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Gunsmithing (no politics)

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pwhodges:
It can be seen in the gun control discussion in Discuss that we have a couple of enthusiastic gunsmiths on this forum.  It seems to me that the discussions they have on the subject of gunsmithing itself do not really belong in that thread, and so it is suggested that they should continue that discussion of their interest in this forum, for which purpose I have created this thread.  Anyone who feels uncomfortable with details of guns is free to avoid reading this thread, of course.  The established forum rules about picturing guns remain in place outside this thread: pictures that show guns simply for their own sake are not allowed; but in this thread pictures can be included that help to explain a point being made or demonstrate the result of a technique being discussed.  The politics of guns must remain in Discuss, though factual statement or clarification of regulations affecting gunsmithing may be appropriate here.

GarandMarine:
So I had to think about my first post in here, I'd like to thank the mod staff for letting us do this.

Suppressors (or silencers as they're commonly called) seem to be a confusing subject for a lot of people, thanks to Hollywood the average individual, even those who have had some experience with firearms have a lot of misconceptions about these simply safety devices. So I think I'm going to open up with a little mythbusting. The following video is an excellent mechanical explanation of what's going on with the firearm when you're using a suppressor.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-keuXw5xfRsSo the mechanical properties are pretty simple, but the restrictions on these tools are a little ridiculous. Assuming your weapon is threaded to allow for a silencer there's an $200 dollar additional tax to be payed, as well as filling out the ATF paperwork required to purchase one. Despite the name in Hollywood a silencer doesn't really silence the weapon, even in small caliber .22s with sub sonic ammunition there's still noise. Some specialty built weapons like the De Lisle carbine from WW2 all but eliminated sound, but were purpose built to this regard, utilizing integral suppressors. There's a decent benefit to shooters who are interested in the system, hunting in particular can allow for a second follow up shot, as game usually has trouble locating the source of sound for a well suppressed shot, giving a hunter a second chance on a miss, it also allows for the hunter to risk shooting without ear plugs, opening up more of your senses and saving you motions to go "ears on" if you've been listening. The recoil reduction can also be desirable for some shooters, but the primary benefit lies in being able to shoot all you want without super sonic cracks going off in your ear all the time. I've been shooting my entire life and I haven't protected my ears the way I should have, it does make an impact.

Now some more general knowledge websites:
Guns In America (short over view of every state's firearms laws): http://www.homesecurity.org/blog/guns-in-america-how-to-buy-sell-shoot-in-every-state/
Opencarry.org: http://www.opencarry.org/?page_id=101 Slightly more detailed maps breaking down laws by state, the rest of the website has a ton of law information and other useful materials.
Doc GKR: http://www.m4carbine.net/forumdisplay.php?f=91 Doc GKR is a Dentist, expert ballistician and active shooter, the threads herein concern duty rounds, carry, self defense and most importantly terminal ballistics, which is to say what the bullet does when you hit what you're aiming at. Now this information's fairly important to a shooter, and a defensive shooter in particular and this information's a gold mine (I picked the loads and rounds I wanted to test for my own CCW based on Doc's recommendations and eventually settled on Winchester Ranger JHPs) but... they can be kinda squicky. So if you have a weak stomach or aren't a fan of this whole gun thing in general, do yourself a favor and skip this link.

GarandMarine:
So I recently built an AR-15 from a parts kit. Why would you do that? It's fulfilling to put them together because it is absolutely yours. You need a couple basic tools and a castle nut wrench depending on how "from parts" you're going. You can technically purchase every portion of an AR-15 "a la carte" so to speak. In my case I purchased a complete upper receiver (barrel, gas system, etc are all pre installed, etc) and a stripped "lower receiver" the former you can have mailed to you, while the latter is actually what the ATF considered "the firearm" and requires you to go through an FFL. As stripped might imply you'll then need a lower parts kit, buffer tube (and attendant parts) and a stock to to make a complete lower receiver.

AR-15s are jokingly referred to by enthusiasts in the United States as "Barbie Dolls for men" because of the mind blowing number of options for pretty much every single part of the "base" rifle and the unlimited number of accessories you can add.


So in this picture we get a pretty decent look at the parts kit. At the top is the upper, with the charging handle and bolt carrier group laying next to it. Immediately below it is the stripped lower receiver, and to the left of that is my new flash hider, to replace the "standard" style flash hider/compensator presently on the rifle. To the left of that are the parts that make up the buffer, buffer tube stock and the pistol grip. To the right of the pistol grip is the dissembled trigger mechanism the various small parts bags and finally on the far right, the rear sights. If you want to see the full process on how a lower gets put together just give it a quick search on youtube, there's some great instructional videos on there. Otherwise here's my completed AR-15.

Method of Madness:
How long did it take to assemble?

GarandMarine:
Roughly 30-45 minutes? I've spent longer on more complex lego kits.

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