AR pistol build is done...for now.

Here's where my long journey has basically finished.  The last things I will add this month are polymer backup sights which I should have by 12/19.  I do have the laser that is mounted on the bottom in front of the MagPul AFG2 sighted in to be 1.5" low at 25 feet.  With luck, I will be able to get to a range to get it properly sighted in over this coming weekend.

Current parts breakdown is as follows:

• Smith & Wesson M&P 15 stripped lower receiver
• CMMG Lower Parts Kit
• MagPul polymer trigger guard
• Pearce Grips 1911 grip frame adaptor and low profile grips
• 'mil spec' sized six position buffer tube with Velcro loops cemented on
• Standard mass Carbine buffer
• Mark's Armory coated Carbine buffer spring
• 1.25" cane tip cemented onto the end of the buffer tube
• CAA Saddle with Velcro hooks cemented on
• Sling attachment secured to end plate
• Aero Precision stripped upper receiver
• Detroit Gun Works bolt carrier group (will get changed out for a better carrier but it works ok)
• Standard charging handle
• S&W M&P labeled 10" free float rail
• 11.5" 5.56 barrel (unmarked) with carbine length gas port
• ICE Arms Carbine gas tube
• Cut-down front sight base gas block (barrel drilled for the tapered pins on this, very sturdy)
• Standard A2 flash hider
• MagPul Angled Forward Grip model 2
• Green laser that runs on C123 batteries (extras stored in Saddle's battery tubes)

At this point, adding a red dot and probably a x3 magnifier will be done at some point this spring.  The barrel had 'rifle cuts' in the barrel extension and the upper had 'M4
 cuts', so I carefully expanded the barrel extension's cuts to meet the upper receiver's.  This has greatly increased the feeding of 'dummy' rounds after the first as the tips are no longer getting hung up.  I will know for sure after I get to shoot live rounds out of it as to whether or not I will still have failures to feed, a problem that occasionally cropped up with the previous upper receiver.

ICE Arms will be where I source my next bolt carrier from and quite probably my next barrel for a rifle build.  Please check them out here via my affiliate link.

This build has always followed the answers I received back in July of 2012 from the ATF Tech Department Chief.  Feel free to ask any questions on any part of my build. 

Update on AR Pistol build

No major updates, but I did manage to carefully remove the AK-74-style brake that made the barrel 16"+.  I cleaned up the weld point and recoated the barrel with flat black 1000 degree F grill paint.  Cut down the front sight base to allow it to fit under a free-float hand guard and mounted the KX3 muzzle device. 

<<I have sold off the Noveske KX3 and have installed an A2 in it's place.  Pics of the build will be updated after I get the rail I traded it for>>

The rails I have on in the picture are just some of the 'Made in the US' repalcements from Leapers and are hand guard replacements.  I hope to get a 12" keymod hand guard from one of the more reputable manufacturers as I now have a green laser that I plan on mounting and it isn't overly light weight.  <<10" S&W branded Troy rails are en route to me.  Yeah, Troy...but I diodn't pay anything for them and they are used.  ;)  >>

I did get a SureFire M900A weapon light in the trade along with the rails shown above.  My build's OAL is over 26" so in theory based upon my Tech Letter it would be legal to mount but some buddies checked in with their ATF contacts and were told it was illegal.  They did not seem to know about the Franklin XO-26 which the Tech Dept called a 'firearm' as opposed to an AOW.  To cut out the possibility to run afoul of the NFA '34 and GCA '68 I am going to sell off the VFG and install the AFG2 that everyone agrees is 100% legal since it has a steeper angle than 90.

The plan almost changed to have this become a rifle.  I think that I'll build a rifle seperate from this one.  I will get a 300BLK barrel at some point for this one.

Also, thanks to ICE Arms for the quick shipping on the replacement gas line.  I'll be doing more business with them soon!

Ice Arms link here

Q4 2013 update

I am a horrible blogger.  Mental note, need to post up far more often...

Just a couple updates.

All of the financial documents have been filed with the State of Missouri and several manufacturers and distributors of VERY good equipment have a copy of our license.  Many have some decent initial buy-ins, typically $500.

First order as a company was placed with Ace Cases (www.acecase.com) who are purveyers of VERY nice bags and holsters.  It was a fund raiser for the Liberal Gun Club (www.theliberalgunclub.org) and $90 was raised for the club via Pro Range Bag purchases.  These bags are made here in Missouri, are VERY high quality and feature three pistol 'rugs' and a removable magazine holding shooting pad.  All seams are double stitched, all velcro is industrial quality and all zippers are reenforced.

Another great company is Unique AR's, (www.unique-ars.com) who make freefloat handguards for AR-platform firearms.  Their design is very good, they use a proprietary barrel nut that is easy to install and the handguards are all made of high-strength aluminum with custom cut outs.  If you buy one through my link or because you saw it recommended here, please do me a favor and let them know that "Olsen Training Group" sent you.

Maxpedition (http://www.maxpedition.com) is another company that we will be selling.  Their high end gear bags and morale patches will be available soon and I will post here as soon as they become available as well as what we will be stocking.  I can get them for less than MSRP.

For survival supplies, we will be a stocking Thrive merchant.  More info on that, my lovely wife will be running that portion of the business.

As well as running firearms safety/CCW training I will be building AR uppers for sale and will be selling black powder cap-and-ball pistols.   AR uppers will be built around Aero Precision/Surplus Ammo stripped uppers, barrels from a few different sources (Alpha Shooting Sports, Black Hole Products, SSE Machining) and Midwest Industries handguards.  The Cap-n-ball pistols will be Armi San Marcos gift sets and single pistols.

Exciting stuff is coming!

Olsen training Group is GO!

We got our paperwork back from the State, Olsen training Group is moving ahead now.

Along with running classes for CCW in several states (Missouri and Illinois to start, Tennessee and Arkansas coming soon!), we will also be dealers for several quality companies that fit with our goals and interests.

Maxpedition, makers of very good bags and storage gear

Offhand Gear, women's clothing and other gear

Elzetta Lights - high-end flashlights that are tougher than nails and nearly indestructible

Deer Creek Products - black powder and antique  pistols and rifles

Thrive - survival and long term storage solutions.



Classes will be starting up in October, 2013.

Well, I've gone and done it

I took an NRA Basic Pistol Trainer course over this past weekend along with Gun Safety in the Home and FIRST STEPS Pistol.

This means that I can get my MO CCW and train folks for FL and AZ non-resident and MO Resident CCW permits.  

I need to write a business plan as there are several things I plan on selling along side the training courses.

My working name for the company is Armed Liberal Training Company but I will probably go a different route as I plan on keeping politics out of my classroom.

EDIT:  company name is Olsen Training Group and temp web page is http://www.facebook.com/olsentraining .  I've decided to go with a name that is as politically neutral as possible.

Range Report #2 - hung-up buffer ends the day early

We made it out to Ultimate Defense (http://www.udrange.com) on 6/11/2013 and shot both the P238 we picked up on 6/4/2013 and my AR pistol.

First magazine (TAC powder 55 gr FMJ hand loads) worked great  four round rapid fire strings all stayed on paper and the majority were on target at 20m - Holographic sights feel like cheating! - but 15 rounds into the American Eagle 55gr FMJ the bolt recoiled behind the bolt stop and stayed there.  I removed the magazine (still had 15 rounds in it) and since the bolt hadn't gone back forward yet there was no round in the chamber.

I tried to lever the bolt free by yanking really hard on the charging handle to no avail.  Thankfully, the armorer at the range was able to free the buffer whose roll pin had worked loose just enough to hang up on the recoil spring.  Since the bumper on the buffer was VERY brittle and rather cut up I ended the day and ordered a new buffer from the Equipment Exchange on ar15.com.  I got the replacement buffer on 6/14 and my pistol is back in serviceable condition.

Now to try out the 55gr soft points I have loaded over 24gr of IMR 4064 powder I got at the Machinist Hall gun show last weekend...

Range Report #1 - it did not blow up!

Got out to a friend's private range on Saturday to both verify my build and my hand loaded ammunition as well as to teach my son to shoot.  It was an excellent day, 100% accomplished.

I am now addicted to the immediate response from shooting at AR500 steel targets.  Paper and shoot-n-see plastic bullseyes are boring in comparison.  When you hit, you hear it.  When you miss you see the dirt cloud from the berm.  Bowling pins are almost as fun.  ;)

I also got to use my new optic, an EOTech EXPS3-0.

I got my new optic in a weird way for me.  I won it.  Field and Stream is working along with EOTech to celebrate EOTech's 1 millionth manufactured optic milestone by giving away one set of EXPS3-0/G33 magnifier per month to a lucky entrant to their mail-in sweepstakes.  I am the March 2012 winner.  Since I currently have an A2 upper the magnifier is not something I needed right now, so I sold it for a bit less than retail but was able to use the money from it's sale to finish paying off the 2000 Impala.  Win/win!

I had a forward mount that attached to the carry handle and put the red dot somewhat co-witnessed with the iron sights but the rail is way out of spec and the EOTech will NOT mount to it.  I have a new/used mount on it's way to me from an eBay purchase which should work MUCH better.

I had hoped to get pics of the kiddo shooting, pics of my wife shooting and video of my AR but the phone ran out of juice and I forgot to pack our camera.  Fortunately, my friend was gracious enough to give us an open invitation to return at any point.

My son is eagerly awaiting his 10/22, which I hope to have purchased for him before the end of summer.

Howler's Den calls out pro-gunnies on the EO's from POTUS

Holwer's Den called out a couple guys on ARFcom in regards to the negative response that the Executive Orders that President Obama laid out earlier this year.

Here's the rebuttal I posted which may or may not be posted to their site, I have no idea if they actually allow more discussion than other anti-gun sites do.  I have been banned from several for being 'a shill for the NRA' or being 'off message'.  These are my opinions of the EOs that I have shared on several other forums and FaceBook pages since they were first published. 

"A rebuttal:

"1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system."

This makes sense to me and falls well within the purview of the POTUS' abilities; all Executive branch agencies should work together. This is an internal 'play nice' from their boss/our Employee the POTUS.

"2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system."

How is the Federal government allowing government bodies to violate HIPPA a good thing? Please, explain this to me. If someone was adjudicated and forcibly remanded to state mental healthcare, this is a public record so HIPPA has no bearing. this is what the NICS is interested in. Or is this going to allow fishing expeditions based upon privileged doctor/patient information?

"3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system."

This should mean that states that have been conforming (such as Missouri) the whole time that NICS has been around should be rewarded. Somehow I don't see that happening and instead I see this as trying to 'slap around' states who are non-compliant. Considering that the NICS has been in place for a couple of decades, there has been plenty of time for states to send representation to the federal level to get this repealed. "game on" as it were to the non-compliant states.

"4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks."

#4 is rather troubling considering the continuation of US PATRIOT Act and the failure of indefinite detention to be removed from NDAA 2011 as well as several other actions and threats made by the executive branch over the last 12+ years. 'Domestic terrorist' lists similar to the 'no fly' list that has zero oversight?

#5 is somewhat ok, I'd rather see a federal database that is publicly searchable for recovered stolen/seized firearms. Verification of ownership and access to their Right to Keep and bear Arms is fine, but looking at the 'List' in #4 this could be troubling if determination of ownership of a specific type of weapon puts one in a 'restricted' class.

If #13 includes a recommendation from the DoJ to NOT allow plea deals in cases where any weapon was used to commit a crime, I'd be ok with that as long as Castle Doctrine and no duty to retreat come into effect and DA's are unable to go after defensive gun use when employed by those who are not barred from using their 2nd Amendment right to self defense with a firearm.

The EO's in and of themselves are relatively benign but looking at the direction that we have been going since the Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11 they can been seen in a negative light. The other issue is that even if the current Administration does nothing to curtail rights, who is to say that future ones won't?

Oh, if you want to publish my personal information, feel free. I am the interim Chairman of the Democratic Gun Owners' Caucus of Missouri, a member of the Blue Steel Democrats and run the blog at www.armedliberalinmo.blogspot.com so any publicity or additional memberships you want to send my way, please feel free. ;)

My wife is an immigrant from Canada who is working on her Citizenship so I am not doing anything that would impede her progress.

Again, this is the view of someone who identifies as a Liberal, feels that Civil Rights are held by no one if anyone's are disrupted and disagrees that we need as much federal government as we have.

Thanks,
Armed Liberal in MO"

Oh yeah, they did respond.  A very polite "Thanks, but we disagree".  They seemed intrigued that there are Liberals who tend to vote Democrat yet actually *LIKE* firearms.  The shock!  ;)

They also posted some personal info on other blog posts of RKBA activists.  I'm not sure why they did that, it seems that it would potentially put folks in harm's way but I am not sure if that would be the folks whose family and addresses were printed or those who would seek to do them harm...

Note sent to Southern Poverty Law Center

Hi Daniel, I'm not sure if you remember myself or my wife W. but we are concerned about the 'Patriot' report. 

Do we fit your current definition of Domestic Terrorists?  We do not feel that the federal government has any right to say who I can sell my private property to and have been working to increase the enjoyment of folks' Natural Rights to self defense.

I am an advocate for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.  Much like the rest of our Civil Rights, minority access has historically blocked either by force of law or by the cost of entry.  While I do not fit their demographic, I agree 100% with the Deacons of Defense and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (the old school one, not the recent hate group) that everyone who has not separated themselves from their rights.

Backing gun restrictions is saying that Bull was right to block MLK's application for a concealed carry license.

Please think carefully about any response you have on this issue.

Thanks,
'Armed Liberal In Missouri'  (I did use my real name)
Former Asatruar, current gun rights advocate.

______

Years ago, my wife and I were actively supporting the SLPC.  Now, they have released a paper on 'domestic terrorism' which defines Second Amendment supporters as teh same as John Birch Society or other Right Wing groups.

They may have just lost my support.  I am awaiting their response and will post it here.

And done enough to shoot!

Ok, I'm pretty happy now. Thanks to Code Red and the AR15.com equipment exchange, my pistol is shootable. Not quite done, the barrel needs to get chopped to 10.5" from the 14.5" it is now with some no-name break welded to it. Also I need to get a CAA saddle type cheek weld platform to attach t the buffer tube and a Z style handle optics mount so my red dot will co witness with my iron sights.

Book of Grudges

A long time ago I had a different hobby.  It was Warhammer Fantasy and I played the Dwarf Kingdom.  GW Dwarves are a surley lot and their High King is transported around on a special throne.  This throne was made of a book, the Book of Grudges.

This is my Book of Grudges.

Over the past year of building my AR pistol, I have run into several companies that just did not want to take my money.  Either they would say something stupid and I'd get into a 'FaceBook/Email Rumble' with them or they would have something negative on their website that I took issue with or else esposed some political belief outside of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms that I just could not support.

Today, that was Molon Labe Industries.

There is a graphic going around stating that the major mass murders of the 20th century were Liberals.  They put this up on their site and I stated an objection to it.  I made the statement that this is not the time to try and divide the RKBA community by Conservative/Liberal lines.  Their supporters continued that screed and I ended up unliking their page after I suggested that they post their anti-Liberal bias directly on their website and that I had helped close to 40 AR's be started to be built via a group buy of stripped lowers.

I will not be buying any of their 2.5 million projected polymer magazines on the primary market.  I may buy them on the secondary market but even that is in doubt.

They are now on my list of Traitors to RKBA.  We need to bring all of the activists that feel that our civil rights include the Right to Keep and Bear Arms together to keep the pressure on Congress and our state assemblies or else the bullshit laws that will accomplish nothing but the loss of control to the GOP at all levels. 

Any company that espouses a love of firearms ownership need to either be clear about not wanting Liberals to support them or any of their causes or else they need to play nice.  We Liberal gun owners catch enough crap from our 'fellow' liberals that feel that we should die due to our enjoyment of firearms or wanting to have effective tools available for our self defense. 

While the Conservatives are doing a great job of voicing their dissent, Democratic elected officials tend to listen more to their base.  If we fall silent on this issue, there is a good sense that it would be seen as 'consent'.  With no Liberal support, the war to retain our Right to Keep and Bear Arms will be a lost cause.

Just something for anti-Liberal Conservatives to consider.

You need us as much as we need you on this issue.  Help us be able to be good example to others who have not considered the reasons why we are fighting for this issue and you will have our support.

Where we are at today.

Ok, time for an update. After the number of times I've dropped this blog into conversations on FaceBook I feel the need for an update.

AR pistol build is not as stalled out. As a way of saying 'thanks' for running a group buy of their new lowers, a very new AR manufacturing company in Florida is sending me one of their first bolt carrier groups. Now I just need to get that 12" barrel on order from Surplus Ammo (Black Hole Ordinance).

Folks, we are deep in a horrible situation. Ammo supplies are starting to come in but no primers will be available until either July or August. Powder and bullets are also in short supply but are starting to trickle back in.

Many factors have lead to where we are at today. Fear/Uncertainty/Doubt has been sewn by both sides of the gun restrictions argument. Folks that never considered owning an AR platform firearm have spent two or three times MSRP to get them, magazines are trickling out, companies like Cheaper Than Dirt! have gouged customers on the cost of previous stock and ammunition has flown off the shelves.

I was close to getting rid of my project. Thankfully that does not seem to be happening now.

The truly odd thing was the run on .22lr ammo. It seems that a lot if folks felt it was the End of Days...

I'll get more into my thoughts and feelings of discussions I have had and friends/foes I have made on FaceBook and other online communities at a later date. I'm having too nice a day to do so.