My AR-15 thus far

[AK-J]

My AR-15 has changed a lot since I first assembled it from a Del-Ton rifle kit w/ my stripped lower receiver. I’ve been adding little things over the months since then.



It now wears a Magpul UBR stock w/ the UBR strikeplate. This stock is very rigid and tough. The stock locks up tight when moved to the desired length. It seems like it is as sturdy as a fixed stock. It adds a little bit of weight, but I definitely recommend it if one can justify the cost. It is really nice. The strikeplate replaces the plastic sling-loop with an aluminum unit that has ridges on the bottom for hitting things. Not really needed, but I thought it was neat.

I have a few other products on my AR-15 from Magpul. My MIAD pistol grip is a vast improvement over the standard A2 one. The Enhanced Trigger Guard looks like it belongs there, gives plenty of room for gloved fingers, fills in the gap, and is anodized to match my lower. The B.A.D. lever is pretty neat. It attaches very sturdily to the bolt catch. On the left side it gives a larger area to push to release the bolt, and its lever allows for quickly releasing the bolt with a slight push of your index finger (if you’re a righty, of course).



I have added a few Troy products as well. The Troy flip-up DOA BUIS is a neat addition. Its unique aperture really does work as advertised. Your eye really is drawn to the center, and lining up the sights is quick. I don’t know if I would recommend it, however. The trade off is that it’s not as precise as a normal peep sight. The Troy ambidextrous safety works great! The Troy detachable sling swivel appears to be a very well made and strong.

It also has a Geissele Automatics Super Dynamic Combat Trigger. It's a two-stage trigger. The first stage is a short take up and then it stops at the second stage. The second stage requires just a little bit more pressure and then the trigger breaks cleanly w/o any creep. It's awesome!

So far my AR-15 has been very accurate and reliable. No malfunctions of any kind after almost 1000 rounds through it. I have no complaints about it other than I haven’t been able to shoot it as much as I would like, and the ammo isn’t cheap.

[Schuetzenman]

Very nice! I like that rear BUIS.

[arcangel]

Thats a wicked looking rifle so far man. My AR10 and AR15 both run the Magpul UBR stock and MIAD grips. The UBR stock is simply fantastic, great lockup and solid. Those DOA BUIS look interesting, I looked at those but ended up with regular Troy flip up BUIS front and rear. Are you going to replace the hand guards with a rail system? I use Troy's quad rail on both of my AR's, they arent as expensive as some free float rails but are very solid and easy to install. They also come in different colours to match other furniture on the rifle. Id be interested to see the progress of your rifle as you build it further. Here's a pic for comparason.

[RCS]

I like

[mustangpd]

troy makes good stuff

[Schuetzenman]

So how does it shoot, what are the group sizes like at 100 yards.

[Mark Ducati]

I LOVE that rear BUIS, I've never seen an aperture like that before.

I've got MIAD grips on some of my rifles as well... nice improvement. I keep a spare extractor and firing pin my grips.

Nice looking rifle.

[Mark Ducati]

I've never had a 2 stage trigger before... here's a silly question. With a 2 stage trigger like that, does it "bump fire" more easily? Or are these triggers more delicate and bump firing/rapid fire cause accelerated wear?

[Schuetzenman]

I've never had a 2 stage trigger before... here's a silly question. With a 2 stage trigger like that, does it "bump fire" more easily? Or are these triggers more delicate and bump firing/rapid fire cause accelerated wear?

I've bumpfired my 20" Colt Hbar with a Arnold Jewell trigger and noticed no change in it. Then again I don't bumpfire thousands of rounds out of it as ammo is too expensive anymore. It has run a few 120 round Chicom drums full at some of the C&R shoots we use to have up in WV that Elduce helped set up in the past.

[AK-J]

So how does it shoot, what are the group sizes like at 100 yards.

I've only battle zeroed it on paper w/ the current rear sight. However, with the removable carry handle rear sight I had on ioriginallyly, it would regularly print 1.5" to 2" 5 shot groups (with standard 55gr fodder) at 100yds from a benchrest with sandbag support.

I've never had a 2 stage trigger before... here's a silly question. With a 2 stage trigger like that, does it "bump fire" more easily? Or are these triggers more delicate and bump firing/rapid fire cause accelerated wear?

I can't speak for every 2-stage trigger out there. But my particular trigger looks to be very similar in design and function to my standard trigger on my M1A. And it also seems very robust (remember my 2-stage is marketed as a "combat" trigger). I don't know about bump firing, but it does seem to be capable of faster double taps and rapid fire. I don't think my particular trigger will wear out any faster than a stock trigger under similar usage, and it might even last longer.

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I still plan on adding a YHM free-floating railed handguard, ARMS #41-B-L flip-up front sight base, and a Vortex Viper PST 1-4x24mm scope w/ LaRue QD LT-104 scope mount (or similar). I'm also thinking of getting into reloading, and tailoring a good load for this rifle if I do.

[AK-J]

Update:

I think I've finished with my AR-15 project. After almost a year, and a copious amount of money, my DMR type rifle is complete.

And here it is:


w/o scope, scope mount, and bi-pod


w/ scope, scope mount, and bi-pod

The scope is a Vortex Viper PST 1-4x24 MRAD scope. The scope has an illuminated reticle, to help in low light conditions. It is also variable power from 1x to 4x zoom. The 1x is pretty close to true. The adjustment turrets are finger adjustable w/ pretty positive clicks. The clarity on this scope is very good. In low light (night), you can actually see as well through the scope as you can with your naked eyes! The eye relief is pretty good, and the scope is very forgiving as to where you hold your head. I really like the reticle on this thing. This scope is pretty cool because you are able to use it at one power almost like you would use a dot-sight, but then you can turn up the magnification for it to work like a lower power rifle scope.


This picture doesn't do the reticle justice at 1x, but it gives you an idea of what is looks like.

The scope mount is a LaRue Tactical SPR-E LT139. This mount is very rugged. The QD levers are adjustable. It's built like a tank. I can't see this thing ever failing me. Well worth the money. I got this particular mount because I normally shoot with my nose touching or almost touching the charging handle, and this mount gives me the right eye-relief.

The railed handguard is the Daniel Defense Omega Rail 12.0 Rifle. It's a free floating rail that can be installed w/o any gunsmithing. I ended up going with this unit because after doing all of the math, I found that it really wouldn't be any more expensive than anything else once you start including the tools necessary for installation of the other Free-floating rails I was considering. It's a snap to install, and works very well.

The other thing I installed recently on it is a Troy ambidextrous magazine release. It works pretty good, and is a very high quality product. I didn't really need it (I'm not a south-paw), but it's a nice addition, and it adds to functionality.

The bi-pod I've had for a while and use it occasionally on my M1A. It's a Harris bi-pod w/ a ARMS #17 QD adapter. I'll probably use it as much as I use it w/ my M1A (which is very rarely).

I zeroed the rifle yesterday w/ the new scope. It dialed in very easily. At 4x from a benchrest w/ the rifle supported by sand bags at a range of 100yds, most of my groups fell between 1" to 1.5". I was shooting Federal XM855 62gr green-tipped 5.56mm ammunition. It would probably do better with match ammo, but still not bad for a DTI chrome-lined 20" barrel.

I really like this rifle a lot. It's pretty accurate and reliable. I've put 1000+ round through it without a single malfunction. During that time I put around 600rds w/o cleaning it.

Here is a list of the everything that's in/on this rifle:

-Superior Arms S-15 lower receiver (stripped)
-Del-Ton, Inc. 20" barrel rifle kit (added chrome lined barrel and detachable carry handle rear sight at the time)
-Geissele Super Dynamic Trigger Combat Version
-Magpul UBR buttstock
-Magpul UBR Aluminum Strike Plate
-Magpul MIAD grip
-Magpul Enhanced Trigger Guard, aluminum
-Magpul XT rail panel
-Magpul XTM rail panels
-Magpul B.A.D. lever
-Daniel Defense Omega Rail 12.0
-Troy BattleSight Rear Di-Optic Aperture (DOA) Folding
-Troy Ambidextrous Safety Selector
-Troy Ambidextrous Magazine Release
-Troy Q.D. 360 Rail Mount – Push Button
-Troy S.S. Q.D. Swivel Sling Mount
-LaRue Tactical SPR-E LT139
-Vortex Viper PST 1-4x24mm MRAD

[Schuetzenman]

Well that looks pretty sweet. Yes I think it could do a little better with some 69 gr. Sierra MK bullets and some Varget powder. Cryo treatment at 300° in IL would also help it shrink da groups.

[Helen Keller]

wow!

never saw this.
I like that stock and the color


Whats the stock run?
is it solid?

[AK-J]

Thanks fellas.

The butt-stock is a Magpul UBR stock. I described it in the first post in this thread. It costs around $250. The hand guard is a two piece free floating railed hand-guard. It installs like you would a standard handguard, but you screw the upper and lower portions together. They basically clamp down on the stock barrel nut, acting like a one piece handguard. They truely "free-float". The only thing they are touching after it is installed and adjusted is the barrel nut. It costs around $320. For some reason the green didn't come out very well in those pictures. But the stock is OD green, and the rail covers are OD green with a some panels also being flat dark earth (ie tan).

[O.S.O.K.]

Very nice - clean looking and very functional. All of my del-ton assemlages shoot like that - MOA with a 4x scope with SS109 privi. They seem to like the heavier bullets.