New upper for an old rifle

[91Eunozs]

Now that we bought a second house out West where our son is going to college (cheaper than renting or even the dorms), he’ll be taking a couple long arms to go in the safe we’re installing there (our old closet safe) once renovations are complete and all the workers are long gone.

He’ll be taking his Beretta A300 for trap/skeet and maybe ducks or other waterfowl:



...but since he’s only 20 and not officially on the gun trust paperwork as a trustee yet, I’m not comfortable with him being in possesion of “his” SBR with two uppers (5.56 and 300 BLK). Instead, he’ll take my second oldest AR “Sandy”... very reliable rifle that has served us well out at the ranch over the past few years. There are a couple or three threads here on the build and upgrades/paint, but believe most pics were lost on an old photo share site.

Regardless, here’s a quick pic:



And him shooting it back when he was just 14...and before I painted it. One of my favorite pics...



Since I like 300BLK as a home defense option, I decided that he’ll build and paint a second upper for this one when he gets back in town next week from camp and visiting friends down south of here. I’ll also use the 16” Blackhole Weaponry barrel left over from the original iteration of my primary pig gun “Kermit” that I converted to 6.8SPC-II last year.



Ordered an upper and rail kit on sale from Primary Arms as well as one of their knockoff ACOG prismatic sites with a 300BLK reticle...all Cerakoted in FDE. This will be the perfect base coat for the rattle can paint job.

Parts:



More to follow next week...

[JeeperCreeper]

Nice!!!

I thought we voted that you need more dogs in the background... I only saw a blur of Fido in one of those...

Also, for a kid going off to college with firearms, I would make sure there is a complicated and lengthy way of storing the guns when not in use. Drunken fun time shouldn't mix with pew pew time.

Of course, I never had an issue with it and I was a degenerate in college. Just a suggestion depending on your views of it...

[91Eunozs]

Great advice...and well said.

Any other kid...including me at his age...and I’d have concerns. He’s about the most sober (classic meaning, not beverage inference) and mature kid I know. Helps that he’s in a fraternity that eschews alcohol (his pick, not mine) and in fact will turn you out if you get caught drinking under age or buy for someone under age. His three roommates (paying the mortgage!) are also fraternity bothers...so built in policing mechanism!

Safe will be bolted down to the floor and two walls of his closet, and only he will have the combo. Period.

If I find out otherwise, he knows they’ll be gone...along with my trust. He does like to compete in trap and skeet so the shotgun will go regardless. Ironically, he shoots shotgun left-handed (left eye dominant). Him at age 15 competing in his first tournament:



Rifle is insurance and peace of mind for me...he’s trained a lot, and I know he’ll do the right thing. Also gives him options if he gets into 3-gun...though no pistol will be on the premises until he turns 21.

[JeeperCreeper]

he’s in a fraternity that eschews alcohol

WHAT IS THAT?!?!?!? HAHAHAHA

When I went to real undergrad, I lived with my brother and a couple buddies and we all had guns. Everyone knew what they were doing with them, but with people in and out, it made me nervous. We actually had one roommate who always left his camo Rem700 out to try and be cool, and we'd always steal the bolt out of it and hide it throughout the old 3 story house we rented... gotta regulate your own, ya know.

I never had a safe, but what I did was put my guns in the closet and hid the ammo in a box in a trunk under a desk. Basically, if I got drunk enough to lose judgement to want to do something stupid like send off some rounds in the backyard for fun, it would be too complicated to figure out how to get the ammo to the gun because at that point I'd have to be blackout stupid.

Again, I never had an issue or temptation... but it's a good thing you're ahead of the game on it.

[Stercutus]

Ah, college.

My early 90s college arsenal consisted of:

- A cheap CCW 380 pistol (Jennings maybe, been so long forgot)
- A Tec-9 (Spray and pray for HD)
- A Lee-Enfield Mk4No2 (for hunting)

All told I was fully armed for under $400.

After the AWB hit I sold the Tec-9 for several times what I paid for it and bought a 1911. The 380 pistol worked amazingly well for $89. I think I sold it some time in the late 90s. The SMLE I still have sort of, lent it to the wife and she won't let me have it back.

I had a bag for of surplus army gear with a few other items thrown in that was my BOB before there was such a term. There was no food in it other than a few left over MRE's though, so I don't recall what my plan was other than to head for the nearest National Forrest if things got rough and live off the land. Solid plans I tell you.

I lived off campus and had zero parties, few people over except for women, close friends and club meetings that kind of thing. My son in school does not drink alcohol either, his campus is actually dry (it is also an engineering school so go figure). I drank quite a lot in college myself and I think half my classmates were straight up drunks. There has been a bit of a shift away from America's favorite drug of choice in recent years among the current college generation. I'm kind of happy about that myself.

Guns are forbidden on his campus, since he is on full academic scholarship he lives in the dorms. I live close enough I can be there in an hour if I hurried.

[MacWa77ace]

What's rifle insurance?

It's weird how I can tell, and have a different feeling, when I'm around someone who 'grew up' with guns [comfortable, natural extension, and respectful]* vs someone who decided later in life to 'get into' guns, or even worse are forced into it like a spouse or Sig Other. I don't know what it is. I can even tell actors and extras in movies that know what they are doing or where just handed the thing. Sometimes its obvious like an optic mounted wrong, or teacupping. Other times its subtle, like 'did that guy just sweep that kid?' or they remove the mag, rack the slide and reinsert the mag, or their cheek weld or shoulder weld looks forced, or just how they lift it up off a table or hold/handle it.

*I don't mean to infer that 'growing up' around guns automatically makes a person an expert or safe gunhandler. Maybe less afraid, more confident around firearms, or more stupid. IDK, but the kids of kids I grew up shooting with, seem like we were back then, and I don't stink eye them, cause we had safety and respect as a natural engrained element. it was taught, reinforced, and self sustained/policed.

So how'd this happen?!? \/

[91Eunozs]

Had a 1/2 hour or so after returning from running errands and my son going out with some friends tonight. And he decided to work another week this summer as a camp counselor...starts tomorrow, so my plan to knock this out then was a no-go.

1/2 hour to build and paint an upper? Challenge accepted!

Didn’t take too many pics because we were moving fast...barrel in and torqued:



Gas block on...did I mention how much I like dimpled barrels?



Quickly masked off the glass and laid it next to the original to get an idea of where to put the color stripes:



And drying...



Will get some outdoor pics with the upper on the lower in a bit...too damn hot outside here right now! Better light too...

[91Eunozs]

And through the magic of time travel...pics!

Or maybe I just forgot to hit “submit” on the post above earlier today!

Gonna have to paint the rubber eye caps on the optic, and the green is clearly much darker than the original from a few years ago, but close enough for a truck/ranch gun:





And obligatory pup pic!

[91Eunozs]

Quick post before turning in...

Put a base coat of tan on the caps:



...and then, as it was drying realized I’m an idiot because I want the primary color after painting with the mesh to be tan. So shot a heavy mist of dark green over that...not quite covering the base coat:



Then after that dried, held the mesh tight and shot it with tan again:



Weird...looks grey in that pic in the LED garage lights; definitely tan though.

Not the lighest build, but the long fore end and cetralized mass from the BCG and optic makes it feel pretty nimble.



Will get pics in natural light mañana.

[91Eunozs]

Took her and my son’s pistol to the range for function checks and a rough zero on the rifle, but forgot to take pics...was chatting with some Norwegians visiting family who were in the lane next to me shooting the club’s full auto rifles!

But hey, here’s a pic back from the range...ready for cleaning.



Functioned flawlessly FWIW, but in reality, this was already a dialed-in barrel and gas system setup when it was on Kermit...just residing in a new receiver/hand guard. Will dial in the optic next.

All cleaned up... Tape on optic is because I did a bit of touchup on the left side where my OCD was going nuts due to the misalignment of the green stripe between the upper and lower. I know, I know...



And as promised, one more pic in natural light with everything painted:

[91Eunozs]

No rifle is complete without a light and a sling (plus a way to mount them of course). Arisaka Keymod flashlight mount and BCM Keymod QD mount showed up today...

Quick blast of brake cleaner to degrease the parts, then a heavy mist of dark green to break up the black:




Then a quick hit of tan through the mesh:




Light mounted...



...and this one’s pretty much complete until I get it out to the ranch for a 100-yd zero. Window of opportunity is closing fast too...can’t believe we’re less than a month out from our son returning to college. And as a Sophomore to boot!

Man they grow up fast...

[91Eunozs]

Quick project to paint some Lancer mags. Since I like to run multiple uppers on most builds, I try very hard to distinguish the caliber...markings inside dust cover, typically run a specific type handguard for a specific caliber, etc.

One thing that works for me is that I try to use only Lancer mags for my 300BLK uppers and rifles. I may load some others when function checking after the initial build, but I sequester all ammo and mags after that. Finally got around to painting the two extras I picked up for this one...







...and they’re now loaded with some Gorilla 110gr hollow point supers. Ready for some feral hogs!

[JeeperCreeper]

I like your camo pattern and method.

Looks like kryptek ATACs hybrid.