Big, thanks for starting this thread. I'll be reading the updates.
Big, thanks for starting this thread. I'll be reading the updates.
Picked up the 6920 SOCOM today. Hopefully when I take it out this weekend I won't forget my mags like last time. Everything looks correct on it.
Originally Posted by MattyD380
This thread is making me want one of these...badly. I’m gonna try to pick up one next month assuming there’s still good deals on them.Picked up the 6920 SOCOM today. Hopefully when I take it out this weekend I won't forget my mags like last time. Everything looks correct on it.
Shoot more, post less...
Seems they've been discontinued but a bunch just recently hit the retailers. Not sure how much longer they'll be around. But as mentioned, the HBPW is the same gun without the RAS. I've been able to pick up really nice and complete or nearly complete RAS sets for a good bit under $200. Most I've paid is $175 for a really nice condition set complete with all the covers and foregrip. Just got another nice one for $125 with all the covers but no grip.
Considering an HBPW costs just over $1000 and the SOCOM can be had for as little as $1300 I think the SOCOM is worth the extra money.
Last edited by Bigghoss; 03-13-2019 at 01:21 AM.
Alright, was finally able to get the carbines out to the range today and remembered to bring mags this time. Ran 100 rounds of Federal .223 bulk pack through each without any issues.
I started out sighting in the rifles at 25 yards. Each rifle needed some adjustment but I had some M16/M4 sight in targets so it was a simple matter of shooting a group and adjusting the sights. My second group for each was where I wanted, fired a 3rd group to confirm and then proceeded to do controlled mag dumps trying to keep all the rounds on the paper. Each gun cycled without issue and locked open and both ejected consistently to about 4 o'clock in a nice patch making cleaning up the cases pretty easy.
I noticed a fair bit more felt recoil from the HBPW. This is likely because it comes with an H buffer while the SOCOM and legit M4A1 carbines use an H2 buffer. Also the HBPW weighs a little less because it has A2 handguards instead of an RAS. This is probably the most noteworthy thing to come out of this range session.
I still think the SOCOM is worth the extra money (assuming you find one for ~$1300) if you're wanting an M4A1 clone but the HBPW is a good base if you can't get a SOCOM or can't find one for a reasonable price.
SexyAlright, was finally able to get the carbines out to the range today and remembered to bring mags this time. Ran 100 rounds of Federal .223 bulk pack through each without any issues.
I started out sighting in the rifles at 25 yards. Each rifle needed some adjustment but I had some M16/M4 sight in targets so it was a simple matter of shooting a group and adjusting the sights. My second group for each was where I wanted, fired a 3rd group to confirm and then proceeded to do controlled mag dumps trying to keep all the rounds on the paper. Each gun cycled without issue and locked open and both ejected consistently to about 4 o'clock in a nice patch making cleaning up the cases pretty easy.
I noticed a fair bit more felt recoil from the HBPW. This is likely because it comes with an H buffer while the SOCOM and legit M4A1 carbines use an H2 buffer. Also the HBPW weighs a little less because it has A2 handguards instead of an RAS. This is probably the most noteworthy thing to come out of this range session.
I still think the SOCOM is worth the extra money (assuming you find one for ~$1300) if you're wanting an M4A1 clone but the HBPW is a good base if you can't get a SOCOM or can't find one for a reasonable price.
Food Court Apprentice
Semper Paratus certified AR15 armorer
For what it's worth, I've seen a lot of new Colt SOCOM uppers on GB, $600 without a BCG and $750 With. A BCM upper is $650-ish without the RAS so it seems worth it if you want to go that route.
Took the rifles out again today. I was going to run another 100 rounds though each but then decided to put all 200 through the HBPW. Reason being I'm going to make some changes so I want to make sure there's no problems before I start changing things, the SOCOM will stay as-is so there's plenty of time to find any problems. 300 rounds had me comfortable enough to proceed. Again the rifle ran perfectly and ejected consistently to 4:00 o'clock. Also did a lot of shooting with my 10/22.
Plan is to swap the H buffer for an H2 like the SOCOM and M4A1's have and install an RAS. The HBPW doesn't have an ambi safety and since for me they tend to get in the way more than anything I think I'll make this my go-to defensive rifle and the SOCOM and any training rifles I get in the future will have ambis's.
What do we like for rimfire trainers? I know the M&P15-22 is popular, though I hear there's an issue with the current ejectors. I was looking at the Colt M4's made by Walther, specifically the OPS because it's setup similarly to what I'm going for. Haven't been able to find out if they have a last round BHO and bolt release on the current ones. If I get one it has to have a last round hold open and functional bolt release just like the real thing. Beyond that, nice to have things would be the A2 fixed sight tower and carbine handguards and have it weigh about the same as a centerfire.
Just discovered Tippmann Arms and they have a .22 AR that has the features I want but their distribution is a little lacking it seems. Also not a lot of info out there about them but the few that have them seem to be happy.
Last edited by Bigghoss; 03-17-2019 at 09:12 PM.
The S&W is the go to trainer - it is the closest in operation to an actual M4.Took the rifles out again today. I was going to run another 100 rounds though each but then decided to put all 200 through the HBPW. Reason being I'm going to make some changes so I want to make sure there's no problems before I start changing things, the SOCOM will stay as-is so there's plenty of time to find any problems. 300 rounds had me comfortable enough to proceed. Again the rifle ran perfectly and ejected consistently to 4:00 o'clock. Also did a lot of shooting with my 10/22.
Plan is to swap the H buffer for an H2 like the SOCOM and M4A1's have and install an RAS. The HBPW doesn't have an ambi safety and since for me they tend to get in the way more than anything I think I'll make this my go-to defensive rifle and the SOCOM and any training rifles I get in the future will have ambis's.
What do we like for rimfire trainers? I know the M&P15-22 is popular, though I hear there's an issue with the current ejectors. I was looking at the Colt M4's made by Walther, specifically the OPS because it's setup similarly to what I'm going for. Haven't been able to find out if they have a last round BHO and bolt release on the current ones. If I get one it has to have a last round hold open and functional bolt release just like the real thing. Beyond that, nice to have things would be the A2 fixed sight tower and carbine handguards and have it weigh about the same as a centerfire.
Just discovered Tippmann Arms and they have a .22 AR that has the features I want but their distribution is a little lacking it seems. Also not a lot of info out there about them but the few that have them seem to be happy.
I have a CMMG upper and a PSA upper both of which use black dog / CMMG mags. The first CMMG had issues and they made good on it. The replacement runs fine. The PSA ran fine initially but had issues last time out. I only bought the PSA because I already had a bunch of the mags. It may just need a cleaning. You can also run the superior M&P 15-22 mags in these using the Bonnie packer mag well adaptor.
A buddy has the tippman - has over 3 rounds through it without issue. The mags are proprietary and that has been the main thing keeping me from picking one up but it is tempting.
The Walther made Colt doesn’t operate like an M4 and has poor feedback reliability wise.
Last edited by HCM; 03-17-2019 at 09:55 PM.
A Volquartsen extractor transformed my M&P 15-22 into a 22 disposal unit. It struggled to get through a mag with the factory extractor, been about 1000-1500 rounds without cleaning or malfunction since putting in the Volquartsen.
Anything I post is my opinion alone as a private citizen.
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