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Brian Enos's Forums... Maku mozo!

Frankly

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Everything posted by Frankly

  1. It's easy enough to call it assembling the rifle rather than "building it", it's not like a team of magic gunsmith elves. Invest $200 in specific AR tools and build an inexpensive cheap Palmetto State Kit by following You Tube or buying a book. Most of the assembly procedures haven't changed in fifty years, once you've done a few you can build an excellent gun in less than an hour. So make all your dumb mistakes on a $500 PSA before you spend several thousand on a dream gun. The skills involved means being able to follow instructions and guides, using internet searches for each question along the way ~ every possible situation has been covered with dozens of videos. After you watch a couple of one topic you'll know as much as 99% of most gun builders. Honestly the hardest part is identifying which spring goes where? (Bolt Catch and Disconnector springs are pretty similar size) You need to punch in pins, squeeze springs, apply Lock-Tite, identity parts from diagrams... use a torque wrench, Torx and hex drivers, pretty straight forward stuff.... but seriously devote a weekend or two and you can call yourself a gun builder What a factory-built gun from a reputable premium manufacturer is going to get you is a gun with everything properly torqued and locked, staked, secured. And a warranty and the knowledge that the parts collection work well together and the gun is balanced, no stupid amateur mistakes. That's worthwhile for a lot of people too busy to devote energy to gun building. Some gunmakers like JP will keep tighter tolerances so barrels fit into receivers tighter, then they heat the receivers to expand and insert the cold barrel in so it "locks in place". They even did videos so you could do what they do with a simple $12 torch (or your freezer). Others like Sons of Liberty I guess (don't want to draw his wrath) probably are looser than JPs, for less money, but have a great range of reliability, run cheaper ammunition, etc. JP and other premium brands build really nice guns but if you're at all halfway mechanically inclined you can build a gun just as nice. But probably not your first gun, everyone does at least a few scratches, lost detent pins, doing some part over, etc.
  2. Glock 48 the single stack w G17-ish grip and G19 slide 9mm... feels good, like it better than the G43 and P365 I've owned before, IWB carry S&W 642 J-frame Aluminum 38special 5-rounds, pocket or ? carry Cough
  3. That's pretty cool. Even better is the comment in the reviews where the guy found a strand of uncooked spaghetti worked even better! Thank you!
  4. Been looking for the right kind of stiff plastic "wire" that could do a near 90º bend with heat. If it were 5-8" long you could insert it into your barrel from the muzzle and poke the L-shaped tip up into the gas block (before mounting gas tube!). This would be a solid visual check that your gas block is aligned so you can mark position, punch for dimpling, etc. I know we all have work arounds and things like the SLR Rifleworks jigs for aligning our gas blocks but I like "seeing" to be sure. Plus it's simple and works on any diameter barrel. Wondering if there is an existing automotive or tech product that might be similar? Or a lead to where some could buy a couple feet of stiff plastic rod that is still bendable and small enough to fit most gas holes? I doubt there'd be enough profit to make them as a mass product but maybe some plasticy tool place like Real Avid already did this? At the very least they'd be good for scratching your leg inside a cast or maybe for probing some yucky drain pipe
  5. Gotta say that using your charcoal grill for a background is a pretty great idea I want to steal!
  6. 2020 Atlas Hyperion with custom grey PVD on Cheely and polished/matte chrome slide. Small magwell and large trigger. Surprised the chrome didn't scratch. Nicest gun yet, came from a very soft Atlas but this feels much nimbler yet shoots soft and as they say, "returns to zero".
  7. Looking for a smaller and simple range bag without all the gadgetry and gimmicks, preferably made in the USA. Basically carrying one full size pistol, muffs, tools, first aid, glasses, 100 rounds. Prefer something that doesn't shout tactical or FUDD. Any suggestions? Might just get a camera bag instead.
  8. Next time I’m at the grocery store I’m going to be spending way too long a time reading the labels of feminine hygiene products. Nice business opportunity for someone to repackage tampons and douche as “21st-Century Weapon Cleaning Products”!
  9. I bought some Germaniums myself! Got the Wiha 1/4 driver and Wera 3/8 wrench with fairly wide ranges since I am not requiring super tight tolerances. If anyone wants my old Fix-it Sticks and my cheap clicker wrench gimme a holla. I truly doubt I undertightened my barrel nuts or crushed any scope tubes but I do want to be able to hit some values those tools couldn’t cover.
  10. Did anyone get a 20MOA mount versus flat? I'm probably more concerned with close than far but I don't think I see a downside to getting the 20MOA. Wow I've never seen a 3" Cantilever but I'm looking next!
  11. BTW I got one (backordered) for $1869 from B&H Photo by calling for "Special Savings" and using their branded credit card to save sales tax and shipping. Pretty easy. Being Winter I can wait a month or so.... Haven't seen them discounted anywhere else. Of course NY State sales tax is a bummer but they snag you with their card and saving 8%-plus is a heck of a lot better than getting "points back". Tony I should have got the C-More but you know... marketing. But also I figure it's my last AR scope ever. Who knows if there even will be 3Gun especially in NY again?
  12. Curious how one would measure an existing mounted bolt's torque value? I imagine you'd start your torque wrench super high and by trial and error keep reducing it 5-10% until it breaks free for a reasonable estimate but is there a tool made for doing this? A digital readout perhaps? Also, while I've been getting by with Harbor Freight and Fix-It-Sticks, what is a good general gunsmithing Torque Wrench (imagining buying a large and small one unless there is something amazing out there) that is consistent, easy to read, good for barrels and scope mounting? Thanks!
  13. On the tipping point to get a Vortex 1-10 but stymied by mounting choices. Going on a conventional 3G 16" AR. I've been using the lightweight Aeros on previous guns and they've been great but I wonder if I'm pushing the limits of stability and strength with them? Most of what I see it advertised with are $300+ Spur and RRS mounts for PRS type guns, these seem too heavy and don't have the cantilever that I think I'll need for proper positioning. Also whether a 1" or 2" cantilever? What are the esteemed professional internet experts using? Photos appreciated. Thanks
  14. There has to be a way to monetize such incredible bad luck!
  15. No suppressors here in NY but I've had the Rubber City adjustable gas key and 2A adjustable BCG run without issues. But last few rifles have used Superlative Arms gas blocks because I like how you can access the adjustment from the front of the handguard and it feels like a well made product. With the Rubber City key you're taking apart a nicely staked gas key that shouldn't be a problem but it seems like a way to introduce a trouble spot. And the 2A BCG is expensive and again, you want to pray that adjustment holds.
  16. Don't we ingest enough micro-plastics as it is? Not like the government is looking out for you here, unless people keel over immediately there's no concern what happens to our kids who eat off plastic with plastic utensils slicing and grinding food cooked and stored in plastic. I simply notice today's kids have more asthma, allergies, autism, etc.
  17. Whenever I think the Enos forum is too polite and strictly moderated I only need to spend five minutes on Snipers Hide to be reminded of how petty grown men can be. And if you want proof of the Napoleon complex and elderly incels.... Good deals on optics though, a lot of them are insane and flip their gear every month.
  18. Nice little business selling Ti nuts to replace the Aero ones then. I really like the Aero Atlas though but I went back to the full length rail R-series for a little extra strength. Once on a bipod I twisted it hard enough to bend the Aluminum, I bet anything lighter would be even weaker.
  19. I got further into air guns and shoot field target with a Steyr and 16-50x scope. You have to build a position and hit a gnat at various yardage from 10-55. Holding a 10# gun takes some strength but admittedly I'm one of the younger guys at the matches, definitely AARP set. If you use a springer then you get that 30-40# cocking effort to boot. So the progression is 3-Gun > PRS > British 12 foot pound air guns > colostomy bag throwing Still I can do it at home on my DIY range, quality pellets cost 3 cents and there is no likelihood of it getting banned anytime soon. In fact it may have a whole lot of new participants coming into it soon.... Frankly with the Summer weather in Texas I'd build an indoor home gym (or just get the gear and a spare room) since it's too hot half the year anyway. 30-minutes in a gym probably beats an hour doing something "fun" for exercise.
  20. It's moot. We're about to experience a rapid and severe "market realignment" I fear.
  21. Just picked up a pre-election Dan Wesson PM2 9mm. Impressed with the build quality for a production gun. Should have bought this as my first pistol years ago Add an 870 and 308 bolt and stopped there....
  22. He still owes me for my speakers he blew out in 1979. And my hearing aids in 2020.
  23. I used to use rifle tubes with rifle stocks thinking they were somehow better, more rigid. But heavier and bulkier too. A good quality collapsible butt stock will be more than solid enough for PRS so certainly an AR. I'm pretty happy with these, no longer any lust for a ready made JP or anything. Top FDE is six pounds with Vortex Spitfire 1x prism and 14.5" Faxon Gunner. Aero Precision upper, lower and Atlas R rails. The Atlas R with full length Picatinny is stronger than the Atlas S (which I've stupidly twisted manhandling by loading a bipod (not this one)). The blue gun has a 1-4 Steiner (good value, Razor bright red dot (I owned both at same time and compared)) and 14.5" medium weight Ballistic Advantage. Magpul 45-degree MBUS. Otherwise same spec: Brownells TIN lightweight BCG, Trigger Tech 3.5# straight triggers, JP captured springs, Battle Arms bolt release, Ambi 45-degree safeties, Magpul, metal Raptor ambi charging handles, Superlative Arms adjustable gas blocks (nicest yet). Midwest barricade stops on both help keep me from putting my hands too far forward. Nice extended Battle Arms pins are worth the splurge. All good parts but nothing Titanium or too ridiculous. Barrels fit to trued receivers using thermal expansion. I look for nice tight fits, I won't use anything that's sloppy. Will tweak gas tubes so they won't touch barrel nut. Keep the ejection port cover pin from touching the hand guard, stuff like that. Big fan of Aero Precision, when I look at $600 billet receivers and Carbon hand guards I just don't see the difference being worth it. The biggest quality difference is, imho, a $2-300 Faxon, BA, White Oak, or any barrel in that range is going to probably be more variable than a $600 JP or Proof, etc. I can't prove this as I haven't shot enough barrels to know anything for sure but price = quality. But if they're all sub-MOA then isn't your shooting ability the much larger overwhelming factor? I won't show you the dozen or so ARs I assembled and mucked up in some minor way to learn what works best. Assembly is simple until you're trying to change an ejector or unpin a gas block without the right tools. Buy the right tools. I am not a gunsmith by any means. Only tuning required was the adjustable gas block to throw the casings at 4-o'clock. Everything ran perfectly from the first to last session. Of course I did these before Covid dried up parts availability and riots made me conserve ammo. Not sure if I will ever shoot another match given the climate but the 1-4 scope is all I need for practical matters in the Northeast, also much lighter than the Razor. The lighter gun may go to family for HD. Hopefully I'm being paranoid I did some weight comparisons and to save another half pound you'd have to spend twice as much and sacrifice some durability. Thinking these are the sweet spot for my environment. Considering everything I sold my long 3G shotgun in preference for a Benelli M2 with 3Gun mods but shorter barrel and a selection of tubes and springs (set up more HD than 3G). I will always shoot a 2011, love them, but have less expensive pistols for HD and PD. Range trips are 50-100 rounds rather than 200-400. Shooting my airguns at home 10x more often, nearly everyday. Keeping a bug out get home safe bag with plates in my car.
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