If you’ve been following along with the project, you are probably already familiar with what has gone into this rifle in terms of parts and assemblies, but I thought a spec box might help for anyone who fell asleep while reading. Real Guns® Project AR-15 Assembler Real Guns® Cartridge .223 […]

After concluding Part 1, a Burris 4.5-14X42mm C4 scope was installed on the subject rifle. Hmm… that reads like Dragnet dialogue. “The subject was then read his rights and taken to the precinct…” Where was I? Oh, yeah… Weatherby factory loads, 130 grain and 200 grain, are rated at 3,600+ […]

  At the conclusion of the last installment, assembly was completed with the exception of the butt stock and a muzzle brake and/or flash suppressor. A simple helical design VLTOR Weapon Systems flash suppressor was selected, Brownells # 100-003-114 $60 and, as pictured below, a Mako Group 6 position GLR-16BTK […]

As I’ve noted in all prior installments, this is not an attempt at instruction, only familiarization for folks who have not attempted to assemble an AR, but would like a basic overview of the process. None of the items assembled in this segment, with the exception of the pivot pin, […]

An AR15, much more so than their distant bolt action cousins, are full of … stuff and, surprisingly, most of it is necessary. In fact, when you build an AR from scratch, you have to purchase all of it. Parts are available individually and in associated parts kit form, like […]

I couldn’t help but think that the Vanguard Series 2 Back Country was a bit of a Vanguard – Mark V Vulcan Mind Meld, drawing the product lines closer together. The Back Country utilizes the alloy steel Vanguard action and 24″ barrel, but the barrel is fluted and the barreled […]

Some folks emailed regarding torque compensation for the drive offset on the combo wrench. Actually, the placement of the drive slot on the wrench handle and the plane of the handle are irrelevant. The only requirement is that the torque wrench handle be rotated to a start position where the […]

Barrel selection for any firearm can be very subjective and application driven with lots of conflicting theory. As a personal firearm build, a JP Supermatch™ barrel was selected. It is made of Teflon finished 416 stainless steel and is: lead lapped, air-gauged and cryogenically treated for thermal stability. Prior experience […]

The handloading exercise with the 6.5×55 Swedish Mauser yielded good results and workable fall hunting season component combinations. However, there were also a couple of assumptions made that I wanted to prove out before moving on to the 260 Remington. “Joe, you’re rambling here. What does that mean?”  Gees, let […]

When we left off on Part 1, the Forward Assist and Ejection Port Cover had been installed and Batman and Robin has been tied to an atomic bomb by the Riddler. Since then, B&R haven’t faired so well, however, we were able to hang some other parts on the project […]