Lockhart Tactical Raven Platinum Edition, .223 Wylde
- Thread starter Bartok5
- Start date
Not even close! The entire process, which is normally a 10-15 minute installation, took me well over an hour....
Update My new Barrel with mid-length Gas System arrived today from Lockhart Tactical. Not bad - I sent the explanatory email last Saturday morning and today I have my new Barrel freshly installed for a range trip to function-test and zero tomorrow at the indoor 40 yd range in Edmonton (Phoenix Indoor Range and Gun Shop). I will take my tools with me in order to make adjustments on the fly.
In other tinkering news, it turns out that the sticky-backed aluminum tape for duct-work? Well, it works great on the Barrel Nut to take the slack out of the Handguard's friction-fit. The Rail is nice and tight on the Barrel Nut now, taking all of the rattle and slop out of the assembly. Nice!
In other tinkering news, it turns out that the sticky-backed aluminum tape for duct-work? Well, it works great on the Barrel Nut to take the slack out of the Handguard's friction-fit. The Rail is nice and tight on the Barrel Nut now, taking all of the rattle and slop out of the assembly. Nice!
From the Barrel Nut to the front edge of the Gas Block is 10.5" on the "new" Mid-Length Gas System, so anything over 11" is good to go on the current production rifle.
I like a bit of barrel showing, so I ordered up this 13.5" Rail from TNA for $150.00 : https://truenortharms.com/ar15_default_store_view/super-m-lok-handguard-easy-install.html
I like a bit of barrel showing, so I ordered up this 13.5" Rail from TNA for $150.00 : https://truenortharms.com/ar15_default_store_view/super-m-lok-handguard-easy-install.html
Perfect, I just ordered one as well.
Also, what do you the no about a barrel chambered for .223?
I use hand loads so was thinking the tighter chamber would be a plus.
Was thinking I’d order an IBI CFW chambered for .223
Also, what do you the no about a barrel chambered for .223?
I use hand loads so was thinking the tighter chamber would be a plus.
Was thinking I’d order an IBI CFW chambered for .223
Ya, I don’t shoot both, so was hoping to get a .223 chamber.
Also was gonna order this.View attachment 718255
One of the issues I am having with the Raven builders kit. The area at the bottom rear of the trigger guard is hard on the middle finger.
Will ask Lockhart if I can return for rework and Cerakote .Samuel said "Sorry we do not offer that service as of right now."
As others have said about the trigger pin holes and the buffer tube threading, were also an issue.
I tried three different stocks. M93 Magpul, Troy PDW and an old DPMS M4. The DPMS as the only one that fit.
But , because of this the bolt carrier was rubbing against the buffer tube.
I have a tap to fix this issue.
All of that being said I love the idea of have three different uppers with one receiver .
I will be building a 9mm and a 308.
Thank you.
Will ask Lockhart if I can return for rework and Cerakote .Samuel said "Sorry we do not offer that service as of right now."
As others have said about the trigger pin holes and the buffer tube threading, were also an issue.
I tried three different stocks. M93 Magpul, Troy PDW and an old DPMS M4. The DPMS as the only one that fit.
But , because of this the bolt carrier was rubbing against the buffer tube.
I have a tap to fix this issue.
All of that being said I love the idea of have three different uppers with one receiver .
I will be building a 9mm and a 308.
Thank you.
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Hard to beat the duty.. $20 extra and your supporting canadian made products along with that they ship for free...
What barrel did you go with Bartok?
I went with the Lockhart mid-length Barrel which is now shipping with all new production rifles. It appears to be adequately accurate, allowing me to repeatedly put 5 rounds into less than a square inch at 40 yds just this afternoon.
How was reliability and function this time? How many rounds down the pipe, any unsual wearing?
My new mid-length Barrel arrived yesterday, so it was off to the indoor range today for function testing and zeroing. I put 15 clicks on the Gas Regulator as the manual suggests and the rifle ran like a scalded cat right out of the gate! Positive and forceful ejection at 3 o'clock, Bolt Catch engaged, etc. I will fine tune the gas to ensure that the operating system is properly balanced when I hit the outdoor range on Tuesday. So far, so good though. The new Barrel demonstrates acceptable accuracy this far, allowing me to repeatedly put 5 shots inside of a square inch. at 40 yards with bulk PMC ammo. That ought to translate to under 2 MOA at distance on the outdoor range, which is consistent with the accuracy I was getting with the original Rifle-length Barrel that my Raven shipped with.
I fired 80 rounds out of the new Barrel this afternoon with no stoppages of any kind. Feeding was positive, however judging by the copper deposits in the feedway, the Upper Receiver could benefit from M4 Feed Ramp cuts to match the Barrel Extension. I will likely do some filing on my own to sort that out as it is a pretty minor issue. All things considered I am very pleased with the new Barrel's performance.
There was no discernable wear to any of the bearing surfaces on the Bolt Carrier or within the Upper Receiver, with the DLC coating on the Carrier evidently doing its job of wear resistance with lubricity. The rifle is correctly lubricated, but not excessively so. The recoil impulse was a welcome blast from the not too distant past, a very soft push as opposed to the more forceful and direct impulse of piston operation.
I fired 80 rounds out of the new Barrel this afternoon with no stoppages of any kind. Feeding was positive, however judging by the copper deposits in the feedway, the Upper Receiver could benefit from M4 Feed Ramp cuts to match the Barrel Extension. I will likely do some filing on my own to sort that out as it is a pretty minor issue. All things considered I am very pleased with the new Barrel's performance.
There was no discernable wear to any of the bearing surfaces on the Bolt Carrier or within the Upper Receiver, with the DLC coating on the Carrier evidently doing its job of wear resistance with lubricity. The rifle is correctly lubricated, but not excessively so. The recoil impulse was a welcome blast from the not too distant past, a very soft push as opposed to the more forceful and direct impulse of piston operation.
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Those are the extended pins
Correct. I only use 2 of the 4 Extended Pins that come in the 4-pack of Pins. The other 2 Pins are rarely (if ever) removed and if Extended Pins are used there they interfere with the controls. So only 2 Extended Pins are really required to speed up and GREATLY EASE the takedown process.
Just to be sure have the gen2 bolt carrier replacement? I have a knock off law and my extension fits the gen2 carrier just the orings are making it a tight fit. Other than that yeah the adapter was a bit hard to thread on otherwise it fits on as it should. My handgaurd was a pain to get off. I switch it outto one i had from a ar and just used the existing LHT barrel nut. It just clamps on with 2 screws so is still easy to get off. LHT nut is shorter than onnthe AR so this doesnt grab as much but is still solid.I agree. The tolerance between the Rail and the Barrel Nut should be reduced as much as possible so that there is a solid, wobble-free fit. Geissele manages to do it with their Modular HK Handguard, so it is entirely possible to do. Just because the Handguard is secured by a cross-pin doesn't mean that the fit between the inside of the Rail and the outside of the Barrel Nut cannot be tight.
In other news, I managed to fit a LAW Tactical Gen 3 Folding Buttstock Adapter to my Raven. I had to re-cut the Receiver Extension (Buffer Tube) threads on the Lower Receiver in order to be able to secure the Adapter to the Lower. I used 1' 3/16-16 HSS Tap purchased off of Amazon,ca for $63. This was quite a chore, as the existing threads were actually quite shallow and had to be cut deeper in order to accommodate standard-dimension parts. Come to think of it, even getting the Receiver Extension off of the Lower Receiver was a bit of work as well, requiring the use of a padded vice to hold the Extension while I twisted the Lower Receiver with my hands. Genuine elbow grease required! Now that I have re-cut the threads, everything including the factory Receiver Extension threads onto the Lower Receiver much more easily - as it should be. It should go without saying that none of this additional work should be necessary, but right now it is.
Once the threads were re-cut on the Lower Receiver, everything went together perfectly with the exception of the Extension Plug which extends the length of the Bolt Carrier by sliding into the rear of the Carrier. As it turns out, the proprietary Bolt Carrier of the Raven is too large for the Plug that comes with the Folder Adapter for 5.56mm Bolt Carriers. So I had to substitute a 7.62mm AR10 size Plug to fit in the uniquely-dimensioned rear of the Raven Bolt Carrier. Of course, it was too large and had to be reduced in diameter using a bench-top Belt-Sander, but once it was made to fit the Raven it functioned 100%. A bit of work, but definitely worth the effort for such a long firearm when it comes to storage and transport. Folding the Buttstock reduces the length of the package by close to a foot, which is substantial.
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That's an ugly and counter-ergonomic workaround I must say.
