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Thread: Building an AR for recreational bench shooting

  1. #21
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    Jul 2012
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    If building a 1/2in AR-15 were my goal cost savings wouldn’t even be on my list of concerns. I’m not saying you need to buy the most expensive stuff but I certainly wouldn’t be buying the absolute cheapest either.


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  2. #22
    Member GuanoLoco's Avatar
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    Feb 2016
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    Birmingham, AL
    Save money and just get in the game and see if you like it and can out-shoot your gun in the shooting environments that are available to you. What ranges are you thinking about? Wind?

    Chances are if you like it you will quickly find that you are second guessing your earlier, less experienced decisions.

    I suspect ammo will quickly become a constraining factor, especially bullet choice then developing loads tuned for your gun.
    Last edited by GuanoLoco; 01-05-2018 at 10:33 AM.
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  3. #23
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    Northern Virginia
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Goodtimes View Post
    If building a 1/2in AR-15 were my goal cost savings wouldn’t even be on my list of concerns. I’m not saying you need to buy the most expensive stuff but I certainly wouldn’t be buying the absolute cheapest either.
    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Actually, my goal was under an inch. If I can get down to half an inch without being foolhardy with money, that's great, but I'm not going to dump thousands into this. Nor am I planning to build to a price point. I'm aiming for something in between, saving money where it doesn't harm functionality and spending a bit more where it makes sense.


    Quote Originally Posted by GuanoLoco View Post
    Save money and just get in the game and see if you like it and can out-shoot your gun in the shooting environments that are available to you. What ranges are you thinking about? Wind?

    Chances are if you like it you will quickly find that you are second guessing your earlier, less experienced decisions.

    I suspect ammo will quickly become a constraining factor, especially bullet choice then developing loads tuned for your gun.
    The only ranges I currently have access to are 100yds. One is indoors, the other outdoors. I handload ammo already, so it's just a matter of working up a load for this gun. If it goes exceedingly well at 100yds, then I may take the time to seek out longer ranges.

    Chris

  4. #24
    Member GuanoLoco's Avatar
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    Feb 2016
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    I think building an AR that shoots sub-MOA at 100 yards with factory ammo is quite do-able, even cost-effectively.

    Teaching yourself to do it is a little harder.

    Maintaining sub-MOA at 200, 300, + yards is progressively more interesting, especially with 223/5.56. At some point you need to go to heavier bullets / custom ammo or should consider a different AR caliber - probably as simple as a bolt/barrel change.
    Last edited by GuanoLoco; 01-05-2018 at 09:21 PM.
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  5. #25
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    Northern Virginia
    Thread necro...

    So, I have my upper receiver (DPMS Low Profile) and barrel (Larue Stealth). The fit is looser than I'd like. The receiver mics 1.000-1.001 with my analog micrometer. The barrel extension is .9975-.998. I gave ranges because if I move the micrometer around a bit, I got some changes in the measurements. Both are within spec as far as I can tell, just at opposite ends of their respective specifications, creating a hell of a stacked tolerance. The barrel just drops in and is sloppy feeling until I put the barrel nut on and tighten hand-tight, at which point I cannot feel any movement.

    So, should I send one or both parts back, use one of the various bedding tricks (Loctite, Rocksett, shims, etc), or just torque it down and hope for the best?

    Chris

  6. #26
    Hillbilly Elitist Malamute's Avatar
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    Oct 2013
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    Northern Rockies
    If you can move your dpms upper receiver and get a BCM blem, they are not loose by all reports, the one I used was quite snug, almost annoyingly so. Required tapping on the receiver to the barrel extension with a small block of wood.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malamute View Post
    If you can move your dpms upper receiver and get a BCM blem, they are not loose by all reports, the one I used was quite snug, almost annoyingly so. Required tapping on the receiver to the barrel extension with a small block of wood.
    I really want a slick-side upper. Also, the DPMS is supposed to be stiffer due to its thicker walls.

    The BCMs are pretty inexpensive and will be an option. I've reached out to Midway about exchanging the DPMS as well.

    Chris

  8. #28
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    Dec 2011
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    Dunedin, FL, USA
    For bench shooting, White Oak Armament is hard to beat. https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/shop/barrels.html

    Their complete uppers are very good values. https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/sho...te-uppers.html

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by farscott View Post
    For bench shooting, White Oak Armament is hard to beat. https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/shop/barrels.html

    Their complete uppers are very good values. https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/sho...te-uppers.html
    I looked at them for a barrel, but the Larue was quite a bit less expensive and got rave reviews pretty much everywhere I looked.

    I measured again and the Larue extension is consistently .9975. The receiver fluctuates between 1.000-1.001. I'm struggling to get a good measurement on the receiver and I think the larger number is due to me possibly canting the caliper blades. Either way, the barrel is more out of spec than the receiver as far as I can tell. I'm hoping I can convince Larue to replace the extension and maybe even get me a confirmed .999" replacement, which would tighten things up nicely.

    Chris

  10. #30
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    Aug 2014
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    So...

    The rifle is assembled and functioning. I ended up sticking with the barrel and receiver after talking to both manufacturers, both of which claimed their piece was in spec (they were, but at the wrong end of those specs, causing tolerance stacking issues). A lot of research and some chatting with a local armorer later, I decided I could make it work. I faced the receiver, used green Loctite, and torqued the barrel nut to the higher end of the torque spec. The completed assembly feels like a solid unit with no movement at all.

    I have close to 200 rounds through it so far. It has been 100% reliable, so functionality is there. Accuracy-wise, I need to do a bit more ammo testing. Leaving out one load that was printing fist-sized groups at 100yds, most of the time I'm getting groups ranging from just under an inch to nearly 2 inches. However, it's consistent, so I think my problem is ammo selection. It seems to like the PMC X-Tac 5.56 62gr load that my carbine likes, so that's good for me. With that load, I got .7" for 4 shots, but the 5th shot brought it up to 1.1". I'm not going to say the 5th shot wasn't my fault. In my defense, the range was quite boisterous with a brake-equipped long range rifle on one side and a guy shooting a bunch of "pistols" (AR, Galil, etc) on the other. Muzzleblasts were buffeting me on both sides.

    Chris

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