Do I have a reliable weapon system?

What I guess I want to know is would my rifle with what I have done to it do well in a carbine course!

*RRA 16" carbine with free float rails
*Heavy 1:9 chrome lined barrel
*RRA 2 Stage Trigger
*Rifle feedramps the have been made into m4 clone feedramps
*Staked castlenut
*BCM M16 Bolt Carrier Croup
*BCM GunFIGHTER Charging handle
*H Buffer
*A.R.M.S #41 Silhouette Floding Front Sight
*A.R.M.S #40 Folding Rear Sight
*GearSector Sling Plate
*GearSector Single Point Sling
*512 Eotech

  • Surefure G2 LED
    *VLTOR Flashlight Mount
    *Magpul AFG
    *Magpul CTR
    *Magpul XTM Rail Panels

I know some are cosmetics, but while I was doing the run down, I figured I wouldn’t leave anything out!

It’s a parts gun. They’re good parts, but I think the only way you’ll be able to tell if it will make it through a carbine course is to actually use it in a carbine course.

The only way someone could really express an opinion one way or the other would be if you were using a known quantity factory-made rifle.

Looks like a really effing front heavy weapon system.

The only way to tell if it will be reliable or not is to go shoot it. A lot.

Its really not that front heavy. At least not much more then other ones I have handled!

Well its not really a parts gun! It was an full rifle, and then I replaced the parts that I thought based on the knowledge I have aquired here, the were second rate with top notch hoping to get reliable performance out of it!

remove the BCM GF sticker from your case and you’ll be fine.

Is the gas block pinned on or does it use screws?

Like 87GN said only way to find out if it’s reliable is to shoot it a lot. Stop cleaning it for a few thousand rounds and see what’s up. Take a carbine class, etc.

250 rounds …

… for general function check and the ability to proficiently clear a malfunction.

Then you will have an idea. The unit itself is only a component of the reliability of a setup.

Nice rig!

Allen Screws

With strict regard to reliability, and if it were to be hard use toward defending life, if it were MY rifle the items that would cause me some apprehension would be;

  • 2 stage trigger

  • the Arms sights

  • the set screw gas block

  • possibly the Eotech…

But, my advice is to just run it hard and see what, if anything breaks down. :slight_smile:

Can I ask, what do you think the problem with the ARMS sights will be?

I have that same bookbag.
Got it from a national guard meeting that i went to with my friend haha.

pinned gas blocks are preferred for absolute reliability.

You can stake the screws if it makes you feel better. Heat cycling with heavy use, and abuse for general use may eventually cause screws to back out.

I’m just a civilian shooting enthusiast: i’m not jumping out of helicopters or tossing my rifles into gun trucks or anything. However, getting a pinned gas block solution seems like cheap insurance to me. ARMS offers that gas block as a pinned options IIRC.

Also, I hate hate hate hate heavy barrels. It might not be much pieing around the house, but take a 3 day carbine course and that unnecessary weight adds up. Heavy profile barrels exist only because companies want to save money on machining time to increase profit margins. I’d either get that barrel turned down, or just straight up buy a new barrel from Daniel Defense or something. Swapping the barrel should be easy peasy for you if you have a vice block and armorer’s wrench. This is one case where have a set screw gas block is advantageous, haha

I also prefer Magpul XT panels because they are lighter. I run the standard FSB because it’s cheap and is the most durable. I run the Aimpoint T-1 because of it crazy longevity and durability (thinking about going to a DD mount to shave off 2 ounces). I run the MBUS because i like it’s design and weight, and its overall durability aint bad either. I also run a Surefire G2 (with TNVC drop in 235 lumen bulb) but i’ve added a Z59 on/off tailcap and use the plastic VTAC mount to save weight.

I’ve got about 7K rounds through this rifle, 2K of it at a Magpul class, and I take it out shooting in the mountains and to local run 'n gun competitions frequently. Never had a single malfunction (but plenty of short strokes: I was using 24.0 gr of AA2230 powder in my reloads, bumped it up to 25.0).

Guess everything has its upside! Thanks for the advice!

from the specs you list, it seems like an overall solid weapon. since you’re asking:

i’d consider getting the chamber reamed with a reliable 5.56 chamber reamer… it’ll ensure you’re not over-pressuring the weapon with an under-sized headspace, and it’ll open up the chamber itself and prevent stuck cases

from a sooper-reliability standpoint, and depending on what you do with your gun, the comments about the ARMS sight are all correct. some things you could do, and that i’d recommend- mill or tap the barrel to accept the block set-screws. one of the bigger problems with set-scewed sights is the risk of rotation. once you’ve given the screws something to grab, install the screws with red loctite and stake in place. loctite all by itself doesn’t help much at the gas block, as it turns to powder at 450ish degrees… and the gas block is likely to get hotter than that with rapid fire.

the Eotech may or may not give you problems… i can’t call this a “reliability” issue, because even if your 'tech goes down, you still have BUIS… the 'techs are kind of an anomaly in the gun world- they have a pretty proven track record of failures, yet people who demand only the best in firearms will still use them. not sure whats up with that.

and as mentioned, the RRA 2-stage triggers aren’t known for the best reliability, and for a carbine, they’re also generally inappropriate. depends on the weapons use, again, but for a fightin’ get-down-and-dirty gun, a 2-stage is a reliability issue as well as a safety issue- a good 6-7lbs single-stage is much less likely to ND you. if you chose to keep the RRA 2S, keep in mind they seem to only last about 5000 rounds before turning into a long, gritty single stage or failing altogether. yours may or may not, but that’s what i’ve seen.

OR-

just keep everything the way it is, dont worry about it, and have fun. its your gun, and only you know your specific situation, uses, and needs.

I would honestly say no. You have several things (from your optic, to your sights, to your trigger and barrel) that are not known for the highest reliability.

C4

I really don’t mean to insult you, and I’m definitely not one of the top guys on this forum, anyone that carries a firearm for a living, or an expert on the AR-15. Truthfully I’m only a longtime lurker on this board that tries to pick up as much information as possible, and I don’t even own an AR-15, but hope to remedy that when I can.

All of that said, it looks to me like you took a pretty questionable rifle and threw on a whole lot of products with names that people might like or be familiar with in hopes of coming out on the other side with a decent rifle. If all you’re doing is plinking in the backyard or range, you’ve probably accomplished your mission, but this is not what I would consider from my research a good to go reliable firearm ready for hard use.

The couple critical things I would change are the sights. Replace that front folding sight with a pinned “F” marked sight. If the barrel is not pinned send to ADCO to have them pin and install the sight. Replace the rear sight with a Troy BUIS.

I’m not a fan of 2 stage triggers in a defense gun, that’s just me though. I would put a standard trigger in it.

Take it to the range and run it.

You need to put some rounds through it, fella. :wink:

The heart of the gun is the BCG, which should be good. Unsure about the “made into M4 feedramps” thing.

Put 500 rounds through it, get it hot. Make sure it is well-lubricated. Put some witness marks on anything that could turn.

Good luck!

Shoot the hell out of it, that’s the only way you’ll know, even if you had said you bought a Colt, BCM, or Noveske.

If I were you I would definitely get rid of the RRA 2-stage trigger though. In my opinion they are one of the worst triggers on the market and I wouldn’t put one in any of my rifles even if they were free. I would much rather have a solid single stage or a Geissele SSA.

As for everything else, only time and hard use will tell. I doubt you’ll have any issues though.