Nitrider

Vlad- The case falls freely from the chamber regardless if the extractor grabs it or not. The extractor does not seem to be marking the rim of the casing at all. Rigger JJ- How do I give the shoulder a "deeper bump"? I am simply following the instructions included with my dies for non-crimp bullet seating. bigedp51- I don't have any case gauges yet. I almost ordered some with my Dillon 550... but didn't due to funds. Maybe I'm a little slow, but I'm not understanding the difference between full length resizing and "bumping the shoulder". Could you elaborate how you did both of those steps? Is it possible that I bumped the shoulder back too far inadvertently causing the cartridges rim to sit too deep for the extractor to get at it? Dan Sierpina- You might be on to something. Do you think this has anything to do with running a 5.56 chamber and .223 full length dies? Also, once the cartridge has been fired it seems to be extracting well. I bet it's sitting too far in the chamber and is being pushed back into the ejector upon firing, then being extracted properly. Is there a good way to compare the location of the shoulder of a fired piece of brass and a resized piece? Is it possible that switching dies may remedy the problem? I just purchased a set of Hornady dies; maybe they'll help the issue.

Dan Sierpina- Can dies resize too much? And, I hadn't thought about the seating die pushing the shoulder back. I'd have to look closer at my dies to see it that's even possible. Vlad- I checked and this does not happen with factory ammo.

After reloading some 223 for my AR-15 [my first large batch] I noticed issues when hand cycling the rifle. In specific, when hand cycling reloads through my AR a failure to extract malfunction occurs. It's as if the extractor is slipping off the round as it is being extracted. At no point is the round sticking in the chamber, and it seems to be solely an extractor issue. [Note: when hand cycling factory ammo, no extraction issues occur.] To make things more confusing, when firing this ammo the malfunction rate drops drastically. Maybe one failure to eject per 50-100 rounds. So, what am I doing wrong?! Other details: All brass has been trimmed to 1.760" or shorter. All brass has been resized using Redding full length .223 dies All brass was tumbled/cleaned after being lubed and resized COAL is short enough to fit inside a STANAG magazine The reloaded cartidge's bullet is not even close to touching rifling

To all those who recommended a muzzle brake or a can for my rifle: My prayers have been answered! Silencerco Omega, BAM! Whaddya think? And has anyone tried this or the Harvester to verify that the brake actually makes an appreciable difference?

58.87 Raw time 13 Charlie 2 Delta 3.4 Penalties [shooting minor power factor] 62.27 Total I shot the drill cold, and haven't shot pistol in roughly two months... and it was about 35-40 degrees out. So my hands felt pretty slow. I have attended some local defensive pistol matches, but I've never shot any IPSC or USPSA. Looks like I need to pick up the pace quite a bit as my raw time looks pretty slow.

VZ Diamondbacks are awesome. At first they rubbed my hands raw(ish), but I quickly aclimated to them and haven't looked back. Most plastic framed pistols feel slick as snot after handling VZ diamondbacks. From my experience, the VZ Tactical Diamonds are very nice looking but don't offer much in the way of enhanced grip.

Yes, I mean "Proper sight alignment", but more than that....I mean that the sights are properly aligned automatically after the draw. You don't need to adjust, they're already aligned...indexed. Thanks for clearing that up. I figured that's what you meant but just wanted to be clear. no idea. not much interest either. I can hit something from self-defense-range without any sights at all, so I have plain black sights on all my guns. Plenty of top competitive shooters prefer plain black sights btw. Good to know that plain black sights are so widely accepted. Maybe I'll try blacking out the fiber optic for a while.

jc2357, Max It, and P.E. Kelley- Three votes for Good To Go. Thanks! TonytheTiger- I feeling like we're on the same page. Especially after hearing so many people approve of the Cajun Gun Works sights. I'm kind of relieved that I'm the weak link. Thus far, everything CGW that I've touched has been EXCELLENT. I cannot recommend their products enough!!! elguapo and CZ85Combat- I think you're on to something. When shooting slowly I'm properly aligning the sights, but when shooting more quickly I may be dropping the center dot as low as the rear notch will allow. Thus throwing shots a few inches low. For what it's worth, when shooting standard IDPA or IPSC cardboard at 7 yards I have no major issues. However, our defensive pistol stages place most targets at 12-20 yards and very often with "hardcover" obscuring the A zone. I don't know how many shots I dropped by hitting only an inch into the "hardcover". It was painful, to say the least. twowheels- Although I am going to try to work through the "software issue", the CZC rear sight will be my back up just in case I can't get the CGW sight to work for me. I wonder if the CZC can be dropped in and retain my current point of impact or if a new front sight is in order as well?

elguapo- I shot only 50 rounds before using them for the first pistol match [which didn't go well] and by the time I got to the next match [which went much better] I had around 400 rounds through it. There is definitely something to be said about settling into a new pair of sights. gransport- What do you mean by "indexing"? Proper sight alignment? If so, I've spent a bit of time doing this and things seem to be going more smoothly. I'm thinking that the real culprit is my old beat up glasses. I'm having a really hard time focusing on my front sight, which makes the edges of the sight blurred so proper sight alignment isn't very distinct. In contrast, when three dot sights are misaligned it is immediately noticeable. cheers623- Thanks for the tips and the explanation of the thought process behind running a fiber optic front sight. It's funny; I try to take the scientific approach to all things shooting, but when it came to pistol sights I figured that "it just works" and that all the pros couldn't be wrong. I wrongly assumed that it would be some magic bullet to make me shoot faster. motosapiens- Interesting. Flat black, huh... Maybe I could give it a test run using cheers623's tip or the sharpie on the fiber rod like you suggested. This sounds dumb, but I was reluctant to switch to fiber optic from tritium because this pistol sees double duty as my competition gun and my nightstand gun. Do you think the flat black blade would slow me down in low light? [My pistol wears a X300 Ultra when it comes home.] To all- I'm going to spend some quality time working the fundamentals at the range before I jump to conclusions. Perhaps once I get truly comfortable again, I will be able to notice the increase in speed. As of now, the sights when shooting slow are very nice. Slowfire hits at 100 yards on 12" steel are easy to come by.

I've been shooting a CZ SP-01 for the last year and finally swapped out the stock meprolight sights for a set of Cajun Gun Works fiber optic sights. While the sights are nicely made [the front sight is made by Dawson Precision, the rear by Cajun], I'm having some troubles adjusting to the new sight picture. The rear sight notch is .125 wide by .150 deep. When shooting quickly, I seem to lose track of how deep my front sight is sitting in the rear notch and have to slow down to ensure that the top of my front blade is level with the top of the rear sight. Should I tough it out and try to adapt to the new sights or is replacement necessary because the extra deep rear sight is making things difficult? For what it's worth, I'm posting this in the handgun techniques forum because my technique may be the culprit and not the sights at all. I figure you guys would know what sight dimensions work best. Thanks, -Ian

I've been shooting a CZ SP-01 for the last year and finally swapped out the stock meprolight sights for a set of Cajun Gun Works fiber optic sights. While the sights are nicely made [the front sight is made by Dawson Precision, the rear by Cajun], I'm having some troubles adjusting to the new sight picture. The rear sight notch is .125 wide by .150 deep. When shooting quickly, I seem to lose track of how deep my front sight is sitting in the rear notch and have to slow down to ensure that the top of my front blade is level with the top of the rear sight. Should I tough it out and try to adapt to the new sights or is replacement necessary because the extra deep rear sight is making things difficult? For what it's worth, I'm posting this in the CZ forum because of the limited amount of sight options that CZs have. If the answer is changing the rear sight, I hope someone might be able to recommend a replacement. Thanks, -Ian

Ha ha ha!!! I love that his bipod is on backward too.

Update: If anyone's intersested, the Saturday I was able to mount a Silencerco Trifecta Muzzle Brake on my rifle after a defensive pistol match. All I can say is WOW. It was like the mising piece of the puzzle. All of the sudden the reduced reciprocating weight was immediately noticeable, my trigger felt like it was finally free run as quickly as possible without the fear of a wandering muzzle, and my rifle transformed from a light weight, slightly bouncy, cadenced rate of fire weapon into a steady, highly controllable bullet hose. That being said, while shooting in a relatively small pistol bay, the report of the rifle was mildy uncomfortable with Peltor Tac/Sport muffs. I haven't tried running foam hearing protection underneath the electronic ear pro. I assume it will help. I just hope it's enough. Thanks to all that helped me out in this thread!

Mick B. and dauntedfuture have it. Usually set screw style gas blocks are lower profile, where clamp on take up just a bit more room. That being said, I ordered a SLR Sentry 7 set screw model and was accidently sent a clamping model. I was a little offput at first, but after having used the clamping style I think they did me a favor by sending the wrong one. Zero signs of gas block loosening after nearly a thousand rounds and enough clearance for my slim handguard. Also, there's a lot of surface area holding the block in place when clamped and a lesser chance of fitment issues during installation. The set screw style seems more prone to slipping, even if dimples are cut into the underside of the barrel.

Nebwake- That's a very good point you make. It's funny, since joining this foum I've been [rightfully] corrected on terminology three times. This is a great example of that. In my head I used these terms as synonyms, even though I know too well the diferences you've described. Thanks! Not to sound ignorant, but was I speaking with a pro multi-gunner during this post? If so, count me grateful for the help! This forum rocks! RigPig- Thanks for the tip. There's no reason not to start low and work up. I'll do it that way next time.

Hi-Power Jack- I spent last night running the Dillon 550 just in case I can make it to the steel match. Bidah- Thanks for the info. It is a bit of a haul from Kalispell, but it would be heaps of fun. I'm trying to see if I can get my schedule to work out. And we both have the weapon mounted lights, just not the holsters that go with them. My girlfriend shoots a G17 so I may be able to find something compatible on short notice. safeactionjackson- Don't let the cat out of the bag! P.S. The Flathead Valley is disgusting, no need to come here either.

redial- What's the approximate round count for the match?

Hi-Power Jack- Thanks for the welcome! But as the others stated, the shooting season is short around these parts. I like your enthusiasm though! D. Hayden- I'm from northwest Montana. Kalispell to be exact. Where do you hail from? Bidah- Dang! That's tempting, but this Saturday is the last defensive pistol match of the year at Bigfork. Although... What time does it start? And would I need a holster? I only ask because my girlfriend and I have both been lazy and haven't gotten light bearing holsters done up for ourselves yet. I could probably borrow a generic dropleg holster from a friend, but wouldn't have two. safeactionjackson- Thanks for welcoming me to the forums. I've been shocked at how open and helpful people are here. It makes me wonder why I hadn't joined earlier!

Thanks for the first hand account. There's a good chance I'll be saving my nickels and dimes for a Saker 7.62 or Specwar 7.62 can and one of these covers. I plan on going 7.62 so that I can shoot it on my 5.56 and .308, and eventually a new 300 Blackout rifle. This hobby is going to cripple me financially!

RigPig- Your description of how to tune the rifle is exactly how I've been doing it. I just need to pick up some more PMC Bronze; It chronographs at around 2700fps for me. Since installing the low mass setup, I've only been running XM193, so maybe the low mass carrier is doing more than I think. FishnHuntIN- Thanks for the advice. I appreciate other's suggestions, but I didn't see the merit in that brake. I just assumed that they knew something I didn't. openclassterror- Again, my thoughts exactly. There is no way that top competitors would still be running low mass if it negatively affected reliability. My intent with this rifle is to put it's feet to the fire and see what part gives out first. I figure if I put 1000 rounds through this rifle without cleaning or lubrication in fickle Montana weather that it should be a good indicator that it's a reliable setup. Heck, I know a few LEOs that have taken their clean, full mass work rifles to carbine classes and had them choke badlyin under 500 rounds. Maybe I'm lucky, or maybe I buy quality gear, but I've never had any malfunction of any sort with this AR. *Knocks on wood* Half of the reason I bought this low mass setup was to defy convention and see if it could be made reliable. Good to hear your first hand experiences and that you give it the thumbs up. Newbake- Don't take my last post to openclassterror as me being unappreciative of your input. Thank you for chiming in! We all have different life and shooting experiences and all of it is welcome. Regarding cyclic rate: I timed [using my high speed camera] the cyclic rate of my low mass rifle compared to a stock Colt 6920. The Colt 6920 cycled 26% faster than mine. This has almost prompted me to increase gas and speed up cyclic rate a bit. Regarding returning to battery: I agree with you here. The low mass won't have as much stored potential energy [at rearmost travel point] as the full mass setup, but the low mass setup should also accelerate more quickly which helps strip rounds from the mag. I weighed the pros and cons before trying this low mass setup. Right now I feel I'm at a good balance point between reliability and performance. I've also been toying with Hooke's law and measuring spring constants along with calculating their theoretical output at different stages of cycling the AR. From what I've seen, this has a lot to do with keeping a gun reliable. Also, as I stated earlier in this post, I plan on getting thus gun good and dirty before I give the low mass an offficial "Good to go". Regarding JP Rifle's advice: I've seen that they do not endorse this product for duty use. This scared me at first, but I'm thinking that this is merely a way for JP to deny accountability for some Average Joe that sticks a low mass setup in an overgassed carbine rifle, doesn't test his rifle, and then has it [predictably] fail in a duty situation. Honestly, the military and law enforcement have to design their rifles for the lowest common denominator. MIL and LEOs can be good shooters, but it's not a prerequisite. This is why I came to this forum, the users here are people who actively compete, test gear, and hold their gear accountable. They know what's fast and know what's relaible, and routinely try to reinvent their technique and gear to maximize performance. I LOVE IT! TonytheTiger- Thanks! I've never posted in any forums until yesterday, but just thought that addressing each user helps clear up a lot of confustion I see in forums. gdcguns- Good point! And yeah... I get that I will plagued by the "Jack of all trades" syndrome. There's no way around it. Thus far, it seems that taking a slightly more progressive look at defense guns has yielded great results. This methodology only really makes me suffer when shooting competitions, as gear [especially a muzzle brake] can make a huge difference. Doug H.- I've heard [but haven't read up on it at all] that the can covers can melt too. How hot can you get 'em before they go meltdown on ya, as in roughly how man rounds can you put through it? openclassterror and Nebwake- I love the respect you guys have for eachother and different perspectives you both bring to the table. The just confirms my decision to join this forum. gdcguns and openclassterror- I bet this rifle will transform into two rifles sometime soon. It's a matter of having the cash to make it happen without drying up my ammo funds. My thought is practice first, new gear second. I feel so embarrassed for people who are shooting the newest, latest, greatest, flashiest setup and can't shoot their way out of paper bag. It makes me cringe. I just don't ever want to be that guy. Jon49erfan- I've done it both ways. As long as your gas isn't wide open when you start, it works both ways. I start at an educated guess and go from there. Vespid_Wasp- Agreed, specialized guns rule. One day...

openclassterror- I hear ya on the weight thing. Like I said, this gun came out unexpectedly light. My friend's rifle weighs around 10.5 lbs with his suppressor. It's very smooth to shoot, but would be a bear if you had to carry the thing. As far as noise goes, I will be using ear protection with any rifle I use, muzzle brake or not. I am just borderline paranoid about premature hearing loss. I don't want my hobby to cripple me later in life. Thank you for the expanation of the low mass setup. This is what I anticipated it did, but I wanted to hear it out of someone's mouth. Stlhead- I think you're right, the extra weight and handling characteristics of the suppressor could be really beneficial. Is there any negative to running a suppressor in a multigun match other than increased length? GreenDragon64 and TonytheTiger - What would the Corvette offer that other muzzle devices don't? Nebwake- Is there any reason that you wouldn't run a low mass setup in a duty/defense gun? I only ask because I've heard this before, but haven't gotten any real substantial evidence that it would cause failures. Honestly, half of the reason I purchased the low mass setup was to test this out for myself. I agree that it could potentially narrow the window of successful operation, I just want to see if when tuned properly if it gives me any problems. I'm inclined to agree with you about running the rifle suppressed with low mass components. If gas wasn't adjusted properly, the extra pressure could have that gun cycling insanely fast. Also, I still have my full mass carrier and am not opposed to re-installing it. I just wanted to experiment with this for intellectual fun.

Stlhead- I'm a big fan of keeping my gun collection to a minimum. One long range rifle, light weight rifle, shotgun, full size pistol, and compact pistol. Pretty much anything I own I try to keep relevant as both a competition and defense weapon. I know this isn't exactly optimal for either endeavor but it allows me to justify gun purchases a little better and frees up more cash for ammo. But I think you're on to something with the night competition aspect. I hate the idea of an overly specialized gun becoming worthless in certain scenarios, whatever the scenario may be. If my trip to the shooting range runs late, night shoot, indoor shoot, etc. Big nasty comps suck indoors and make you near blind at night. I once saw a guy with a AN PVS-14 running an AR with a JP muzzle brake on it. One word: hilarious.Everytime he shot it was like someone flicked the lights on and off. I just don't want to be that guy. Doug H.- Solid advice. A friend of mine just purchased a Saker 5.56 and let me run it on my AR. Very fun, soft shooting, and oh so quiet. It's made me wonder if I should get one of my own and use the Saker muzzle brake as a mount. Fast and loud when I want it, quiet when I don't. Funny though, I'm still trying to figure out what to do with that hot can after shooting it. You can't even really transition to a pistol unless you want to burn holes through any clothing it touches.

Iowashooter- Agreed, muzzle brakes go BOOM! There's no way around it. Glad to have another vote for the Seekins. To all- I'm still wary of a muzzle brake's concussive nature and how badly they flash. Plus, I kind of like the idea of tuning a rifle without a muzzle brake, knowing that when I do install one that the rest of the rifle is in proper working order. Also, I know that Brian Enos is a forum that is pretty much dedicated to competition shooting sports, but I don't want my rifle to only be a practical choice for broad daylight competition shooting.

jtaylor996- Thanks for the reccomendations. The Seekins looks interesting as it uses slightly softer angles to engage gas coming out of the ports. I wonder if that may reduce the angle at which the port pressure is redirected? Is it non-offensive compared to all other brakes? The Gas Hog might be even more promising, except for the price! I wonder if it's concussion is similar to running a bare muzzle, which is quite acceptable in my book. jon49erfan- Good to know about those comps. They both strike me as loud by design. Loud is subjective anyway. Since I have an adjustable gas system, I should be taking full advantage of the low mass carrier immediately, right? I don't need to purchase different springs or adjust the ones I currently have? To all- I guess I'm coming at this from a salesman's point of view. Think Feature, Advantage, Benefit. For example, A Post-It note features a sticky backside. This is advantageous because it allows you to place your note on any surface. The benefit of this is your notes are now more visible and your information is more easily found. A low mass carrier features a lighter weight than a standard mass carrier. This is advantageous because less mass is reciprocating in your rifle. The benefit is... ??? To achieve that [not yet clearly defined] benefit, is there a certain way the bolt carrier should be implemented, or just drop it in and adjust gas?

Thank you for the replies! TacticalCOWBOY and JohnLTD- From my understanding, a good muzzle brake is the cheapest, easiest, and most effective way to reduce recoil/muzzle rize [depending on design]. If I had to go with a new muzzle device, what would be a good one that won't blow out my eardrums? I've heard some positive things about the PWS FSC556 as a middle of the road choice, but also hear that it's still loud. Also, I would go to the range and try out some other people's gear, but up here in Montana there's mostly but a bunch of dirt shooters. Hah! Mark Gale- You are very correct; carrier bounce. Sometimes I abbreviate "BCG" to just "bolt", which is inaccurate. I agree with your assessment of carrier bounce; it's not a problem until it manifests itself as a malfunction. Thus far, no malfunctions have shown themselves by running the low mass setup. I have only viewed the high speed footage and found a completely arbitrary point that I thought was too much bolt bounce. I could be wrong, but I assumed [from my very limited background in physics] that the buffer system operated by acting as a deadblow to the carrier. If a full mass carrier [11oz] is used with a 1oz buffer, carrier bounce will be severe. If a low mass carrier [8oz] is used with a 4oz buffer, then much of the carrier bounce would be mitigated. Both offer a reciprocating mass of 12oz, but the latter provides a better buffer to carrier weight ratio. Again, this is my understanding of the concept. I could be very wrong. As far at training goes, I'm on board with ya. I plan on attending a few classes sometime soon. A good friend of mine just attended one recently and passed along some much needed information. That being said, I'm still looking for the best way to mechanically reduce minimize muzzle drift in this rifle. [Without a brake, until I break down and get one; Ha!] But back to the original question, is a lightweight carrier a plug-n-play type of part or does it need tuning to reap it's benefits? What positive experiences have you [everyone] noticed after installing this item?