AR pistol with fixed Mag? (In mass )

[Wildweasel]

over 10 rounds makes it AWB non compliant. (large cap pistol. no new pistols are supposed to be over 10.) If you want a cite then read the AWB faq.

 

[Yankee Clipper]

Hey everyone, I am the manufacturer of the JC Arms receivers. Feel free to EMAIL me with any questions.

[email protected]

www.JCArms.com

I manufacture these from scratch in Rockland, and am more than happy to give any of you a tour of my shop and manufacturing area if you want to come look at the receivers. I am open by appointment only.
I offer a lifetime warranty, so if anyone is experiencing any problems, get a hold of me.

Thanks for the info Joe.

 

[amm5061]

You guys are killing me. Every time I go "I'm done for awhile," someone posts pics and my addiction withdrawal kicks into overdrive. Anyways, fixed-mag pistol build in progress, and I'm justifying it as a birthday present to myself.

Got some parts on order from Brownells and MidwayUSA. Should be here later this week, and I should have some additional progress pics this weekend.

DS-15 fixed mag lower. Seems solidly built, and I like the enhanced set screw features as well.
CMMG lower parts kit I had lying around from my failed Polymer80 build
KNS anti-rotation pins
Magpul MOE grip for now, might replace it with the K2 for a better grip angle
I've also got an existing .750 Yankee Hill low profile gas block I intend to use

Pistol buffer tube, buffer tube hardware, extended takedown pins, enhanced bolt catch, and stripped upper in the mail right now.

EDIT: Brownells did it to me again and put the handguard on sale. 9.5" MI Combat M-Lok handguard on order along with the gas tube and upper parts kit to finish the upper receiver.

Still trying to decide on a barrel and handguard. Leaning towards a Faxon 10.5" barrel. Gov't/SOCOM or Pencil, don't see a lot of difference other than $10 and .1 lbs. For handguard, I like the looks of the new MI Combat M-Lok handguard. Either 9.5" or 10.5" with a Kaw Valley Precision linear comp.

 

[Dennis in MA]

I've got everything BUT the upper at this point. Talk about frustrating. LOL

I still need to do some assembly. Got the SB adjustable brace and a JC lower. Last year I got a RMR and never mounted it to anything. Excited to mount it to this. Debating putting a Magpul MOE grip on it. I like the feel of those over stock grips. Oh, and on teh Deals & Steals here, I got a single-stage trigger assembly that I need to get installed.

Not really rushing until that upper shows SHIPPED from Brownell's.

Making me want to pull my Carbon-15 out at this point. Will probably be lighter by a good margin and is almost as compact normally. (Bushy Carbon-15 stock slides off for storage from the lower.) A TAD longer than the 11.5" upper that I selected for this build. I love the extreme-oval hand guard that the Carbon-15 has as well.

 

[CrackPot]

Can someone remind me why using a preban 30rd mag in these builds is no good? What's the problem with the finished product being large capacity?

The magazine is pre-ban as long as it is detachable. Once it is fixed, the entity that has a capacity is the entire pistol. You have therefore manufactured a NEW high capacity pistol with a high capacity feeding device and that is a felony for you to possess.

 

[amm5061]

I've got everything BUT the upper at this point. Talk about frustrating. LOL

I know the feeling. All parts except the barrel and brace are en-route and should be delivered tomorrow. Have to wait for pay day to order the barrel. Brace is back ordered

 

[amm5061]

This both infurates me and makes me intensely sad all at the same time. When putting the pivot pins in, I used a new detent that wasn't worn in yet. This was the result. :emoji_cry:

Will definitely be contacting DSI about it. That's a manufacturing defect for sure. There should be no possible way to rip the pivot pin detent out through the aluminum like that. And all my goddamn parts showed up today, too. :emoji_cry:

Update: Talked to DSI about it. Requested I ship them the lower, pin, detent, and spring. Will be boxing it up and taking a trip to the post office shortly. Seemed very reasonable so far.

 

[Yankee Clipper]

This both infurates me and makes me intensely sad all at the same time. When putting the pivot pins in, I used a new detent that wasn't worn in yet. This was the result. :emoji_cry:

Will definitely be contacting DSI about it. That's a manufacturing defect for sure. There should be no possible way to rip the pivot pin detent out through the aluminum like that. And all my goddamn parts showed up today, too. :emoji_cry:

Update: Talked to DSI about it. Requested I ship them the lower, pin, detent, and spring. Will be boxing it up and taking a trip to the post office shortly. Seemed very reasonable so far.

Keep us posted. This seems very unfortunate for a brand new lower.

 

[amm5061]

Will do. Need to get it packaged for shipping and in the mail. So far they've been very reasonable about sending it back.

In the mean time, I put together the upper, minus the barrel. Looks quite nice so far! I have a set of the basic Magpul MBUIS sights coming to put on it. Probably go with something like a Vortex Viper for optics as well.

Here she is with her big sister, sitting on the broken lower for scale:

 

[CrackPot]

This both infurates me and makes me intensely sad all at the same time. When putting the pivot pins in, I used a new detent that wasn't worn in yet. This was the result. :emoji_cry:

Will definitely be contacting DSI about it. That's a manufacturing defect for sure. There should be no possible way to rip the pivot pin detent out through the aluminum like that. And all my goddamn parts showed up today, too. :emoji_cry:

Update: Talked to DSI about it. Requested I ship them the lower, pin, detent, and spring. Will be boxing it up and taking a trip to the post office shortly. Seemed very reasonable so far.

I have seen this happen. It does require application of significant force. If the detent has burrs on the end such that it will not freely move out of the takedown pin, this can be the result. It is always a good idea to run the detent across some sand paper before installing to remove any burrs. Moving the takedown pin back and forth can also deburr the detent, but if it is bad enough to start, you can't get it to move at all.

This is more likely a statement about the quality of your LPK and how you choose to address the takedown pin not moving freely (apply force) than a statement about the quality of the lower. @EddieCoyle was kind enough to do this to one of my lowers for me.

Good luck

 

[amm5061]

I have seen this happen. It does require application of significant force. If the detent has burrs on the end such that it will not freely move out of the takedown pin, this can be the result. It is always a good idea to run the detent across some sand paper before installing to remove any burrs. Moving the takedown pin back and forth can also deburr the detent, but if it is bad enough to start, you can't get it to move at all.

This is more likely a statement about the quality of your LPK and how you choose to address the takedown pin not moving freely (apply force) than a statement about the quality of the lower. @EddieCoyle was kind enough to do this to one of my lowers for me.

Good luck

Yup, especially being a new detent, and a cheap parts kit, I should have done just that. Live and learn.

Lower finally got to UPS today. Will arrive there tomorrow, so we should find out soon-ish what they are willing to do under warranty.

 

[amm5061]

Got a call from them a few minutes ago. Looks like they'll warranty me a replacement. Installed the pivot pin I sent along with the broken lower for me and threw on a bolt catch for free. I'll reserve final judgement for when the replacement arrives, but so far so good. :emoji_thumbsup:

 

[amm5061]

Follow up: UPS guy dropped off a nice package today. Everything looks good. DSI made good on their warranty policy, no questions asked. New lower is in good shape and I've already started putting it back together. Super fast turn around and great customer service!

 

[Dennis in MA]

I've got everything but the few stock parts that are coming slow-boat from Brownells (Castle nut, buffer, spring, yada yada)

Upper came in last night. As did the new MOE K2 grip. Picked up a MOE trigger guard while at Cabela's on the road yesterday. I could be built by next weekend. Oh, and hte ammo shows up today. 75gr lowflash/lowreport SD ammo.

 

[amm5061]

I've got everything but the few stock parts that are coming slow-boat from Brownells (Castle nut, buffer, spring, yada yada)

Upper came in last night. As did the new MOE K2 grip. Picked up a MOE trigger guard while at Cabela's on the road yesterday. I could be built by next weekend. Oh, and hte ammo shows up today. 75gr lowflash/lowreport SD ammo.

I've found that my Brownells orders tend to sit in Willington, CT for about 3 days and then they get delivered with all the intermediate steps (Shrewsbury --> local Post Office) just magically happening all at once. It's annoying, but I've learned my lesson on how to figure delivery date off of it. Midway tends to deliver faster. I've got the barrel coming from them this weekend, with muzzle device and red dot coming from Joebob Outfitters next week.

Can't wait to see what you come up with when it's put together.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Mine shot thru CT to the DumbPost location in Northboro. Hoping it'll be here tomorrow, but I won't. LOL.

I spent $99 on a drop-in trigger but the trigger on this isn't that bad. But once I get the Brownell's parts in, I can put in the buffer tube and put teh stabilizer on it and assemble it "completely". (Grip, trigger guard, and muzzle device still need to be changed at that point.). Just to get a sense of it. Hope to have it finished next week as teh troops from MO are home for leave. Spend a morning at the range with the-Boy.

 

[r0bh3]

What length handguard / barrel are people running on these setups? I was thinking about a 7.5” barrel, would a 6” handguard work with that?

 

[Yankee Clipper]

So an update to my pin issue. It was an out of spec take down pin as a new set that I picked up worked perfectly fine. Only took a week or so to figure it out.

 

[Qjake17]

What length handguard / barrel are people running on these setups? I was thinking about a 7.5” barrel, would a 6” handguard work with that?

I went with this 7.5 upper from Ghost Firearms. But I changed out the brake for a linear comp, about 1k rounds through it so far it runs great.

 

[amm5061]

7.5" barrel + 3.25" flash can under a 9.5" handguard from Midwest Industries. Still waiting for the flash can, but my super precise tape measure says it will stick out half an inch from the end of the handguard.

Should have some pics of the final product Tuesday once the last order arrives.

 

[amm5061]

Flash can arrived today so I declare this build complete, minus some minor furniture changes. Now I just need to get it to the range!

 

[Dennis in MA]

NICE!

Question for all: I picked up an aftermarket muzzle device. The A2-like one on there is stuck like glue. I'm ASSUMING it's just crush-washered on there. How hard to you lean on that before it's too hard???? I put the upper in a woodworking (made of wood) vice and tried but I was afraid to push too hard. Putting the bbl in would make more sense, but the hand guard is Torx screw'd on there. Was trying to fix it without finding my Torx drivers.

But I'd rather not push TOO hard and have a problem.

New muzzle device has crush-washer.

 

[amm5061]

NICE!

Question for all: I picked up an aftermarket muzzle device. The A2-like one on there is stuck like glue. I'm ASSUMING it's just crush-washered on there. How hard to you lean on that before it's too hard???? I put the upper in a woodworking (made of wood) vice and tried but I was afraid to push too hard. Putting the bbl in would make more sense, but the hand guard is Torx screw'd on there. Was trying to fix it without finding my Torx drivers.

But I'd rather not push TOO hard and have a problem.

New muzzle device has crush-washer.

Does the flash hider have a crush washer behind it? Give it a once over and check for a weld spot. Not sure why they'd pin and weld an A2 FH on, but you never know.

If it looks clean with a crush washer behind, find yourself a reaction rod and use that instead of a standard upper vise block. It will engage the barrel extension and transfer the torque right into the BE instead of into the upper itself. No need to disassemble the upper. Then just wrench the crap out of it. Lefty loosy righty tighty.

It sounds like they may have pinned and welded it though if you can't wrench it off with what you've got. In that case I wouldn't f*** around with it myself; I'd take the upper to a gunsmith. I have a thing with anything that involves threads. If I can't do it easily, I'm not doing it myself. That's just me, though. I'm intimidated by threads.

EDIT: thinking about it, actually they may have done a P/W on it. If you have a 10.5", doing the P/W will give you a little bit of extra length that might bring your OAL up over 26". That's important if you want to put a vertical fore grip on it without having to file for an AOW tax stamp. You could check with the manufacturer to be certain.

 

[CrackPot]

NICE!

Question for all: I picked up an aftermarket muzzle device. The A2-like one on there is stuck like glue. I'm ASSUMING it's just crush-washered on there. How hard to you lean on that before it's too hard???? I put the upper in a woodworking (made of wood) vice and tried but I was afraid to push too hard. Putting the bbl in would make more sense, but the hand guard is Torx screw'd on there. Was trying to fix it without finding my Torx drivers.

But I'd rather not push TOO hard and have a problem.

New muzzle device has crush-washer.

BEV™ Block – AR15/M4

You definitely want one of these before applying torque to the end of the barrel. This locks into the barrel so the upper is not involved in any way when you torque the muzzle device.

 

[Aaron[MA]]

BEV™ Block – AR15/M4

You definitely want one of these before applying torque to the end of the barrel. This locks into the barrel so the upper is not involved in any way when you torque the muzzle device.

I'm curious- What did people use to hold a bbl for muzzle device work before this tool was available?
Were you forced to remove the bbl from the upper and vise it using something like the v-shaped jaws used for holding pipe?

 

[amm5061]

I'm curious- What did people use to hold a bbl for muzzle device work before this tool was available?
Were you forced to remove the bbl from the upper and vise it using something like the v-shaped jaws used for holding pipe?

There are upper receiver blocks. Two major kinds are the clamshell type and the type which secures the upper via the pivot/takedown pin holes. There's also the Geissele reaction rod which also engages the barrel extension directly.

I've got a reaction rod, and I can't say enough good things about it. A little more expensive than the magpul block though.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...l-tools/ar-15-m16-reaction-rod-prod55168.aspx

 

[Wildweasel]

We used Barrel blocks and a heavy vise, the barrel would still sometimes twist and mar the finish. (I still use them.)

I'm curious- What did people use to hold a bbl for muzzle device work before this tool was available?
Were you forced to remove the bbl from the upper and vise it using something like the v-shaped jaws used for holding pipe?

 

[Dennis in MA]

I was hoping this would be a simple fix, but it looks like I’ll order the BEV block. Reasonably idiot proof.

 

[amm5061]

I was hoping this would be a simple fix, but it looks like I’ll order the BEV block. Reasonably idiot proof.

Honestly, if you're going to build any uppers, having a good upper vise block is really necessary. Once you start tinkering with uppers and get the right tools, you're going to start wanting to build more of them. I swear to god ARs are like crack.

 

[Dennis in MA]

BEV block came in today. Worked pretty well. It wasn’t as secure as some videos said, but it did the job. Had to crush the washer several times to get it to line-up.

Now I just need to go shoot it. Lol