StrangerDanger

A padded VTAC from Vickers would be an excellent sling. Using the QD ones would be a problem currently until the Mesa Urbino stock is released. The standard strap one would fit easily though. If you got the CarrierComp magtube, you'll get a replacement magazine spring with it. The follower isn't absolutely needed, but the upgrade is nice. It's more for 922 compliance which doesn't affect you.

Do you have a 5.5mm open ended wrench to remove the front sight's nut? I bought a set of ignition wrenches from Sears. My front sight did not have a nylock washer on the nut; so I bought a replacement from Brownells.

I am in the same boat for the AFG. I like the concept since that is how I hold my MRP anyway. I figure for 30 bucks, I can try it without much regret. I put GearSector's new QD sling mounts on the MRP last week. They're profiled better than the Daniel Defense model. They have the limited rotation blocks too, so you don't end up tangled in a knot. Plus, you can adjust how the rifle hangs by how the swivel is angled in 90 degree increments.

Does your M4 have a OD green hue also on the receiver? My new one does. Good job on the stippling, it looks uniform. My concern would be when slung. When I had my old SBR with Magpul XT rail covers, the aggressive texture would hang up on my pants and shirt. The aggressive grip is nice though. I've considered stippling my XTM covers on the recessed portions, and leaving the outer ridges smooth so they weapon will slide easily over surfaces that it comes into contact with. It takes a lot of balls to modify a 100 dollars worth of stock!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2485/4116275541_9ff4eb7a5e_b.jpg This is a GearSector 2 point sling on a rail mounted Daniel Defense sling mount and on the factory stock sling mount. I plan to change this when the Mesa Tactical Urbino stock is released. I intend to purchase a Vickers padded VTAC sling with QD points. My biggest gripe with the stock sling mount is the quick release buckle gets between my arm and the stock when shouldering the shotgun. It restricts my ability to fully pull the shotgun into the pocket of my shoulder. It works, but it isn't ideal. A padded sling would be ideal for such a heavy weapon. I have a VTAC on my MRP and it is great.

I'll be there. I'll look.

Hookster, You should try a Magpul Angled Forward Grip on your M80 and see how that feels. It might make the mount useful with a weapon light attached. I have a FDE one coming for my MRP. I dislike FVG's, but this seems quite different. I guess it would work on the KZ rail too. It might be a great way to a lid the pringles can.

What would be more useful is a mount that allowed you to mount an optic like the T-1 above the handguards of the M4, but lower. So you could retain a 1/3 co-witness of the sights. It could be done, but it would require a different approach.

It doesn't look functional to me. The further you are away from the T-1, the more sensitive it is to your position behind it. If he has the unit at Shot, I'll check it out.

I'm thinking the cuts are mainly for water drainage. The angled cuts might induce spin during cycling to break up carbon build up, but I don't think it is all that important really. The cuts just give the carbon a place to go rather than bind the piston. Our hobby project is moving along. We spec'd the pistons out last month. The numbers make much more sense in metric than in English. We're working with stainless also, I forget the exact type. It's not really my field. P17 H or something. It is in the annealed state to machine. Then the heat treatment will be outsourced. I'll try to break it before possibly sending the set off to Robar for NP3 coating. The barstock of stainless was pretty cheap. Something like 13 dollars. It was enough to make two pistons. These will be done by hand on a lathe, so mass production isn't really an option.

The cuts in the pistons are carbon scrapers. There is 4 sets. The outside rings are aligned. The two between them are indexed 120 degrees offset and 240 degrees offset. The purpose is to scrap carbon build up and to moderate gas discharge. The pistons are a grade of stainless. Unknown exactly which one from the factory. The cuts around the pistons are complex. They will likely require custom bits to cut the steep angles in such small areas. The hole at the end of the piston is likely present as a live guide. Establishing a heat treatment will be the hardest part along with some in the field testing. Awesome job with the KZ rail. It looks very clean. Have you tried shooting high base rounds with it in place? The ARGO rarely vents from the front with low base shells.

Personally tested in 130 degrees F in the shade. Direct sunlight was probably 170 degrees F. Not a single issue. Extreme cold could cause issues depending on the lubricant used.

I now have two red aluminum ones. I couldn't think of any reason why to go with the stainless. I doubt there is even much of a weight difference honestly. They both cost the same. My guess for the aluminum is for your preference in anodized colors. I went with red thinking it would be the easiest to see. None of the color has worn off over the past year. They are much better made than the factory follower.

The basic IR LED light is only good for about 10 feet. A new thing is the Surefire Vampire light series. These are dedicated IR weapon lights designed specifically for use with night vision equipment. These guys will know a **** of a lot more than I do about night vision equipment. http://www.ar15.com/forums/forum.html?b=6&f=18 Going with night vision isn't cheap. It's the main reason I never put any on my personal weapons.

Gen 2 is significantly better than Gen 1. In my opinion, Gen 1 isn't worth any money at all. The trouble with it is it almost always needs an IR light in dark areas. In places with lights and such, the lights bloom out and destroy the view. These visible lights actually damage the intensifier tube. So you're left playing it safe in what you can and cannot look at. The images are very grainy and have a lot of artifacts present through the scope. We found that our adapted night vision was superior. You will be reasonably happy with quality Gen 2 gear. I'm by no means an expert on these things. I've just had some field time with several different generations and thermal imaging systems.

Bolt handles and I assume other items have been pushed back to around March.

Save your money. You won't be happy with the results.

My last M4 came with the choke finger tight only. So make sure it is torques down properly. Pull the BCG and lube it properly. The M4 likes to run wet. Not dripping, but a moderate obvious presence of lubricant on all bearing areas. How exactly does a M4 ruin itself if it wasn't fondled before firing?

Hand tight until the last rotation. I then back it off to position. Any looser and it shifts around.

No thread locker was present on mine.

I figured what the heck and tore it apart. It's actually rather easy to disassemble the recoil extension. The only thing that is a pain is taking the extension off of the receiver. ftp://ftp.benelli.it/Public/UM_SPL/G0227900.PDF Pages 12 and 13 have a parts diagram and referenced names. 1. Unscrew the stock or slide off the collapsible stock. 2. Use a pair of snap ring plyers and remove the snap ring from the base of the receiver extension. This is the portion that screws into the stock or indexes with the collapsible stock portion. 3. There are two witness holes on the bottom side of the receiver extension. Insert a punch through one of the holes in order to prevent the spring from shooting out. 4. Unscrew the stock retainer screw from the end of the receiver extension. This has a strange castle nut style head. A very large flat head would work. My snap ring plyers worked also. It isn't torqued down. The spring is being held captive by this part. So be careful as you unscrew it all the way. 5. Put your thumb over the end of the receiver extension as you remove the punches. 6. The spring will simply pull out and the recoil spring plunger will just slide out after it. Done. There was a metric ton of crap inside mine. I blasted out the inside of the tube with Breakfree Powder blast. It looked like coffee pouring out for about 20 seconds. I forgot that I had accidentally bought a action spring a year ago thinking it was a replacement magazine tube spring. I wasn't a 100% sure that it was for the receiver extension. I believe the one I put in was from Wolff. Reassembly is easy. Lightly lubricate the parts. Push the recoil spring plunger back into the receiver extension. Then insert the spring. Press the spring in as much as possible by hand, and push the punch through the witness holes to capture the spring in place. Finish pressing the spring in with the stock retainer screw and begin screwing it in. Once it is in, remove the punch from the witness hole. Reinsert the snap ring into the end of the receiver extension. Done! I'm going to add this to my cleaning process after 2,500 - 3,000 rounds being fired. I've tried flushing this area out in the past with breakfree, but it doesn't seem to have gotten all the debris out. I need to go test fire some rounds later this week, but the action now feels identical to my brand new M4. I never noticed how much the M4's action had weakened over time since it was a gradual decline. Only when compared with a new M4 was it obvious. So if you've got a lot of rounds down the pipe, you might want to consider a new spring. Perhaps every 5,000 rounds would be a good idea. It is not just "broken in more". I sent an e-mail to Wolff asking if their springs will fit the M1014 series. http://www.gunsprings.com/index.cfm?page=items&cID=2&mID=10#468

On my older M4 11703 hybrid shotgun, I've determined part of my cycling speed issues has been caused by the spring in the receiver extension. We just got a second M4 11707 last week. The actions are significantly different in stiffness. Even after oiling and feeding several hundred rounds though the new M4 the past few days. When cycling the same type of shells, you can feel and hear that the newer shotgun is cycling faster. I cannot make the newer one jam due to beating the trigger disconnector. 11,000 - 12,000 rounds seems to have taken it's tole on the mainspring. I don't want to hit the receiver with a flame to take the receiver extension off. Can the spring and plunger set be removed from the extension at the rear of the extension? There is a snap ring present, but I've been unable to locate tech data on the procedure. I don't want to tear it apart for no reason. Thanks

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2610/3988993659_71edbe8df8_b.jpg I bought and sold quite a bit this year. The biggest thing I did was start reloading and stockpiling components.

Normal. They free float. Even when the bolt carrier is forward, there is a small amount of movement.

The lighter a weapon is, the faster it will be in a close quarters area of operation. A lot of people just sit at a range and shoot at stationary targets in great lighting. If so, weight reduction won't matter very much. However, if you plan to carry the rifle for miles slung, you'll notice a half pound drop. You will be faster when bringing the weapon onto target. It will be easier to aim for several minutes at w time off hand. Cutting weight from the muzzle is a great way to shift the balance to the rear. Remember that all that weight at the front is leveraged against you. I avoid mounting anything on the side rails in order to preserve balance and to avoid having obstructions that will rack your shins or upper leg when slung. Top and bottom mounted lights are great to avoid this. My current light of choice is a 12 o'clock Surefire X300. It weighs 4 ounces and is obstruction free. I see absolutely no value in having a heavy barrel on a semi automatic carbine.