The Down Range Forum
Member Section => Building America's Rifle => Topic started by: les snyder on October 07, 2021, 11:28:56 AM
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after cataract surgery and new glasses, I can actually see a front sight again :).... so decided to make n new upper to compete in the rim fire rifle irons (RFRI) division of Steel Challenge, but still wanted to shoot a short barrel on my SBR... additionally, I wanted to use an AR front sight tower sight if possible... so my cousin drilled and tapped the bayonet lug and existing access hole of a spare sight tower for an 8-32 hex set screw... a painting of fluorescent pink on the front sight.... and I had a temporary proof of concept unit to see if I could focus at shorter distances (I didn't want to use a flip up front sight on the rail)... success... I then pulled a couple of uppers apart as I wanted to use the same fore end on my red dot upper... chucked the barrel in the lathe, parted the barrel, faced it off, cut a crown... then went to the mill and indexed the front sight with the center of the upper, temporarily set screwed it in place, then drilled for a roll pin to lock in place....I may need to shorten the protective wings, but haven't shot it at match targets.... looks to be a winner... regards Les
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"chucked the barrel in the lathe, parted the barrel, faced it off, cut a crown."
Isn't that the part that costs $200 ?
Or does it not matter on an existing SBR ?
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.... looks to be a winner... regards Les
WITHOUT PICTURES IT DON'T LOOK LIKE ANYTHING.
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Tom... only the lower receiver is registered via the $200 tax stamp... any other barrel(s) other than the one described on the original paperwork can be listed on an addendum to the revocable living trust to which the Form 1, (permission to build a short barrel rifle) is issued ..the SBR is registered to the trust, a living entity, and I as the executor of the trust have access to it, as well as others listed within the trust documents... BATFE suggests that they be notified of additional uppers in case of theft, but it is voluntary
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Alf... I still don't have a posting site, but did post a pic on "rimfire central" sub section on rimfire Steel Challenge... you need to sign in to see attachments (I think)
Les
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Tom... only the lower receiver is registered via the $200 tax stamp... any other barrel(s) other than the one described on the original paperwork can be listed on an addendum to the revocable living trust to which the Form 1, (permission to build a short barrel rifle) is issued ..the SBR is registered to the trust, a living entity, and I as the executor of the trust have access to it, as well as others listed within the trust documents... BATFE suggests that they be notified of additional uppers in case of theft, but it is voluntary
As I understand your reply, the tax stamp is for the part that RECEIVES a short barrel, they don't care about the barrel it's self ?
Which would avoid the whole "registering pistols" nightmare.
Which illustrates the problem with letting lawyers and politicians decide anything.
You can have a pistol with no barrel, or a "long" gun , but it takes Govt approval for something in the middle.
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Alf... I still don't have a posting site,
All you have to do is crop the picture to get rid of unwanted area and resize it down to <150K, then Marshall will let you upload it directly to this site.
This doesn't require fancy s/w. I use a free utility called IrFanView. (Windows only) I got it because it will do batch conversions but so simple to do simple crop/size things one at a time as well. Loads 10x faster than Photoshop too. I bet there's something similar if you're a MAC addict.
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well after all my cousin's hard work, I couldn't track the front sight quickly enough with the protective wings of the factory AR sight tower, so removed the sight tower, as I didn't to ruin all the hard work... put the longer fore end with rail back on.... cut the wings off a cheap UTG flip up sight and painted the sight post.... the lone colored sight post stands out much better, and more easily tracked...., but the small spike post looks pretty fragile... ordered a Blitzkrieg sight post that is thicker front to rear... I think I have a RFRI option, though it is still a work in progress... it naturally handles very similar to the open upper... may even be a little lighter than the HS510 sighted upper... regards Les
with the primer shortage, the .22 rimfire for Steel Challenge allows me to shoot 3 matches a month and 3 practice matches for what would be the cost of primers alone
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OK, bit the bullet and got one of the flip up fiber optic sights from Striplin Custom... works well, bright even in umbrella shaded shooting box... now I just have to get used to using a front sight and looking through an AR rear sight... 8)
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finishing up the thoughts for this thread... the original AR rear sight was not in my opinion ideal for Steel Challenge... the small aperture was way too small to shoot quickly, but the large aperture not precise enough for quick shots on 8" plates.. I didn't have a set of number drills at my location, so it was trial and trial again... I started with a 5/32" (.156") drill through the small aperture...I could shoot it quickly, but still too large an aperture to keep the dot centered sub-consciously....found an aftermarket flip up in my parts box that had a 3/32" (.094")small aperture... I'd never changed out an aperture on an A2 drum sight so thanks to Brownells and youtube, was an easy job... I used a butane lighter to soot the sight as there appeared to be some ghosting or possibly light wave interference at the edges... will give it a try at practice Friday... can go larger if needed... regards Les
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Butane Lighter! BUTANE LIGHTER! Against all that's holy to the Bullseye shooters, e-gads man, where's your carbide lantern? ;)
I tried the carbide route for my silhouette gun, what a mess. Then I tried the butane lighters. They were okay. But I settle on plain old candles. I'm not doing this outdoors at the range so the candle route works for me.
btb, don't know what size it is but the peep sight on the Ruger PC-9 is just perfect for me.
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my last pound of calcium carbide deteriorated about 40years ago... ;)
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OK, bit the bullet and got one of the flip up fiber optic sights from Striplin Custom... works well, bright even in umbrella shaded shooting box... now I just have to get used to using a front sight and looking through an AR rear sight... 8)
Les, one of these: https://striplincustom.com/product/fiber-optic-flip-up-sights/ (https://striplincustom.com/product/fiber-optic-flip-up-sights/) ?
And by the way, I'm just a little jealous of you guys's (that's right guys's ) shooting so much. You need some home projects like I have to stop all of that fun. No one as old as ya'll are supposed to be having fun!
Oh, and also by the way, That Striplin Custom website has some interesting kit to consider.
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Rastus... yes, they are a little pricey, but well built...I originally had an AR front sight tower, but could not track the sight quick enough for Steel Challenge...I changed to a 1913 rail fore end, and use the Striplin flip up fiber optic sight...I tried a couple of standard flip up painted sights, but went with the Striplin as I was familiar with his work... I have his thumb rest and extended safety on my Ruger MKIV... I like the standard AR rear carry handle sight, but still playing with the correct diameter of the aperture sight.. I'm getting close
I got my A card in optics, and want to play with the fixed sighted upper for a month or two and see what kind of classification I can get with it...I'm having firing pin spring breakage problems currently... regards... Les
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well the 3/32 didn't work for me... too much metal around the fiber optic dot to acquire targets quickly... very accurate, but just slow... opened it up to the original 5/32 trial aperture as the best compromise... Les
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So what's up with the firing pin? How much life are you getting out of it?
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Rastus... I really like the Bore Buddy firing pin due to the way the nose impacts the cartridge rim just below the rim edge... I also use one of their wire EDM extractors ..my original (early) CMMG pins did not have a radius where the diameter of the pin reduced to go through the bolt face, a problem the newer CMMG pins have fixed...I broke a couple of OEM pin at about 2500 rounds... I'm shooting about twice as much now (1200 rounds a month) and broke the first Bore Buddy pin at 8000 to 10000 rounds ( I don't really keep track of things I should).. I've recently broken two of the Bore Buddy firing pin return springs but it did not effect the function... I switched lubricants and am now back to my old standard of Mercury Outboard Quicksilver 2 cycle racing oil...additionally I broke a RRA NM hammer in the .22...I have two CMMG uppers and a back up bolt group also with a Bore Buddy pin and extractor, but hold it in reserve... the CMMG units run well on CCI SV but the Ruger MKIV is not 100%, so I was getting SV and Blazer/Mini Mag... I've now standardized on the CCI AR Tactical in the 300 pack... Glen's Army Navy Outdoor usually has a good price, (you have to scroll down the page) and free shipping on $50 or more... I broke the feed ramp on one collar when I unknowingly used an old short collar on a newer barrel stub that shouldered on the feed ramp and not the nose of the collar.. so I plan on shooting the fixed sight upper to improve the poor stage I shot that day, and is figured in my classification..the upper with the Holosun 510c is a blast to shoot, now that I've gotten experience with the green reticle....regards Les
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The good thing is you are getting to shoot a lot!! I bet I haven't put more than 300-400 rounds through my oldest CMMG and maybe 50 through the new one (sale, could not refuse).
Quicksilver, what's the focus on that for oil? Handles dirt from the 22 rounds without gumming up?
And thanks for the Glen's Army Navy heads up. They have really good prices on that CCI Tactical ammo.
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Rastus... the Quicksilver 2 stroke oil idea came from a friend (30+ years ago) that at the time had a go-fast boat that was running a Mercury 3L outboard... he had problems with spark plugs fouling ... the Quicksilver oil dissipated carbon for him, and at the time worked well for me shooting a 1911 (back when MB was shooting in the Tampa Bay area)... have used it since, but got away for a time using Hornady One Shot... the One Shot dry lube did not accumulate fouling, but didn't seem to lubricate the firing pins as well as the liquid oil...
as for the number of shots.... Steel Challenge consist of 8 specific target arrays, and there is very active Steel Challenge shooting community here in the Tampa Bay area, offering lots of opportunity to shoot... and with the price of small pistol primers, I can shoot one .22lr cheaper than a primer alone ...one local range has a Friday and Saturday 5 stage match each month, and a practice match (3 target arrays we shoot twice) each non match Friday... the Wyoming Antelope Club in Pinellas Park has a 6 stage match monthly, and Gun Craft range in Ruskin has a complete 8 stage match monthly...5 shots (minimum) per stage, 5 runs is 25 rounds per stage x 5 or 8 stages is 125-200 minimum a match...so I'm averaging over 1200/month... the .22lr is much harder on equipment than any of the other shooting sports I've be in... regards Les
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Now I know about the Quicksilver. I will pick up a can or two if I can keep it in mind.
I know you dodged the hurricane but how about the birthday? ;D
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birthday was great... some shooting friends took me out for Japanese food (I'd been stationed in Japan 1971)... and had a good enough run on "Outer Limits" to get my A card in rim fire rifle open..
I've seen Quicksilver on the shelves at some auto parts stores
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well I found out I need to change my sighting technique when shooting the iron sight... I normally just get a good cheek weld on the SOCOM stock, and look at the target when shooting the HS 510... the gun comes up on target and the dot is centered... well, no so for me with the Irons... found I am considerably more consistent if I track with a sight picture with fiber optic front centered in rear aperture to the target... 75 year old dog, new trick... regards
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75. You gotta be my idol. Hope for me 9 years junior.