Chopped up my Stag today!

hoddie

hoddie

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Well, I finally got up the nerve to cut my upper down for my in-coming Samson rail from Armseast.
The first cut was the hardest. Considering I haven't even fired a round through it yet! The rail will be here Thursday and then it is off to the ranges. More pics to follow when I get the rail on. Here is a montage of start to finish. The end product doesn't look all that bad. I just cold-blued it. The gas block will be under the rail anyway. I am adding a 12 inch Samson free float to it, so all the front sight bits had to come off. Only took an hour in total with the hacksaw, file and bench grinder. The rear sight is a Troy unit from CQB Services and the front will be the Samson flip sight.
More to follow,
Hoddie.
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:eek: You couldn't have used the 3R model?

Actually I was hoping you were cutting it down to 14.5". I wish we could get those.:mad: :(
 
Should've just went with a non-FF railed forend, like the KAC, instead of mutilating a nice carbine. On such a short barrel the benefits of a free-floated rail are going to be negligible. Plus the non-FF rails install just like the plastic handguards with no tools needed.
 
Well, I have tried all the non-free floating handguards and decided that this is what I wanted to do. Besides, the extra rail will provide more room for lights, lasers and sights. Not mention it will allow me to rest the handguard, not the barrel, on support surfaces when making those long shots. The extended sight radius will also assist those shots.
Believe me, I have researched this option for some time before I decided to take a grinder to my barrel.
As for mutilating a nice carbine, working rifles are not meant to be "nice", they are meant to work.
Hoddie.
 
+1 for hoddies idea.


Ever wonder why CAG went to the KAC MRE -- and why all new SOCOM weapons are freefloated...

Freefloating will increase bolt life - the longer rail helps both not burning the operator when he transitions and if he needs to support the weapon while shooting it wont affect the barrel.


Nice work dude.
 
Nothing mutilated there, any of those parts can be found easily if they need to be replaced. I quite admire people willing to cut and grind their guns to suit their needs, it's confirmation that their guns are working guns and not safe queens.
 
Freefloating a barrel removes a number of stressors on the receiver that can cause it to change its geometry - thus being out of alignment with the bolt. Agrivated by the heat of prolonged firing schedules and it is more of an issue with carbines -- due to the pressure spike in the recoil impulse.

Its not my research -- its USSOCOM/Crane's -- Mark Larue posted some tidbits on it on ARF.com -- I spoke to Gus Taylor (former SF Col) who ran MD/NS and RISII for Crane and is part of the SCAR team.

Its much more evident on the short carbines that are used suppressed. granted that is not an issue with Canadian civy guns due to the 5rd mag law and the fact that suppressors are a civy no-no.
 
The box showed up today from Armseast. Very well packed and came with all the bits. The rail itself is very well made. I have seen many rails and this one is very impressive. The detail is very high.
So, I took it all out and dry fit the parts. The clamp for the barrel nut is well made and comes with ears to help align the rail to to the upper. This is the 3rd version and comes with a screw as well as the detent to attach the lower rail. Fit was tight, but that is not really a bad thing.
Well, here is the finished product. I had to take down the gas block a little further in order to clear the inside of the rail. I just brought it down to the natural contours and got rid of the rounded edges I put on it (see pic above). So, out to the grinder again. Finished it up, re-blued it and started to put it together.
Anyway, to the pics. I added Magpul tan rail covers and some olive drab low profile ones. Tango Down vertical grip, Eotech 552, Troy rear sight, Samson front flip sight. I also replaced the Stag muzzle brake with an A2 model. Just my preference.
If you have any question, just ask. I will have a range report in this weekend.
Oh, in response to the R2 vs. R3 question, I had no intention of building this when I got the rifle originally. That is why I got the R2. Then when I got it, I couldn"t wait until I got another one, so chop-chop and grind-grind. I guess the R3 would have been a better candidate for this build. It dosen't have the sight tower or bayo lug. But, as I said, this what I had at the time.
Hoddie.
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Hoddie -- Thats one nice stag you got there. I would be ordering Samson rail as well but I can't get pass that continous top rail. Walter has them in stock no hassles it would be uber simple to get it but I'm going to get either DD or Larue.
 
Thanks for the kind words.
It is the 12 inch full rifle length rail. The mid length rail is 9 inches long. I was looking at the DD or Larue rails, but cost and availability were factors. Besides, the continuous rail allows you to mount anything right across the 2 pieces. The gap just doesn't look right IMHO. I think this has a more LMT monolith rail look to it, at only a fraction of the cost.
Hoddie.
 
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I'm replacing my troy MRF-CX and was thinking of a low profile gas block... I may just do that instead as I'd rather a pinned gas block than one that might move on me...
 
Dammit, now I want a Stag again, great setup. Were the Restricted/LEO engravings on the lower custom ordered?
 
I am going to do a simular setup but with a 9" rail from MI, the problem I ran into is that the slot in the rail end cap in the MI is to narrow for the Badger speed block (the slot is for barrel thickness + some space), so some work will need to be done. So keep in mind that some combinations of parts do not allow proper tolerances. This 12" rail setup looks very good, nice work.
 
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