Unobtanium

BigHat, you had your chance to say your piece in open forum, and you didn't take it. Kip even offered you free product because he stepped out of line creating a thread that poked back at you for previous behavior toward him. In the end, you refused to post openly what allegedly occurred, only alluding to it. It seems more like you were into drama than into actually making a real grievance known. When Kip stated that you wouldn't even tell HIM what happened, you remained silent. Now you want to whine some more? Give it a break. You had your chance to put whatever you claim happened to bed, and did not. Now you want to resurrect it? What for? http://www.benelliusa.com/forum/showthread.php/22436-BigHat-has-not-made-any-friends-yet/page4

AAC did it. Surefire does it. Vltor does it. Plenty of companies do it. It happens when Engineering/production and Marketing have a disconnect. In Kip's case, he is both, so when it happens to him, it's when life gets in the way, or unexpected things occur. Is it the best? No. I have long since maintained that Kip should just not tell anyone about things until he has enough in-stock to satisfy the demand anticipated. However, like I said before, it's his hobby, and he's excited about it, and so he keeps everyone appraised of it. Sometimes he jumps the gun. Look at it this way, you wouldn't have the thing any sooner if he DIDN'T tell you it was coming down the pipe, would you?

This is correct.

PM received and responded to, BigHat. All I can say is your experience detailed has not been mine. Yes, I have been told that he PLANS TO mail something in a week or so and it ends up being longer, but I have always gotten the item exactly as described, when it does arrive. I suppose that is what matters to me, since I know to expect things to take a while. Since he has NEVER failed to deliver, I never bothered with bothering about things, understanding that yes, it takes a while sometimes.

All of this can be summed up rather succinctly with: Kip's products can be technically shown to have no peer in a similar item. Kip's R&D and time-to-market is long. Kip's delivery estimates are definitely not to be bet on. Kip always delivers. If you don't have patience, don't worry with owning the best unless you can find someone selling a used item from Kip, because you won't find products equal to his, and you likely won't get his products from him shipped "next-day", or even "next-month". Like Kip says, "Premium paint takes the longest to dry."

BigHat, do you honestly think that a man buys a digitally controlled machine to temper A2 steel with boring precision to make a few hundred bolt-handles for a shotgun that appeals to a niche market and then rolls them out over the span of a year? What ELSE could you call what Kip does for us BUT a hobby? It's certainly not what keeps food on his table. I have said this before, and I will say it again. Kip does things that are NOT hobby related for people that he is never going to discuss on this or any other forum. Check things out, BigHat. Look at the undercurrents, here. Looking at all of the things Kip has done with the M4/M1014 platform, did it dawn on you that the man seems very connected to a lot of people in this industry? No, the M4/M1014 is one of his hobbies, his passions. It's a labor of love that we benefit from. He builds things that we request of him. Yes, he is compensated for them, but I doubt that all of his sales together to-date for the M4/M1014 are enough to pay for the hardware that he has bought to machine or heat-treat, etc. those parts with. Further, a man does not amass the money or credit required to buy machines like that by not making money. All I am saying is that Kip does have a job, but this is a passion, and a labor of love. Not an economic powerhouse. As to his shipping, please elaborate, BigHat. Are you talking about the automated e-mail, or the automated billing of your card which is stated as matter of fact regardless of shipping status? Can you direct me to that original thread? Yes, FFT is an alternative, but Kip's Ti tube is stouter, and his bolt-handles are lighter even though they include an A2 tempered steel tang. His products are technically superior, and I choose to purchase them for that reason.

There is NOTHING to figure out. There is no mystery, conspiracy, plot, or anything of the sort, BigHat. Mainly, BigHat, Kip is a specialist who provides specialized products, and he provides them for a very low cost considering both material and workmanship involved. While we would all LOVE for him to work on our schedule, he doesn't. At least we can be thankful that he works on our requests. The market demanded a full-length magazine tube. Kip brought us one that weighed roughly half what any other on the market at that time weighed, while providing plenty of durability. Duggan and I wanted a mil-spec rail. We got it. Many people wanted a titanium bolt-knob identical to the one made by "Tool-man" from another forum, manufactured under the company of "Design Concepts". We got it. I guess my whole point here is that Kip is a complete anomaly. He produces insanely high quality parts for a group of people and a weapon system that he enjoys. He doesn't even consider it a living--how could he, at the rate/price/cost of his sales? This is A HOBBY. When your hobbies produce things that I will spend money on, BigHat, then you can start telling us how a hobby should be "performed". However, I am unaware of what your hobbies even are. Now, if you are going to allege that Kip has stolen money from you, then that is something entirely. However, I have never seen even you say that. So let the man enjoy his hobbies, and let everyone who wants to benefit from them do so. We know we are in for a wait, but it's so worth it.

$94. Wow. STEAL!

Kip takes time to bring a product to market, and yes, sometimes he is hard to get ahold of, but when his product does hit the market, it is perfect, and resale value is through the roof. You can say what you want about his wait times, and you would be right if you said that they can be/are long, quite often, but Kip has never refused to refund those who decide that they do not wish to wait, nor has he taken money and not delivered goods. If you don't think his products are worth the wait, that's a personal call, but you are going to have a VERY difficult time finding anything else to fill the niche in this market that his components fill.

100% normal. Obviously it was there from the beginning as the chrome-plating covers it.

These things are a pain to find at this point. Haggle the price if you want, but saying "I'll buy this one instead" is getting to be a fools bluff. I love mine.

Am hearing more and more that even with both eyes open, the SRS has less signature than the M4, regardless of the "tube" portion being "thicker" due to disparity in objective and occular. Very interesting. Still waiting for more opinions. Bobro > LaRue. Andrew Bobro isn't a dick, and his stuff is VERY high quality.

I run an M4S on my M4 (AR), but am trying to be open-minded toward the SRS. I have not handled one, but have heard both good and bad reviews from those who have.

I bought mine NIB off of Gunbroker a few months ago. It was tough to find, and somewhat expensive.

BTDT, Nay. Heavy and likely as not to strip the threads out of the receiver.

They will also advise against rimfire ammunition in a sealed rifle can unless you want to be throwing away a $1200 piece of equipment very soon. Mot manufacturers post sound attenuation data, or it can be found. Only Surefire guarantees less than 1 MOA POI shift on a correctly threaded barrel. Currently, Surefire has the best mounting system in the industry, in my opinion.

As far as i know you cannot clean these suppressors. The rifle has only 4-500 down range, sadly I do not have access to a longer range, and I work weekends, so no real accuracy tests yet. I'm hoping to move and buy property next year, though, and permanently remedy the problem. I am also thinking about buying a suppressor that cab be taken apart and cleaned and buying a .22 for that Hollywood quiet.

5.56 I considered the 300 AAC, but decided against it due to ammunition availability/cost compared to 5.56. It's a very neat round, though, and I'm a barrel/suppressor away from it. I am worried about filling the suppressor with carbon/lead/junk shooting .22LR through it, so it's going to stay a dedicated 5.56 can for me.

You need to define those purposes, because if not, then the MOD choke you have now is just fine. If you want something better for slugs, buckshot, whatever, the answers are all going to lead in different directions.

Yes, it is. MK 318 MOD 0 SOST is what I feed it normally. Same story on the 12.5" SBR I have on order, it is a 12.5" barreled clone.

What exactly is the goal, OP?

Pretty much. Each shotgun/choke is different. Just experiment until you find the combo that works for you. There is no "magic" choke tube that will be superior to all the rest in performance, although Teague has probably the best workmanship.

Teague is very difficult to get here. There are only 1 or 2 distributors that I am aware of, and must order from the UK. Takes a few weeks. I tried them, and it's half-dozen one or the other.

Vltor MUR/VIS 9" rail monolithic (bilithic?) upper Noveske hammer forged chrome-lined 14.5" barrel with pinned 212FH mount and switchblock with mid-length gas system Noveske Gen II lower Geissele SSA trigger LaRue FUG grip Troy BUIS Comp M4S in Bobro mount Surefire M300A light in LaRue mount w/F04 diffuser VTAC sling Magpul MOE grip Lancer 20 round AWM magazine LMT SOPMOD stock Magpul ladder rail covers, black Surefire FA556-212 Suppressor I have its identical clone, but with a 12.5" barrel on order, currently. It's SBR time

Taken as a whole, I think the M4 platform is very good, and plenty reliable. If there were a piston system that fit my desires, I would consider it instead. However, I am not a fan of SIG's current quality, and although I have a very nice AK-47, I just can't love it. I'm probably going to sell it in a few months. I am not the fondest of the FS2000 and AUG, either. Replacement parts are a PITA, and they have varying quality, and cannot be purchased in SBR format by a civilian, as I don't think the parent companies will sell. Some of what you have said is snide, as you slyly disparaged the platform's reliability by posting a humorous video of it choking on a twinkie.