Well, my APC finally showed up today, after 4 long days as a prisoner of Canada Post over the Easter Long Weekend. Good thing we had the Calgary Gun Show to keep things interesting during the wait! Overall, I must say that I am impressed with the fit and finish. Perhaps not quite as nice as my SAN rifle, but close. I can now see what people meant by the Blanchard Grind on the bolt face. It looks rough in photos, but is not (thank goodness!) in reality. I already knew about the heat treatment finish issues around the Cam Path and on the strike face of the Bolt Carrier, so no big surprise or disappointment there. I am quite happy with the APC223 in its carbine configuration and am confident that it will become a favourite of mine once I get some rounds down-range.
As expected, the biggest shortcoming of this otherwise finely tooled and very handy carbine is the comb height of the folding Buttstock. That got me to looking around the gun room for a suitable way of raising the comb. I came across a piece of dense but lightweight and rigid foam that came out of an adjustable strap-on Cheek-riser. It has a concave contour on the underside that was a perfect match for the APC Buttstock, and a rounded top surface ideal for a cheekrest. I simply cut it to length, put a line of Hot Glue between the foam and the top of the Buttstock to keep it from shifting, and then secured it with a couple of zip-ties. It actually turned out better than I expected. It is very secure, yet could be easily removed with no damage whatsoever to the rifle should something better (eg. a plastic snap-on riser) come along. Here it is in all of its glory - my $.50 solution to the APC Buttstock problem....
As expected, the biggest shortcoming of this otherwise finely tooled and very handy carbine is the comb height of the folding Buttstock. That got me to looking around the gun room for a suitable way of raising the comb. I came across a piece of dense but lightweight and rigid foam that came out of an adjustable strap-on Cheek-riser. It has a concave contour on the underside that was a perfect match for the APC Buttstock, and a rounded top surface ideal for a cheekrest. I simply cut it to length, put a line of Hot Glue between the foam and the top of the Buttstock to keep it from shifting, and then secured it with a couple of zip-ties. It actually turned out better than I expected. It is very secure, yet could be easily removed with no damage whatsoever to the rifle should something better (eg. a plastic snap-on riser) come along. Here it is in all of its glory - my $.50 solution to the APC Buttstock problem....
