I am married to an amazing woman. In a few short months she will be hitting a major career milestone with the USAF and I built this carbine for her.
She’s still warming up to rifles, she’s shot a AR15 exactly twice (second shot hit the overly ripe watermelon that was her target (I found that reactive targets work best for beginners)).
I really want to help her be more comfortable with the platform, and since the Air Force is such a big part of her life I thought a USAF themed rifle would help ease her in (leaps and bounds better than tactical pink).
-The lower is a USAF Quentin Defense (because the roll mark is really cool. Yes, I said that on this site, but give it a gander, and review the rest of the specs before you are too hard on me).
-The upper is a complete Colt 6920 (it’s the best bang for the buck right now).
-The FCG is a SSA (nice to shoot, but predictable, and it heavy enough for novice shooter).
-MOE Foliage Kit (to complement the ABU camo pattern).
-el cheapo RE kit w/CAR buffer (came free with the MOE kit, I thought it’d be ok, but I really don’t like it, getting a Colt w/BCM H2 buffer ASAP).
I’m thinking of having the furniture Duracoated ABU. Is that taking it too far? This rifle is certainly a range rifle, and presentation matters.
I certainly wouldn’t apologize for your rifle, looks great. As retired AF myself I’ve been thinking of using that very lower for the basis of a fun gun.
Probably the only time I would suggest this…but you could get a blue paint pen and fill in the roll mark, that would make it really pop. I’d hold off on the ABU, if not done right it could bring the rifle down, and the services may all switch camo soon anyway!
Very nice rifle, well thought out. But as someone who wears ABUs, it is an absolutely terrible service pattern. If we’re lucky we’ll be switching yet again, this time to a multicam variant. Blue color fill on the USAF symbol may not be a bad touch however. I hope she enjoys it!
I’m not fond of that modern USAF logo (too old school, I guess)…but gotta admit that the overal effect of that lower with the foliage furniture is pretty cool against the ABUs. How close is the color in real life to the hues on the ABUs?
Agree with everyone else about the blue and white. The ABU duracoat would be a bit much.
If you really wanted to specialize it just for her, send it off to one of the engravers like Orion or Indent and get her retirement rank/name, service dates and a small “thanks for your service” message put on the right side of the receiver.
It would be nice to ditch the MBUS GenX for a PRO or another sight that is shorter when tucked away. That way if a scope is ever wanted it’ll be just one less thing to have to switch out. As for ABU, if you’re significant other never plans to use it for anything other than the range, excluding any kind of hunting, collecting, or serious work, then it’s kind of a toss up as to whether the ABU color scheme is a good idea. Just remember that ABU isn’t much different than UCP, and if you don’t know what that means you’re either fortunate or in for a rude awakening.
It closely matches her fleece and boots, and it’s fairly close to one of the Greens on her uniform.
Between the prep and the texture of two finishes this would leave the rifle looking a bit rough. I’m going more for a pseudo-show piece than a working rifle. Don’t get me wrong, my rifles are tools and it shows, but this has got to be special.
It’s looking like I might get a dust cover laser etched on the inside, throw a ABU name tape with her call sign on the case and maybe the color fill and call it a day.
She’s very new in her career, this rifle will be marking her first promotion.
It’s a Colt on a random lower with a nice trigger and a hodgepodge of parts making up the buffer assembly, there is nothing collectible about it, she’s no hunter and her field is not one where issued firearms are used, let alone personal ones.
Her field is also one of the most purple in the military, so although ACU and ABU share colors, the pattern is a big deal. But I think I’m going to shelve the Duracoat as there is no saying how the job is going to turn out and it seems like it would be a bit much.
Thank you all for your help, tips and advice. Oh all the rifles I have put together this one is the most important to me so I really appreciate the kind words and encouragement.
I think maybe you misunderstood what I said previously. I figured that she would not use the rifle in her job, I was merely thinking that she’d shot it before and knew about it. Based on that information I was not really sure what advice you were looking for other than if duracoat is a good usage of money. Sorry if I ruffled any feathers but that I didn’t know exactly what kind of advice you wanted to see.
I think that if the foliage furniture matches the ABU “accessories”, then you should pretty much leave it as-is and ditch the duracoat or hydro-dip of the ABU print. I like the look as it is in the photo.
I’m an occasional ABU-wearer myself, so seeing your photo has me thinking of picking up some foliage furniture for a range toy I have – I like the way it looks in the context of matching the uniform colors.
Here’s something I found for the .22 build I’m doing for the kids: Blue anodized mag button http://dsgarms.com/ProductInfo/SKPSP-BMR-BLU.aspx Pretty inexpensive, I’m gonna do a custom blue and green pattern on the kids rifle.
Those Seekins mag buttons are really nice, quality wise, but they do sit quite a bit higher than a standard button. It actually took me a bit to get used to it…
As another OD wearing, but occasional ABU wearing, guy- I like the look of the foliage on top of the ABU. The first AR I built used foliage green stock, grip, sling, and rail ladders. I thought it looked pretty damn nice next to the uniform. That rifle has since turned all black, but I occasionally get the urge to put the foliage stuff back on it.
Nice gun, by the way. I built a very similar one for my wife, but using FDE furniture.
So I finished up the rifle by installing a 2nd hand troy sling and rear sight (people are selling off their Troy parts to make a statement, and since Troy makes nothing on used gear sales I had no issue helping people clear their conscience). I sewed an ABU name tape with her call sign on it to the sling and called it a day.
Gave it to her this am, she thought it was a great gesture, but is still a bit wary of firearms (this doesn’t conflict with her military status as she is a non-combatant).
She does want to keep it and go shooting, so I’d say mission accomplished (even though she’s a non-combatant, I’d like her to be comfortable using an AR platform just in case).
