I started working on my Mech-Tech CCU again

[Big Frank]

I'm sending my barrel with the barrel clamp attached to MechTech to get the barrel threaded for 1 of the 2 A2 flash hiders I have. It's going to cost 80 bucks plus shipping. I was going to but a die, die stock, and threading alignment tool and do it myself, but I was conversing by email with a local-ish Class 3 dealer who said it needs to be done on a lathe. That way the threads will be straight, centered, parallel and everything. I can't remember exactly what he said, but it was the kind of thing that can lead to baffle strikes. The barrel clamp isn't supposed to be taken off, and it's 1/8" too wide to go on his lathe, so it's back to MechTech.

Since I'm getting work done on it anyway, I think I'll get a retrofit housing kit with a new recoil buffer assembly and an angled nose piece. The hand guard now has a more modern design with M-LOK slots on the bottom, and it looks a LOT slimmer than my M203 forend. The retrofit housing kit with an M4 stock adaptor and replacement hand guard cost $91.89 and will make it just like the latest models. I'd have to buy a new carbine buffer tube, but it will be a lot better than the thing it has now. Or maybe I can re-use it. That would still be better than the way the old part is attached. Now I see the 4 position telescoping stock is on sale for $30 off. It would be $146.85 for retrofit housing kit, recoil buffer assembly, angled nose piece, and telescoping stock. I think I'll do that so I can get a shorter length of pull. I can put Samson Swivel Stud QD Adapters on both sides for $26.70. And I can get a new M4 stock adaptor for the old housing for 15 bucks in case I don't like the telescoping stock.

If I ever want to SBR my pistol, I can get a Pistol Conversion Unit (PCU) with a 12" barrel and knurled thread protector for $231.00. I would just have to take out the 8 screws in the sides, swap barrels, and put the screws back in. I think a double-stack .45 ACP SBR with a can on it would be great. It would still offer a good boost in velocity and power compared to a 5" pistol barrel, and most standard pressure .45 ammo is already sub-sonic, so it would still outclass a 9mm carbine's power. 

[Big Frank]

I wanted to see how the size and weight of the bolt compared to my full-size slide, so I took some pics and measurements. The slide weighs 0.9 pounds according to my luggage scale, and the bolt is 67% heavier at 1.5 pounds. The difference is so great that it feels  lot heavier than that. It feels like it weighs at least twice as much, but my hands aren't very well calibrated. The bolt and slide are facing opposite directions. I didn't realize it until after I took 3 of the 4 pictures, and didn't want to re-take them. The bolt wraps around the barrel something like an Uzi or similar submachine gun, to keep the overall length down. It's 7 1/2 inches from the breech face to the front of the bolt. A solid bolt with the breech face on the front would make the action too long to put a stock on it, unless it wasn't much more than a buttplate on the end of the tube.

[Big Frank]

This is probably going to cost me a total of $241.84 + shipping, but I'll have a like new CCU for about $150 less than the price of a new one. And I'll have an extra housing, so I can have a telestock on one and an M4 stock on the other.