New Hobby

Bought a pile of steel parts over the past several months. Sold a bunch of excess baggage on Craig's List and e-bay to raise the money. Assembly was easy after watching several videos on YouTube. Had to borrow a few tools from an armory wizard.









Didn't have all the tools and vises so I improvised. Here is a shot of a jig to hold the gas block steady while the gas tube pin is set in place.












Here is the assembly when the scope arrived. Scope came with Weaver rings so I had to buy high rise Picatinny rings - much nicer and beefy enough to handle the abuse. In this shot the butt stock is collapsed.






Here is the final assembly with a leather sock on the flash suppressor to keep it from scratching the table.

Specs on the assembly:
> Bored for 5.56 mm
> Aero Precision upper & lower receivers
> Magpul adjustable butt stock
> Black Hole Armory 16" stainless steel heavy barrel
> 3-Land Polygonal bore
> Yankee Hill Phantom flash suppressor
> Yankee Hill free floating forearm, semi-smooth, carbine length
> Yankee Hill over-sized take-down pins
> Bushnell 6X24-50mm mil dot reticle scope with red & green illumination

Shot 50 rounds through it trying to sight the scope but couldn't make the adjustment. However, I could hold high and to the right to make up the difference and at 100 yards, hit the 4" steel plate every time. Small bullet can deliver a lot of energy. I'd hate to be a Talibani in the cross hairs of a US Marine looking down the barrel of an M-16.

Scope sent back to manufacturer for repair, dang-it. Hope to have it back soon.

No recoil to speak of. Maybe too much scope but my plan was to compromise between a varmint gun and a tactical gun. Could have gone with a longer barrel but that would have been too long for hog hunting and self defense. H-bar was the compromise to make it suitable for long-range varmint shooting. After the scope gets back, it will be sighted for 200 yards. We'll see.

Most parts were purchased at Surplus Ammo and Guns in Tacoma, WA. They have good prices. Hand guard was purchased from BrightFlashLights.com in Florida. Again, a good price and excellent service and knowledgeable. Fast shipping.

A shout out to all those who are and have served our great country in the military services. We remember you on this Memorial Day weekend.