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Thread: A tale of two Middys ... and Troy Battle Mags

  1. #1
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Cool A tale of two Middys ... and Troy Battle Mags

    Just got back from a range trip where I tried out an Osprey Gas Piston conversion of this rifle, a light barrel mid-length gas system carbine I started building last November 2012. It has been shot as impingement and now as piston driven. I'd say the accuracy is just as good now as it was as impingement.

    The handguards came with the Osprey conversion. It took about 15 minutes to install but I have the right gas tube roll pin punch to put in the piston retainer pin. If you don't have that kind of punch, putting in the pin that comes with the kit could be a real bitch. This AR is built on a Rock River lower, Del-Ton lt. barrel upper that I put the Osprey system on. The sight is an Eotech 512. The rifle weights 7 lbs. more or less with the 512 on top, add in 1 lb. for a loaded mag with M855 ball 62 grainers in it.

    Future plans for it will be to put a YHM flip up gas block front sight. Seeing the front sight tower through the 512 view window is annoying.

    The second rifle pictured here is my first mid-length gas piston rifle.

    I built it up between 2006 and 2007, it has a Kurt's Kustom gas piston conversion. Sadly Kurt was killed in a tragic motorcycle accident and his shop is closed. His piston drive system has proven highly reliable, I trust it to work with a wide variety of ammo; 55 gr. to 69 gr. Sierra's have been run through this weapon, all worked well. The rifle is built up on a Stag Arms lower and has an ACE Socom stock, the long version. In retrospect I wish I'd of gotten the short model. I think I may eventually replace it with a Magpul stock, possibly the CTR or the STR by Magpul.

    The optic on this rifle is the Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic or PRO. I have to say I like it a lot so far. I thought I would miss the ring dot of the 512's but not so. The PRO is about $400 bucks and has 4 night vision level settings. It also has a 3 year constant on battery life. Eotech 512's cost about $400 bucks, are not night vision rated and only have about a 600 hour battery life. Advantage Aimpoint Pro. One other significant difference I find about the Eotech vs. the Aimpoint is turning them on. I have to say it is a lot nicer simply rotating a knob vs. having to press two buttons at the same time. Once again advantage Aimpoint Pro over Eotech 512.

    Both rifles with their piston systems deliver reliable operation like an AK rifle and their bolt and upper receivers stay cool and clean, cleaner than even the AK.


    Lastly this day was about trying Troy Battle mags, both rifles shown here have a Troy mag in them. I purchased 12 of these back in December after Sandyhook went down. It took until January to get them shipped from Brownells. They did not raise their price or cancel my order unlike many suppliers out there. I loaded a pair of these in January and today 7 months later I took them out and fired both mags empty, one in each of these two rifles. Both feed all 30 rounds flawlessly. I reloaded them at least 3 times each and they continued to feed all rounds with zero failures of any kind. I now believe these are my Go-To mags over all others even my Magpuls. Why over Magpuls, well they are a bit slimmer and don't have the big fat lipped floor plate that makes putting them in mag pouches a pain in the ass sometimes like the Magpuls have. Granted now Magpul has the Gen 3 mag and it is more Troy Battle Mag in nature. They still make the lipped floor plate mag and now they call it the MOE mag. A rose by any other name and all that.

    So the recap is this; Osprey 418 mid-length gas system conversions seem to work very well. Not seeing any carrier tilt signs yet. Aimpoint PRO sights are a great value for the money and lastly Troy Battle Mags are really good. They feel light but are tough, feed ammo flawlessly, lock the rifle open on the last round and can stand to be loaded for 7 months with 30 rounds and show no signs of being damaged from being loaded.

  2. #2
    Contributor 02/2014 FunkyPertwee's Avatar

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    Nice rifles and great range review!

    Troy mags can be had for $14 a piece from Aim right now, for those that are interested.

    After having my M4 for a while, I can say that I hate M4 stocks and A2 grips. I definitely plan on trying a CTR stock and MOE grip. I want the hand guard too, all in foliage green. Too bad FG CTR stocks are MIA right now.

    Oh, and I "drop tested" one of my Troy mags from a high second story balcony and it did just fine. I posted about that in some other thread recently. It was loaded and hit concrete and rolled into the mud and didn't lose a round or suffer any damage.
    "I'm fucking furious, I'm violently angry, and I like it. If you don't know what that feels like then I feel bad for you"

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    I built the lt. barrel middy for the Grandkids or my wife to run, small hands so I left the std. A2 grip on it. On the M4 type 6 position stocks, well I don't find them so bad, nor that great. I don't mind it, but sure there are better stocks that have more features. The STR I kind of like because it locks in place like the CTR but has battery compartments along both sides. These give a cheek rest effect, but do make the stock thicker side to side.

    On dropping a Troy mag from 2 stories up loaded ... nice information. I missed your post about that. I must say that I'm not surprised it passed.


    BTW I was just on Brownells web site and the STR stock is available in Foliage green. About 10 bucks more than the CTR but with battery storage as mentioned. http://www.brownells.com/rifle-parts...prod45226.aspx link for you Funky.

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    Senior Member Partisan1983's Avatar

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    Schuetz- I have read many times that DI AR's suppress better than GP AR's... IE, quieter but more dirty.

    What is your take on it?





    Good to hear the TBM's held up. I bought one almost a year ago on a whim/shits and giggles.....it is still NIW
    Here's to pussy and gunpowder. One to live for, the other to die by.....Goddamn though, I do love the smell of 'em both !!!

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Personally I don't hear much difference but then again I'm on a range with non suppressed rifle fire all around me wearing muffs or plugs. It does make sense that they might be a bit louder as gas from the burning powder is what makes the noise. A piston is going to vent a bit of it during the cycling of the weapon. Then in the case of the AR firing full power ammo they aren't whisper quiet anyway due to the supersonic crack of the bullet. What it sounds like suppressed is .22 LR high velocity ammo that is fired from an unsuppressed rifle.


    Off this topic but I have BCM Gunfighter charging handles I just put on both weapons; one mid length on the lighter rifle and the ambi on the heavier suppressed rifle. The freaking ambi handle hook on the catch snapped off somewhere after the first mag through the weapon today. I discovered it when I got slapped in the upper lip by the charging handle after firing a round. WTF, never had a cheap $15 buck charging handle break in almost 20 years of AR rifle owning and I buy this expensive one and it freaking breaks off!
    Last edited by Schuetzenman; 07-28-2013 at 07:55 AM.

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    Senior Member silentkilla's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    Personally I don't hear much difference but then again I'm on a range with non suppressed rifle fire all around me wearing muffs or plugs. It does make sense that they might be a bit louder as gas from the burning powder is what makes the noise. A piston is going to vent a bit of it during the cycling of the weapon. Then in the case of the AR firing full power ammo they aren't whisper quiet anyway due to the supersonic crack of the bullet. What it sounds like suppressed is .22 LR high velocity ammo that is fired from an unsuppressed rifle.


    Off this topic but I have BCM Gunfighter charging handles I just put on both weapons; one mid length on the lighter rifle and the ambi on the heavier suppressed rifle. The freaking ambi handle hook on the catch snapped off somewhere after the first mag through the weapon today. I discovered it when I got slapped in the upper lip by the charging handle after firing a round. WTF, never had a cheap $15 buck charging handle break in almost 20 years of AR rifle owning and I buy this expensive one and it freaking breaks off!
    thanks for the info on the bcm gunfighter. just about to order one till i heard that!
    only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you..1 jesus christ..2 the american soldier.. one died for your soul the other for your freedom ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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    Team Guns Network Silver 04/2015 mrkalashnikov's Avatar

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    Thumbs up

    Very nice rifles, Shuetz. You're an artist when it come to good builds.

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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by mrkalashnikov View Post
    Very nice rifles, Shuetz. You're an artist when it come to good builds.
    Thanks MrK. I appreciate the complement. Money is always tight and both of these rifles took months to over a year to build out to what they are now. That is the beauty of the Stoner system in a way. It is very modular and stuff screws on, pins on and is all very interchangeable. Kind of like a Tinker Toy for adults. "

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    Senior Member vit's Avatar

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    Very nice. I'm thinking of picking up a PRO myself.

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    Senior Member Partisan1983's Avatar

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    I would be getting ahold of someone about your BCM charging handle breaking. That doesn't sound right.
    Here's to pussy and gunpowder. One to live for, the other to die by.....Goddamn though, I do love the smell of 'em both !!!

  11. #11
    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Partisan1983 View Post
    I would be getting ahold of someone about your BCM charging handle breaking. That doesn't sound right.
    I have contacted Brownells where I purchased it. They sent me an email link to a return merchandise form they use. I think postage is on me. (yuck) The lt. barrel rifle has a BCM Mod 4, the medium length charging handle, so far it is fine. I can't imagine why the latch hook snapped off of the ambi model.

    On a similar note my GG&G Eotech Flip cover rear lense door broke off from nothing more than simply flipping it up with my finger tip. Now that item I have had for about 4 years though it hasn't exactly been used on a daily basis, more like once every 3 months.
    Last edited by Schuetzenman; 07-29-2013 at 06:12 PM.

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    Senior Member silentkilla's Avatar

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    something similar happened to me. i bought the GG&G flip up covers for my xps2 model Eotec. when it came in i went to install it and the damn thing would not even fit properly and then one of the striaght pieces of wire that set in the front cover to the spring popped out before i could even take the hood off of my Eotec. talking about a bad day and cussing something!!! yeah it sucked. well i got back on the cheaper than dirt website to complain and found that the model i purchased they no longer sold that item due to improper fit and function. note- i just bought the son of a bitch a week earlier. so i guess right after i purchased the last one from the warehouse the recalled it??? bullshit!, they knew. fuckers
    only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you..1 jesus christ..2 the american soldier.. one died for your soul the other for your freedom ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

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