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EVOLVE 3D PRINTING 

All Evolve 3D printed products are on sale now with free shipping. Visit Evolve3d on eBay or www.evolve3d.biz

RipCord V3 Mag Holder $19

RipCord ONE Universal mag holder $18

Evolve 3D handstop $14.99

Avant

#avant

American Defense Manufacturing Swing To Side Magnifier Mount

The devil is in the details and greatness comes from the fundamentals executed properly over and over. As Steve Fisher says, "it's all just sights and triggers."

American Defense Manufacturing took both principles to heart and knocked it out of the park with their swing to side magnifier mount. I've had two other magnifier setups and sold both because I couldn't stand the crappy mount.  I feel the ADM mount is here to stay on one of my rifles.

I paired the mount with a Primary Arms 3x magnifier and it feels perfect for me. I tried a few 1-4x optics and I was never impressed with the brightness of the optics, and so went back to un-magnified red dots.

The magnifier swings to the side and locks in well enough, and repeats the procedure the other way. It feels positive, not too hard, not to soft, the mechanism works with the right amount of force. In running drills, I've found that it stays where you need it, and doesn't move when you don't want it to.

It does hang off the right side of the rifle, but I've not found it too upsetting to the balance of the gun.

Obviously, adding a magnifier and mount adds weight. You can offset this a bit by paying for a premium optic, but you're still not saving that much weight.

Fortunately, ADM has a great QD mount based on a locking throw lever, so if you do need to lighten up, it's a matter of seconds to ditch the mount and the glass.

If you are looking for a good mount to add a magnifier to your rifle, I've been impressed with the ADM mount, and I think you will be too.

And you know what? You can get your GDI fix from Command and Conquer too.

Stay accurate.

BCM MOD-0 Trigger Guard

Without much fanfare, BCM dropped a polymer trigger guard into an already crowded market. The ubiquitous Magpul MOE trigger guards are on all my guns, so when I went to build a new rifle, I dropped the BCM unit in.

The installation was simple, and done the exact same as the Magpul guard. The grub screw and roll pin went in just as expected and the guard matches up with the receiver nicely.

So what's the difference? Honestly not a whole hell of a lot. The guard bows are very similar, the BCM is marginally wider, and it tapers down sooner, likely to fit different receivers better than the MOE.

I like both of them equally, but there is one stand-out on the MOD-0. It's about 2/3rd the price of the Magpul. The MOE retails for around $9, with the BCM version coming in around $6.

If you like saving money or you have to outfit several rifles, the cost difference can be a big thing.

What trigger guard do you like? Is there one we should check out next?

As always, stay accurate.

Spray Painting a Gun: The DB 15 Stormtrooper Blaster

I did a quick bit of rattlecan work for a buddy today. He bought a Diamondback DB15 rifle and wanted it black and white like a stormtrooper's blaster.

Here's how we did it.

Using only the most modern equipment, we de-greased the gun so that the paint would not  run off. We took off the rail, and took a Magpul 40-round PMAG, stripped out the guts, and hung it by the floor plate.

We kept the upper and lower together, and taped off the muzzle device, barrel, charging handle, grip, buffer tube, trigger, and mag well. All the sights and rail accessories were removed at this time.

We gave everything a nice coat of matte white with the primer included and let it dry for a few hours. Afterwards, we took it inside and my buddy added red accents by hand using model paint. It's hard to see in the pictures, but they add some flair.

We let that dry, then hung everything back up for a coat of matte clear varnish.

That dried in about an hour then we put everything together, added all the rail gubbins and we were in business.

The gun now looks great, feels great, and stands out in a crowd of black rifles.

I hope this gave some ideas to jump start your painting project.

I'll catch you next time, and of course, stay accurate.

Expo Arms Carbine Buffer

I was building a parts gun recently and I wanted to keep the build fairly cheap, so I grabbed an Expo Arms buffer spring and buffer weight. Not too expensive, and they were from Primary Arms, so no worries I thought.

I take the buffer weight out of the bag and it is covered in a gritty phosphate coating. And I mean GRITTY. It feels like it should not be an internal part.

So, of course I slap it in and cycle the gun a few times because why not? When I was pressing the buffer spring over the base of the weight, it took a really hard push, as the spring didn't want to go over the lip of the buffer.

It didn't want go in the buffer tube either, but hey. I'm here to test it out so you don't have to. Hand cycle a few times, it feels gritty and ratchety but I figure that will iron out with some use.

On to the range and I'm sighting in my new rifle and the gun is short stroking like crazy. It's a single shot. I'm shooting Tula, but all my guns run it with no issues so I figure why not.

After a dozen single shots, I take out the BCG, check it, then pop out the buffer and spring.

The buffer is covered in marks and scratches from the spring. It was dragging and threw off the cycling of the gun. I put a Spikes H2 buffer in from another gun and the rifle runs great.

Stay away from the Expo Arms buffers. Don't get sucked in by the price, these are hot garbage.

Stay accurate.

It Still Rocks

Here's a selection of gear and kit that I've reviewed before, and how it's held up over the years. I've been at this since 2012, so there's a lot of data on this stuff.

SRC Relia-Bolt
First reviewed: 9/14/14
Original review

There are a lot of things I like on my gun and this is on the top of the list. There is one in almost every gun I own, especially short guns with a more violent gas system.

I've used BCM, Spike's, Midwest Industries, CMMG and a bunch more and these are by far my favorites. The modified locking lugs and slick coating is a great way to reduce friction and enhance reliability. If I could only have one bolt, this would be it.

Blue Alpha Gear EDC Belt
First reviewed: 11/8/16
Original review

This belt has been on my hip nearly every day since I got it. Basically took it off for my wedding and a couple of job interviews. I've got other belts, some pretty nice ones, but they don't even come close to this.

Other belts are too floppy, have trouble adjusting or slipping through their hardware, are too thick or just don't support right. The Blue Alpha Gear belt constantly holds up single and double hook holsters with full frame handguns without complaint.

This thing has been drug through the dirt, been bled on, washed and dried dozens of times, used to dangle a friend off a roof (don't ask), and has put up with more every day wear than anything else I own and is still stiff enough to hold up pants by itself. I feel better about life just thinking about it.

Real Avid AR Tool
First reviewed 11/18/14
Original review

The big daddy of Real Avid's rifle tools. Not only does it pack the amazing carbon and bolt carrier scraping tools, but it has a host of other useful gizmos such as pliers and a bit driver.

I'll be honest. I'll let an AR sit in storage dirty if I can't use this to clean it. It's that big of a deal. If you have a new shooter clean their gun without one, and then hand them this, you can see it click when they use it. It saves so much time it should ship with factory guns.

If you love spending hours with picks and brushes, nibbling away at carbon in your gun, you are either a masochist or you don't know any better. Either way, wise up and get one of these.

That's it for today, stay safe, stay accurate.

Sig M-LOK Grip Kit

I hate SIG products. I find them derivative, off target to the market, their reputation for quality over hyped and under deserved.

And here I am reviewing a SIG product. The worst thing is how I feel about it for the money I paid.

Up front the kit was mis-priced at a local store and had twice the amount of rail panels compared to the description on the box. So, we're off to a good start. The question is, would I pay full price?

The kit retails for around $50 and should contain the vertical grip, three handstop/finger rests, one short and one long rail panel, and the mounting hardware.

The vertical grip has a very slight cant and is hollow like the Magpul MOE grip. The whole kit is very light weight, so if you like a light rifle, this is a much better option than an aluminum hand stop or an angled grip.

I used the vertical grip, two small rail sections, and the small finger shelf. The result is a comfortable grip that allows me to shoot fingers forward.

M-LOK can be a pain to install. SIG got this one right though, and coated each screw in a thin layer of thread locker. Mounting each section was quick and easy, with no need to play around with the depth of the screws.

After mounting that up, I had half of a box of panels and hand stops, enough to do at least another gun, if not two. Remember, my box seemed to contain more than the package suggested.

So, the $50 question, would I buy it with the normal amount of pieces and normal price? Considering how much I've spent on grips and hand stops, I absolutely would. It's a great value, even at twice the price.

I can't believe it. SIG finally made a product I can get behind.

Painting an AR

With the recent pandemic, I found myself stuck home with a lot of free time, so I did what anyone else would do, and painted a few of my ARs.

If you want to try this at home, here's what you'll need :

• A clean, dry rifle- lube and dirt will carry the paint right off the gun 
• Painter's tape
• Spray paint, at least 2-colors
• Template or pattern (optional) 
• Hanger or string

I painted my guns by hanging them by the muzzle device using a common wire hanger. I like this method over laying the gun down on a mat, as I could get 360 degree coverage in one go. 

Front to back, I taped off the following areas:

• Muzzle device 
• Light /laser lenses
• Sights as needed 
• Mag well
• Optic lenses
• Trigger
• Rear sights as needed

I used Rust-Oleum camo paints, their FDE and ODG colors and flat black. I hung the guns up in my basement and gave them a nice coat of FDE. At this point I was reminded to fully extend the stock to get the buffer tube and to close the dust cover. It's worth noting that you'll want to paint the receivers together as a complete rifle.  If you have flip up sights like MBUSs, flip them up to get underneath them. 

After the base coat dried, I sprayed on some irregular stripes in ODG and let them dry. Some I did in a deep, concentrated color, some I left light and  feathery. I tried to keep it random, the biggest thing was to make sure I got over the top and bottom of the rifle.

Once that dried, I sprayed on the flat black with  a makeshift template made out of a plastic web used to protect a barrel. This breaks up the black and even does a budget Kryptek pattern.

To complete the effort, I threw the guns down the stairs a few times to scuff them up. 

After all, it's not about the pattern, it's the wear. 

Be sure to do a few magazines, because how will you ever look operator if you don't have matching mags? 

These are easy to do, just tape up the top so no paint can get in, and tape down the side to the mag catch. 

And that's that.  What do you think about painting your guns? If you have the time, give it a try!

Stay accurate. 

Ben 

Great Lakes Firearms Lower Receiver

I like supporting small businesses, and I like supporting local businesses even more. With the 2020 panic, I've built a lot of rifles for other people who feel the need for their first AR, and those that want another blaster in their inventory.

I decided on building one for myself as well, and began to gather all of the parts I needed from my parts box, and ordered the rest of the parts online. For the lower, I went oi a local shop that usually had a good selection of Aero Precision lowers.

No such luck for me, they were out of Aeros, but had Great Lakes Firearms lowers for $70, and Rugers for $100.  I had seen GLF lowers before, and they kind of reminded me of Rguns lowers. The roll marks and engravings looked like the anodizing had been applied too thick, as opposed tho the crisp lettering on most receivers. This gun was going to get the Krylon treatment, so I didn't care about the looks, and I took it home.

I'm glad I went out of order and did the fire control group first. When I threaded the grip screw through the pistol grip and into the receiver, it went about half way and stopped. This was the mil-spec grip screw from a new Anderson parts kit.

I've never seen this before, so I backed the screw all the way out, confirmed proper alignment and went in again. This time it only went in about a quarter before locking up.

At this point I removed the grip and the screw, and tried a Magpul screw. As it went in, there were metal flakes coming out around the screw shaft. The screw, which had started at the proper angle, was now at an off angle and would not budge.

I stopped work on the lower and emailed GLFA. Matt responded and offered to send me an RMA ticked and ship the lower back in exchange for a new one.

As I live 30 minutes away from their shop, we agreed to meet there and swap out the lowers with the associated paperwork.

I'll skip over the interaction at the shop as a lot of the discussion was subjective and I don't want to go off on a tangent.

To be clear, Matt from GLFA did the right thing and replaced the out of spec lower.

Assembly and thoughts

The original lower had shown signs of poor machining, with visible machine marks on the inside surface of the magwell. I've not seen these on any of the lowers I've built.

Sadly, the new lower had them too. Between the machine marks, the out of spec screw pocket, and the anodizing looking like it was applied with a fire hose, I didn't feel confident in building the lower.

My fears were unfounded as the lower went together nicely. So where did that leave me? With a lower receiver that has machine marks where no one will see, and thick, indistinct roll marks.

I tested the magwell thoroughly and the marks don't interfere with operation. What bothers me is that every other company I have seen removes these machining marks before selling their products.

What irks me more is the fact that I bought this for around the same cost as an Aero Precision lower, but the store was out. Even worse, I drove an hour out another store and they had Aero and Anderson lowers for days at the same price..

I would honestly rather have any other lower (except RGuns) than what I have. But at least I did get a lower that went together properly.

I know I sound down about the experience, and I am, but if anyone from GLFA is reading this, take this review and learn from it. They obviously have the manufacturing capacity to turn these out by the truckload. Just take a little more time on the product.

By cleaning up the machining marks and making the roll marks crisper, it would go a long way to making a product the consumer feels good about.

So that's it. What have you dealt with in the past with product issues in general? Be sure to leave a comment and we can all learn together.

Stay accurate.
-Ben

Windowed Magazine Collection

The first time I saw Ding Chavez on the cover of Rainbow Six 3, I was intrigued by his gun. He's holding an H&K G36 C, with dual translucent magazines. Those mags caught my eye, and looked so far and beyond the metal STANAG mags in most black rifles.

Over the years I have only grown in my obsession with clear mags, and, when I got into black rifles around 2010, I found something else to be obsessed with. The windowed magazine.

By this time I had become a total Magpul fanboy, and I was watching their Dynamics Dvds on a consistent basis. There was so much new stuff in those videos, from the BAD lever, ASAP sling mount, PMAGs, grips and so on, but when I saw the windowed PMAGs, I knew I needed some.


After watching ammo get sucked up into Chris and Travis' rifles, I bought everything my local store had, these two 30 round M2 windowed mags and a standard 20 round PMAG. These are my oldest mags, and have seen a lot of use and even years of storage with no issues. I'm still impressed by their durability and ingenuity, with the spring being marked to give the shooter an actual round count.

I've always been into different things, having everything the same as other people bores me. Yes, I've got stacks of GI and PMAGs, and other mfgrs, but I love seeing a different mag in my gun. Something with style, personality.


I managed to snag a pair of Magpul EMAGs recently, and I love them. They are an almost GEN 2.5, in the sense that they keep a lot of the M2's characteristics, but they have over insertion stops like the newer M3 mags. Their defining feature is that there are no features, no ribs like on normal PMAGs. Subtle and sexy.

Even with the panic buying of 2020, I still found a decent price on this Hera Arms H3 Gen2 mag, $10 at a local store. I love the way the mag looks different and cool. The polymer window has ridges that look a little thick and syrupy up close, and there are drain holes in the spine. It looks cool, not sure how it'll hold up. Might just be a Gucci photo mag. We'll see.

Lastly, a good old M3 windowed PMAG in FDE. I have quite a few M3's, but none windowed, so when I found this in a nearby store for $15 during the panic, I had to get it. Windows are sexy. FDE is sexy, it just looks good all around.

Do you guys use windows or clear mags? Why or why not?  Let us know in the comments and I'll see you next time.

Until then, stay accurate.

Branching Evolution

This is the first in a 3-part series of building out a pistol lower as a PDW with 5.56 and 300blk options.

Most AR rifles are built with an upper and lower that stay together. In this case, I have two short uppers on a shared lower.

I'll dive into the base lower but first, pics.

The lower was a fun project, registered as a pistol. Here's the build list if you want to try it at home.

Lower receiver: Spike's Tactical Honey Badger multi-caliber
Trigger guard: Magpul
Bolt Catch: Phase 5 Lever
Trigger: ALG ACT
Grip: Magpul K2+
Castle nut: V7 Ultralite
End Plate: V7 Ultralite
Small parts: Palmetto State Armory
Brace: Cain Arms Ultralight

Up next I'll be covering the 5.56 upper, and then wrapping up with the 300blk upper.

What do you think? Do you have a lower for every upper, or do you set up multiples on one lower?

Be sure to drop a comment and share if you care. In the meantime, stay accurate.

I&I- Inspect and Inventory

With stay at home orders in place for many Americans, it can be hard to get range time and proper practice. While you're sitting at home with all your guns and gear, it's a perfect time to do a proper I&I.

An I&I, or Inspect and Inventory, is a detailed tear down of your equipment and supplies. This will show you what you have, what you need, and will hopefully catch any issues with your guns and gear. In a recent teardown, I found that I had a cracked buffer in one of my rifles. I've ever even heard of them cracking, but I found 8t with a detailed stripping of the gun. I noted the bad part and added it to my to-buy list.

Guns aren't the only things you should look at. Magazines, slings, optics, ammo, all of it needs a good look, and repaired or replaced as needed.

What a mess

Let's look at magazines. Whether or not you have mags loaded long term, you will want to check:

• Feed lips- are they spreading? Dented, worn, out of spec? 
• Followers--are they dirty, crusty? Do they move freely inside the magazine body?
• Spring- is it properly attached to the follower and seated on the floor plate? Are they corroded or warped, rusty? 
• Floor plate- is it cracked or bent from veing dropped? Does the locking system work as intended?
• Magazine body- is it dented, cracked, punctured or rusty?

Getting a good ammo count is a good idea at this time too. 

• How much total ammo do you have? 
• How many loaded magazines do you have? 
• How much of your ammo is training ammo, vs personal defense ammo? How do you mark what is what in your storage and magazines? 
• Do you have multiple calibers? How are they stored? For me, having 5.56 and 300blk rifles means I have the blackout mags painted tan. 
• Do you have corroded, rusty, or damaged ammo? 

You should tear down your guns as far as you can and check all the springs, pins, internal/external parts, storage compartments, optics, lights, and all associated batteries and cables.  A good cleaning and lube will finish each gun off. 

Be sure to check and service your stash guns as well. I keep a shotgun in the main area of the house, and it's easy to forget in the cleaning process. If you have a trunk gun, break it out and give it some love. 

Take the time to set up your guns storage when you put your stuff back. Your future you will thank you. Add desiccant where you need it, make sure the lights and work areas are working and good to go 

This process can take some time, but time is one thing we have right now. 

What did you find when you did your I&I? Do you have some before and after stories of your own?

REMEMBER. PEOPLE GET SHOT WITH "UNLOADED" GUNS ALL THE TIME. CHECK, CHECK, AND RE-CHECK YOUR GUNS AND NEVER ASSUME. 

Till next time, stay accurate. 

Nightstrike Sidewinder Grip

There are a lot of grip options for your favorite rifles. When building an AR pistol, a lot of those options disappear as adding a

vertical grip changes the classification of the weapon and introduces a lot of headaches.

Nightstrike Grips takes a stab at the market with their Sidewinder Grip. I mounted it on a small section of MLOK rail beneath my 6.5" V Seven Weapon Systems 300BLK barrel.

The Nightstrike FDE is close to the Magpul FDE and it looks great on the gun. The grip itself is a long, flat gripping surface capped by a forward finger hook.  As I tend to shoot my rifles fingers forward, this made a lot of sense to me.

When I transitioned from a vertical grip on my rifles to the Magpul AFG back in the day, it felt odd for a while, like I didn't know where my hand or fingers went on the gun. Getting on the Sidewinder was much the same.

It took me a few weeks of presentations and up drills to get my hand placement down, but once I did the grip felt great. It points naturally, and is compact and stays out of the way. As this pistol is normally stored in a go bag, having a low profile grip is a good addition.

I've been running the Sidewinder with a brace from Cain Arms, and although the grip points better on a longer brace, such as an SBA3, I am hooked on the ultra light weight setup the Nightstrike and Cain Arms setup provides.

The Nightstrike Sidewinder is well built out of rugged polymer, with a ribbed texture. If you are looking for an ergonomic angled grip for your rifle or pistol, take a look at the Sidewinder from Nightstrike Grips.

Spear Mfg Rifle Build Review

Welcome back everyone, I have a new rifle build for you featuring some great new kit to check out for you, some new hardware from Spear Mfg who kicked this whole build off, as well as some components that have been on my rifles for the long haul.

I'll post the build with links after the jump.


What's in the box?! Let's go front to back, shall we?

Muzzle device: V7 Weapon Systems Brake
Front sight: Magpul MBUS
Barrel: Del-ton 16" HBAR Chrome lined 1/9 twist
Rail: Spear Mfg 15" cutout MLOK
Gas system: Spear Mfg low profile gas block with Spear black melonite gas tube (carbine)
Rail section: Magpul MLOK polymer
Hand stop: Magpul
Sling swivels: Damage Industries
Sling: Magpul MS3
Upper receiver: CMMG
Lower receiver: Detroit Gun Works
Bolt carrier: Palmetto State Armory
Bolt: Sharps Rifle Company
Magazine: Magpul Emag, ranger plate
Bolt catch: Magpul BAD Lever
Mag release: V7 Weapon Systems Enhanced
Takedown pins: V7 Weapon Systems Ultralite
Ejection port door and rod: V7 Weapon Systems Ultralite
Safety: Strike Industries modular
Fire control: Hiperfire 3Gun
Trigger guard: Magpul MOE

After putting in a great trigger and a slick-looking rail, I had to keep the internals and small parts on point.  The SRC bolt carrier provides solid, slick and sturdy performance, but the bolt is where the real magic is.  Sharp’s Rifle Company provided one of their incredible Relia-Bolts, and it brings things to another level. You can see my review of their Balanced BCG and Relia-Bolt here, but for the TL:DR crowd, these things are amazing, and I have one in as many rifles as I can.  I recently sold off a rifle and accidentally left the bolt in there, and that really sucks. Well, it’s great for the buyer. But still.

If you haven’t heard of SRC’s bolts and carriers, shame on you, spend more time on the internet. They are machined on their lugs to provide better engagement with the chamber lugs, and use angled surfaces to allow the bolt to lock up positively, even in filthy guns. Like so.

The camming action of the Relia-Bolt is amazing, so much so that they patented it. The best way I can describe it is to imagine the BCG cycling in the gun with no bolt. There’s no friction from unlocking from the chamber, no sluggish camming associated with traditional bolts.  I use a lot of high-end bolts, but these are the ones I actually want in my gun.

I’ve covered a lot of ground on the looks and internals of the rifle. Take a look at the build list if you want to build a similar gun or get ideas for your own new build.

Up next, I’ll be going over the Next Level Armament and V7 Weapon Systems components, so double-tap this link to get in on more of the build.

Remember, the 2A is for all of us. Get out there, learn, train, stay safe, and have fun.

Magpul DAKA Can- The Good, The Bad, The Cracked

I love Magpul. I'm not going to lie. As someone who wears prescription glasses and sunglasses, I'm always looking for ways to keep my eyewear safe and handy.

Fortunately, Magpul has this covered with the DAKA Can. It's simple, practical, and looks nice and tactical to add some spice to your everyday life.

The Can holds most eyewear securely inside its padded interior. The inside of the lid is padded as well, giving your gear all around protection. The lid has a recession to help you pop the top, and a steel hinge pin is used for the lid hinge.

In my testing, I found that it holds a tourniquet and other small medical supplies, or batteries, glow sticks, spare pistol mags, tools and spare parts, flash lights and so on. I keep one in my Jeep with a tourniquet and bandages and a few odds

and ends.

The Can has Pmag-like ridges on the exterior to aid in grip and to add a little visual appeal. I added small sections of grip tape, as I found the outside a bit smoother than I liked.

After getting my Can in glorious FDE, one of my coworkers saw it on my desk and picked it up. I told him how durable and crush resistant it seemed so he gave it a few squeezes. When he set it down, there was a small crack on the back of it, right by the hinge.

Now, my coworker is big, and his hands are huge, but I still didn't expect it to break, and so soon after I had bought it. The good news is that the hinge still works fine, and the lid opens and closes as if it were brand new. The crack doesn't seem to have grown, so right now it's serving as gear storage in my ride.  I picked up another Can in gray, because I like the design and functionality it provides. I've been rough with the gray one, and so far, no damage.

These days it seems like it's getting harder and harder to recommend products, as they either do what's been done before or are so specialized that only a few people will use them. The DAKA Can provides so much utility in such simple and elegant package that I definitely recommend it, even with the issues I had with the first one.

Let me know what you think and stay accurate.

Ben

WTF Is A Hobby Gun?

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Its been a long time since I've written an article,  becoming a father changes things, but there's been something I really want to discuss.

In the tactical community there exists a strange sort of elitism that exists at all levels. In recent years, the idea of so called "hobby guns" being compared to factory guns, with different results depending on who is doing the talking.

I'm going to take a dive into this, more after the jump. We'll be talking mostly about that beloved modular rifle, the AR-15.

Before we get into this,  we need to define what each kind of gun is. The definition of a hobby gun is pretty loose, so let's start by defining what a factory gun is.

A factory gun is a gun that is exactly as it is when it leaves the factory. Ideally it should use the same magazines it came with, as they should be specced for the gun, but it is so common to be using aftermarket magazines that this is acceptable.

Mounting a sling doesn't change a factory rifle, unless it needs the addition of aftermarket attachments like sling swivels or QD sockets. Mounting optics and sights are fine, as long as they attach to the host rifle with no modification to the gun. Mounting accessories to rails or handguards must follow the same standard.

And that's it. Nothing else. If you twist on a new muzzle brake, you don't have a factory gun any more. Swapping out that garbage A2 grip? Not a factory gun. Wanna ditch that economy front end for a big boy rail? How about an ambi safety or extended charging handle? Maybe you want a new BCG to replace that worn out stock model that keeps short-stroking? Well, you no longer have a factory gun.

Now that we know what a factory gun is, we know what a hobby gun is, and it's everything else. I'll continue to use the term "hobby gun"in this article, but the term is, I believe, a misnomer.

So, why are we here and what does it matter?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both types of guns. Factory guns tend to be more consistent and are built to a standard, which works better for military and law enforcement as they want to achieve as much standardization as possible.  They often have better construction practises and equipment,  as few basement builders are going to MPI test their components and so on.

However,  this doesn't mean much if the standards are shit, companies like IO and Taurus are no BCM. Conversely, I have seen QC fails from big name brands, such as a free spinning castle nut on a high end new factory rifle from a company that should know better.

On the hobby side, there is none of that QC, beyond what the builder performs.  The gun is literally the sum of its parts times the skill of the builder.  If the builder uses quality components,  the proper tools, and assembles according to spec, the end result is a quality gun, if not, then you have the much-derided "frankengun" that always chokes on ARFCOM.

It must be said, not every gunsmith has achieved the vaunted levels of certified  (insert gun here) armorers. I have met many at gun stores that are well-intentioned individuals who simply own hammers and a lot of punches.

Look at this scenario: you're a certified Colt armorer working on a gas piston gun with a side charging receiver with an aftermarket trigger. Colt doesn't make the gun you're working on, so your creds are invalid.

Do you work on it anyway because ARs are not hard? Yeah,  probably. People recommend factory guns the same way your mechanic recommends replacing the whole system rather than one part. Its the easiest way to make sure you get it right.

Home built guns have all the QC you put into them. If you do a shitty job with your build, then it's probably going to let you down. That said, if you follow the plans, and do things right, there is no reason that you can't build a reliable, quality gun. I have 6 ARs in the safe that I built, and they only issues they have had other than ammo related was a worn firing pin on one and replacing a worn buffer spring on another. All of these guns have been test beds for review and evaluation of different components.

The next time your favorite bearded tac instructor shits on you for not having a factory rifle, just remember that his blaster isn't, either.

Stay accurate.

Ben