The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Building America's Rifle => Topic started by: Big Frank on April 24, 2024, 09:55:00 PM
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I got tired of waiting for the Samson quick flip stock to get here, and put the DFA MCS right-side folder on. The trigger pull will be 14" when I get that stock on the rifle, or a little red hair less. ;) The left-side folder folds parallel to the bore, but the right-side drops down below the ejection port. Dunkirk Tactical is one place that sells Laser Engraved Ejection Port Covers like mine, but that's not where I got it. I think mine was from Bastion Arms but they don't sell ejection port covers anymore. Still to be installed on both lowers are the SI Enhanced Bolt Catches. And on 2 of the bolts, but not this one, Tubb Precision 80% extra power CS AR-15 Extractor/Ejector Spring sets. That should be a piece of cake with the Windham Weaponry AR-15 Bolt Vise I have. I think it's a SINCLAIR INTERNATIONAL with WW's name on it. Plus I think I need a new bolt cam pin on one of my ARs, and need to check some other parts for wear. I need to order a takedown pin detent spring for this one. Apparently I used red Loctite on the buffer tube because I thought I would never take it off. When the castle nut started turning, so did the buffer tube. I never took a carbine buffer tube off before and wasn't paying attention to the end plate which rotated all the way and hit the spring right in the middle. I didn't realize it was hanging out or I would have snatched it out of there. I cut the spring in half to save the parts that weren't mangled, cut the head off a 3/4" wire nail and sharpened it, and used it to pin the spring together. The spring is shorted but I don't think the nail allows it to compress much and it worked out great. While I'm waiting to get a new spring or 2, I think I'll paint the threaded end of the buffer tube. It was a little buggered up and I had to chase the threads by screwing the castle nut on and off. I'm throwing away the old castle nut. I put a new one on but haven't staked it yet.
When I measured the parts to estimate the overall length of the assembled rifle, I didn't include the length of the end cap/buffer guide assembly. It looks like it would have been a tiny hair UNDER 26" if the cap didn't stick out. Whew! It's hard to hold the tape measure and camera and get a good look, but it's about 26 5/16" long. Not too bad for a rifle isn't an SBR and can be fired in this configuration. I've seen videos of guys shooting the DFA side folder on full-auto and they worked great, so I'm not expecting any trouble. Well, maybe some trouble since the barrel is only 12.7" not counting the flash hider. I can put a lighter recoil spring in if I have to, but don't have a heavier buffer spring that I should be starting with, so I sent them an email asking for one. I can't torque the castle nut because the cheap "armorer's" wrench I have has a hole in it to fit the end of a rifle buffer tube, but not one for a torque wrench. My arms aren't calibrated so I'll just tighten it up and stake it, and probably use blue Locktite on the 2.5" buffer tube that isn't staked. It's tightened using the same wrench that fits the castle nut. Any questions, just ask. The folding adaptor has a QD sling port in the expected location below the buffer tube.
https://www.samson-mfg.com/quick-flip-stock.html?Category_Code=
https://deadfootarms.com/products/modified-cycle-system-folding-stock-adaptor-black-nitride-bolt-carrier-group
https://www.durkintactical.com/product/laser-engraved-ejection-port-dust-cover-say-hello-to-my-little-friend/
https://www.strikeindustries.com/si-ar-ebc.html
https://www.davidtubb.com/ar15-tubb-parts/ar15-extractor-ejector
https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-tools/fixtures-blocks/sinclair-ar-15-bolt-vise/
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Just when I thought I was done buying stuff for thid build, BLAM!, here comes the Barrel Lug Accessory Mount from Custom Defensive Products. I ordered one of these and got a tracking number already. It's a 2.25" long, 5-slot section of Picatinny rail that fits on your bayonet lug, and is secured, rock solid using two machine screws and the included hex key. It's precision CNC machined from T6061 aluminum billet, hard anodized [MIL-A-8625F] black, type III (the good stuff, not type II that will wear off), and only weighs 1.6 ounces (45 grams). It has QD sockets on both sides and if you don't need them, BLAM!, BLAM! the BLAM2 Barrel Lug Accessory Mount doesn't have them, and only weighs 1.2 Ounces (34 grams). I've seen one other brand of bayonet lug adaptor that didn't look like a cheap POS and it cost enough more than this one that I didn't even consider buying it. Custom Defensive Products makes other stuff too, like pistol base pads, but this was all I got.
Being designed primarily for Close Quarter situations, all of our mounts are specifically designed and intended to have a slightly upward angle variation of about 8 to 10 degrees when correctly installed. This angle is a functional necessity of the design to allow for the correct alignment of the sights to be nearest the center of the light beam at 15 to 20 yards. Sounds good to me. I won't be shooting anything at great distance at night. My friend's wife won't let me shoot porcupines around the cabin, so I don't even need to see as far as a tree top.
https://customdefensiveproducts.com/our-products/ols/categories/rifle-accessories
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They also make a BLAM-R Barrel Lug Accessory Mount, and BLAM-R2 Barrel Lug Accessory Mount for RUGERs that have some kind of non-standardbayonet lug. It's oversized from what little bit I've been able to find out about it. Whatever is different, these are made to Ruger dimensions. The BLAM-R Barrel Lug Accessory Mount for RUGER has a QD sling swivel port and a 1" x 3/8" slot on each side for direct attachment of a sling through the slot. The slots easily accept many snap hooks, HK Sstyle sling hooks, MASH hooks and other "claw" type sling attachment furniture. The BLAM-R2 Barrel Lug Accessory Mount for RUGER doesn't have anything on the sides. Weights are only 1.9 ounces and 1.2 ounces. If anyone was looking for a way to mount a bipod with a Picatinny mount to their barrel, this will work.
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I got my BLAM in the mail today. It's a nice looking bit of kit. The 2 screws are already in it and the hex key was with it in a heavy-duty Ziploc bag with the instructions. They look clear and complete but I only glanced at them.
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I got the BLAM mounted on the bayonet lug and what was left of the sling swivel clevis I previously mangled to fit the Samson QD mount over. I put my other pair of handguards on it, and mounted my 1,000 lumen Olight PL-3S Valkyrie Rail Mount Light. It looks a lot better now. You can double click the light to get a 200 lumen low mode. After 7 minutes on high it will drop down to 450 lumens for the next 110 minutes, then 200 lumens for 20 minutes when the batteries die. The PL Turbo Tactical Light with Spotlight and Floodlight is on my shotgun. It only has one brightness setting, but after 4 minutes will drop down to 400 lumens for 116 minutes, so it doesn't get too hot. The 1,350 lumen Baldr Pro Tactical Light & Green Laser is on my 16" barrel upper. It will only run with the light on high for 1 minute, with or without the laser on, then it drops down to 500 lumens for 125 minutes, 115 if you have the laser on too. Or you can double click to turn it to low for 4 hours at 300 lumens, or 3 1/2 hours with the laser on. No matter what you have it set on, when times up, it will drop down to 10%. I put my hand in front of one of these light about an inch away and tunred it one. It only took 1-2 seconds before it got so hot I had to move my hand. It's a good thing the sides of them doesn't get that hot, they'd be dangerous.
I started thinking that this gun looks a little like the M231 Firing Port Weapon, that was in the M2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle when it first came out. It had 3 nested recoil springs, and my gun has 2 recoil springs, but the rear one is more of a buffer spring. They both have a cap screwed into the buffer tube with a guide rod on it, and you have to take the springs out of both guns before you can break them open. Maybe this is where Ted at Dead Foot Arms got the basic idea for the system he made.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M231_Firing_Port_Weapon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M2_Bradley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuZmAtrRsN0
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The rest of the pics.
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This stock would make it look more like the M231. They have AKM underfolders and all kinds of stuff.
https://deadfootarms.com/dead-foot-arms/?sort=pricedesc
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When I put the Samson Swivel Stud QD Adapter on, I had to hammer the sides of the sling swivel clevis together until they touched, like this \/ to get the yoke of the adaptor over it. And I had to re-drill the holes because they weren't parallel to each other, anymore, and they were a bit too small for the screw. I also ground a little bit off the very bottom, and filed inside the yoke of the QD adaptor, just to force it all together in a Jerry-rigged manner. Despite all of that, the BLAM fit on nice and snug when I slid it into place, and the cross-screw went through the holes no problem. After I tightened it, I tightened the set screw on the bottom. Then after I was sure everything worked as it should, I took the screws out, used blue 242 Loctite on them, and torqued them down to 15 inch-pounds. They aren't going anywhere. Everything was good, except I could still see this \/ on the bottom of the front sight base from behind. So I squirted some black hot glue in the hole, and after it set trimmed it off with an X-Acto knife. I had to do it again to fill a tiny void that was still there in the middle. Then I rubbed a Sharpie across all of it to try to blend the different shades of black together. If I didn't tell everyone what I did, I don't think anyone would know without taking the BLAM off the barrel and seeing the bent sling swivel clevis. It looks better IRL than it does in the picture.
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Here are the spring combinations available for Dead Foot Arms Modified Cycle Systems. For rifle calibers you start with a blue plunger spring and blue recoil spring. If that combination is too stiff and causes problems, you go a blue plunger spring and red recoil spring. And lastly, you go to a red plunger spring and red recoil spring if you have to. At no point do you ever use a red plunger spring with a blue recoil spring. The plunger spring should never be weaker than the recoil spring. Here are 2 pictures, and I flipped a picture of the M2331 over the same direction so you can see how similar the end caps with built-in guide rods are. The multiple spring set-ups are different, but they both use multiple springs. And both use short buffer tubes. Mine is 2.5" long since I have the bolt carrier modification. Otherwise I would need a 4" buffer tube. I don't have the stainless steel spring cap. It didn't come with my rifle caliber kit, but I'm trying to find out if I should get one or not. It's a $15 part, which I don't mind buying if I need it, but don't want to pay $5.95 shipping to get it.
https://deadfootarms.com/products/bolt-carrier-modifcation
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I got tired of the indefinite wait for Samson's quick flip stock and ordered a Dead Foot Arms T-REX 5 Position Telescoping Rifle Stock instead. If they start using he slogan, Grip it and rip it! to advertise this stock, I'll let you know where they got the idea from. I'll let everyone know. ;) The butt looks kind of small but I already have an idea how to take care of that if I don't like it. The stock is short but with the added length of the folding adaptor it comes out to the same length as a regular carbine stock. This first picture shows the difference between the 2.5" buffer tube for the modified bolt carrier and 4" buffer tube for an unmodified bolt carrier. The 2.5" buffer tube has slots for a castle-nut wrench and that's all. The longer 4" has longitudinal grooves in it. The 5.25 inch buffer tubes that use KAK Industry’s CQC Short Buffer System and any standard AR15 Bolt Carrier Group have similar grooves. The SCW/PDW-type stock aslso comes as a TailHook pistol brace for people wanting a shorter PDW-type weapon without paying for an SBR tax stamp.
https://deadfootarms.com/products/t-rex-5-position-collapsable-stock
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6541611kXmo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9sjIF1D_Qo
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Looks like a nice little Bugout Bag Buddy! I'll have to start a thread for my GAU-5 ASDW sometime... pistol version of the 12.5" M4 in every USAF ejection-seat survival kit, though until we get WA's shiny new mag ban bent over a judge's bench and taken to poundtown like a pedo in genpop I'm having to borrow mags from my girlfriend's rifle for it.
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Say Hello To My Even Littler Friend. I just put the T-Rex stock on this morning. The threaded part of the stock is short, and the socket it screws into is deep, so I tried screwing it in without the castle nut on it. It screwed all the way in and when it bottomed out, the stock was almost right side up. So I put a bunch of 242 blue Loctite on the threads, screwed it in until it was snug, and kept going until it was right side up. I have no idea what it's torqued to, because I just twisted the butt around until it wouldn't go any farther, and it was facing the right way. I put the length limiting set screw in the next to last hole, so when I pull the stock out it will stop there, and the trigger pull is 13 3/4", the same as my other AR with an A2 fixed stock on it. It's only 11 3/4" collapsed, and under 5 3/4" from the trigger face to the end of the buffer tube. If any little people need a rifle with a L.O.P. less than 6", it would be possible to make one.
I ordered a Rifle size STAP Stock Plate LWS/PB from Midwest Industries. It's 4 3/4" tall, and the T-Rex is only 4". If it fits on the end of the Telescoping Adaptor for Tailhook Mod 1 and T-Rex Stock Shoulder Plate, I'll drill and tap 2 screw holes and stick it on there. I LIKE BIG BUTTS AND I CANNOT LIE. If it doesn't fit, I'll send it back and keep the gun it as is. There's an indexing pin about 3/4" long that fits in the groove on the bottom of the stock tube, just above the cross-screw, to keep the butt plate from rotating. It seems like a simple but effective solution.
Now I'm going to Homeboy Depot to pick up a can of Rust-Oleum Flat Black BBQ Spray Paint, to paint over the threads on the old buffer tube. Then I'll be ready to put that and the M4 carbine stock on the other rifle in place of the A2 stock. It might look funny when I put the 20" upper on, but that's what the Canadian military did. They put a collapsible stock on a full-size rifle to make it compatible with thick body armor, and short arms :), instead of staying with the A2 stock. I just got a new castle nut Monday when I got the stock and my new knife. Three packages from 3 different places in the mail all at once. And since I didn't use a castle nut on this gun, I have an extra one. One has deep staking notches, right down to the inside edge, and the other one only has shallow dimples. The old one I'm throwing away because I bunged up one wrench slot with a spanner, has notches halfway in between these two. It's still serviceable, but doesn't look that good and it's only a $5 part.
https://deadfootarms.com/products/dead-foot-arms-shoulder-plate.html
https://midwestindustriesinc.com/stap-stock-plate/
https://deadfootarms.com/products/telescoping-adaptor-tailhook-mod-1
P.S. I just double-checked the OAL of my rifle with the stock folded, and it's 26 3/8". That's just about as short as you can get without a tax stamp for an SBR, and is actually shorter than some pistol ARs with braces. And it's 3/8" shorter than a Daniel defense MK18 SBR with a 10.3" barrel. I can put my regular 16" upper on and it will be same length + the flash hider, unless I take it off and put a thread protector I made from an old flash hider on. Then it would still be shorter than the MK18.
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If you want a REALLY short weapon, you can put a Dead Foot Arms folding stock on a FoldAR and make it into a Double-FoldAR. 8) This one with a 9" barrel has an overall folded length of just 10 3/4″! In 5.56mm or .300 BLK. It makes the 20" long Q Honey Badger look Big.
https://foldar.com/
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I'll start a thread later, but here's a pistol ASDW for comparison. QRB breaks it in half at the front of the upper receiver.
(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/655632728812683276/1125569041256427571/20230703_154906.jpg?ex=663cb39b&is=663b621b&hm=607a746abca4bbe5380726a9058c848549ba8eeafd7d23493aca77ffc46f6791&)
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Nice. I've seen QD uppers like that with interchangeable barrels too. Does the pistol grip feel pretty solid when deployed?
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The ones I have do, though I know people who've gotten POS'es. Biggest challenge for me is that as a southpaw the fold button presses out into the palm of my hand in less than pleasant ways.
Not intolerable but enough to be obnoxious - I still have 'em on two AR's and a Ruger Charger though.
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They can't be too bad if you keep buying them.
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It's really a Niche Applications piece - the ASDW is as close as practical to a USAF Issue in Title I form other than the OD grip, my first AR got one as a gimmick because it folded out of the way so I could lower it on a retractable front bipod/rear monopod for benchrest, and the Charger is another "specialty build" conceived as "a James Bond movie in a briefcase" since my gal's always wanted to be a Bond Girl. (Don't see her getting cast at 50, but at least with some help from a rangemaster buddy we can knock together some stages and let her "live it" on the range.)
For their niche application the upsides outweigh the downsides, but they're not something I use on general-purpose builds. (Which there will be no more of until WA's Scary Gun Ban gets spanked at SCOTUS...) Admittedly a right-hander might find it less irritating.
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I got a blue plunger spring in the mail from Dead Foot Arms and put it in. And I replaced the pivot pin detent spring that was in 2 pieces. Then I used a bunch of blue Loctite on the buffer tube since nothing is staked anywhere. I put the Night Fision front sight back on the other rifle but haven't switched rear apertures yet. I put a Strike Industries Extended Pivot & Takedown Pin Set on that rifle, and the M4 carbine stock with the rifle length David Tubb Flatwire buffer spring. It fits both Carbine and Standard length stocks, and feels good when I work the bolt back and forth. Instead of a regular endplate I put a Magpul QD Ambidextrous Sling Attachment Point (ASAP-QD) on. Now I have 3 places to attach the rear sling.
I put a Nickel Boron Cam Pin in one of my BCGs, I think it was the 16", and put a KNS Perma Firing Pin Retaining Pin in the 12.7" gun. I have 2 of another brand of solid pin in the 16" and 20" uppers, and need to get 1 more for the Can Cannon. Then it's no more cotter pins for me. Just solid pins like Eugene Stoner designed for the AR-15. I forgot that the can cannon doesn't have its own charging handle, so I need to get one of those too, instead of having to take 1 out of the other 3 uppers. I also put a Kaw Valley Precision One Piece AR-15 Bolt Gas Ring in the shorty, and have one piece rings in everything except the Can Cannon now, so I'll order another 1 of those too. I bought an Armaspec B1 Extended Mag Release I'm going to swap out the Magpul extended mag release so they both match. I still have a little bit of work to do on both before I tackle the 20" barrel and flattop upper.
https://www.davidtubb.com/ar15-bufferspring
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I have photoes - a left photoe and a right photoe. ;D I put the Strike Industries enhanced bolt catches on both guns this morning. I chose these over the extended bolt catches. They both have extra wide bolt catch lever surfaces, and I didn't want the oversized bolt release lever on them too. I switched apertures on the sights so the large aperture is with the tritium front sight on the 16" barrel. That was easier thanks to my sight adjustment tool so I didn't have to turn the windage wheels one click at a time with a bullet tip or other tool. I took the Magpul extended mag release off and put the other Armaspec B1 Extended Mag Release on. I have 2 places to put the rear sling swivel on the 16" gun, not 3 like I was thinking. The CAR-15 stock on my MechTech CCU has left and right QD sockets, but the M4 stock only has one where the rear sling swivel used to be. The other place is the Magpul end plate that they tell you doesn't need to be staked, and say is really hard steel and hard to stake. but I staked it in 2 places when I put it on. The Dead Foot Arms folder has a QD socket at the rear, just below the buffer tube where you might expect one to be. I don't know if I'm going to use one of my single-point bungee slings on it, or a 2-ponit sling. I'll probably try the single point and see how it hangs. I'll be putting extra power ejector and extractor springs in the bolts on the 16" and 20" uppers, and maybe in the 12.7" and can cannon at some point in the future. Other than that, I thought I was done with them, but I remembered I have a couple magwell skins from GunSkins to put on. I have a Punisher skull and Molon Labe. They also sent me a limited edition Behind Bars mag skin with Hillary on it. If it was on a PMAG the bars would line up with the ribs on the mag. I don't have any PMAGs and tried giving it away once. I could put it on a SureFeed E2s, G.I. mag, or one my new DuraMags.
https://www.strikeindustries.com/si-ar-ebc.html
https://www.strikeindustries.com/si-ar-xbc.html
https://www.gunskins.com/collections/ar-15-m4-rifle/products/magwell-skin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0hG3akqqNQ
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The MI STAP RIFLE Stock Plate LWS/PB fit on the DFA Telescoping Adaptor for Tailhook Mod 1 and T-Rex Stock Shoulder Plate. That means it would also fit the DFA KOMODO TAIL- FIXED LENGTH STOCK/BRACE ADAPTOR. So, these stock/brace adaptors work with a Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 1, Dead Foot Arms Shoulder plate, Midwest Industries Rifle or Carbine STAP Stock Plate LWS/PB, or Midwest Industries Arm Brace Hook. Anyone who wants to use a DFA telescoping stock/brace adaptor, or fixed length stock/brace adaptor with the MI stock plate or arm brace hook, can save $75 by not buying a T-REX 5 Position Telescoping Rifle Stock or KOMODO RIFLE STOCK, and taking the butt plate off. You could likewise install the DFA buttplate on a MI Stock Tube Adaptor 6.625" Beam or 8" Pistol Brace Compatible Beam. I didn't know it would work, so I didn't do it that way.
I had a really hard time drilling the holes in the end of the stock. The drill wandered on 1 hole and I couldn't get both screws in at the same time. So I put 1 screw in and re-drilled the other hole while the buttplate was on. It made one big hole but I was able to tap the second side of the "figure 8" well enough to get some threads on the side. I used green Loctite made for bearings and sleeves, not nuts and bolts, to hold the buttplate onto the tube and to hold the screws in. I used my heat gun on high for a few minutes to activate the Loctite, then spent a lot of time brushing the excess with a brass brush and Hoppe's No. 9, and scraping it off with a small screwdriver that I keep in my gun cleaning box. It's only 3 1/2" long and I think it fits a 1911 mag catch lock, and it worked without wrecking the anodizing. If I knew how hard it was going to be just to drill 2 holes, maybe I would have stuck the buttplate on with epoxy. I'm going to hit it with a propane torch to really make sure the Loctite is set.
The DFA T-REX buttplate is too big to fit on a rifle buffer tube, but could be shimmed to work. I might try to shim it with a piece of sheet metal, wrap some electrical tape around my old buffer tube and put the buttplate on just for for sh**s and giggles. Who knows, I might even like it. But I don't know if the buffer tube will screw in far enough to hold the buffer retainer, if I put a carbine end plate on it. There's only one way to know for sure.
https://deadfootarms.com/products/komodo-tail-fixed-length-stock-brace-adaptor
https://deadfootarms.com/products/telescoping-adaptor-tailhook-mod-1
https://midwestindustriesinc.com/stap-stock-plate/
https://midwestindustriesinc.com/arm-brace-hook/