Dolomite_supafly

Sam's has a very nice 4 camera setup for $400. It includes the cameras, seperate DVR and access to the internet for remote storage. The best part is the power for the cameras goes over the ethernet cables used to send the signal to the DVR. It can also be setup to send photos to your phone or email account when the motion detection goes off. I am using USB web cameras at the moment with the Yaw Cam software. I plan on getting the setup above real soon. Even with a USB camera you can use free software to setup motion detection and have photos emailed as well as stored locally or remotely. I have been using Yaw Cam software for a few years and it is easy to setup. It works well and has motion detection. It will send photos to anyone you want, even your phone when it is activated. I am happy with it and the only thing I do not like is it does not take full motion video. You can set it up to take as many pistures a second you want but not video. I have mine setup to take 6 pictures per second upon activation and do this every 10 seconds as long as motion is detected. It stores those locally and sends me a email every two minutes incase something causes a false continuous motion. There is nothing that can be done to stop them unless they know there is a camera. That is why I let everyone I know I have cameras going all the time. My brother who is part of the nefarious crowd knows this and has no doubt told all his criminal friends. I can't think of any other reason why no one has tried to break in. Well that and two very aggressive dogs. Afterwards you will hopefully have decent photos to help investigators. Yawcam - Yet Another Webcam Software Like I said it works with USB web cameras and works well. It would make a good interim solution until you can get a more permanent one setup. Here is the $400 system from Sam's: Samsung Security System with 22" Monitor and 8Ch DVR - Sam's Club= And like I said a ethernet cable is all you need to run, no seperate power cable. Dolomite

As much as people hate them I like my Perfect Powder Measure. It stays within .1 consistently regardless to the powder type. I got it as part of a kit and planned on buying a "better" one when it broke, which I though would be sooner than later. That was 3 years ago and it still works great. I use it for ball and stick powders. Sometimes you can feel it catch on stick powders but not very often. I use it with the cheap, flimsy holder but as I said it is consistent and works. And for $20 they are hard to beat. Maybe one day I will get a "better" powder measure when my Lee breaks but I am not going to be holding my breath. Dolomite

I will mimic what TMF 18B is saying. On my trips I would get issued an AR. I would completely disassemble it, clean it and look for any issues such as cracked lugs. After that I would never break the gun open again until turn in 10-12 weeks later. During my 10-12 week trips I would fire 300-500 rounds per week, again without doing any major cleaning. That is at a minimum 3,000 rounds per trip and often more. I never had a single issue. At the end of the trip I would clean my gun before turn in. I would use very little, if any, lubricant and never had an issue. Dolomite

It uses standard AR mags. Dolomite

The single best thing this country could do right now is remove the ® or (D) next to a candidates name. That would force people to research and vote for the candidate the best represents their views. The majority of the people vote party lines rather than for what they believe. I think it has more to do with people being lazy than anything else. If the majority of people would research the candidates they would realize that their candidates are not people they would vote to represent them. Any way you shake this is probably the most important election we have seen in a very, very long time. And the choices we are being given are not going to be good for the American people. Dolomite

Not stepping on any toes here, I enjoy healthy discussions. This is how ideas are exchanged and new discoveries are made. Your gun is a purpose built gun with what I have always said is needed with a 7 twist, a long barrel. That way you get the most benefit out of those heavy bullets because of the extra velocity. And to keep those heavy bullets stabile at the longer distances a 7 twist is definitely what is needed. A 9 twist will stabilize a 77 SMK grain bullet just not at the long distances most people are going to want to use 77 grain bullets for. Temperature also makes a difference on how far a 9 twist will stabilize a 77 grain bullet. If I were to use a 77 grain bullet for CQB it would without a doubt be fired out of a 9 twist. The reason is the bullet is because the bullet is going to tumble more readily in a 9 twist than in a 7 twist. I am just saying you need to match your gun to what you intend to do with it and match the bullet to your gun. The majority of AR owners I have talked to cannot give a reason why they bought a 7 twist barrel other than the military uses it or thats all the seller had. And I am just as vocal with people in person about AR's but I only bring up the twist if they do. And when they do I always ask why they picked a 7 over a 9. Rarely does anyone say anything about stabilizing heavy bullets and when they do they generally have a purpose built gun like yours with a longer barrel. I am not saying a 7 twist is bad, it has its place and that place isn't on carbine length barrels if you plan on shooting heavy bullets. You are already at a velocity deficeit because of the heavy bullet and by using a gun with a carbine length barrel you are only exacerbating the velocity problem. Then add a fast twist and it negates any the advantages it did have. And if you never plan on shooting heavy bullets out of your carbine then why use a 7 twist in the first place. The combination of a shorter barrel, which leads to slower velocity, and faster twist is what is causing all our problems with the cartridge overseas. The 5.56 was never designed to be anything more than a 300 yard cartridge. And the military has ruined its effectiveness by trying to make it into a long range cartridge. Ideally if we were only going to be shooting 55 and 62 grain bullets a 12 twist barrel would be even better than a 9 twist. As I said for the average user the 9 twist has more advantages over a 7 twist. Both twists are going to work with what most people are going to be shooting which is 55 or 62 grain bullets. It is when you get on the extreme bullet weights, heavy or lightweight, of either twist where you run into problems. And a 9 twist will shoot anything that will feed from a magazine while a 7 twist will not shoot lightweight varmint type bullets. Which 69's have you seen that will not work in a 9 twist? I have used every brand of bullet around that weight and never had an issue in my 9 twist guns. We are a lot a like in your regard to having a tacticool gun. I just want a gun to do what I want it to. I don't care what it looks like or what is hanging off of it. To me my guns are tools and nothing more. As long as they work that is all that matters. Dolomite

I am PM'ing you my number. If you want to call you can if not that is fine to. I am on Verizon so if you are call anytime. If not then give me a call 9pm-10pm or on the weekends. I am not selling anything, I do not work for a shop and not looking to gain anything by talking to you. Dolomite

If you are going to use a faster twist with heavier bullets you need a longer barrel to get your velocity up. The only reason why people are wanting 7 twist barrels is because that is what the military is currently using. It isn't because 7 twist is better than 9 twist. And the biggest reason for the switch to 7 twist is for NATO tracer use and hard target performance. When you combine the short barrel with heavy bullets you reduce your range substantially because of the reduced velocity. 77 grain bullets are under 2700 fps out of a 16 carbine. Unless you are exclusively going to be shooting 77+ grain bullets do not get the 7 twist. And if you are you should be using a longer barrel to take full advantage of the heavier bullets. A 9 twist will shoot everything up to 77 grain bullets just fine, actually better if you want terminal performance out of FMJ or target type ammunition. The reason is the bullets are more likely to tumble, increasing their effectiveness. You can take a 9 twist gun and shoot 55 grain FMJ's and those bullets are more likely to tumble and fragment acting like a soft point. Out of a 7 twist gun those same bullets are just going to pass through the target like a 22 lr unless you are at CQB distances. Tumbling can reduce the velocity needed for fragmentation but if the twist is too fast the bullet will never tumble and in turn never fragment. This is why we are hearing of the problems overseas. We have reduced the barrel length which causes a reduced velocity, on top of that they have increased the twist. The combination of a slower bullet that is spinning faster results in a bullet that is too slow to fragment and spinning too fast to tumble. Which results in a 22 lr type wound. Also, a 7 twist will not shoot the lightweight varmint type rounds. I know because I have watched them turn into gray mist 25-35 yards out of the muzzle of a 7 twist gun I own. A 9 twist barrel will shoot 40 grain bullets and all the way up to a 77 grain bullet. A 7 twist barrel will not shoot anything under 50 grains without the risk of the bullet coming apart under its own centrifugal force. And just so you know 77 grain is the heaviest bullet that can be magazine fed, 80 and 90 grain bullets cannot. Why limit yourself with a 7 twist barrel when a 9 twist can shoot anything that will feed from a magazine. We never heard of complaints from the military until they shortened the barrel to 14.5" and went to a 7 twist barrel. There is a reason for this. And finally, Colt is no longer the gold standard for AR's. There are better for cheaper. Dolomite

I'm getting ready to build a 20" gun. I have a very accurate 16" gun but it doesn't have the velocity I am looking for. Dolomite

It is one of the few bullpups I would actually consider owning. Glad to hear it. Dolomite

Whether you are personally for or against Romney's views they show he is far from being Republican. He is nothing more than a Democrat from 30 years ago. His state has very harsh gun laws, has government run healthcare, he has also supported and personally donated to Planned Parenthood. He has instituted an assault weapon ban as well as supported the Brady Bill. He supported stem cell research. He suported the TARP and continues to do so. Those items alone should scream Democrat to any of us yet he wears a ® next to his name. And it is that ® that people are going to vote for, not his positions. He also swaps his position depending on who the audience is. To me that makes him a liar. He was pro choice until he felt pro life would garner more votes. He can't decide if he is pro union or not and often forgets. It is also very telling when Jimmy Carter enodrsed Romney. ************************************************* The Republican party has morphed into what was once its foe in an attempt to gain control. The Democrats and Republicans are all wanting the same thing, control. Why else would a senator spend $55 million dollars for a position that pays less than $200,000 a year and would take 275 years to break even. It is because of control. The ruling class, be it Democrat or Republican, wants to control and they will try to do anything they can to maintain that control. They have passed laws to criminalize anything that threatens that control. Now those same rulers are fighting amongst themselves for control before the inevitable happens. They double speak and flat out lie so they can hopefully be in a place of power when our society turns into a socialistic dictatorship. Where the true change is going to come from is not the president but from congress and the senate. Unfortunately those institutions are also riddled with those who are more worried about controlling us than representing us. They haven't been our representatives, or at least haven't listened to us, for decades. We voice our opinions and they ignore them thinking they know what we want or know what is best for us. We are doomed and have been for a very long time. History does repeat itself and unfortunately we forgot how this story ended before. Ever since they began buying votes with our own money this course of action was set in motion. We are again going to be stuck voting for what we feel are the lesser or two evils. I am tired of settling. Dolomite

Wow, that is horrible. They took a $500 gun and turned it into a $300 gun. It also makes any future adjustments or replacing sights impossible. This is why some people should not be allowed to even handle a hammer, except to hit themselves in the head. I have ran into this before on other guns, not Kahr. I do not stake the slide or the front sight. I remove the front sight then put a few punch marks inside the dovetail on the bottom flat portion. This generally raises enough metal to keep the sight in place and there are no stake marks visible. And more importantly the sights can still be adjusted or replaced. Dolomite

There are several styles of mag block. I am only familiar with the "Colt" style. There are several way to do a "Colt" style 9mm lower. CMMG makes a dedicated 9mm lower that has the "mag block" machined in the receiver. This cannot be used for anything other than a "Colt" style setup using stick mags. There is no easy way to use it for a 5.56. Then there is a dedicated "drop in" mag block. These drop in from the top and are held in place with the mag catch. Even though they are removeable they are still considered semi permanent because it does take tools to remove them. The good part is they cannot fall out and generally work pretty well. Then finally there is the mag block that goes in the mag well from the bottom. These are held in place with a pressure arrangement using a setscrew. They work just as well as any other and are the only true easily removeble block. The only problem is they can loosen and fall out unexpectedly. As I said there are other types that use Glock mags, Sten mags and even unmodified Uzi mags. Dolomite

You have to declare the firearm. I would have asked for the postmaster's boss. I do it all the time when an employee is wrong and does not want to budge. And when their boss shows up I immediately ask how to contact their boss before I even start the conversation. Generally when the boss knows you can contact their boss they are a lot more receptive. The postmaster is a very unprofessional person for using the "busy" excuse when they were supposed to be resolving a customer's issue. That is a tactic that shouldn't be used by a government employee. If he wants to use the tactic then he shouldn't be a government employee. I would contact the person who manages that particular branch and notify them you are filing a complaint against the branch. I would then make sure to actually file that formal complaint against the postmaster then let the investigators sort it out. I knw people think this is taking it too far but this is how things progress, small increments until nothing can be done to change it. Dolomite

+1 I do this with crimped brass. I toss them into a container for a later date. I never worry about using them as long as I have a supply of easily primed brass. Don't be afraid to toss out all questionable brass either. If something doesn't look right then ask until you get the hang of it. After that it is better to err on the side of caution. Dolomite

+1 Even 7.62x39 would be a better choice than 5.56 in a 10.5" gun. And 7.62x39 is about as plentiful as 5.56. There are reliable magazines available now. 458 SOCOM would be an awesome SBR caliber. 6.8 SPC is another candidate for SBR. Any caliber that doesn't rely on barrel length for velocity is a good choice. In a 7.5" gun I would rather have a 9mm than 5.56. The muzzle blast isn't worth it with a 5.56 especially when you consider how much the 5.56 loses out of such a short barrel. Dolomite

Other than the stock I like it. There are plenty of advatages to this setup. Imagine loading subsonics and shooting them through a can? It would be as quiet as a bolt gun with quicker follow up shots. No need to worry about cycling it either. You can easily add a light or laser. And the best part is lever actions are likely the last firearms to go if a full blown ban goes into effect. There are plenty of guns out there that are ugly as sin yet perfrom flawlessly. Dolomite

These are all available at Midway Usa. They normally have coupons online so you can save money as well. lee-perfect-powder-measure lee-auto-prime-hand-priming-tool-shellholder-package-of-11 frankford-arsenal-micro-reloading-electronic-powder-scale-750-grain-capacity lee-auto-prime-hand-priming-tool lyman-electronic-scale-powder-funnel-pan lee-classic-cast-breech-lock-single-stage-press hornady-lock-n-load-press-and-die-conversion-bushing-kit hornady-electronic-caliper-6-stainless-steel This is what it would minimally take to load. You would still need to buy the particular dies you need as well as bullets, primers and powder. I suggest the primers and powder be purchased locally. I would also suggest buying jacketed bullets in the begining, they are easier to deal with than cast. Cast bullets add another facet to reloading. People are going to say the Lee stuff is crap but I have used all these items for a few years now without a single issue. For the money the Perfect Powder Measure can't be beat. I prefer a electronic over a balance beam. Balance beams take a lot longer to settle than an electronic. No need to tumble your brass to clean them. Get some Lemishine at Walmart. Add a table spoon to some water and soak your brass for 24 hours. Every time you walk by give them a shake to aggitate them. Rinse them and let dry. Brass will be very clean and useable. This setup may not be as fast as a progressive but it allows you to learn the machanics of it. Or you could wait for the next show and get what you need from David, DLM37015 on here. He has everythig you could want or need to reload. $177 as is on the list above Dolomite Edit: Here are a few things to do to save money at the cost of convienence You could do away with the conversion bushings if you don't mind setting up your dies each time. I find it hard to make identical ammunition when I have to set the dies up each time. You could also do away with the powder pan and just weigh the powder in the casing. You just need to make sure to zero out the scale for each casing because they all weigh differently. You could also dip out the powder and not use the Perfect Powder Measure but that is a very slow going process. The Press has a priming tool on it but that is also another slow going process. You are also ted to your press to prime cases. With the hand primers you can watch TV while priming cases.

My wording was a bit off. Seaslug got what I was trying to say. Not everyone likes the KX3. I had one and it worked great but in the end I got rid of it because I didn't like the looks. This is one of the few times where looks had any bearing on me keeping something. Dolomite

Yes but the majority of shooters do not buy anything other than FMJ. I would be willing ot bet the number is well above 95% of AR shooters buy FMJ. People don't buy high end hunting rounds when they stockpile ammunition, they buy the cheapest ammunition they can get. This is generally surplus military rounds or commercially avaialable FMJ ammunition. And because of this the majority of what is going to be available if ammo is no longer available commercially is the FMJ rounds people have stockpiled. I found this it might help make the SBR barrel length decision: And remember the standard for fragmentation is 2700 FPS and these numbers are at the muzzle. Tumbling can increase the fragmentation but the twist needs to be correct. The chance of having a barrel that will tumble a 55 grain bullet is minimal at best. A 12 twist barrel is what is needed for a 55 grain bullet to tumble reliably. Even 9 twist is a bit overstabilized for a 62 grain M855. 9 twist is even fast enough to stabilize 77 grain bullets out to moderate distances. Using this calculator tells everything you need to know about twist: JBM - Calculations - Stability And 1.4 is considered perfect as far as stability goes. The smaller the number the less stabile the bullet becomes. I would prefer a lower number so the bullets tumble over a higher number. Dolomite

The useable difference between a 16" and a 10.5" gun is amazing. Most military FMJ ammo, as in M855, needs 2700+ FPS to fragment reliably. Out of a 10.5" gun M855 runs about 2600 FPS so even at the muzzle, much less down range, it will not fragment. Tumbling can reduce the velocity needed for fragmentation but if the twist is too fast the bullet will never tumble. This is why we are hearing of the problems overseas. We have reduced the barrel length which causes a reduced velocity, on top of that they have increased the twist. The combination of a slower bullet that is spinning faster results in a bullet that is too slow to fragment and spinning too fast to tumble. Which results in a 22 lr type wound. At 16" the muzzle velocity for the M855 is ~3000 FPS. This increases the fragment range of the bullet to a little over 100 yards. But as I said a slower twist rate can increase the fragmentation range some. With a 10.5" gun FMJ rounds are not going to fragment in anything beyond 50 yards under the best of conditions. The best you can do is slow the twist down or increase the bullet length in order for the bullets to tumble upon impact. Problem is it seems everyone wants a 7 twist which only exacerbates the problem. I would consider a 12.5" barrel the bare minimum for a 5.56 SBR. Any shorter and the muzzle blast and velocity become a problem. Couple this with the the fact the bullets will not fragment at anything beyond CQB distances with a shorter barrel and it is a no win. The only saving grace in all of this is if you can use a suppressor. It will elininate most of the muzzle blast. If you are going to build an AR for SBR use pick a better caliber. The 5.56 needs barrel to work best. There are much better calibers for a 10.5" gun. I have used 10.5" guns as part of work I used to do. They are definitely easier to manage when getting in and out of vehicles as well as clearing operations. But in the end if I had a choice I would pick a 14.5" or 16" gun anyday over a 10.5" gun for the extra velocity. Dolomite

Another great thing about casting is I am pretty much self sufficient now. The single most expensive component to loaded ammunition is the bullet and I make my own now. I have plenty of powder and primers. My goal has been to get as much lead as I can get my hands on and cast them into manageable chunks. Dolomite

Classic!!! Dolomite

And Caster is the one who helped me make the jump to casting. I thought it was rocket science but he told me it wasn't. And after about 10 minutes I was casting perfect bullets. It is easier than I ever thought it was. Dolomite

I can now shoot 45 ACP cheaper than quality .22 lr. Still working on cheaper than cheap .22 but I am still about $.01 away from that. And that is not some miserly, weak load but full power, 230 grain loads. How do I do it? I cast my own bullets from free wheel weights. Primers run about $.03 each and the powder I use is about $.02 for each round. You can even find the Tula primers for $20/1,000. That would get your cost to under $.04 each. You could even use an even miserly powder with the Tula and probably get the total to $.03 each. So I am able to load each round for $.05 each. It does take some labor but your labor is free unless you are talking off of work to reload. I am using a load of Power Pistol which is giving me ~1,000 rounds per pound. I am using CCI primers that cost me $32/1000. Total cost per round is 5.2 cents per loaded round. Even if you bought the bullets and did not cast the cost would only be 13 cents a round. And again the labor is free. I just sent a list off to another member of what it would take to reload 45. It isn't very expensive to get into the reloading game. You would break even in under 500 loaded rounds. Dolomite