years if necessary.  The 4 MOA dot is beneficial since I believe that almost any justifiable shooting case would be at close range and the bigger dot helps with that.  Aimpoint’s reputation for reliability and customer service is excellent and gives me confidence that this system will be viable for the forseeable future.  The mount is a Larue Tactical LT-150 which I like because it has a Quick Detach (QD) feature and return to zero capability.  Customer service from Larue Tactical is likewise excellent.

Larue Tactical LT-103 Back Up Iron Sight (BUIS)- A fixed rear sight saves me from having to manually flip it up as well as having simpler and more rugged construction.

Lower receiver- Built on a pre-ban Olympic Arms lower I added the ambi-safety so that I could mirror my firing grip when shooting from either side.  The Ergo Suregrip was chosen after I tried another student’s carbine while attending Paul Howe’s Advanced Hostage Rescue class and the Ergo grip fit me like a glove.

Redi-Mag- To have a spare magazine pre-loaded on board the weapon is a huge step forward in efficiency for speed reloads.  The Bolt Catch Extension (BCE) makes it easier to lock the bolt to the rear as well as sending the bolt carrier group forward.

Vltor Carbine Modstock- A collapsible stock makes it easier for transport as well as customizable for different shooters.  The Vltor also has battery compartments that can be attached to the stock and a Quick Detach socket for a sling.  The Vltor Modstock is comfortable to use and is small enough to fit in to my Contico tool box.

Viking Tactics 2 pt. Padded Sling- I’ve tried several different slings and this is the one that feels the most natural to me.  I recommend the padded over the non-padded since it is more comfortable, especially if slung for hours on end.

Sling is attached at rear of stock on firing side (outboard) rather than inside

Sling is attached at rear of stock on firing side (outboard) rather than inside

The sling is attached to the rear of Vltor stock on the firing side so that I don’t choke myself when transitioning from strong side to support side.  The front end is attached to the tube using a basic sling connection so that I didn’t have to add on an additional piece of rail plus another sling attachment.

This is a brief summary of why I chose this configuration, your configuration may change as you evolve.

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PWS Piston AR Conversion Review

Monday, June 8th, 2009
PWS Piston Rifle Close Up

PWS Conversion piston rifle close up

A few years ago when a few HK416 uppers were released to the general public there was a big surge of interest in gas piston AR’s and the perceived advantages over Direct Impingement (DI) guns.  There were few options available if you wanted a gas piston rifle or upper that would work with a standard AR lower.
I became more interested after taking a Larry Vickers class when he described the development history of the HK416 and his involvement with it.  He also had good things to say about the LWRC series of gas piston uppers and rifles.  Unfortunately, LWRC was still having quality control issues and HK416 uppers were running in the neighborhood of $5K so availability was limited.
I stumbled across the Primary Weapons System Gas Piston Conversion when I was shopping online for one of their DNTC compensators.  The big advantage of the PWS system to me was that they would install their piston kit on the customer’s existing upper.  Since I had a few components already laying around such as a Colt 1/9 heavy barrel, upper receiver and bolt carrier group this seemed like a logical choice to get in to piston AR’s.  I was also able to take advantage of their Military/Law Enforcement discount to reduce the cost further.
PWS Gas Block and Centurion Arms HK Front Sight

PWS Gas Block and Centurion Arms HK style Front Sight

I sent in my components after placing an order through the PWS site and received my upper back a few weeks later.  I had ordered the PWS FSC556 compensator along with a barrel threading service as well as the Daniel Defense 9.5 FSP Lite rail.  My initial trip to the range proved to be a disappointment with the upper short stroking every other round.  I tried several different brands of ammo which worked with my other AR.  Same results even after using different magazines as well as swapping lower receivers.  I contacted Todd at PWS and explained what happened, he seemed surprised as they do a test fire on each upper before it leaves using Wolf (normally underpowered) ammo.  I believed him since the shell deflector on the upper had some wear marks which weren’t there when I sent the parts in.  He asked that I send it back to PWS so they could investigate the cause of failure.

After I got it back from PWS I took it out to the range and fired about 200 rounds to zero and function test it since I had planned on taking it to a carbine instructor class with Bennie Cooley.  It worked well and my confidence was restored in the weapon.  PWS stated that they opened up the gas port slightly to fix it.

I took it to the Bennie Cooley carbine course in August 2008 and ran it for the first half of the day before I started having malfunctions again.  Same symptoms, it would fire one or two rounds before having a failure to extract.  I switched rifles so that I could complete the training day before attempting to troubleshoot it later that night.  The only thing that I could see was that it appeared that the gas block was slightly loose, enough that you could see a small bit of a gap between the block and the barrel.  I tried shooting it the next day with no improvement and sent it back to PWS after the course.

Surefire 6P with clickie tailcap and shock isolated bezel in a Larue LT606 offset mount

Surefire 6P with clickie tailcap and shock isolated bezel in a Larue LT606 offset mount

After speaking with several people at PWS I asked that they turn down the barrel from the HBAR profile to a mid-weight profile as the combined weight of the gas block, flashlight and barrel made it very muzzle heavy.  They charged me about $125 for that but later offered to have the gas piston assembly Ion-Bonded for me at no charge if I was willing to wait an extra few weeks.  I agreed since it seemed like a fair deal.  As far as the malfunctions I was experiencing, PWS explained that some of the factory barrels from Colt had an almost undetectable taper where the front sight base was mounted and that could cause gas leakage.

I took it out to the range again and fired another 200 rounds to confirm zero and experienced no malfunctions.  More recently I switched out the Aimpoint M2 with an Eotech 552 in a Larue mount and found that the HK style diopter sights sit too low with the Larue riser and I cannot align the iron sights through the Eotech window.  I still don’t have enough rounds through it to feel 100% confident but I have been very impressed with the professionalism and customer service from the PWS staff, they even sent me a free hat the last time I had the upper sent in.

A friend shooting the PWS AR with Eotech mounted

A friend shooting the PWS AR with Eotech mounted on Larue LT-110 riser

Since the whole premise of having a piston AR is increased reliability I see no advantage to my current PWS set up over my conventional DI carbines.  I like the DD 9.5 FSP rail as I’m able to get my support hand farther out on the gun but the PWS gas block vents in that area which makes it extremely hot.  I normally wear gloves but even then I can feel the rails getting hot.  Rail covers help and I’ve switched to Magpul XT panels since they seem to offer the best balance of texture and heat shielding compared to the ladder style rail covers included with the Daniel Defense rail.

The HK style sights have been disappointing, the front sight post is fixed and too wide to make any sort of precision shot even at 50 yards to zero.  The rear diopter is too small to effectively shoot in any form of low light, you will need a white light to backlight the front sight post in order to get a clear sight picture.

Having briefly experimented with running different collapsible stocks including the Magpul MOE and Vltor Modstock, I found that because of the increased weight toward the muzzle the only stock that can counter balance that is the LMT SOPMOD buttstock.  It is also the most comfortable (and expensive) of all the options.

I have been impressed with the PWS FSC556 compensator, coupled with the piston drive and increased muzzle weight there is almost no muzzle rise even when shooting rapid fire.

The VTAC padded sling is attached to the rail using a Midwest Industries QD socket on the left side of the rail closest to the upper receiver.  I find that location allows me to run my support hand out and activate the Surefire without interfering with the sling attachment.

The grip is an Ergo ambidextrous SureGrip which fits my hand perfectly but still allows me to activate the ambi-safety without shifting my firing grip.

I have a few carbine classes scheduled before the end of the year and plan on giving the system a more thorough evaluation.

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