I know these were a huge disappointment to everyone when they came out. Bushmaster did their normal job on them.
Despite that I have decided to get one. I can get a new one at a pretty good price. So I figured what the heck.
I know there have been a few issues including loose fasteners so I will keep an eye on all this.
My real question comes about the barrel. We all know the stock barrel is heavy junk. So I would like to drop a Noveske 14.5 on there. I am aware that it will take some work so I was hoping some of you have had this work done and could suggest a good place to have it done.
I did a search and have found a lot of info but this is something I just want to make sure I get done right.
There have been some rumblings about a newer Version 2 of the ACR coming out soon. I have no idea if this is true or not…but waiting till after SHOT to pick up an ACR might be a good idea.
Just be aware you will want them to shrink the gas port. Any AR-15 barrel will have a wider gas port than is appropriate for an ACR. I don’t know what the sizes are for various barrel/gas system lengths although on the ACRforum site, there are threads with some of that info.
Also you may want to make sure you have or get the newer version of the op rod spring. It is stiffer and my gun needed it to reliably cycle with IMI M193 because it was overgassed even with a barrel chop of over 2 inches.
I’m not an expert on the firearms industry in any way but IMO the ACR is dead and it is very unlikely that any version 2.0 is going to change that. The ACR had a tremendous amount of hype before it was introduced but when it actually came out it was overpriced and underperforming.
I think with the current market where one can get a basic Colt, DD, or BCM for less than a $1000 there is little chance that the ACR can be a sale success with their current marketing/pricing strategy.
I think the only way that the ACR could be successful is if they priced it in the $900-$1200 range.
I really like my ACR and most of the guys that I have met, which actually own one, feel the same way. The prices have come down enough that you can buy one and put premium optics on it for around the cost of a base SCAR. I paid $1200 for my basic Tan model out the door at a local shop and I have added the adjustable folding stock, EoTech 516 & FTS Magnifier, and the AAC Blackout 51T Flash Hider. My buddy just picked up a black basic ACR for $1500 delivered to his FFL off GB.
I think chopping the factory barrel to 14.5" and recontouring it in-front of the gasblock is a better option to dropping a bunch of money into a premium AR barrel that may never work properly for platform.
You won’t hear me argue that the ACR is better than a SCAR or AR. I am not getting this as a main weapon, or even a “serious” weapon. Sure I will probably run it through a class. But more than anything I am getting it because I “Want” it.
But even knowing it isn’t a primary weapon, I want to make sure it is done right when I get it.
I’d PM member goteron, either here or on lightfighter. He has fooled around with it quite a bit and might have answers that the general membership does not.
If it is not AR or AK, they are just sitting on dealers racks. Our local shop is blowing out a new black SCAR 16 for $1800. I also picked up a new LMT CQB MRP Defender 16 for $1300 several months ago that had been sitting for almost a year. There are good bargain hunting opportunities out there if you have the cash.
I had my buddy turn down the barrel and piston on a lathe, the piston needs to be shortened for the carbine length (considering your going with a carbine length)
The barrel needs turned down to accept the piston support piece, 2 slots made for the gas block pins, and the gas port needs reduced some, lots of people with their 16" barrel cut down to 14.5 work with the factory size gas port so I’d try that one
Overall cost should be less than 100ish to have the barrel ready to accept all the Acr parts depending on where you go
I can post some pics of my setup when I get home if you want
How are you guys deciding where to put the gas port, what size, and all that stuff on the ACR? People talk a lot about the right gas port size, dwell time etc. for short ARs on this site - are you using that type of info or is it easier because the ACR is piston-driven?
As far as the gas port, the Acr uses a standard gas block seat .75 iirc, the size of the gas port is significantly smaller. I.e. a 10.5" ar15 uses around a .090 gas port while an Acr uses around a .060 for the 10.5"
Im not sure about dwell time on a piston rifle but from what I understand it isn’t as big of a deal as it is on an ar15, I could be wrong though but I think the piston takes most of the guess work out of it
I don’t know the other barrel lengths gas port sizes yet, I havnt tried them yet. On my personal rifle, i was one of the first 2 people with the 10.5 conversion, I finished it in early January this year so I didn’t even know what sizes I needed for the gas port or if it would even work so I made my gas block adjustable with a set screw, 2500+ rounds later with no problems.
