blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

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plant.one
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blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by plant.one »

i've been trying to give my LR308 a facelift for some time now. its been MONTHS putting everything together. Murphy has been ALL over this build. Damn you murphy :lol:

so fast forward to today..... (as can only happen in a good story, in reality it seemed like eternity!) 8)


Aero precision FINALLY got some uppers shipping to my LGS to pair up with the UTG handguard i purchased. they only shipped fully stripped ones instead of the pre-assembled with the dust cover and forward assist, but it takes a standard ar-15 forward assist so yippie. Stuff that bad mammer jammer in there and let me out the front door! 8)

got home later tonight for assembly, went to test fit the upper/lower togther and the rear takedown pin would not go into place. at all. *much swearing ensues*

the rear takedown pin hole was just a bit out of alignment, with the bottom not lining up with the holes in the receiver. I was able to feel the lip from inside of the upper with a screwdriver blade. Grab the trusty "all tips dremel" box, find a cylinder stone just a little smaller than the takedown pin hole, and went to work on the upper - very gently..... finally got the pin to slide home. i maybe removed a couple thousandths. Buffed it smooth with some 400 grit wet paper setup on a butterfly. usually i would have gone back and tried to get one that fit my lower sans modification, but i'm tired of waiting ... these damn forged gen1 dpms pattern 308 uppers have been on backorder for a couple months now!

the good news is with the custom fit there is absolutely 0% wiggle between my upper and lower! this is probably the tightest upper/lower fit of all my ar family. call me a happy camper.

8) 8) 8)

here's the finished product, ready for the range tomorrow!


Image




i put my carbine upper back togther as well, will figure out what kind of optics that wants down the road. hopefully my accuracy load for the 20" mega will be happy enough in the 16" barrel as i'd love to be able to load a single charge for both *fingers crossed* time will tell on that and its probably the lowest on my priority scale right now :)

Upper components as follows

Aero Precision DMPS "high" pattern upper
20" MEGA 416SS barrel finished w/ black Nitride, 1:10 (standard ar-15 rifle length gas system) w/ DPMS pattern barrel extension
DPMS BCG (from my other factory carbine upper - bolt passes headspace checks with gauges to the mega barrel)
UTG Super Slim 308 handguard (MTU020SSB)
Red Barn Armory adjustable gas block
4.5-14x40 VXIII

just a a2 birdcage right now on the front, it'll allow me to at least load test the barrel and then down the road i can figure out whats going on the front proper. Probably gonna end up with a 308STD when they come to market, time will tell :)

a BIG thanks to Mike & Doug over at Oakland Tactical in helping me track down the proper upper to match the handguard i had & going above and beyond to put the upper in my hands tonight so that i didnt have to cancel the range day tomorrow after UPS botched the delivery that was supposed to be in yesterday!
Last edited by plant.one on Sat Aug 01, 2015 4:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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L1A1Rocker
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by L1A1Rocker »

Looks beautiful!!!
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danner
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by danner »

Lookin' good!
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BadKarmaZeroSix
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by BadKarmaZeroSix »

Dammit, plant...stop giving me more itches to scratch...
Out of all of my 308s, i don't have a single semi-auto, and for awhile i have toyed with the LR308 idea, and the looks of that build mite push me over the edge...very nice, brother...
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gds
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by gds »

plant, that looks awesome man
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smustian
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by smustian »

Looks really nice. Especially for someone from Michigan. I guess even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then. :mrgreen:
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by FOB »

Drool. An AR-10 variant is on my short list, which is getting pretty long now.

Nice rifle.
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plant.one
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by plant.one »

smustian wrote:Looks really nice. Especially for someone from Michigan. I guess even a blind squirrel can find a nut every now and then. :mrgreen:

you had to go and jinx me :evil: :evil:

have some issues to sort out. First two rounds into the chamber (magtech CBC ball ammo) stuck cases in the chamber and riped the case rim right off. had to bang them out with a rod. figured ok maybe bad batch. primers were cratered.

switched to XM80C lake city ball, 2nd round blew a hole in the primer. both primers cratered., but less than the CBC ball. ok eff that.

tried hornady match 168 amax, was actually able to fire these with only some primer distress showing. still mildly cratered, but corners of the primers were still round. gun zeroed in just a few shots, or within an inch right of the bullseye anyway. close enough to ladder test.

figured i'd try a low charge varget/168amax load to see if that was any better. needed two hits from the firing pin to go off. o.0 thats probably trigger related, but i'm not sure. i put it back in the case, i gotta do some more homework and figure out what the hell is going on before i actually shoot my ladder. i may go back and re-witness the go/no go gauge for this barrel and my bolt. i had seen it beforehand, but the barrel was out of my sight for days afterward. starting to wonder if it got switched on me or something. rounds did chamber easily (i could lightly push the bolt closed myself with a round so it seems about right but im gonna OCD it now.

i did have the gas block wide open, figured i'd shoot the gun and dial the gas system in later once i had a pet load. cant imagine running wide open was my problem. this is a rifle length gas system.



on a happy note - the beowulf rounds i loaded up with the 300 FTX ran like greased lightening in my friends upper. 1926 FPS at a full grain below max and 6.8 SD and no signs of pressure. 6 shot group with irons casually shot off the bench yielded a 1.5" ragged hole at 30-35 yds. My buddy was blown away when he saw what my reloads looked like compared to what his nugget of a friend did with those rounds i pulled all down. now that i have a load to work with next trip will be to re-zero it for 100 yds. just an exercise in elevation at this point for the most part.


i'll post a buncha pics of the brass and such tomorrow from the 308 and the beowulf "groups". long day and i just got home a half hour ago so i'm whipped.

kind of a bummer of a day, but not all bad.
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r.tenorio671
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by r.tenorio671 »

....it must be a common disease among us, to keep building, LOL.

....doing a .308 myself and just waiting for my headspace gauges & reaction bar to arrive so I can complete assembly. In the meantime I'll post the observations I made during my mock-up to ensure fitment was good to go and post the pertinent pictures as well in a follow-on post.
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r.tenorio671
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Re: blackout's big brother - heavy metal complete - finally!

Post by r.tenorio671 »

Ok, as promised, here are the notes I posted 2 days ago in one of my local forums. I ordered the stripped receivers, LPK, buffer kit and BCG from Aero to ensure 100% compatibility based on various forum reports of issues using other brand components. I did forget to order the charging handle so I went ahead and took a chance with the new Griffin Armament "SN-ACH" as I use their muzzle devices and have been extremely satisfied with them. Happy to say the GA SN-ACH is a 100% fitment match. I have an affinity for SLR handguards and I am happy to report the SLR SOLO Lite in "DPMS HIGH" is another 100% fitment match as is the DPMS/SR25 barrel nut. Barrel is a Ballistic Advantage 16" Hanson Premium SS and the M4 cuts in barrel extension are perfect match to the receiver cuts. I purposely bought everything "stripped" so that I can satisfy my passion for building from scratch as well to determine what components/areas present issues/concerns. Here goes (it's long.... :mrgreen: and the image size MAY be large, won't know until it actually posts.. :shock: ) :

***************************************
...some info & tips for anyone planning a .308 build around the Aero Precision M5 series receiver's. Keep in mind that there is not an industry "standard" yet for .308 AR's...
UPPER:
- Is DPMS "HIGH" pattern, any handguard used must be "HIGH" pattern
- Uses DPMS/SR25 thread pattern for barrel nut
- Uses standard AR15.M16/M4 forward assist (FA)
- Recommend to use Aero's BCG's or Ballistic Advantage's BCG's. Not all "DPMS" pattern BCG's work due to lack of "standardized" dimensions for .308 AR's. Aero states only their BCG will function properly with the forward assist button.
-Must use .308 specific ejection port cover, recommend using Aero's
-Must use .308 charging handle.
-Barrel must be DPMS/SR25 pattern, the AR10 pattern has different barrel extension.
- Uses standard AR15/M16/M4 gas tubes for gas inpingement systems.
U-NOTE-1: Aero barrels are made by partner company, Ballistic Advantage, BA has more options/lengths and lower prices.
U-NOTE-2: Aero and BA BCG's are the same, just different logo, BA usually has lower prices.
U-NOTE-3: Recommend purchasing the "assembled" upper, it costs less than a stripped upper and the individual FA and Ejection Port assemblies required to complete
LOWER:
- ANY standard AR15/M16/M4 lower parts kit will work, EXCEPT the takedown pins. Recommend getting the Aero takedown pins, other "DPMS" pattern pins may be too short and won't protrude out far enough (see picture of Aero pins)
- ANY AR15/M16/M4 trigger system will work. I personally have tested the Geissele G2S, ALG-ACT and standard MILSPEC trigger systems, all function check 100%.
- ANY AR15/M16/M4 safety will work, I have personally tested standard MILSPEC and CMMG Ambidextrous safeties, all function check 100%.
- Aero uses standard M4 MILSPEC carbine buffer tube(7-1/2" long) , end plate and castle nut with a .308 Carbine buffer and .308 spring. Recommend using their carbine buffer kit to ensure 100% compatibility. Not all "DPMS" pattern or .308 carbine buffers and springs work due to lack of industry "standardization" for .308 AR's. The greatest danger is "over travel" of the BCG and the shoulder area near the rear of the gas key and firing pin retainer pin, slamming into the receiver ring where buffer tube screws into. Besides damaging the threads, over time it could cause the receiver ring to crack and/or separate.
- Use of the Aero .308 Carbine buffer kit allows use of any M4 collapsible stock, stock will close completely with no "gap".
- Uses any AR15/M16/M4 mag release.
- Detent spring for front takedown pin will require trimming to allow detent pin to insert completely so takedown pin can be inserted. Spring must be trimmed enough so it is below the surface of the hole it sits in (see pictures).
- Rear takedown pin detent and spring inserts from underside where grip installs, not the rear under end plate. Hole is threaded for set screw.
L-NOTE-1: The Aero M5 .308 lower parts kit is just a standard AR15/M16/M4 LPK that has had 556 bolt catch and takedown pins removed and replaced with the Aero M5 takedown pins and .308 bolt catch. Roll pins for the bolt catch and FA are included but won't be used, the M5 uses threaded screws for those and they are already installed in both the stripped and assembled receivers.
L-NOTE-2: The AR15/M15/M4 mag release button won't be threaded on as deep as when used in M4, but it is not a concern as 50% or more of the buttons threads are engaged.
********************************************************************************************

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