BigK

I keep my HD shotgun in one slung over the post of my bed. I have a couple of pouches attached to the molle to hold some extra shells, knife, flashlight, etc. Keeps all that stuff all in one place. So my vote is for "cool gear". My wife rolls her eyes about it, but we'll see who the mall ninja queer is when she's hiding behind me and my scabbard when something goes bump in the night.

I need to start an "educate me" thread about .300 black out. It seems like a really popular choice...I may NEED one too. LOL

Hell no I didn't take the ejector and extractor off of my bolt, I'm WAY too lazy for that crap. LOL Plus I was already happy that mine shot. We used his fully disassembled DPMS bolt and carrier when we measured the headspace. I tried mine too for grins, though, and got the same results. I still don't see why anyone would make a gauge that can't accurately measure headspace without disassembling the bolt. You don't shoot without an extractor and ejector, so why should they make a gauge that requires them to be removed? Furthermore, if the fully assembled BCG closes on 3 or 4 different brands of ammo, I don't see what the gauge shows you that the ammo doesn't show you.

No kidding.   That's exactly what I thought, but it says MINIMUM right on the side of the gauge plain as day. Doesn't mean it's not mislabeled, but isn't Forster a reputable manufacturer?

When I was a teenager growing up in the Shelbyville/Tullahoma area, I'd have told you that either one is the place to move to if you find out you only have 6 months to live, because every day feels like a freakin' eternity (kind of like Hickory, NC). Now that I'm old, the list sounds pretty good to me.   If I had a dollar for every time I jumped off that bridge over Normandy lake, I could buy us all a round of drinks at one of those cool places on the list....ah, good times.

  You're lucky, because I'd kill to be able to upgrade from a sound bar to surround sound system. Sadly, my living room is shaped funny, so the only place we can put our TV is in one corner. Having the sofa and loveseat on the opposite 2 walls, keeps us from being able to get surround sound. There's no correct place to put the speakers to make it sound right.

I feel like I did a poor job of explaining that, sorry. Let me try again:   With the bolt all the way forward in the carrier (cam pin completely forward), the bolt face engages the gauge. Because the lugs on the bolt can't go behind the lugs in the barrel, the bolt cannot rotate into position. That explains how far back the bolt carrier is. So when I say this looks like 3/16" or maybe even 1/4", as you can see in the pics, this distance is the entire distance the carrier moves as the bolt closes.   This is NOT however a fair estimate of how far out of spec it is. I don't have a pic from inside the receiver, but if I did, you could see how close it is to fitting. The bolt lugs need less than a mm to be able to rotate behind the barrel lugs. Once behind the barrel lugs, the bolt could rotate and the carrier would come forward and it wouldn't look like it's so far out of spec.   That make sense? Am I right about the distance needed for the lugs to lock being the real thing to measure here?

I tried it with the extractor in place and without. With the extractor in place it pulled the headspace gauge out of the chamber when I removed the BCG. So, I'd say it's getting behind the extractor. Here's a couple of pics to show just how far out of battery it is with the bolt as far forward as it'll go. EDIT: looking at it from underneath, the bolt lacks a mm or less from being able to rotate under the lugs, which would allow the carrier to slide forward when it rotates.

Is it a big deal or not?   A co-worker bought a go gauge (Forstner 5.56 NATO Headspace Gage - 1.4636" plus .0003" minus zero - minimum gauge), just to be on the safe side after having some other trouble with his build. His bolt won't close and lock on the go gauge, so he's concerned to shoot it. Since he and I bought the same barrel (16" Radical Firearms 1:9, 5.56, M4 carbine-length) on sale at Primary Arms, he asked me to check my headspace. Turns out mine won't close on the gauge either.   Unlike him, I had already taken mine out and shot it first chance I got after finishing the build. It chambered and fired fine and now that I got the gas block adjusted like I want it, it also cycles perfectly. He's till reluctant to shoot his, even though mine shoots fine and won't close on the gauge either. Both of ours lack about 3/16" to 1/4" closing on the gauge (I'll post pics soon).   I'm curious as hell what to make of this go gauge issue. Do you think his is safe to shoot? Should I stop shooting mine? Think the gauge is counterfeit and/or wrong?

  I remembered my tools this time and got my gas block set. Using the weakest ammo I had (Tula), I adjusted it to where it *just* lets enough gas through to let an empty mag hold the bolt back then added 1/8 of a turn.    So, needless to say, I put a lot more rounds through it this weekend. With the shroud off and some pissed off neighbors in the next stall, it had noticeably less recoil and it was much easier to get back on target for follow-up shots. I still like shooting it with the shroud better, especially since I don't like shooting rifles with cans on my ears. My ProEars muffs do a lot better job than the plugs, but with the shroud on it's much less of an issue.

I upgraded a couple of years ago from a 42" Sony DLP to a 55" Panasonic 3D SmartTV. The picture is as much of a step up as the DLP was from the old tube style TVs IMO. Having Netflix and YouTube built-in is really cool for my daughter. She loves that. We got a pretty nice sound bar with woofer at the same time and TV feels like the theater in our small living room now.

http://www.alloutdoor.com/2014/10/24/house-breaking-bear-shot-florida-gun-owner/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=2014-10-25&utm_campaign=Weekly+Newsletter# I read this story and was first surprised there are bear in Florida. I figured it was just palm trees, roller coasters, and water slides, LOL. Second, I was surprised the home owner came to the fight with enough gun.

    As overboard as our country is with frivolous lawsuits, even if the law with employer immunity existed, I doubt many employers would allow it. We have too many activist civil judges who intentionally misinterpret and bend laws to punish the wrong people. Yet their counterparts on the criminal side seem reluctant to dole out real justice unless it's politically correct.

Tuesday evening my over-torquing co-worker emailed Cheaper Than Dirt describing his problem and all the steps he took to troubleshoot the issue. He simply asked for a refund or credit and they emailed him back the next morning saying they've issued a full refund including shipping and that he could keep or throw away the defective upper.   Pretty good customer service, if you ask me.

    Brownell's calls theirs a Barrel Extension Torque Tool   [media]http://youtu.be/n4Y_JrfDcXU[/media]   edit: For $40, it's a pretty good idea, IMO. I may try that on my next build. http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/rifle-tools/barrel-tools/ar-15-m16-308-ar-barrel-extension-torque-tools-prod27452.aspx

My XD-s has been 100% since break-in. I love that little gun.   I'm still working out the bugs on which round my CZ 97 BD likes. It's a little more finicky.

If it makes you feel any better monkeylizard, I haven't been deer hunting in about 30 years. Same reasons you have...no where to hunt.

I try not to miss any westerns or war movies. Luckily, my wife love them too, so it won't be hard to drag her out to see it this weekend.

To be honest, I can't say, really. We only shot about 4 or 5 rounds with the shroud off and I was paying more attention to the sound signature and how little the muzzle moved. I didn't really even think about that, but I'm curious now, so I'll have to get back to you on that. Also, I was using a Vortex red dot with a Primary Arms 3X magnifier at the time, which makes the dot bigger than my target spots. It made it easier for me to see how much the muzzle was moving, but didn't help too much with making tight groups.

I am completely sold on 2 piece muzzle devices now. They truly offer the best of both worlds. I'd love to see what a longer shroud would do to improve the noise reduction, but I'm even more interested to see what a high quality muzzle break would feel like.

I finally got this thing out to the range today! It was an absolute pleasure to shoot. I tried it with and without the shroud and could tell a huge difference. With the shroud in place it did just what it was supposed to do. Seemed like it redirected the sound noticeably downrange. Plus, the fireball it spit out the front was freakin' wicked. My friend who went with me shot it as I stood off to the side, so I could see it too. I'd say it belched a 14"-18" flame. With the shroud off, there was a marked decrease in recoil and it was considerably louder. I had to stand off to the side again to truly appreciate how much sound that shroud was pushing downrange. To say it was just noticeable is an understatement. Sadly, I had closed my gas block expecting to tune it when I got there, but I left the wrenches at the house. So, I had to shoot it in single-shot mode all day. Now I can't wait to get it out there to see how easy it is to get back on target with the muzzle brake. I've never shot a rifle with a brake before, just the plain flash hiders, like an A2 birdcage. If I was impressed with single shots, I'd imagine I'll be really happy with it when I get to try follow-up shots.

Several of my co-workers and I bought Anderson lowers from EW in the past couple of months. They were aluminum and of good quality, especially for the price. I wish I could say the same for their uppers.

Got a budget in mind? $500 Delton vs $650 S&W M&P Sport vs $2200 LWRC vs nice build for around $850? edit: I've even heard tale of an $800 Colt on here lately.

I wouldn't be too worried about who all got your private/personal information. I'm sure they did the right thing with your info and turned it over to the BATFE. You can feel safe knowing the bureau is possibly storing your information and will coordinate with DHS for your own protection.

I feel like I'm reading a TGO version of a Disney movie. I'm gonna go fill my wife in on the details, she's anxious to hear how this story turns out. Again, I'm happy as hell for you on getting your best friend back.