CrusaderUSA

Actual quote from a 2-gun match after I shot a stage with my Miculek brake: "Ok, after that I don't want to hear anyone complain that my Lantac is loud." So yes, I guess they are loud, but honestly as the shooter, I can't really say that I've noticed or been bothered by it. It's been an effective brake for me, but I have a small sample size to compare it to. For less than $40, I think it's hard to beat for cost effectiveness.

I zero at 100 yards. I may switch to a 50/200 zero, but for now the 100 yard zero is working for me.

Personally, I have less of a tendency to pull slightly toward the side with a straight trigger. For some reason, I am always off a little to the left with a curved trigger. Also, having longer fingers, I find that a straight trigger gives me a finger placement on the trigger that feels a little more natural/comfortable as it is slightly forward of where a curved trigger places my finger.

So the Suarez has a shorter pull (and definitely has a shorter shoe in comparison to the Agency). It sounds like what I want is the Agency shoe with the Suarez pull.

I ended up going with CMC's 3.5 lb flat trigger. For $140, I just couldn't resist.

I was thinking the same thing, but I found this thread that has some other photos and it doesn't look quite so short here: http://www.warriortalk.com/showthread.php?124283-FLAT-AND-STRAIGHT!!/page12 Although in doing research on these straight triggers, I also came across the Agency Arms trigger that while not competition-oriented, still looks really awesome: http://www.rainierarms.com/agency-arms-drop-in-trigger

Just out of curiosity, does anyone have any experience with the Suarez straight trigger for Glocks? http://www.onesourcetactical.com/suarez-international-precision-flat-faced-trigger.aspx#.VcqYfJNViko I have seen a number of recommendations for the DK Custom triggers, but something has me curious about the possibility of a straight trigger in a Glock. I may still end up with a DK Custom, or possibly an OC Custom, but I am definitely curious about the Suarez.

I have an astigmatism in both eyes, and contacts to correct for it. The contacts help a little, but not 100%. My EoTech reticle does get fuzzy, and turning the brightness down helps. The brighter my reticle is, the more blurry it becomes, so setting the brightness to no more than necessary is essential. Shots past 100 or 150 yards just become difficult to me, as depending on the sunlight, I just can't always distinguish the target behind the dot. I have resigned myself to getting a 1-6x scope to give my eyes some help on those longer shots.

At the end of the day, I wanted an 18" barrel. I had as many recommendations for the Nordic as I did for the Black Hole Weaponry barrel, and I was curious about the polygonal rifling, so I went with the BHW barrel with the rifle-length gas system (which pretty much everyone was recommending). I figure I can always sell the barrel if for some reason it doesn't perform the way I want it to.

I hear the collective internet chant: "Rifle length! Rifle length! You're not scared, are you?" You're right. I'm not spending all this money just to end up with a rifle that is only slightly different in performance from what I already have. I'm going to go order that barrel!

Yeah, it took me by surprise given everything I have read so far, which is why I wanted to see if anyone here had any experience that validated what the shop guys were saying. All the guys I squad with shoot 16" barrels, so they couldn't really help me with regard to an 18" barrel.

I spent about 10 minutes talking with Black Hole Weaponry late this afternoon, and that proved to be a very helpful conversation. They said that the 18" barrel with rifle-length gas tends to be a bit undergassed while the 18" with mid-length gas tends to be overgassed. He recommended using an adjustable gas block if I went with the mid-length, or they would build me a custom barrel with an intermediate-length gas system which shouldn't need an adjustable gas block. Ultimately given how I want to use the rifle, he recommended the latter course of action. The catch is that intermediate-length gas tubes are difficult to find. Rainier Arms has them on the website, but out of stock. MidwayUSA has a Noveske, but the description makes it sound as if that gas tube is designed only for their barrels.

Are your shop guys also comp shooters or "just" shop guys? My local shop is run by internet commandos- good dudes, but they're baffled that my rifle (which is basically the antithesis to all things milspec), runs 100% of the time. Increased dwell time is likely going to be a non-issue out of the box. You'll be surprised at how much you can turn down your gas on a rifle lenght system. They also reciprocate noticeably less violently than a carbine system. I don't think intermediate = compromise. Just go rifle as has been suggested by others, don't look back, and enjoy the benefits. I too questioned the reasoning behind spending money on an adjustable gas block before I tried one. Now I feel that they're basically an essential upgrade to a game gun. No other part (gas system length comes in a far second) gives you as much control over the recoil impulse of your system. Even though you're using a full-mass carrier now, you may go lightweight in the future. And even if you don't, you can fully tune your full-mass system to shoot as flat as possible. If you have the money and interest then try it out. You can always sell it easily- they retain their resale value for a reason! This is exactly the sort of guidance I was hoping for, thanks again BC! My shooting experience has been limited to 14.5" or 16" barrels with carbine or mid-length gas systems, so hearing real-world experience from people who are shooting the sort of set-up I'm considering is what I need. With the adjustable gas block, do you need to be tweaking it as it gets dirty, or is it more "set & forget" once you've found the desired setting for your load?

The Stretch 16 is a consideration, though with the July sale that Black Hole Weaponry has going, I think I'm starting to lean in that direction, though still not 100% decided between the rifle-length and mid-length gas system.

Ok, so 18" and the Nordic barrel is still the way to go? I could also look at Black Hole in an 18" with intermediate gas... I'd have to wait a bit to get it, but I suppose I'm not in too big a rush.

I ordered the MI rail and the BCM upper receiver. The guys at my local shop are saying I should go with an intermediate-length gas system instead of the rifle length to alleviate the chance of having issues due to the longer gas dwell time in a rifle-length system. I know a LOT of people are recommending the rifle-length gas, but should I consider intermediate gas? Or maybe I should consider a 16" barrel?

I hadn't considered that. I guess I shouldn't spend hundreds on all the other parts and skimp on a $40 bolt.

Thanks BC! I've read a lot of good stuff about the Sentry 7 gas block, both in terms of not having a set screw to lock it, and also having quarter turn adjustments that make it not such a pain to adjust. And good point on the .223 Wylde for the DMR matches. I'd been leaning toward the Nordic, and that is another aspect in its favor.

Ok, after a few months of research and shooting my first few matches, I'm ready to relegate my 16" heavy barrel AR back to general range duty, and build a new upper for 2-gun, 3-gun, and DMR match use. I'm going to use the bolt carrier group, BCM charging handle, and Miculek brake off of this rifle, so that is why those parts are not mentioned below. So here is what I feel pretty sure about: - BCM assembled upper receiver - Midwest Industries 15" Gen II SS Keymod Rail - Spikes Gas Tube, Rifle-length, Melonite coated And here's where I am still undecided: - Midwest Industries low-pro gas block (non-adj.) OR - SLR Rifleworks Sentry 7 adjustable gas block - (will this fit under the MI rail? I may start with the non-adj brake and see if I want to monkey with adjusting the gas. I'm going to shoot more than one load with this rifle given it'll be used in DMR and 2-gun, so having to switch settings for each load is a factor as well.) The barrel is where I keep bouncing around: - Nordic Components 18" .223 Wylde Competition barrel - MEGA Arms 18" 5.56 SPR Match barrel - Faxon 18" 5.56 Heavy Fluted barrel And what other barrels might I be overlooking? I want the barrel to be 18", under $270, not have a long wait time, be under 40 oz, have rifle-length gas, shoot well with 55 grain bullets and hold 1 MOA 69 - 77 gr match rounds (it'll be used out to 600 yards, so this is very important). Thoughts?

Miculek is what I run as well, and I'm very happy with it. You might find these Youtube videos helpful in getting a basic idea of how effective a number of different comps are. It's not a perfectly scientific test, but I thought it was interesting (there's a comparison chart at the very end of these if you don't want to watch the whole thing): and the sequel:

Thanks jhr! That's all I needed to know. I think I've just cleared up any excuse to not get one of these.

Hey, for those of you who have one of these in hand, can you relay how easily the variable power ring turns? I'm hoping for something easy enough to turn in the middle of a stage when moving from a target at 150 to 480 yards. Thanks!

Geez, picking a trigger is getting harder and harder. Unhappy customers with Elf, Hiperfire, Timney... It's looking like Geissele is the only option left (granted, not a bad option at all, but it's the only one I haven't played with yet).

The 2-gun matches that I shoot require a sling, as every shooter begins each stage with their rifle slung and retain it throughout the stage. I like to have my sling mounted about halfway down the rail and I use it to help stabilize the rifle while shooting. I don't want it to work loose on me either during a match or from one match to the next. I also don't have a separate rifle for home defense at this time, so when not being used during a match, it also has a light mounted on it.

Hey guys, I'm looking at rail options to upgrade my 3-gun rifle (which is currently not free floated), and perusing the various M-LOK and Keymod options. I'm not trying to start a "which is better" debate, but wondering if anyone has had issues with either their M-LOK or Keymod accessories loosening up on their rails? I've read a couple blogs that talked about Keymod accessories loosening up, but for all I know that's user error rather than a widespread issue. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether one of these systems is more secure than the other? Thanks!