DesertTortoise

I like a non-marring gunsmith hammer (brass and nylon heads). A roll pin starter punch can be helpful. You can buy a jig which is helpful for installing roll pins, but a roll of tape works well too. The two tricky roll pins are the gas tube and bolt release. YouTube videos may be helpful there You'll need an armorers wrench to install the castle nut on the buffer. These usually will include built in spots to install the muzzle device and barrel nut. Barrel nuts may require a specific tool depending on the brand. A torque wrench is recommended but not required. You'll need some type of bench block to secure the upper when you install the barrel and muzzle device. I have the wheeler one that the upper pins into. I have a plastic one that fits in the lower through the magwell, but one for the lower is not really needed. I like vibratite (a sticky thread locker) but blue loktite is great too. Use threadlocker on everything! I like to mark bolts with a paint pen so I can see if they start to loosen up. (Especially the castle nut and hanguard bolts) An inch pound torque wrench/driver is recommended for installing optics and small bolts, but, again is not required. .

I haven't used 1-3, but they do look good to me! Those coated bolts carrier groups are really easy to clean which is nice. For #4 I like the velocity drop in trigger ($132 on brownells). I have friends who used a rise armament trigger and liked them ($98 on brownells). If you get an adjustable gas block, try and get one that adjusts from the front. I think superlative arms is the favorite one right now ($82). I have a front adjustable one from a company that went under and a side adjustable seekins that lines up just right so I can't get to it through the rail.

The AR runs off gas vented back through the gas block into the bolt. Typically barrels are made with an oversized gas port to ensure proper function by providing more gas than is actually needed. You can deal with that by using adjustable gas block or by adding to the weight of the buffer. For competition guns, adjustable gas is preferred because you can then reduce the reciprocating mass by using a lightweight bolt tuned to your ammo. The same idea as lightening cuts and tuned springs on a pistol. you can be very competitive with a standard gas & recoil system though. The only must haves in my opinion are a muzzle brake and good trigger. For one of your other questions, the mil spec carbine receiver extension (buffer tube) gives you the most stock options. Id also buy the standard buffer and only go heavier if your brass is being launched into orbit (assuming you didn't go with adjustable gas)

Just a grams follower and spring will get you to 20 rounds

I've done two of those and I also had problems with the timing. But I eventually got it right the way mentioned above. Due to the trouble with installation, If I didn't really like the handguard, I wouldn't have got the second one also if I remember correctly the adapter can be reversed if the threads are way off. And the torque spec is a range rather than an exact number you need to hit When you install the hand guard, take a carry handle or scope mount and use it to bridge the rail across the upper receiver and the handguard. That will keep everything in line when you tighten the handguard to the barrel nut.

Maybe the castle nut wrench fits in the slot ? Or some proprietary tool

The way I read their response in the OPs email was "our hammer" meaning the Cajun made race hammer, not the idpa compliant one in the kit you ordered. Maybe give them a call after the holidays

I think you have the hammer off of the shadow, not the Cajun “race hammer” need an idpa rule expert to weigh in

Tacsol has a proprietary charging handle that's just the right size and really smooth. Then again, if you need to use the charging handle on the clock, it's a bad day already

The safariland 773 for 9mm glock fit my large frame tanfo mags fine

You need a throating reamer to open up the area you indicated. Unless your gunsmith determined you had a short chamber by a headspace guage, you might need a new gunsmith, too.

You can re-use the hanger (those are expensive!) and just buy a new shell You'll be able to sell the kydex shell pretty quick. Red Hill is the best.

For the 22s I think you'll be better off upgrading what you have. The companies that make high end 22s all sell the components separately. You end up not paying for an expensive receiver and bolt that isn't functionally different from what you have already. Sounds like a cool project to do with your son

You could try to add a shim to get a tighter fit where the trigger pin goes through. Maybe cut a section off a thin feeler guage and drill it out. I'd try that before cutting the sides of the trigger itself

I believe the Henning trigger was designed to fix this. I think he has posted on his website that he shot himself in the foot due to the problem you describe Edit: here it is: Precise Fit to FrameIf you inspect how the factory trigger fits in the frame you'll see how much sideways wobble there is. You may not think this is all that important, but how would you feel if I told you it was partially the reason why I ended up with a bullet hole in my foot ten years ago? The frame is equipped with a "trigger guard" which main purpose is to protect the trigger from accidentally being pushed. Well, if the trigger is allowed to move outside the width of the trigger guard, it is exposed which is not a good thing from a safety perspective. Secondly, sideways wobble and slop prevents a precise trigger movement. The new Henning trigger is designed with a "boss" width of .335" which will allow for a tight fit inside the frame. The actual width of the lever that you pull with your finger is .250".

Just a note, you don't have to pull the longer bullets to load them shorter. I shortened a lot of long loaded moly coated bullets just running them through the seating die again. No problem with the coating coming off.

I don’t think you need to drop your load down. You’ll still be over minimum length and under the recommended starting load.

These guys mostly make them for motorcycles, but do have some kind of portable battery controller. Don't know about fingerless gloves, you'd have to call them. The jacket is super nice, like liquid warmth. https://www.warmnsafe.com

Buy the cheapest crap you can find and pew pew pew. Seriously

Witness is the US (European American Arms) import name for the tanfoglio pistol. This is a modified copy of the CZ 75 pistol. It is different enough that parts are not compatible. Cold war politics prevented patent protection and there are many CZ clones and varients out there.

I think they are marketing this as a high end carry gun for folks with 10 round magazine restrictions. It looks like a "budget" option over the Wilson EDC 9.

Also, the silent capture spring is expensive but awesome. I see it as a nice add to get the last bit of smoothness from a rifle that has a comp, low mass bolt, and adjustable gas.

Short version, I think a well built race rifle will perform in the roles you describe. And any AR style rifle requires the same basic maintenance to stay reliable. Long version: I have a fair amount of experience with colt, FN, etc actual M4s and I've seen them fail in every possible way. No question they are built to be tough, but they also do suffer exceptional abuse. At a live fire this week I saw an M4 turn into a bolt action rifle (probably due to a 20 year old magazine or some nonsense). I have had a personally owned highend "mil spec+' gun that failed multiple times (charging handle latch ripped off, "properly staked" castle nut came loose, bad accuracy with 55 grain ammo, part fitment issues) In contrast, my 3gun race rifle that I cobbled together from performance parts has been very reliable and performances at least 20% better than a milspec rifle (totally subjective), but only suffers from minor abuse. Failures with this rifle have always been due to bad primers or a poorly seated magazine. I just occasionally need to tighten up the various mounting bolts. My opinion is that whatever you have, you need to check that the bolts stay tight everywhere. Mark them with a paint pen and use loctite. Take special care that the gas system runs right. If you do that, lubricate the rifle a little, and use high quality magazines, your rifle will go pew pew every time.

It goes off your best recorded scores for a given stage. Next time if you shoot that one at an A level, and all others at a D, you'll still go up in classification

I use the common method