lksyotas

Yeah, I didn't even think of the shell crimp opening up. Makes perfect sense. As previously stated, I'll try to find out info on why the Tactical design changed the chamber vs the standard field grade models. Thanks for the feedback guys.

My boss knows a few engineers at Remington in Ilion, NY. I'm going to see if he can get me some contacts that I can get in touch with regarding the change in chambers. If I get anywhere, I'll report back with what they say. Till then, I won't be firing anymore 3.5" shells out of my Tactical. Thanks for your comment MarCO, I didn't know that a 3" she'll would fit a 2.75" chamber. Always assumed it would stick in the throat and prevent it from chambering.

Weird, I just double checked my Versa Max Tactical and a Federal 3.5" turkey load drops right into the chamber same as regular 2-3/4" shells. I've shot a few of these loads with no problems with this shotgun. Do the newer ones have a 3" chamber? I read before somewhere that Remington didn't rate it for 3.5" shells due to reliability with the extension on the tacticals.

I received the front sight today and it appears to be machined well and hard anodized with an even finish. It slid right on my Nordic barrel and locked down tight with the included set screws. It didn't come with a front sight post or retainer so I'll have to fish around for one before I get it out to the range for a test fire. Anyway, here are a few photos of its weight, length, and installed. I think it looks asthetically pleasing as its round backside fits almost perfectly against the titan rail. I left a .020" gap between the base and the rail to allow the rail to free float without touching. Anyone know the best place to buy the front sight post and plunger components? I am thinking of getting a few different sizes ranging from mil-spec, .05, .03" to see which I prefer the most.

Ordered last night. I'll report back with how it fits, weight, and length once it arrives.

Thanks for the response Kurt. I thought it looked promising especially since its aluminum. Should be a slight bit lighter than the JP version. I think I'll give it a try and report back on how it assembles.

I just installed a Syrac clamp on gas block a few weeks ago on my rifle with a 15" Troy Alpha Rail. The gas block was purchased from Brownells. I wonder if they have adjusted the outer profile a bit to compensate. I have no interference with mine.

Looking at all my options for irons only on my rifle. Want to shoot this year without optics an get back to good ol rifle marksmanship. I have researched all the threads I could find on what everyone is using. Was set on using a DPMS rear sight and JP Globe, JP stainless front sight, clamp on Armalite front sight, or Lipski/ Lyman combo. Problem is most of the options I've looked at are out of stock everywhere I've looked. I came across a sight maker that I haven't seen before: Hahn Precision. They offer a standard set screw or clamp on front sight. Anodized aluminum. Standard front sight posts. I plan on putting whatever front sight I go with just behind the Titan brake or just in front of the Troy 15" Alpha rail to maximize my sight radius. Anyone have any first hand info on the Hahn setup? Thanks in advance,

Ditto to what everyone else has stated. I am currently running an M-Tac and am very content. Was shooting in overcast, slightly foggy conditions yesterday and easily engaging targets from 25 to 220 yds with the scope using the 1-4x - picture was clear enough to see my hits at 200 and under. I previously had a Vortex Viper 1-4x and I actually like the M-Tac reticle better for close up targets. Also worth noting, I was shooting drills last week in one of our pistol pits at my local range with the sun almost directly facing me. I could still see the illuminated reticle on its highest setting - it wasn't super red but you could tell it was on.

Now there is a thought! I usually load with either Remington 7.5 or CCI 400's (only ones I can get locally.) I've read in the past that the 400's have a softer shell so perhaps this is the culprit. Thanks for the heads up - the primers hadn't even crossed my mind.

Interesting thought,...I didn't think of ammo relationship but who knows...Ammo I was using had brass prep that included PPU 5.56 brass resized and trimmed on my XL650 and then post cleaning, the primer pockets were swagged again with a Dillon swagging tool. I've used this recipe including the actual load data for the majority of my reloads with no issues but ya never know. Thanks for your feedback Bamboo

Hello everyone, I was at the range today and had my AR rifle double on me. Only happened once but it was enough for me to question the reliability of my rifle for future competitions. Was shooting off hand at a 200 yd target gong when it doubled. I had a consistent grip on the rifle and it was tight against my shoulder when firing. Background: Rifle was assembled by me and has exactly 1970 rounds down range. Mainly 55g reloads. Rifle specs are as follows: Nordic 18" barrel, mil-spec upper, lower, JP LMOS carrier & buffer, stock rifle length spring and stock, Titan comp, Syrac adj. gas block, 1-4x optic. 200 rounds ago I installed a AR Gold trigger set. Previously it had a Timney. Today's range trip was the first time I used the rifle with the JP LMOS carrier with the rifle buffer. Previously I had BCM full mass carrier and buffer, then the BCM carrier with an empty rifle buffer. Gas block was re adjusted today by closing off the gas and then opening it until I had a reliable cycling rifle that would lock back on an empty mag. Never had any issues with doubling prior to today. So what do you guys think? Is it a fluke and I inadvertently bump fired the rifle (didn't feel like it)? Or perhaps I have a trigger that has an issue or a combination of the lighter, quicker recoil system with the light trigger. Any ideas or help is greatly appreciated. I have a few months till the next local season kicks off so I have time to test for reliability. If it ends up being a trigger issue, I might go back to the Timney or try out the Geissele S3G. Thanks for any suggestions!

I "slightly" radius'd the extractor recess in the barrel extension and it seems to have fixed the issue. I've only put 250 shells (cheap Federal Bulk) through it since the mod but it has run 100%. All 250 shells were put to practicing the "Load 12" drill from Keith. I've been practicing the quad load for this drill and I've gotten my overall drill time down to 15-17 seconds when I don't bobble the shells. I got brave one afternoon and put the files and dremel to work on my loading port. I am removing material in baby steps as this is my first time doing this type of modification to a shotgun. I don't want to scrap out the receiver that's for sure. Beveling and tweaking the loading port in addition to the welded carrier certainly helps with either the traditional weak hand or quad load styles. I won't be shooting much for the next month or so as its finally getting cold here in NY and my wife just gave birth to our third child so I'll be playing "mr. mom" for a bit...

Thanks everyone for taking the time to post your comments and fixes. I haven't had a chance to modify the gun since I posted last. Its on the to do list, been busy working on my adjustable gas system and playing with weights in my AR carrier to further change the recoil impulse from the rifle. I plan on getting back on the Versa Max next week and radius the extractor recess and take the second spring out from behind the shell catch. I've already made the cross section thinner between the radius cuts in the catch to aid in loading so reducing the overall spring force behind it will probably make the shells insert even smoother. I'll report back if the fixes took care of the problem. Regards to all,

So after 800 flawless rounds down range with all types of ammo my Versa Max had several failure to feeds today during a match. It was the first time out with a welded carrier installed that replaced the factory one. It appeared that the shell being loaded was getting caught on the extractor cutout in the chamber. I think I've read about this mod decreasing the reliability due to the loss of centering the shell during feeding but want to be sure there isn't another culprit. I was thinking of grinding a slight radius on the top of the carrier to help guide the shell into the center of the chamber but wanted to see what you all think I should do before I move forward with it. Other than the failures, the welded carrier really improves the reloads on the gun - no bleeding thumb or cut nail anymore!

Sorry, I'm tracking now, the rubber comb insert just pulls out and can be replaced with the other higher one simply by pressing it into place. The comb inserts have ridges that protrude on the front and back that need to be slid into place recesses in the stock body then the sides have a lip that also get pressed into place. No fasteners or anything else needed to change out. Simply a bit of muscle..

I just went through this last night...Remove the two phillips head screws in the recoil pad, pop the pad off. Use a 3/16" allen wrench to remove main stock screw. Then remove the stock comb insert located between the stock and the screw just removed. Then either replace it with the alternate insert provided with the gun or move the hole location on the insert already removed to where you need it. The insert in my gun was almost pressed into place and it required removing the stock from the gun and prying it out. Other than that, it was pretty straight forward and simple to do. I ended up putting the alternate one in to drop the stock a bit - provided a more straight line of sight for me and my body build.

Well "need" is a strong word - I'm new to 3 gun so loading shotgun is a new practice for me. I have been practicing about an hour per night with dummy loads using the AP Custom 4x4's for traditional weak hand reloads as well as the Carbon Arms FSL system for 2x loading again w/ weak hand. I'm at the point where I believe if my darn thumb wasn't getting caught every so often that I could really advance my time but I feel myself holding back with a certain cautiousness due to the leery thought of blood blisters on the top of my thumb. LOL. I'm all for the mod as long as I don't jeopardize the reliability of the gun. But at the same token, I'm not sure if the mods will in fact improve my reloads that much since I'm still new at this.

Does anyone know if modifying the shell carrier by welding it and lengthening it will render the gun in operable with 3.5" loads? One reason I bought the Versa Max Tac was to use it as a multi role competition/ hunting gun. So far I've modified the carrier by polishing the sharp stamped ends of the "forks" and did the widened the u cuts on the shell catch to aid in easier reloads but I am hesitant on sending the carrier off to be modified the pros if it will decrease my main focus of this platform for hunting also. So far I'm loving this shotgun, 500 rounds down range with everything from 3.5" high velocity turkey loads to the 980 fps Winchester low recoil low noise loads. Just needs the loading port tuned to be a bit more operator friendly in my opinion. Thanks for any advise or wisdom to be shared!