FYI URX II in stock at Operation Parts
Dusting off and updating now that Midwest has discontinued the G3ML10.5 rail and complete ASDW uppers…
| Component | Common | Vendor/Cost | ASDW Specific | Vendor/Cost | GL/SSC Specific | Vendor/Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lower Receiver | Aero M4 clone | my usual FFL | ||||
| Backend Kit (buffer, tube, spring) | std-length pistol tube | |||||
| LPK | Damage Industries | |||||
| Ambi Safety | Schmid | Arms Unlimited 15 | ||||
| Ambi mag catch | Norgon clone | Arms Unlimited 25 | ||||
| Grip | (build specific) | FAB AGF-43 folder, black | Lanbo’s 39.33 | FAB AG43, FDE | ||
| Upper receiver | Aero AR15 assembled | Lanbo’s 74.26 | ||||
| Barrel, Gas Block, Gas Tube, BCG | Rosco Bloodline 12.5" Sauce Kit | Lanbo’s 249.30 | ||||
| Takedown Kit | (ASDW only) | Cry Havoc QRB 2-pin | Brownells 425 OR | |||
| OpticsPlanet 409.99 | ||||||
| (whoever has better coupons at Go Time) | ||||||
| Handguard | (build specific) | Midwest 10.5", either: | ||||
| G4M10.5 OR | ||||||
| CRM10.5 | Lanbo’s 139.36 (G4) | |||||
| OpticsPlanet 122.37 (CR) | ||||||
| Charging Handle | Basic milspec | |||||
| Muzzle Device | Spares-bin A2 | |||||
| Iron Sights | (build specific) | Magpul MBUS PRO | Lanbo’s 129.19/set | ??? (recheck refs) | ||
| Optic | NA | ?Elcan SU-230 or SpecterDR 1-4x | ||||
| Grenade leaf-sight | (GL/SSC only) | NA | ??? | |||
| 37mm faux-M203 | (GL/SSC only) | NA | ??? |
Game On! It’s not “pure” in light of the G3 being toast, but I’m using a Combat Rail Lightweight and planning MBUS 3 sights calling it “ASDW-PIP” for “Product Improvement Program.” I’m gonna have the anti-rotate tabs chopped, since I figure the Air Force gunsmithing shop wouldn’t particularly care about commercial warranties. Dvor got the QRB for $370, so that was like a sign from above that it was Go Time.
Left to do: the folding grip, lower receiver (I need to call my FFL and see if they still have Aero faux-M4’s), barrel/gas block and BCG (all in the Rosco Sauce Pack).
Should be cool once it’s together. And even if the local FFL doesn’t have the lower you want, prices are down everywhere and it’s Sale Season…,
One other PIP item: While current ASDW has its parts “float” separately in the bag, the PIP version will use a QD riser and double-sided Picatinny claw adapter to make the two sections a single piece in the bag.
Is that what the lower rail section you added is for?
Plan is to use the rear top-rail stub for “stowed” connection. The lower rail is in case either the connector blocks the sights and I need to make it fully removable, or the Cry Havoc crud-cover blocks the stub and I need a different mount point. As of about five minutes ago, I’m now thinking move the connector-stowage up front so it can pull double duty as a handstop… maybe depending on space and clearances rack in a mag-carrier along the top or bottom.
Side not here, a lot of this depends on the height of the folded MBUS 3’s–if they’re low enough to “close couple” and the riser-coupler combo low enough to not block sight picture, the coupler just stays mounted on the upper receiver. If it needs enough extra clearance that I need to add a second riser, then the “remove and remount” scenario comes into play. Funny: I never thought I’d have anything good to say about Leapers UTG, but I think between this and the modular backends on my “Quick-Change Charger” I may have found a niche where they actually ARE good for something!
Another note: The concept on ASDW-PIP calls for a ten-round flush-fit mag (eg, 10-rd PMAG) in the well and ready to go at all times except when legally prohibited, in addition to the USAF standard 4x30 in two (not USAF spec) double-mag pouches. Yes, this makes PIP a bit heavier than its root design, but I’m still trying to keep it lean, clean and agile rather than “Gearqueer Visit from the Gadgets Fairy.”
Modular backends?
Would a 15-round magazine be about the same height as the folded grip?
“QC” was meant to exploit the same pistol-to-rifle-and-back capacity of a T/C Contender or AR pistol, using the rear brace-mount rail of the Charger Takedown and interchangeable barrels. (Leapers 3-slot QD riser, Midwest sidefold storage tube with SBA3 or SOPMOD slid on–right now the SBA3 is in my storage unit and I keep a railcover on the back unless the 16" barrel is on. Concept was “if I were building a briefcase gun for 007 like From Russia With Love”…)
A 15 would stick out a good bit more I think, the FAB folder really doesn’t project very far–maybe 1/4 to 1/3 inch from the bottom of the lower. Would be worth experimenting if WA hadn’t just gone Klinton Klip Bullshit, though.
Further PIP revision: Cannibalized the Vltor A5 pistol backend and PWS ratchet endplate/castle nut off the “Mk 18 Mod Briefcase” mockup, along with its ODG folding grip in place of USAF black. (Grip and PWS plate/nut aren’t PIP, it’s a combination of “use parts already on-hand” and ODG kind of becoming a “signature” on my non-clone builds since I’m all about bottom-feeding with sales, discounts and clearance. (C. tells me I out-powershop many women she knows… I’m still not sure how to take that.)
PIP component-coupler installed as a test fit:
A3 Tactical double-ended Pic coupler with 3-slot Leapers UTG riser. Crossbolt is in the foremost slot of the rail stub due to length of the Cry Havoc protective cover.
Further update: A5 added too much length for intended case. MBUS 3 sights arrived today, work very nicely with this coupler neither mechanically blocking the join nor optically blocking the line-of-sight. Dowel rods and rubber bands are temporary “alignment jig” until I get the barrel ordered.
What is the assembled length of the unbarreled upper mounted on a carbine-extension lower?
Didn’t have a lower handy to test, will get back to you. Also in the middle of a property manager-demanded cleaning binge, pop a flare if I don’t have an answer by Monday AM. 
15-1/4" in Stowed, 27" Deployed. Basically a standard 12.5" AR with a 10.5" rail other than the Cry Havoc QRB adding another inch. Bear in mind the “minus barrel” upper will be around 1/8 to 3/16" shorter once I get the tabs lopped off to properly mount the rail…
Prefatory note before I post the photos: This lower was first completed as a pistol, and in these photos it has neither barrel nor BCG attached. If you look close in the ejection port you can see the hammer forward as an additional safety measure. There is no NFA violation here because this is not a complete firearm; once the barrel arrives it goes straight to my storage unit still sealed in package until its own pistol lower is ready for it.
Thank you for the measurement. Pardon me, I realize the length is almost the same as a regular unbarreled upper receiver which I should have measured myself. I don’t know why I was under the impression this unit added any significant length.
I understand the desire to copy the GAU-5 and have a minimum length, but with that measurement I find appeal in the idea of a pin&weld barrel. That would be about 16+3/4" on the fore half and allow the use of a stock. Most stocks cover the end of the tube and add a little length. Even the SBA3 brace adds something however small.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Happy Turkey Day to you and yours as well!
Actually if I read it right, the QRB adds next to nothing to OAL, just kicks the handguard an inch and a half forward around the barrel. https://cryhavoctac.com/about.html “Min compliance” length would be around a pin-weld 14.7" with A2, but I’m not sure if it would fit in this case and then you get into the can o’ worms about “rifle and loaded mags together in vehicle” in states like WA where Fish & Game think “only a poacher would have any reason for loaded gun in car.” Keeping it pistol means it’s covered by a carry permit, and potentially dodges FOPA requirements in states with reciprocity.
In WA, the standard for “pistol” is “less than 16” and fires with one hand–if you can conceal one of those 10" Tommy Gun pistols with no VFG, you can legally carry it on your CPL here. Not a good idea and prosecutors jack off to fantasies of assraping a CCW Defensive Shooting case with so blatantly “un-sympathetic” an iron, but you CAN do it. This thing is meant almost purely as a Range Toy and maybe occasional “hotel-room defense” duty when traveling, but generally not a Serious Work iron even though I’m building to my normal “would I let my loved ones bet their lives on this in an emergency” standard.
Another question as part of the “Product Improvement Program” concept, right now I’m starting to wonder if there’s something already in the military supply system that offers better performance than the A2 FH in a similar space-footprint…
Now that the case and mag pouches are in…
Boring messenger bag/manpurse, right?
SURPRISE!
But wait, there’s more!
Plan is four mags in pouches and a sling down here, subject to revision as needed–I need to borrow four GI mags from C.'s case for test fitting.
EDIT: Four 30rd GI-type mags with Magpul pulls make a tight squeeze, but without barrel/FH and ammo this case weighs 7.8lb.
Update: Two double-mag pouches was No Bueno, but the case is long enough for a half-filled GPS 8-pack in a single layer of four. Properly placed, I think a sling could be easily packed in around the barrel and buffer tube.
Did a little tinkering with some of the scraps of that overweight CASV 10.3, and while it wouldn’t be Flight Rated in this config I think the compact light, laser and sling-mount/handstop add significant function at negligible cost.
To really work this I need to get another M-Lok rail section for the Lasermax tapeswitch and another QD sling swivel. Test sling is one of the cheapo ones that comes with these Midway bags.
Coming together nicely. Are you staying with the bare receiver extension?