I hate to say it but I do not think ammo prices are going to decrease anytime soon. This is already as bad and possibly worse than post-Sandy Hook and we are now seeing some additional elements added to it. Biden is talking about sweeping gun and ammo control. Biden is talking about making one of th...

I’ve had good luck with RMRs and Everglades. Both have been very consistent. I typically use TiteGroup for my USPSA Carry Optics loads and Power Pistol or True Blue for loads with more zip to them. Power Pistol is a great option for loads on the warmer side but it has some wicked muzzle flash when y...

Some possibilities: 1. As mentioned above, you are not knocking the flare in the case mouth back down. You can reduce the flare and/or slightly turn down your crimp die to remove the flare. I only very slightly crimp with any coated bullet and by very slightly I mean “just enough to reduce the case ...

I also have one of the Harbor Freight rock polisher type tumblers. I used the two small canisters for quite a while and then got bored one day and made a single large canister out of the same diameter PVC. I made a couple fins out of kydex and then glued with in with plumber goop. I used a blowout t...

The ammo shortage has brought testing to a crawl until I can reload some 5.56. To a crawl? Yes...but not to an absolute halt. ;) My current goal for a run and gun competition AR is to get one entirely dialed in for USPSA minor power factor ammo. Minor? For those new to USPSA multigun, it is worth po...

SHTF or competition build focus?

I probably should have broken this up into two threads but highlighting the differences is some times very valuable info as you can cover what to do on one while also hitting “never do this” on the other...

Split em up or leave both in the same thread?

A quick check (combat vs. competition): Take your bolt carrier group out of the AR, grab the bolt and pull it as far forward as it will go (while still in the carrier) and then set it upright on a table with the bolt on bottom... If you have a SD/SHTF AR, you are running a full weight M16 bolt carri...

I have been toying with the idea of ordering one of these for month:
https://www.langdontactical.com/92-elite-ltt-compact/

Langdon is the man for tuned up Berettas.

Did you install the gas block yourself? Just curious if maybe the gas port is partially blocked. That is a certainly something that needs double checked. If you seat most gas blocks right up against the shoulder on the barrel they will be at least partially obstructed. A 0.020” - 0.025” spacer need...

Added some new upgrades to my 18” AR today - they are very likely comp use only but if you are a comp shooter...the gun feels amazing.

I will be fully testing them this weekend.

-10% spring might fix it. In the alternative, you could try replacing one or two steel buffer weights with aluminum buffer weights https://www.kakindustry.com/ar-15-parts/lower-parts/buffer-tubes-and-parts/buffer-weight-aluminum That’s possibly a dirt cheap fix but a lighter buffer may be more of a ...

It wasn’t specified in the original post but is 100% reliability essential?

Try a -10% power buffer spring or -20% buffer spring. It’s hard to say as port diameter for gas is all over the place (depending on manufacturer nowadays) - I would order and test the hell out of both but I am OCD like that... Accurate port size requires a pin gauge for a really accurate reading so ...

I haven’t seen too many properly gassed ARs that will damage brass but I have seen a few. Usually, it is due to an burr or edge that was left on the verge of razor sharp by the manufacturer. I reload .223/5.56 and, while finding brass is usually is fairly easy, the occasional election and/or pandemi...

If the AR design has an Achilles heel, it is very likely the bolt. The US military rates average AR bolt life as a mere 7,500 rounds but many which are not used in burst fire last much longer. While most of them will not fail until they have fired more than ten or twenty thousand rounds, having a sp...

Back to a some DIY tuning - The bolt is often another area that can benefit from a bit of polishing. I typically polish all the flats on the bolt with a Dremel and felt wheel loaded with Flitz or Maas polish. It doesn’t take much but can smooth cycling considerably: ABC5F360-0B5F-447A-81DE-FE42EE878...

Okay - you guys are hard to impress this week - tough crowd.

Imma have to up my game...

This post will end up being edited with more material added as I go back through all of my AR mods looking for budget fixes to annoying problems. The first one - if you have a milspec Collapsible stock that you are happy with but want a QD mounting socket, Impact Weapon Components has a fix for that...

Updated the section on bolt carriers to cover more finish options as well as adding a few notes about weight vs overall reliability. Some typos also fixed...there were only about a thousand.

Tuning a competition AR’s gas system is a little different than that for a SHTF/defensive AR. For a competition gun, you load one round into the mag and then fire the one round to see if it locks back on an empty mag. Then you rinse and repeat after restricting the gas until the rifle will not lock ...