uscm

I was super nervous the first time I did it. Mostly because it was an unknown. Had I known what I know now ... I was genuinely shocked how easy it was. It was probably one of the easiest accessories I installed on my gun. Took just a few minutes to heat up, remove, clean the threads, install new tube. That's why I'm always shocked whenever people say they've bought a tube extension instead of a full tube. The cost of a decent tube extension is only a little cheaper than buying a full tube. And buying a full tube counts as 922® compliance whereas the extension does not.

I bought one of Kip's (carrierComp) titanium tubes. It came with very clear and exact directions which were easy to follow. In a nut shell: strip the gun down. Cut a length (4-6 inches) of bicycle inner tubing (it's cheap and works awesomely as a gripping aid). Slide the inner tubing onto the old mag tube. Apply heat with a heat gun to the front of the receiver where the mag tube is inserted into. Apply even heat to all sides ... keep the heat gun moving. After a while, the factory locktite will turn back to liquid and the mag tube can be unscrewed. You don't want to overheat it, but you also don't want to under heat it before you start unscrewing it. Just keeping trying to unscrew it occasionally. It shouldn't take much force. I was able to unscrew the mag tube on my own without any additional help from another person, but the bike inner tubing really helped getting a grip on the old tube. Once you've removed the tube, clean up the receiver threads, apply new locktite to the new tube, screw back in. Easy.

If Geiselle's involved, I'm all over it. I have Geiselle Triggers in every one of my ARs. Hands down the finest triggers I've ever used.

I haven't seen any pics of the handle installed on a shotty, but this is Kip's photoalbum of his samples: http://photos.carriercomp.com/GalleryThumbnails.aspx?gallery=322243&mid=10582962&mt=Photo

If she's just a "friend" to you ... send her my way.

Interesting. I bought a GearSector mount specifically for this same purpose but when I realized it was designed to hold the light at an angle that the M80 couldn't accommodate, the mount ended up getting shelved. I'm still not comfortable about trimming back the M80's rubber since it was so much more expensive than the gearsector, but what I might try is shaving down the rear side of the gear sector mount gradually until it allows for some clearance between it and the M80. I'll let ya'll know how it goes.

It'll be worth the wait. I absolutely love my tube from Kip.

When I spoke to them at Shot Show, that was the plan down the road.

AggiePhil hit the nail on the head. It's the SideArmor Forward Shell Holder. I'm still trying to figure how much of this current configuration is working for how I run the gun.

I had asked the folks at Mesa Tactical about the grip. I've highlighted the part that is especially worth noting: I believe they recommend this particular glue to reattach the original grip. -

Came that way: http://store.magpul.com/product/112/68

That SBS is friggin hot!

Ha, cool! Glad you liked it. LMK if you want higher resolution images. I took the pics using my Canon 7D so they're reasonably higher res compared to what I put online.

To add, I've installed and removed my Urbino plenty of times now. It's super easy and quick.

Ha, no. Well, a couple days of walking the floor is kinda fun the first couple years you go. But when you have to spend the entire week in meetings and interfacing with people it gets old pretty fast. Work wise it helps a lot because everyone in the industry is collected together in the same place and you get to deal directly with vendors and manufacturers and build relations that would otherwise be hard to do strictly via emails and phone calls. Enjoyment wise ... it's not particularly thrilling because you end up working and not seeing a whole lot. I get in Sunday and it's pretty much non-stop till the following Saturday.

Just realized that although I'm going, I forgot to buy my plane tickets. Gotta deal with that tonight. I miss the old days when I wasn't going there for work.

That's awesome, Kip! Congrats!

Unexpected ... and brilliant! Bravo!

So, based on the various lists I've seen, a combination of 3 of the following commonly available US made parts are what people should be looking for in order to be 922r compliant: • Buttstock (with integral pistol grip) • Forearms / handguards •*Full length magazine tubes • Magazine tube follower

Still no MSRP yet?

It's crazy how well AlumaBlack works. I had a small scratch on my receiver when I was trying to get the bolt catch lever pin in and out just to install the GG&G bolt release pad. Initially tried to fix it with superBlack but you could easily spot it on the super smooth receiver. Finally found my bottle of AlumaBlack (covered in dust!), and a few quick minutes later the scratch was gone!

Relatively speaking ... the shorter stocks are better for me. They're also good for shooters that wear plates. It's marking mine. Hard to tell if it's actually scratching it or if whatever is there will just wipe off from the M4 anodizing like most stuff does.

Agreed. There are two things that the OEM M4 could definitely improve upon right out of the box (922r compliance aside) ... One is a shorter stock, and the other is a larger bolt release pad. Though extremely expensive, the GG&G version is absolutely worth it. Considering this was designed as a combat shotgun, a larger release like the GG&G should have been OEM from the start.

Now now ... not all of us live in areas that allow the collapsible stock. Furthermore, with the Urbino my gun is 922r compliant and has a much improved LOP over the OEM stock it came with. It has an adjustable cheek riser for a perfect cheek weld with whatever optic I choose to put on the gun and a butt pad that significantly reduces the recoil beyond that of the OEM as well. It also has a sling mount that perfectly fits the configuration I need and has many more mount options should my needs change. The only limitation over the OEM, is that it requires a single flat head screw driver to remove it, and I don't see myself having to remove the stock often especially in a SHTF scenario nor do I see flat head screw drivers a hard to find item. It's also way WAY cheaper at $115 to $180 (depending on options) vs the $500+ common asking price of the collapsible stock. It's not fanboy-ism ... it's smart consumerism. It makes a great gun even better. It certainly suits my needs and I'm willing to bet it suits the needs of many others.

I actually quite like the look of the extended choke installed with the external thread protector. Can we get a full shot of the M4 with it setup like that?