Upper Receiver Complete!

Completed my upper last night with the exception of the following:

• Front Sight
• Rear Sight
• Bullet Button (installed not shown in pics yet)
• Flash Hider 

Here's a sneak peak at the final......

I ended up purchasing an Aero Precision upper from SurplusAmmo.com.  It was on sale for $50 when I bought it a few weeks ago. It's now back up to $65.  I really like the American Flag logo on the top portion, however, the letters are not white as shown in the picture below. They are gray like the color of the flag.  So the letters don't match the quad rail, but it looks find nonetheless.

Since I bought the upper as a "Stripped" unit, it did not come with a forward assist or a eject port cover.  I bought both at Riflegear for about $30 total.

Here is the end of the ejection port hinge.  This is a very delicate procedure and you have to be very careful not to  crush the "C" washer.

You then feed the hinge through the ejection port cover and onto the Upper.   Then, you have to attach the spring and feed all the way through.  I didn't capture a picture of that here, but you can see how to do it at ITSTactical.com.

The next step was a little tougher than I thought it would be.   Getting the barrel and jamb nut onto the barrel was easy.  Lining up the holes so the gas tube would line up properly was a little harder than I thought.
 
 

I also installed a Yankee Hill low profile gas block and Yankee Hill blacked out gas tube.

The next step was installing the Yankee HIll Specter Length Diamond Forearm (Quad Rail)

The installation was pretty straightforward, and I put blue loctite on the free float retention screws to make sure it doesn't back out during operation.

Next was the installation of the Magpul B.A.D. Lever (Battery Assist).  This is a very easy install and the lever works as expected.

 

Next, I installed the Charging Handle and Bolt Carrier group into the Upper Receiver.

Lastly, I installed the Completed Upper Receiver onto the Completed Lower Receiver.

And the gun is complete with the exception of the Flash Hider and Front & Rear Sights.

I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to test it on the range!

Download my Targets

These are custom targets I've been making in Visio. Most of them will print on 11x17 paper.

http://targets.box.com/targets

Great for indoor shooting.  Shooters at XDTalk have been downloading these for about a year now.

Lower parts installed!

Done building the lower. 

Thanks to the crew at ITS Tactical for their AR-15 build info.  Very helpful!


I chose a stripped lower from Palmetto State Armory.  $99 at Turner's Outdoorsman.

While I waited my 10 days to pick up the lower, I went on a shopping spree!

Click here to download the Excel Spreadsheet I created to track purchases for my project. Feel free to use it as you wish.

Once I got the lower, I installed the Magazine catch from my DPMS lower parts kit.

Then I installed the Bolt Catch

Then I started installing the Pivot Pin.  This was one of the hardest parts of the build since it took a lot of patience.  However, I only lost and subsequently found the Pivot Pin Detent once in the process.

Then I moved on to the Trigger Group.  This wasn't entirely tricky since I've performed trigger jobs before on handguns, but this was more about being precise on the fitting.  This Trigger Group includes the Hammer, Trigger, Disconnector, and various springs for each.

I then installed the KNS Non-Rotational Pin Set.  I had heard some horror stories of people having their trigger pins back out on them.  Anything that helps the gun stay safe and allow it to be fully functional all the time and not fail, is something I want.  Installation was pretty straightforward.

I then installed the standard plastic grip that came with the DPMS lower kit and installed the Safety Selector.  The grip was temporary as I was waiting to receive my Magpul MOE grip.  I also took the opportunity to install the Magpul Dark Earth Trigger Guard.

I then installed the Magpul MOE Dark Earth Buttstock and Receiver Extension (buffer tube) and all the goodies along with it.  I used the Bravo Company H Carbine Buffer, DPMS Action Spring, DPMS Receiver Extension, and IKICKHIPPIES Slap Plate.  I did not stake the slap plate.

The installation of the Receiver Extension was not too bad.  Again, thanks to ITSTactical for their walk-throughs.

This part was a little tricky.   The spring does not depress easily with the Slap Plate, so it took a little more focus.

Here's the Magpul MOE Mil-spec butt stock installed onto the buffer tube.



Then I installed the Action Spring and H Buffer.

And that was it!  Lower was done.  I'll put the Bullet Button on at the end of the build.

Ontario Gun Show

Went to the Crossroads of the West Ontario gun show for a few hours Sunday.  I was happy to see that the number of beef jerky and taser vendors were less than at the Costa Mesa show I usually go to.

This was my first visit to this Ontario show and other than the limited free parking available nearby, the show was decent.  We arrived around 10am and it took about 10 minutes to walk from the parking to the ticket booth once we found parking (because I'm not paying another $9 to park).  There were only about 3 people ahead of us in line and the tickets were $12 each.  Forgot our $1 off coupon.  :-(  Once inside the building, there were only about 10 people in line to get in the door, and one ticket taker and one hand stamper.

All the vendors are in the same big ballroom, and it seems really small compared to the Costa Mesa show that has multiple buildings and vendors outside, but the deals were fairly good.  But like everything in the gun industry right now, specific parts were hard to find.  I was looking for a deal on a Magpul MOE Mil-Spec Stock, in FDE and a Specter length Yankee Hill Diamond Free Float Quad Rail.

I found plenty of Magpul MOE stocks, but most were either Commercial or the wrong color.  I did find a great place which happened to be in my neck of the woods in Orange County called ZebraSupply.com.  They had a pretty good selection of Magpul stuff available and they had my Magpul MOE Mil-Spec FDE and it was only $55 out the door.  The guy I spoke to was very helpful and gave me a flyer of some other stuff they have on sale.  Their prices on most of the other stuff I saw was about the same as everyone.

Looked around for the YHM Specter length Quad Rail and found several vendors who had mid-length, but they were way overpriced.  Most of them were selling for $150.  I know I can get them online for $99 at a few places, who are out of stock at the moment (of course).  I had already picked mine up at Riflegear in Fountain Valley.  I don't know why I hate paying sales tax for stuff, but it just kills me.  :-)  Anyway, Riflegear had the Specter length YHM for $131 + tax and I'm good to go, and I helped a local business.  ;-)

I bought a raffle ticket going to the Wounded Wariors Project and a chance to win a Springfield M1A rifle.  Fingers are crossed!

If you're a fan of the show Auction Hunters (which we are) you could've met Blaze, who is a gun buyer/expert on the show.  He had a booth and it looked like he wasn't selling much since he had so many people bugging him.  If you don't know who I'm talking about, it's the guy from this clip at Spike.com.

SPIKE
Looking Down the Barrel of a Loaded Gun
www.spike.com
Spike Full Episodes Spike Video Clips Spike on Facebook

I found a few other small things.  My wife picked up a cheap Rainbow Spring Assist EDC knife for her purse for $12, since she lost her last one.

I also got a upper vice block for $25.  I think the guy that sold it to me had no idea how much they were going for, because about 2 bays over another guy was selling them for $40, which is a good deal compared to Brownell's Upper Receiver Action Block, which is $55 + shipping.

It was worth the trip out there to get this stuff now instead of having to order online or wait until June 2nd for Costa Mesa, which I also plan on going to.  I'd recommend it for anyone that wants to get in an out quickly and not have sore feet at the end of the day.

Happy shooting!

Problems with Midway

So I purchased a few parts (YHM Diamond Free Float Quad Rail, DPMS Buffer Tube, and KNS Pin set) for the AR project on April 26th.  They charged me $9 for Postage, Handling & Insurance.

I received the parts shipped USPS but they were simply put into a USPS shipping bag.  The bag had holes in it, and drag marks that appeared as though it was dropped, then dragged across the ground.

The YHM Quad Rail and the Buffer tube are both metal, and painted a flat black to match every other flat black AR part out there.

So, I opened the shipping bag, and found these parts simply in a plastic baggie.  Both the buffer tube and the Quad Rail had scratches, but I didn't care too much about the buffer tube as you'll never see them.  The Quad Rail on the other hand really pissed me off.  Not only were there scratches on it, but there were dents and you could see shiny aluminum against the flat black paint job.

I contacted Midway USA, who surprisingly replied to my email over the weekend and indicated that I would need to fill out an RMA form and send it back to them.  I was shocked.  My email to them included pictures of the damage and there was really no apology about the inconvenience.  Just a statement saying they were "apologize that your order arrived in less than perfect condition."  I'd say so.  I think the problem is their shipping & handling methods. 

They also do not provide pre-paid shipping labels so you must pay again to ship the products back to them and they will reimburse you afterwards.  I also found out afterwards that they will only pay for ground shipping back.  Luckily, I decided to ship it ground or I would've been screwed there too.

Lastly, they make you fill out this arcane RMA form and include it in the shipment back to them.  This is a company that has to be selling tens of thousands of dollars of products a day on their website, and their policy is to print out a PDF, fill it out with a pen, and include the hard copy in the box?

They said that once my package has been received, they will process my full refund within 1-2 days.  They said it would include the cost of the shipping (receipt left in box) back to them also.  Since UPS ground has been pretty slow in getting to them, I'm still waiting for my refund.  I was luckily able to find another vendor that properly packaged my order and got the delivery of these parts to me in once piece.

I don't know how many people work for Midway USA, but I've dealt with some small companies before, and they had at least the minimum requirements met for running a typical Internet retailer.  Making sure the products are delivered safely starts with packaging the products properly.

Come on Larry Potterfield!  Get your company into 2012.

Needless to say, this was my first and last experience with Midway USA.  Their prices aren't the most competitive, and we'll see once my refund is issued how their refund policy works.

Update to follow!