Old Carbine, New Tricks

[BillSWPA]

I realized last month that, now that I have my Hodge Defense upper receiver, my old Spike's Tactical 16" rifle is outclassed in literally every possible way by its younger 14.5" sibling.

Accuracy? Hodge.
Barrel life? Hodge.
Ease of use? Hodge.
Gas management and recoil impulse? Hodge.
General receiver build quality? Hodge by a mile.

About the only thing it does better is weight, which comes at the expense of having a cheaper, less durable rail and only wearing an Aimpoint H-1 instead of an LPVO. What are some possible things I can do with this gun to make it more a more useful thing to keep around? I recognize the value of having redundant guns, but the gun it would be redundant to is pretty bombproof. I'm extremely hesitant to sell the receiver set since it was my first semiauto rifle; would it make sense to perhaps SBR it or should a Form 1 be something I reserve for a receiver set of better quality?

I'm sure some of you have repurposed older, less-advanced rifles as newer, better built ones made their way into your possession, so I'm curious to hear what you have/haven't done with those to find a niche for them.

Even things that are supposed to work without problems sometimes fail. Keep the redundant capability.



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[awp_101]

I'm sure some of you have repurposed older, less-advanced rifles as newer, better built ones made their way into your possession, so I'm curious to hear what you have/haven't done with those to find a niche for them.

I think my old PSA 16" upper is about to become a .22 trainer using a CMMG conversion kit. If it shows to be reliable (always a fair question with rimfire conversions) I may go all in and rebarrel it with a proper .22LR barrel.

The bigger question I have right now is what to do with my 6.8 upper now that I'm seriously thinking about caliber consolidation...

[MistWolf]

I think my old PSA 16" upper is about to become a .22 trainer using a CMMG conversion kit. If it shows to be reliable (always a fair question with rimfire conversions) I may go all in and rebarrel it with a proper .22LR barrel.

My conversion kit has been very reliable, even during rapid fire, but don't waste your time or money using it with a centerfire barrel for more than casual use. It doesn't take many rounds for accuracy to deteriorate to the point that you'll see eight inch groups at 25 yards. I think it's due to the extra long leade and lead build up in the chamber adaptor. This problem has shown up in two different barrels. I plan to change to a dedicated 22 rimfire barrel as soon as PSA restocks the one I want. I've cleaned out the chamber adapter a few times with a wire brush, but it doesn't take long before it's a problem again.