Tuesday, May 1, 2018

How To Play The "Long Game"

There was a running back who played for the Dallas Cowboys back in the old days, named Walt Garrison. It was said of ole' Walt, that if you needed 3 yards, you gave the ball to Walt and he got you those 3 yards, ..... however, if you needed 7 yards and gave the ball to Walt, he'd get you 3 yards..... What's my point? That was the old days where scores resembled baseball games of the 90s and coaches believe that only 3 things can happen when you pass; and two of those were bad! So, we'll just say that scoring was a long drawn out process.
In adherence to that principle, I bought a gun..... Yeah...., that's a gun. OK, here's the story. When I originally bought/built my AR15, some things were done out of expediency. Like the "complete lower" that I was able to pick up for $135. It wasn't everything I wanted, but it had good bones (a Aero Precision Gen 1 lower). I just wanted a complete AR for an affordable price. But, in the end, I'd like to have is my dream gun. So, last month, I bought a Gen 2 lower for less than $50. The plan is, over time, I'm going to build up the "dream gun" with all the parts in it that I really want, then switch the upper when it's finished. What all is going to be in this super gun?
Other than the, "next gen" lower, it's going to be built around an ALG Defense, Advance Combat Trigger (ACT). Which is "Mil-spec", but better, cleaner and lighter. That's the most expensive piece at about $70, but I'm going to use better, or more advance parts for each little piece in the lower. My plan is to have an ambidextrous safety, a Magpul BAD lever to allow bolt release from both sides as well as upgraded springs everywhere. I also plan to use either the JP Industries silent buffer or something similar to it. 
I'll finish it all off with an Aero Precision billet, enlarged trigger guard. At that point, the lower end of my M4 "Recce Carbine" will pretty much be done. So, why would I do it this way? 
Touchdown! Here's the concept. When I get the new lower completed with all the upgraded parts, and I move the carbine upper over to it, the left overs will essentially be another complete lower. Here's the important piece (legally that is). When the old lower was bought, it was transferred as a "frame" only and not as either a "rifle" or a "pistol". Therefore, I should be free to rebuild it as pretty much anything I choose, as long as it's not an NFA item). What I'd really like to have is an AR pistol in chambered in 300 Blackout. 
The "philosophy of use" for a 300 Blackout (or AAC) is to have a cartridge that is more effective on targets that are relatively heavy and dense (eg. Feral Hogs) out to 150-250 yards. This particular cartridge starts life as a cut-down 223/5.56 and thus fits an AR bolt-face and will fit in AR magazines as well. However, it's opened up to take a .30 caliber bullet thus giving it great latitude in construction for a hand-loader especially. Given the construction of the case, it's a chambering that does well in sub-carbine (<16")_ length barrels.My intention is to use a 10.5" barrel.
So, in actuality, I'm doing two builds at once. Both will be able to use the same magazines, the same bolt carrier groups and accept the same accessories as well. One will be a carbine and the other will be a pistol. I just can't mix up the uppers and lowers or I'll have an SBR and run afoul of the NFA! The M4 style "Recce" carbine will be in .223 Wylde and therefore capable of good accuracy with either the .223 or the 5.56 out to 300 yards and beyond. The pistol in 300 Blackout will be good from "close quarters" out to 300 yards and more capable of taking down heavier game. 


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