Jarhead Gunsmith

Ammo

2012-12-29T23:26:00.000-08:00

Rifle rounds:
So had a discussion with the other men in the family the other day as we were buying the last of the bullets we could find. Poppa mocked my choice as I did not get expanding ammo and instead went with M855 which is a really nasty round especially when fired from a 20" barrel which it was made for. There is however method to my madness in getting that stuff that is for offline conversations.

Frankly I do not shoot it and horde it along with with my M193 55 grain I was a dummy and shot up what a buddy loaded for me. That stuff is like a laser and has nasty wound ballistics for FMJ. Then there is the Russian ammo both of my rifles eat it up like candy my little rifle printed a 1.5" group off hand at 50 yards so the ammo is not a problem.

I have a hodge podge of expanding ammo ranging from 55,62 grain hollow point, 64 Bitter Root Valley PSP, 64 grain Silver Bear SP which has downed deer, and my personal favorite 69 grain BRV hollow points which I only have about 15 left as they have accounted for four deer in two years (yes I missed once). I also have a prized box of Black Hills 75grn Match Moly coated hollow points.

So with pistol I carry Federal Hydro shock, have a box of Hornady Critical Defense, horde the Remington UMC 115 grn JHP which actually passes they FBI penetration and expansion tests and is a heck of a buy for the money. When you can find it buy it I have.

So for the money what is the best bang for the buck in your opinion.

Buying Frenzy

2012-12-29T22:55:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the Christmas break but it has been crazy.

FFL holders have been busy the last few weeks as many of you I am sure know there are no AR15s, AKs no high capacity magazines, and no freaking ammo. At one point the the NICS system was shutdown and firearms dealers had to turn people away. The FBI actually had to bring people in from other duties to get the backlog taken care of however there is a storm brewing on the horizon.

The gun world and firearms owners are about to be in for a siege like we have never seen. Also we are taking a gouging from the firearms industry and some large chains such as Cheaper than Dirt who abandoned firearms sales and had the nerve to charge $50 for a PMAG. Dick's Sporting goods being dicks and boning Troy and pulling their great new rifle (which I am kicking myself for not driving 80 miles to getting one). However I am more than happy with my new one. Wal Mart has also pulled modern sporting rifles and my local gunshops are selling them as fast as they get in, Academy has also contemplated pulling modern sporting rifles as well. I saw yesterday American Eagle .223 for $17 a box and people paying it. I actually witnessed this three times women coming into the store I was at and say "what is an AR15 and I need one."

So while gun owners are fighting for their right to even own a modern sporting rifle the retail portion of the industry is boning us as well. As they say however make hay when you can. I do have to give some props as some people are not taking advantage of the situation. Mako still has magazines available and at normal price. Buy smart there are still deals out there you just have to watch for them.

Non-Typical Post

2012-12-03T06:16:00.000-08:00

While not our usual meme here I thought everyone should know that Palestine was upgraded to non-member status of the UN which de-facto recognizes the terrorist groups the PLO and HAMAS nation status. You may want to get with your congress critter and voice your opinion on continuing to offer financial aid to the Palestinians. I am for yanking all funding to them, Egypt (which we have sort of), Pakistan who is no friend of the U.S. see them keeping our supply lines open through blackmail.

Something to think about.

Preemptive Self Defense

2012-12-02T13:43:00.002-08:00

A great article by Ernest Emerson of Emerson knives a lot of these are common sense but common sense is sometimes the best self-defense. Like I tell the ladies in my self-defense courses do not wear a micro-mini skirt and hooker heals into a dive bar. Nor should we wander about at night counting the money in our wallets.

All Day Carry

2012-11-29T18:41:00.000-08:00

So now that we have established our needs for every day carry (EDC):
Survivor's Mindset
Cell Phone
Firearm / Reload
Knife
Flashlight
Less than Lethal
Wallet: ID, CCW permit (always try to have $20)

The question is do you carry all the time even at home? It is hard to get me to part with my weapon even at home especially after I heard about the two home invasions in my neck of the woods where one person was stabbed. While I am not a gun slinging gun fighter I do want to have a fighting chance if someone comes blowing threw the door. Having to try to make it to the bedroom for a piece would not be good. I have a friend who has his J frame 24/7, yet another one that does not carry at home due to small kids, and 2 others do not but keep their piece close.

So thoughts?

FBI Crime Stat Numbers

2012-11-28T07:24:00.000-08:00

According to the latest FBI crime statistics report one is more likely to be beaten to death than killed with a long gun ie. Rifle or Shotgun.

Since 2007 there has been a 16.2% decline in murders committed with personal weapons which are defined as “hands, fists, feet etc.” The number of murders of this type in 2011 totaled 728.

While gun ownership has dramatically increased since 2007, murders for both the shotgun and rifle categories have seen declines faster than the rate of personal weapons related crime.

The rates of decline for the shotgun and rifle categories are 22.1% and 28.7% respectively. In 2011 there were 356 shotgun murders and 323 rifle murders for a total of 679 murders.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/11/27/fbi-crime-stats-you-are-more-likely-to-be-killed-by-hands-and-feet-than-by-a-shotgun-or-rifle/#ixzz2DWzW4mPS

Overall murders by firearms of all types have been decreasing since 2007. This is something to keep in mind when you are talking to that friend who thinks firearms need further control.

New Carry Method

2012-11-27T20:45:00.001-08:00

When I bought my Glock I also purchased one of the holsters after reading the reviews which are very positive I did not think I could go wrong for $14.00. So carried it with this holster until I got my Serpa which I like contrary to what people say it won holster of the year for 2012 and is used by everybody. Anyway I always look for better ways to carry concealed and was flipping through Massad Ayoob's new book "Gun Digest of Concealed Carry." He showed an inside the belt carry which snugs the pistol up closer than an outside the waistband while it is not inside the waist band (which I hate).

So I pulled the Glock holster back out and it turns out that the holster fits exactly between my belt loops on both my BDUs and Tac Pants.

This is just with a t-shirt covering.

I wore this with a 19 round magazine last night and you could barely tell I had the weapon my wife does the final check before I leave home and she asked if I was even carrying when I put the 15 round magazine back in.

Local Reader

2012-11-27T20:13:00.001-08:00

If any of you are in the NW Arkansas area I am more than happy to help you with firearms ordering or transfers for $25. Just hit me on the blog and I will contact you for details.

Troy Battle Mags

2012-11-27T19:51:00.002-08:00

I have so much wanted to like these magazines but I have done two tests on them with two different rifles and I they just do not work. The first test was conducted with one magazine and I thought it might have been an issue with just the one. So I contacted Troy and they called me back within an hour and their customer service was fantastic. They sent me six more magazines, a hat, and sticker set. I set off with Joey to see if we would have better luck.
Here are the problems:
1. They do not like to be inserted or loaded on a closed bolt.
2. Out of seven magazines I have gotten one full magazine without a malfunction. While I am big on practicing immediate action drills not after every three shots.
I have contacted Troy again but have not heard back from them.
Troy has great stuff and I am going to give them one more shot from my new rifle. If I still have issues with them they are going to go back to Troy.

300 AAC Black Out

2012-11-27T19:18:00.002-08:00

Haley strategic has done a bunch of testing with the 300AAC this year.

I am wanting 300 AAC as my bolt action rifle and now with the knowledge it still has better power out to 500+ yards that is very encouraging (not that I will be taking that many shots that far out). Still waiting on Remington to get the 700 going full bore on production with this thing. I am saddened that Savage dropped their Model 10/110 in 300. What would be very interesting is if Mossberg would convert their ATR to 300 BO that would be a seemingly easy conversion and since it can already use AR mags it would be a natural choice.

Evolution of an AR

2012-11-26T19:18:00.001-08:00

I recently bought a 16" barreled Sig M400E these are a very good base carbines built to what would be military specifications. I fought buying a carbine for a long time because of the muzzle velocity lost with the shorter barrel which I have carped on many times. However the 16" is a good medium ground to keep muzzle velocity high out to average engagement ranges (I am not in Afghanistan)and handiness. Not to mention with the 1/7 twist barrel I can shoot anything from 55-75 grain expanding bullets. Anyway the Sig M400 I purchased is the MOE version which has the CTR stock, carbine length fore end, and a based MIAD pistol grip.

While this is very nice it just would not do and I immediately ordered some small things that I thought would add to the utility of the weapon.
1. VTAC two point sling-This will be the only sling I ever use on another long arm. I have one on Oly and love them Viking Tactics (Kyle Lamb) knocked it out of the park with this piece kit
2. CAA front sight rail
3. Magpul short and long rail sections
4. Magpul MOE trigger guard
5. ProMag Picatinny sling mount
6. Vortex SPARC red dot I love Vortex optics (yes I know where some are made) but I have had great luck with them and their customer service is fantastic,.
7. YHM Phantom 28-5C Flash-Hider/Compensator
8. Mission First Tactical stubby vertical grip
9. Light (I went cheap here for the time being using a tail switch Maglite and a 1" scope ring works great.
10. PMAG coupler
11. BCM Gunfighter medium latch(does not poke me in the ribs like the large latch like I have on my Oly arms)
12 Future upgrade will be a better light system and someday I might free float the barrel. I am looking at MI's and YHM modular free float tubes.

I am back

2012-11-26T19:01:00.002-08:00

Took a hiatus to write for another website and will still be writing for them but have come back to my site.

Been Quiet Lately Awaiting News

2012-07-26T19:54:00.000-07:00

I am now a fully licensed FFL dealer! It was really pointless to try and sale and market AR-15 kits until I could buy the stuff to make the rifles ie the Lower Receiver. It will still be a week or two yet before I am in with the distributors lack of knowledge on my part and government read tape means that I still have to wait on some licensing. However things are moving forward and if you want something I can get it for you.

mixed news

2012-06-20T17:40:00.001-07:00

Mixed news today going to get my FFL so that is awesome.. However the State Police sent my CCW back because of bad fingerprints which I got from my class.

Thor Armory

2012-06-17T09:58:00.001-07:00

I have been asked by the great folks at thorarmory.com/ to be part of the training team for a Woman's self-defense class. In this I will be joined by Aaron Kimball who will be doing the un-armed combat portion of the class. Aaron very frankly is a full on good guy that can be a bad man if need be. My part of the endeavour will be the boring but vital side of situation awareness, mind set, and gear. We will not be treating the ladies like delicate flowers and directing them to buy .25 auto pistols. Nor are we going to try and turn them into martial arts experts or Marines in two class periods. However if the worst were to happen we hope to give them a base of ideas and skills to get them introduced to the world of self defense. The goal is to get the ladies to think and become more engaged in their own defense and to follow up what they have learned both on the range and the gym.

We are looking for a mid-July start to these classes more details to follow.

And I am Spent

2012-06-02T20:44:00.001-07:00

The AR15A3RK is done folks unless I decide to put an offset right on it the rifle is completed. This week I added a VTAC two point sling, a MagPul MOE pistol grip, and an extended latch charging handle. I am good to go, she is shooting less than an MOA.

Not a bad looking or shooting set up if I do say so myself. I have never used anything but a stock issue A2 pistol grip on an AR there is a reason the MagPul is so popular it really feels good in the hand. The VTAC sling, where have you been all of my life? This has to be the most comfortable sling I have ever used. I have it adjusted to when I have it all the way locked down it helps create a really solid firing position whch is what it is supposed to do. The extended latch admittedly is not a BCM/VLTOR model as I just changed out the latch. It is there just to allow easier access to the charging handle with the scope mounted. Speaking of I do not have the eye relief set up where my nose touches the charging handle like come current coaches teach. None of my marksmanship instructors taught that. In saying that I crawled the stock so much the rear sight gave me a knot over my eye which could be the reason I jerked that last shot like a chump and went from expert to sharpshooter.

Thanks to everyone who might have paid attention while I was building this thing over from the I wish I could to now. I feel confident that I can kill deer,hogs, or whatever out to my effective engagement range. I would start on zombies from a little closer to make sure of the head shots. I am no Sniper and will never claim that I nor would I pretend to be so please do not take that away from these posts

Team M&M

2012-05-22T05:43:00.001-07:00

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Going Shooting

2012-05-19T20:33:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow looks to be a really good day. Here is what I have laid out.

We are looking at .223 and 9mm goodness. Yes I use steel case ammo to practice with I know some rifle makers do not like it but Hornady is making steel case ammo, CCI has been making aluminum pistol ammo for a long time and when I can get it I buy it up. I use the good stuff for hunting. Currently for hunting I am using 69 grn hollow point but I bought a bunch of Bitter Root Valley 64 grain power point we will see how that works this fall. I can testify though that the 69 grain does the trick. I bought a box of 20 still have 19 and that was a real nice 8 point Whitetail.

Here is my carry rig. I have a Blackhawk chest holds AR 30 rnd mags plus two pouches for items the size of a pistol magazine, a Brownells AR mag holder, a Blackhawk double stack mag holder for my Taurus Pro 9mm, if you think the knife is over the top sue me. It is a Cold Steel Recon Scout. For the record I am not a range commando, I do not have 8 different things hanging off of rails of my rifle. As a matter of fact my rail (1) is currently empty. The one thing I do need to improve is my sling but I am waiting on Magpul's new rifle stock to come out. I am torn between VTAC's padded two point and Blackhawks three point sling.

Anyway here I am kitted out. These are casual pictures just having a bit of fun and yes the queen was laughing at me. Kind of brings one down to earth.

New Knives

2012-05-16T18:35:00.001-07:00

As I have stated before I like knives I like them a lot as a matter of fact I just got a new one a Boker Karambit.

The karambit or kerambit is a small hand-held, curved blade from Southeast Asia, particularly the Malay Archipelago. Called karambit in the Philippines, it is known as a kerambit in both Indonesia and Malaysia

Silat teaches to use the knive with the first finger in the loop for slashing cuts. The curve on this knife perfectly aligns it with the bones in the arm and would be a powerful stabber as well when used with a punching motion. In saying this am I a master knife fighter or even anygood? No, but I can sing a tune.

I just like knives.

Anyway a customer knows that I like them as much as he does but he hates shiny blades so he brings me a couple of very nice Bowies with bone handles and tells me make the blades disappear.

Yes that blade is as big as it looks. I am using a spray matte black finish that I am also going to use on my Matte AR project. Oh and yes I did tape off the handles so none of the finish got on the handles.

Hiking Gear Eval.

2012-05-06T15:23:00.002-07:00

My queen and I went on a kayaking / hiking adventure and the weeks leading up to it I was prepping well now time for a gear review. My queen actually agreed to do a sit down after action review after a rita or two. This is from my notes so bear with me.

Tents: We took two one for the first night after kayaking so we could stretch out it is a four person Ozark Trails tent from Wal Mart - $40.00 it suited out purpose just fine we were nice an comfy as we had beautiful weather.
No Limits King's Peak: Two person backpacking tent. There is room for two plus some gear but you can put your rucks in non-bear country under the rain fly which we always put up because you never know.

Packs: We both have Outdoor Products entry level exterior framed packs. These plastic framed packs have been great and they are both light. Main complaints is that my Queen's shoulder straps will not stay in place. I had to tie a knot in them to keep them in place. Also the slots for attaching extra gear to the bottom of my pack have all broken so instead I just attach directly through the frame. This is a small quibble. These packs are good for the short two day hikes we take but could be stretched to four days as we both had an empty pouch and better packing. My weight wet in the pack was right around 45lbs hers 35lbs. Finally took advantage of the water bladder compartment however they were not made for the 100oz I bought but we made it work. We spent $75 a piece for these from Campmor

Cooking Gear: The new Stanley cook set was fantastic holds 32 oz of water for boiling and comes with two little cups for drinking or food division (this is what we used them for). The attached handle does not get hot which is great. Also is very light and was a well spent $20.00. Our rocket stoves work great they can boil 20oz of water in about five minutes. My only complaint is the fuel which is heavy and takes up a lot of space however I am not about to give up on these yet and switch to alcohol or fuel tabs. Mountain house make some descent food the breakfast leaves something to be desired and you have to dump in a bunch of pepper and salt. We are probably just going to eat main course meals next time for breakfast. The two person meals are rather bulky but light, Mountain House did a good job with with individual meals in making them smaller. I bought a cereal that we are going to try before we head out next time to make sure is palatable. Also we have a double chocolate cheesecake desert we did not get around to eating but I will for sure to make sure is worth the money to take. I am also thinking about dried milk and cereal. It would not add that much weight and since we have to carry the water anyway. I am thinking a zip lock with cereal and dried milk will experiment with the amount and pre-make them. I will bring my biscuits next time no matter how much fun the queen makes of me I think they are tasty. I got dehydrated on the hike I forgot my Gatorade much to my dismay.

First aid / Survival: My homemade kits did just fine I still want professional made ones or a more accurate copy that I put together. I want two small (the small ones double as mine and the queens get home kits) and a larger trauma one and a large general one. They do not weight that much and I am absolutely paranoid about first aid. I need to add a small water purification straw to the queen's survival kit. It would suite her better than the tabs.

Trekking poles: We have Mountainsmith poles from Academy sadly one of mine did not open and I lost my patience with the other so we set out with just one each. I have that rectified as of today so we have two each. The ones we used were really good and for some of the terrain really needed.

Boots: She uses LL Bean lightweight waterproof hikers and I use Magnum Boots 8" Cobra waterproof. Well the both failed on the water proof side. The second day was a pure monsoon but neither boot was immersed in water and just subjected to wet undergrowth and the rain. By the time we reached the trail head both of our feet were soaked. As I am an official tester for Magnum they will be getting a critique on these shortly. The good news is neither on of us had foot problems with blisters. She has some callous problems not related to the boots and I got one warm spot on my pinkie toe.

All in all a good base of gear and everything for the most part worked as advertised.

Tactical Toes or Zombie Fleeing shoes

2012-04-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

In case you need to flee in a hurry and the weather is nice I found a pair of shoes that weigh a matter of ounces. The FILA skele toes. They meet all the criteria for tactical coolness they are black and gray, weigh next to nothing and protect your feet, toes. These shoes are advertised for use on the street, dirt, water, and mountains. That covers everything. I did two miles in them this morning over a mixed track of pavement and dirt road and held up fine. So if you need to flee in a hurry grab these and save the Magnums or Danner for the bad weather.

Gunsmith Work

2012-04-21T20:53:00.003-07:00

I was trusted this week to work a customer's family heirloom. It is a Remington Model 1100 made in September of 1973 and bought by his great grandfather. Very cool anyway the shotgun came to me in
"shot the crap out of it and put in closet when I bought a new gun." It was replaced by a Benelli with a 3 or 3.5" chamber because the 2 3/4 just would not due anymore. He wanted a thorough cleaning and to touch up the bluing. What I found when I got it was much more. First the barrel and receiver had to be soaked in WD40 before I could get them apart. Then when I pulled out the trigger group the shell stop fell out NOT good. So I had to go to my handy AGI 1100 video and find out what the heck was going on. As I did not take many before pictures you will have to believe me when I say it was nasty. So I re staked that and went about bluing good thing is I did not have to charge any extra shop time as I could do this and let the bluing take. Anyway here are a couple of before pics that I did snap.

I took care of the bluing on this and some minor stuff on the receiver. I have to say that overall the weapon was in good shape.

Here are the after pictures when I had it cleaned up and looking good.

Can you tell I did some bluing touch up here ah no you cannot.

The bolt came to me completely covered with gunk

Notice the bluing issue on the side that is now gone.

Anyway was nice to work on such a nice piece. I am beginning to really like the Rem 1100 as I have worked on several. Too bad Remington got it so wrong with the 742 rifles as they are not so swift.

I will soon be offering two Rifles

2012-04-13T20:25:00.001-07:00

These are basic rifles with a couple extras that I find handy when I am shooting. There will be a 20" and 16" rifle Magpul hand guards, AR front sight. two rails added, a Magpul rear BUIS, plus a P Mag. These are entry level rifles with enough rail space to add a vertical grip, light and laser if you so choose. I am waiting on certain paperwork from the Federal and state government to go through and be accepted then I will be in business. Sadly to begin with the turn time on these rifles are going to be 6-8 weeks. Since I am going for affordable there will be a mix of manufactures parts do not fret I only buy from reputable sources and all weapons will be test fired to make sure they work and can put steel on target.

They will be nothing fancy and not have a lot of mall Ninja extras but will be affordable and the buyer can add to his or her hearts content later.

I am looking at a starting price of $815

If the business grow then I will add accessories so a customer can add to their hearts content.

Thanks,
Jarhead Gunsmith

Rifle Build Part 1000

2012-04-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

As readers know I have been wanting to upgrade my AR15A2 to an A3 configuration. First, it was a money issue, then we ran into a tool issue. Well today, thanks to Midway USA's fast shipping, I got the appropriate wrench and I am done. Took me longer than it probably should have, but this was my first barrel swap. My apologies, I am a horrible picture taker.

First my shop such as it is:

Yes this is a Zombie warning poster my kids got me for Christmas

My hand built work bench, I need a bigger tool box, donations anyone? I plan on putting either a place to do spray finish in the corner or a power tool.

My Oly as it was earlier today

Here it is apart I know, I know basic stuff. The story behind the front sight tower still being on the rifle and me needing to order a different wrench all has to do with the AWB. I ruined a brass punch, bent that sucker three ways trying to knock out the front sight pins. The I hammered on them for over an hour trying to remove them...Come to find out, they are permanent so people could not put a front sight tower with a bayonet lug on it. That is how old school my rifle is. Now to bring it to the 21st century. Notice the heavy barrel. This thing will shoot straight when I do my part.

Here it is, with the gas tube finally lined up. It only took me 3-4 tries to get the gas tube lined up. The Barrel Nut Alignment Gauge from Brownells was a life saver. I actually did not need the snap ring pliers, as I did not need to remove the Delta ring assembly. I was also able to reuse the gas tube and gas tube roll pin. Remember always punch out left to right and put back in right to left on all AR pins.

Here it is in all together

Yes,that is a Magpul hand guard and rails. Call me a homer, sue me. I am going to move the light to the vertical grip rail and put the laser with the pressure switch at the 1 o'clock.

Magpul 1st Gen BUIS,got a good price on it.

BUIS deployed lined up perfectly. The good thing about having to leave the front sight tower on is if I got the barrel nut correct it would be lined up as well.

Right side view

Here it is, in all its glory, the AR15A3 RK. There are still some details to work out such as putting a different stock on it and optics. Any suggestions on optics? Leupold and Trijicon are right out, cannot afford them.

I also staked the carrier key screws today as well. Sadly, Oly arms did not do this when it made the rifle. Or at least their bolt manufacturer did not.

Above is the Barrel Nut Alignment gauge from Brownells $6.00

Anti Seize Lubricant (from AutoZone) for the upper receiver barrel nut threads. $4.00

Keep this stuff handy. I have it in my range bag and ues it almost exclusively on my bench.

Breaker Bar from Autozone $30.00

Combination Wrench Midway $20.00

Master Punch Set Brownells $100, good stuff in this.

Torque Wrench from Amazon $30 including shipping.

A lot of the tools used for this project were from the hardware store.

This is my Rifle there are many like it but this one is mine.

Rifle Build

2012-03-28T20:07:00.001-07:00

Well had a small delay a certain parts company I will name no Dang Songs After them does not have a live website so the upper and the delta ring kit I ordered are both on back order so I searched around and Del Ton had uppers and delta kits in stock and will be shipping this week. The other company was still 4-6 weeks out. I really do not want to wait that long. Once get that switched out will get the optics situation resolved I am thinking something in the Nikon 223 line debating on the 1-4 or the 2-8x32. The 2-8 would fit the midrange DM rifle theme I am going for. Also having a debate on iron sight should I just go with the traditional BUIS or the slick offset irons. I am not putting a quad rail on it so I think a tradtional BUIS rear and the original front sight tower will be fine. Also stock to collapse or not to collaspse that is the question.