M16A4 Build

[BigMoose]

Might make a good Saturday trip some time.

Trip is worth it. Both are an experience!

The Bedford place will ship stuff for you.
http://www.indianaarmysurplus.com/

Another site has some nice stuff. Not as cheap as surplus, but reasonable.
AR15SPORT.COM, AR15,M16, M4 parts and accessories.

 

[Cerberus]

Dammit, now I'm wanting to build an A4 for myself.

 

[Sling10mm]

Well, just placed the order for the FNH barrel from Brownells for $330 and free shipping. Not thrilled about drilling and taper reaming the front sight block pin holes, so I might have that done somewhere. I have heard of ADCO, any others that should be considered for that work, preferably in Indiana? I may just do it myself, and have access to a milling machine, but not the fixture or taper reamer.

 

[03A3]

Does Brownells do that kind of work?
ADCO is the only place that comes to mind, but surely there are others. If so, someone here will know.

 

[Vespid_Wasp]

this is what I want to build but a clone m16A1 contribute to NAM... I love these rifles

I know what you mean.

 

[Vespid_Wasp]

Well, just placed the order for the FNH barrel from Brownells for $330 and free shipping. Not thrilled about drilling and taper reaming the front sight block pin holes, so I might have that done somewhere. I have heard of ADCO, any others that should be considered for that work, preferably in Indiana? I may just do it myself, and have access to a milling machine, but not the fixture or taper reamer.

John Thomas of Retro Arms Works. He pinned the FSB for my Colt 603 clone to a virgin barrel and it only took me 2 or 3 clicks from mechanical center to be zeroed. Speaks very well of his ability to pin them on straight.

Retro Arms Works Home Page - Retro Arms Works.com

He is a very standup guy. Good prices, good communication, veteran owned, and he has always kept lead times very low.

 

[smidrow]

I know what you mean.

MAN I LOVE IT...very cool

 

[sig1473]

Does Brownells do that kind of work?
ADCO is the only place that comes to mind, but surely there are others. If so, someone here will know.

Rainier Arms will do it.https://www.rainierarms.com/ or you could buy the fixture and do it yourself by buying the jig from BRDEFront Sight Base Products | BRD ENGINEERING

 

[Sling10mm]

I heard back from John at Retro Arms Works and he gave me a reasonable price. Still tempted to try it myself, but would hate to screw it up.

 

[teddy12b]

I've got a clone of the M16A4 I had back in the day. Bought the assembled upper from PSA and I think the lower came assembled too. All I had to do was get the rail and those rails are a dime a dozen for a used one. There is something about the 20" guns that goes unappreciated by most people these days and that's too bad.

If I were to do an "A2" clone, I'd probably look at one of the Rock River National Match AR's and paint the stainless barrel. I've always wanted to play around with one of those and see how I could do with it.

 

[Fordtough25]

I ended up turning my M16A4 clone into an M16A2 clone because I wanted to run irons. I kept the flattop so maybe it will transform back someday but not yet! I sold my KAC rail but will probably pick up another in the near future just in case I get the itch. I love a 20" rifle, love them!

 

[Sling10mm]

Left work a little early today and drove down to Traildust, but was a little disappointed. I had called ahead of time and explained what I was looking for, but after a 2 hour drive to get there from work (Indiana 37 was a mess), turns out he didn't have the round handguards I had asked about over the phone, and the only carry handles I saw were UTG. No handguard cap either, but he told me when I called. He did have a box of KAC quad rails. They were well-used, but looked kind of cool.

Ended up buying some 223 and 45 cal bullets and a couple of HK G3 mags, so I didn't leave empty-handed, and I like supporting "local" dealers/stores, but that drive sucked for what I got out of it.

 

[Sling10mm]

Got the build done yesterday, or at least the top half. I had to borrow the lower from my wifes rifle. I have the stripped lower for this build, but I'm going to wait until the Fostech Echo triggers are available before building it. The handguards are more oval versus round, but I'll try them out and see how I like them.

Unfortunately it's going to be two weeks before I can shoot it.

 

[Sling10mm]

On a sadder note (maybe), after spending a little more time tonight looking it over, there is a slight cant to the front sight base. I sent the barrel out to a gunsmith to have them drill and taper the holes, and install the front sight base. I guess I expected it would be near perfect, or at least no noticeable cant to the naked eye, assuming they would use some sort of jig to align everything. The upper assembly that I scavenged the sight base from seemed to be straight. I couldn't tell for sure if it was canted until I got the handguards on yesterday. I will work on getting a good picture and post it tomorrow. Maybe I'm just being picky, but this is a $400 barrel including the cost of having the front sight base installed.

Guess I just expected better, and I won't know if it can be zeroed for another two weeks.

I'm going to send a picture off to the gunsmith and see what he says as well...

 

[teddy12b]

On a sadder note (maybe), after spending a little more time tonight looking it over, there is a slight cant to the front sight base. I sent the barrel out to a gunsmith to have them drill and taper the holes, and install the front sight base. I guess I expected it would be near perfect, or at least no noticeable cant to the naked eye, assuming they would use some sort of jig to align everything. The upper assembly that I scavenged the sight base from seemed to be straight. I couldn't tell for sure if it was canted until I got the handguards on yesterday. I will work on getting a good picture and post it tomorrow. Maybe I'm just being picky, but this is a $400 barrel including the cost of having the front sight base installed.

Guess I just expected better, and I won't know if it can be zeroed for another two weeks.

I'm going to send a picture off to the gunsmith and see what he says as well...

Yikes, that sucks. Every manufacturer puts out a lemon. I've put together a lot of PSA's and my m16a4 clone is a PSA and it's right on, but even they managed to goof one up for me. I had a 14.5 pinned front sight post that was slightly canted. I sent it back and when I received it, it was straight and they threw in a nickel boron BCG with it.

 

[natdscott]

On a sadder note (maybe), after spending a little more time tonight looking it over, there is a slight cant to the front sight base. I sent the barrel out to a gunsmith to have them drill and taper the holes, and install the front sight base. I guess I expected it would be near perfect, or at least no noticeable cant to the naked eye, assuming they would use some sort of jig to align everything. The upper assembly that I scavenged the sight base from seemed to be straight. I couldn't tell for sure if it was canted until I got the handguards on yesterday. I will work on getting a good picture and post it tomorrow. Maybe I'm just being picky, but this is a $400 barrel including the cost of having the front sight base installed.

Guess I just expected better, and I won't know if it can be zeroed for another two weeks.

So, is the bottom of your FSB is drilled and tapped, and has set screws in the sides and/or bottom? Those move.

If not, and it is taper-pinned, then the only way to get some windage is to mallet the crap out of it (literally...with a rubber mallet) to flex the FSB over as far on those pins as it can go. Keep in mind that every 0.0058" of arc movement of the ACTUAL blade is a full MOA, so you don't need much rotation to make a big difference.

I'd boresight it before you call the smith and complain.

-Nate

 

[rob63]

On a sadder note (maybe), after spending a little more time tonight looking it over, there is a slight cant to the front sight base. I sent the barrel out to a gunsmith to have them drill and taper the holes, and install the front sight base. I guess I expected it would be near perfect, or at least no noticeable cant to the naked eye, assuming they would use some sort of jig to align everything. The upper assembly that I scavenged the sight base from seemed to be straight. I couldn't tell for sure if it was canted until I got the handguards on yesterday. I will work on getting a good picture and post it tomorrow. Maybe I'm just being picky, but this is a $400 barrel including the cost of having the front sight base installed.

Guess I just expected better, and I won't know if it can be zeroed for another two weeks.

I'm going to send a picture off to the gunsmith and see what he says as well...

I had the exact same thing happen a couple of years ago with my A1 build. The gunsmith had never done it before (something he didn't tell me) and although he went to great care to make sure the initial cuts on the bottom of the barrel were perfectly true, he didn't realize that if he didn't clamp it in place the fsb would rotate when he taper reamed it. Initially it wasn't possible to zero it, not enough windage in the rear sight. I eventually fixed it by removing the pins, putting red loctite on it and using a level to get it as true as I could get it. After the loctite dried I was able to re-ream the holes. It still isn't perfect, but at least I could zero it. It's very frustrating to pay people good money to do something and then find out they knew less about it than you after they screw it up!