FINIS

It's been a while in the works, but the Delicate Flower AR is finally done!

Without further ado:












For the gun geeks:
York Arms lower receiver
MAGS EFX stock (A1-length)
KNS Gen2/Mod2 pins
Battle Arms Development Ambi Safety
ERGO overmold grip
Stag 3H post-ban upper

Colors are Lauer's DuraCoat in Purple Goddess, Bronx Rose, Sunburst Yellow, and Tactical Extreme Gray.

I'm pretty damn happy with how this came out; it meant a whole lot of hours in the spray booth and a lot of patience with masking and cutting and so forth.

Color Shot

So, as I blurted yesterday, the lower arrived. My dealer emailed me around noon to let me know he had it; we traded a couple emails about time, and I was at his door at 2:00 to pick it up. 4473, phone call, process done in ten minutes.

I had commitments for the afternoon, so couldn't get right to the spray booth, but when I got home I snapped a few pictures:

In case there's any question about the capabilities of Wally and York Arms: don't worry. The little burbles in that flower were 100% me; things I didn't clean up and correct in the original drawing and didn't think would transfer. They do. So make sure your artwork is CLEAN.

After I finished these pictures, I gritted my teeth and took a ScotchBrite pad to the lower. Not fun, but necessary prep for DuraCoat. Degreased, and then it was off to the spray booth. First a coat of white:

And a shot of purple went on afterwards. No pictures of that because it was still hanging to dry (the buffer detent hole is a perfect spot to hang a lower from, by the by). As careful as I was to get the coat even and clean, I still found a spot I missed when I checked it this morning. I'll mix up a tiny batch of purple when I get home tonight and touch it up.

It arrives!

Hey, Wally... It's here. Already in the spray booth with the first base coat done. :-D

Woooo

I just got a shipping notice from York Arms. YES!

Epic ... Just Epic

As previously mentioned, I was heading up to NH for the Second-ish Annual Northeast Bloggershoot.

I got up Saturday morning and loaded the truck (after re-locating the pile o' gear I had set aside the morning before, and MrsZ had helpfully put back into appropriate places), then headed for Major Caudill's place. The first part of the drive was fine - some minor construction on I88, but nothing serious. Just north of Albany, the confusion began.

Mapquest directions had me taking an exit off I87 towards Bennington and taking the scenic tour across southern Vermont. TomTom wanted me to continue north on I87 for another 40 miles. I followed the Mapquest version, and wound my way up and down across Vermont, most of the time stuck behind tourists and other slow drivers who were busy taking in the scenery - there doesn't seem to be an interstate that goes East-West across VT, or at least not in a convenient spot. I eventually made it on to I91 and then I89 and arrived at Marko's just in time for dinner with his lovely wife and two sweet kids.

After dinner we moseyed into town for a cup of coffee and his postponed Dadcation, gassed up his people-mover, and I grabbed a couple sundries I'd forgotten in my packing haste (toothbrush is a good thing). Back to Castle Frostbite, and bed. I had been assured that a 2- and 4-year-old would negate the need for an alarm clock, so I didn't set one - and was awoken the next morning by Marko knocking on the door... Seems the kids decided to sleep in too.

A quick breakfast (waffles from scratch!), and we transferred my pile o' hardware to Marko's van, and headed towards the range. Picked up another shooter along the way, and off to DoubleTrouble's SooperSekrit range...

We arrived around 11:45, and made introductions as necessary. Some folks (I'm looking at you, JayG) needed no introduction. Quite a group - and a wildly impressive collection of hardware. C&R galore, black rifles galore, bottom-feeders, wheelguns, leverguns, single-shots ... rifles, pistols, shotguns, NFA ... Oh yes, my friends, there were rifles with a giggle-switch, and pistols and rifles with suppressors, and a short-barreled shotgun... bayonets hither and yon, on rifles, on shotguns, on pistols... and on an Uzi. Yes, a REAL Uzi. Short-barrel, full-auto, folding stock.

And ALL of this hardware is 100% legal where we were - in NH.

Several folks tried the hardware I'd brought along, I tried many other pieces of hardware (NAA Mini - that's a hoot!) and got to shoot the full-auto AR. Fun - VERY fun - but I could never afford to feed one even if I could own it here in NY. Owning a full-auto gun - of any kind - and shooting it semi-auto only is like (to quote Marko) owning a Porsche and driving it at exactly 55mph all the time. What's the point?

There was an unofficial BOOM contest - which was handily won by the Ruger Super Alaskan in .454 Casull. Holy wrist-wrench... but surprisingly manageable for what it was. Still, stiff. I didn't get a chance to shoot the Snubbie From Hell, but I expect there will be another opportunity sometime.

After burning ammo for several hours, completely demolishing the Pikachu (see the other AARs for that tidbit) and several Zeds, and enjoying some great time with awesome folks, we loaded up Marko's mover again, and headed back to Castle Frostbite. Once there, I swapped my hardware and ammo back into my truck and headed back to the southwest. I left his place in a light rain around 7:30. It rained all the way across Vermont - and this time I tried the TomTom directions just for variety. It took me out across Vermont, through Woodstock, Rutland, and I picked up I87 in Glens Falls or thereabouts. It rained the whole damn time - and those mountains in Vermont only make it darker. I stopped in Rutland for a quick bite and gas and kept on moving...

Sometime after 11 I made it through Cobleskill and was getting sleepy; I found the next rest area and pulled off just before midnight. No late-night adventures in this one, unlike the trip to Rochester earlier this year, but I dozed for a couple hours with a Condition-1 1911 in very easy reach. About 1:15 or 1:30 I woke up, tried to sleep some more, and finally gave up around 2. One last trip to the bog, and off I went for home. The roads are nearly empty at that hour on a Monday morning, and I made good time; cruise set around 75 and rocked and rolled. Got a cursory inspection from a trooper somewhere along the way; I noticed a car pacing me in the left lane and eight or ten car-lengths back, then noticed the inside-the-headlight front marker lights ... notched two off the cruise and waited, sure enough, the blue'n'gold CVPI went tooling on by. He took the next exit and I put the two back on the cruise and kept going. Cross-country for the last seventy miles, and rolled in the driveway just after 4am.

I can't begin to explain how much fun I had on this trip, and how great it was to put faces along with names and meet some new folks.

The official list of attendees:
JayG from MArooned
Bruce from No Looking Backwards
Doubletrouble from Rattail Bastard and Mrs. doubletrouble
Weer'd Beard from Weer'd World Arrrr
Lissa from Looking for Lissa
Borepatch from Bore Patch and #2 son
David from Fighting for Liberty
JD from Tekmage's Blog
Marko from The Munchkin Wrangler
TOTWTYTR from Too Old To Work, Too Young To Retire
zeeke42 from Young and Crotchety
Commenter Wally
Mopar and Mrs. Mopar
Scotaku from Scotaku in America
Paul from State Line Guns
Commenter Andrew, his mother Barbara, and his son Matthew (the youngest shooter!)
Meataxe from Men are not Potatoes
Commenter stickman
Commenter Libertyman
Zercool from Panum et Circenses... et Plumbum

All of you, welcome to the blogroll!

I took a few pictures, and a minute or two of video (before the battery died on the camcorder), but they all have far more stuff up than I could. Oh, and all of you - feel free to post pictures of me and/or my hardware if you like. And if there are any pictures of me, I'd love to have a copy if you don't mind!

If I have a moment tomorrow I'll try to post a picture of the pile o' stuff I brought - goodness knows I brought WAY too much ammo.

Appleseed - New Bremen

This weekend was our third Appleseed this year. This time in New Breman (Bremen?) NY - a speed trap about 30 miles from Watertown NY, and about 90 minutes from Syracuse NY. We'd shot there last fall and had a great time on a nice if somewhat simple facility.

I spent Friday packing the truck and getting things ready so we could leave when MrsZ got home from work. Rifles - check. Ammo - check. Tent - check. Sleeping bags - check. Air mattress - check. Food - check. Etc etc. MrsZ got home around 4:45, we tossed the last few things in the truck, took a shower, and headed out the door. One stop for ice and gas, and we arrived at the range around 8:30. Set up the tent and scooted back into town to grab some fast food for dinner. Came back and talked with the other instructors for a bit, then crawled into bed and passed out.

I woke up to the sound of something snuffling around the edges of the tent while it was still early - light, but early. One hand reached for my glasses while the other went for the (holstered condition 3) 1911 - this is the edge of the Adirondacks and legitimate bear country. No food in the tent, of course, but who knows what may get attention from a critter. As I sat up in bed whatever it was snorted and gallumphed off into the woods. I laid down to sleep again and the whippoorwills in the trees started in. So much for a restful night...

I got up and got dressed, started the coffee (camp percolator on a propane stove on the tailgate), and started nosing around looking for tracks. Found ... nothing. Damp sandy soil showed my boot prints easily, and I expected anything heavier than a squirrel should make decent impressions. Nothing. Hm. *shrug*

Drank coffee and watched the world lighten up in the mist, other shooters and instructors stirring and rising, and went in for breakfast.

We ended up with six shooters on the line for the weekend - four individuals and a father-son pair. Six instructors. Can you say "lots of individual attention"? Scores were all over to begin with, then we got folks settled down and zeroed and started going through the instruction. By the end of Saturday we'd knocked out about 380 rounds and one rifleman.

Sunday morning we got going again, and kept up the grind. By 2pm we'd punched out another rifleman, and about 500 more rounds. Yeah, that's right, 880 rounds in two days. It's a northeast thing. We wrapped up the "official" instruction at that point and swapped to full-distance. Checked zeros on the 25m line for the centerfires, and then moved folks over to 300/375yd. Seeing people makes consistent hits - just awesome. Wrapped up, packed up, and headed for home.

I've got to do some paperwork in the coming week, and they're going to take away my orange hat (Instructor in Training) and give me a red hat (Instructor). Eep.

Side note: I brought out my AR for some work at 25m initially to check zero, and had a nasty little malfunction. Cruising along and it suddenly stopped working - bolt locked halfway open. Looked and there was a round that wasn't feeding. Slammed the FA a couple times, no change. Worked the charging handle, no change. Looked closer, and sure enough, there was already a chambered (live) round... fidgeted out the half-fed case (now bent too far to feed), run the bolt forward - won't extract. Extractor looks ok, but try a couple more times. No joy. Pop the takedown pin - rifle won't take down.

Popped the pivot pin and yanked the upper off... round still stuck in the chamber. Grabbed a dammit stick, dropped that, and the live round dropped right out without a fuss. Put the bolt assembly back in, but it won't seat. Examine bolt closely. Looks fine. Locking lugs on chamber look fine ... wait - what's that shiny spot? A bit of quick work with a Leatherman tool and out popped ... a blown primer. Dug through my pile of brass to confirm, and sure enough, there was the primerless case.

I've heard of blown primers. Never seen one on my own equipment. The standard place for them to lodge is in the trigger assembly or charging handle slot. This one was waaaaay up there and was not obvious until serious close inspection - and the rifle was completely non-functional. Ammo was Federal XM193BK (bulk packaged instead of 20-round boxes). Crimped primers, LC09 brass, 55gr FMJ. I have the case and primer and will send it along to Federal for their information... in the slight hopes they might send me a box of love. :-)

After clearing that, rifle went through two mags without issue - although it needs to be hosed out. Trigger was full of grit and crud.

Search term round-up

Aside from a brief Tamalanche early after installing Sitemeter, a normal day here has been ... slow. That's likely due to not updating daily. I do get a fairly regular stream of hits from google searches, though, and a la the Munchkin Wrangler, I'll post a few highlights.


small rifle primers

The little round thing in the back of a centerfire cartridge that's struck by the firing pin and ignites your gunpowder. There are at least eight different sizes - small and large rifle and pistol, and magnum/non-magnum variants of each. Small rifle primers are used, in particular, in .223Rem/5.56NATO, which is pretty rare these days. If you have primers, count yourself lucky. PowderValley claims they have backorders for 50,000,000 primers, and they're not the only ones.


kns hooded front sight match approved

I'd suggest checking the rules of the particular match you are entering, as NRA Highpower has different rules from Benchrest and Smallbore and so on.


a2 rear sight jpg 0-2

I don't have pictures of them, but try the Google image search. Or look at an AR - the flip-up rear aperture with the larger hole (0.200" diameter) is the 0-2, and is conveniently labeled as such. It's not a precision aperture, but is designed for limited visibility and moving targets. It also has a different zero from the small aperture.


wolf 223 stuck

A frequent issue, particularly with tight chambers. Older Wolf ammo, along with some of the various "Bear" ammo, is lacquer-coated. At higher rates of fire, the chamber gets hot enough to melt this lacquer and effectively glue a round in place. Clear your rifle, remove the bolt if possible, and CAREFULLY tap the round out with a brass rod from the muzzle end. Use acetone to clean your chamber and dissolve the lacquer, then a chamber brush and normal cleaning procedures... and then stop shooting crap ammo in a good rifle. Save the Wolf for the Mini14 and .223 AKs.


hooded cross hair front sight for 22 rifle

Swap your crap Ruger factory sights for a set of Tech-Sights, and the front sight tower accepts all standard AR front posts, including the KNS hooded crosshair.


walmart pistol primers

Walmart doesn't have store-branded gun anything. Not ammo, not primers, not nothing. Some Walmarts apparently do sell reloading components, but I've never seen it.


kns with rra 2 stage trigger

Well, KNS doesn't make lowers. If you mean KNS anti-rotational pins with a RRA trigger, it should work fine. The pins are standard diameter, as are the triggers. The pins just look fancy and mean you need one more tool in order to disassemble your rifle if something breaks.


5.56 a2 rifle insert notes lesson 6

I see you're in the UK. Naughty, naughty! I'm not sure where you're inserting that A2, or why you need notes, but apparently you've made it to lesson 6, and that takes some dedication. Keep practicing and you'll get there!


And that concludes the highlights of this set of search terms...

An Appleseed Weekend

As I mentioned in Friday's post, we were doing the Appleseed thing this weekend. We made it out the door roughly on schedule and had things set up in good time when we arrived. The range was already set up and ready to go, so we simply popped up the canopy near the firing line and then set our tent up near our host's house. Other instructors were arriving at the same time along with a couple shooters, so there was chatter and some planning, and just good times.

Sleeping in a tent puts you back in touch with the world. I tend to forget how insulated we are living in a house. We fell asleep to the sound of peepers, bullfrogs, and the occasional quiet moo from the pasture across the road.

We woke up at early-dark-thirty to the distinctive screaming whine of a pack of rice rockets tearing up the highway nearby. In a valley, so the noise started early and lasted a long time. Rolled over and went back to sleep...

... and woke up around 6:30 as it really got light out. Rolled out, dressed, joined our hosts and other instructors for breakfast and coffee, then moved up the hill to the range to greet the shooters and get things rolling. A good mix of new and repeat Appleseeders, along with at least a few very new shooters. (One step past, "Wait, which end goes bang?") Nice mix of equipment as well; mostly 10/22s of various flavors, a few ARs, and one fellow (a repeat from last year) shooting a Remington 700 in .270.

Saturday, all work was at 25m, and we ground the basics into our shooters. Six steps, NPOA, getting sights and scopes zeroed, and a good dose of history from 4/19/1775. Managed to squeeze in a couple AQTs before the end of the day, and punched out two Riflemen with them. Weather was perfect all day even though storms had been forecast - and just as we closed things down, the skies darkened, the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle on and off. A pretty good storm moved down the valley with some impressive fireworks as the instructors enjoyed dinner courtesy of our host (an instructor) and his wife. MrsZ and I moved out to the tent around 9:30 or 10:00 and listened to the rain patter gently and watched the sky flash as the valley rumbled. Something about storms in a tent...

Woke up Sunday around 5 for natural reasons. Took care of that and noted that the entire valley was in thick fog. Went back to sleep for another hour and a half, and when I woke up, it was still a soft gray world of ghostly shapes. Our tent was perhaps 200yd from the firing line and canopies - and those were invisible. An apple tree 100yd up the field from us was a mere suggestion of shape. Not ideal shooting weather... but we went in for breakfast and coffee, and ignored the weather.

It cleared as we ate, and ended up being another beautiful sunny day. Fewer shooters, but all motivated, and cranked out three more Riflemen. Following that, we went to full-distance shooting. Stretched out the .22 shooters to 100yd, and the centerfires to 200, 275, and 500yd. The .22 shooters were turning in respectable groups on the 100m target, scaled equivalent to shooting 400m. A few were making good shots on the (scaled) 800m and 1200m targets. Impressive, to say the least.

Centerfires were playing with a 6" popper at 200yd, a full-size Army "D" target at 275, and a steel copy of an IDPA silhouette at 500yd. I watched one of our IITs, an outstanding young man at 14yo, get prone behind his father's CMP Garand and start making solid hits - consistently - on the 500yd target. Prone, unsupported, iron sights, with surplus ball ammo. The M1 Garand: The finest battle implement ever devised. (Gen. George Patton) MrsZ slung up with my AR and got it dialed in for the 275yd D-target and made some good hits; a few other shooters ran a half-mag through and did OK with it.

We made the official end of the day at that point, but there was more fun to be had... two folks had brought out .50BMG single-shots, and there was a small supply of Tannerite. The Tannerite was mixed and put out at about 100yd in three .5L water bottles. The centerfire shooters were split into three fire teams and given one minute to hit their assigned bottle. I claimed privilege on this and jumped on a fire team instead of watching. Slung up sitting so I could see over the grass, loaded a mag, and the third shot connected perfectly. Yeah, that was cool... the sound effect was *crack* pause *crack* pause *craBOOM!* "BOOOYAHHHHH!" (with fist-pump for effect)

After we finished the Tannerite, the .50s came into play. The owners did a simultaneous volley on the 500yd target (with two good hits), then let those who wanted to have a go at it. I had shot one last year so declined - they're cool but I don't want to burn someone else's money and generosity for no reason. MrsZ took a turn at one though - and the look on her face after was freaking priceless.

Took down the range, packed the truck, and headed home - sore, sunburned, dehydrated, hoarse, and happy. This morning we slept in a little bit, then after showers we got around to cleaning rifles. Her 10/22 was desperate for it, and now MrsZ knows how to strip and clean her rifle. We did this outside because it was nice out. I cleaned my AR at the same time. While cleaning the barrel and chamber, I had set the BCG on a towel on the sidewalk. In the sun. After cleaning the barrel/chamber/receiver to my minimum standard, I picked up the BCG to start cleaning that... and promptly burned my finger. Not much, just enough to turn red and hurt a little. I don't know how our men and women in the sandbox deal with that - I presume they must wear gloves.

Range results

Took the AR (I need to name this rifle) to the range today. My range is a friend's cornfield and open whenever I feel like shooting. No fancy berms, benches, target stands or hangers... just a nice hillside.

I hung a bullseye at a roughly paced 25m (see above range notes), put out my mat, slung up and got prone. Checked NPOA and felt good, moved the rear aperture to 8/3+1, and squeezed off five rounds.

The result is this:


I marked the shots, although it's somewhat washed out. The far right shot was a called flier, the other four were pretty much spot on, but a touch high. I turned the front sight up two clicks and tried again, but didn't take the time to check NPOA. See the results? Yuck.

Shot a couple Appleseed Redcoat and Classification AQT targets... I cleaned the 100, 200, and 300m targets comfortably. The 400 ... ain't there. It just doesn't appear for me through the aperture, because it's green on beige and I'm partly colorblind to greens. Too much is obscured even by that .010" crosshair front aperture for me to find the right blur.

(All shots were Federal XM193BK 55gr FMJ.)

I've a feeling I'd actually do better with a full-distance 400m target... but we shall see next month when I go to New Breman (Bremen).

50-ish rounds and zero ammo-related failures; a couple magazine problems prevented the first round from feeding properly. I'm hoping they break in better. (C-Products aluminum 10-round.)

A slow build-up

After the disaster with the Wolf ammo in my new AR, I started the search for brass .223 at a (relatively) decent price. I picked up some PMC and UMC locally as mentioned before, but kept looking.

Finally, I found a store online (LTDammo.com) that had stock of Federal XM193BK. $400/1000. I checked one other place (PalmettoStateArmory.com) who also had stock of the XM193 ($380/1000) and of PMC Bronze ($77/200). I did some waffling and debating, and finally asked the wife if she would have a cow if I spent a chunk on ammo right before we apply for a mortgage. She sighed and told me to go ahead - and to use her credit card to do it! *boggle*

By the time I placed the order, PSA had sold out of the XM193 and PMC. I sighed and coughed up the extra twenty bucks for it from LTD. Order placed and confirmed the afternoon of 5/11. Shipped 5/13. Arrived (as usual) fifteen minutes after I left for work on Saturday (FedEx Home Delivery works on Saturdays but not Mondays).

XM193BK is bulk-packed XM193. Loose packed. Arfcom has had some reports of damaged cartridges in the bulk pack. I made a quick sample check when I got home and found no more than a few minor dings in a couple cartridges, certainly nothing I'd worry about chambering and firing.

Yesterday a range trip was not an option. Today the weather looks good (albeit slightly chilly) and I may head out to check function and zero with the XM193...

Toy Store Score, Part II

Some inquiries with other reloaders found me a potential source for small rifle primers. Said source is willing to trade their small rifle primers for either large rifle or large pistol primers.

I called my pusher last night and had him set aside a couple boxes of large rifle primers. Went down this morning and picked those up. While I was there, I noticed that he still had a set of RCBS .223Rem dies on the shelf ... so those came home with me. Midway pushed back the backorder date on the dies I had ordered, so I'll cancel those. I also found a second reloading tray so I can work on 100 rounds at a whack instead of 50. And, last but not least ... he had bulk packs of CCI Blazer .22. $20/per, but "a little more expensive" beats the hell out of Walmart's "empty shelf". Three of those came home with me.

Dear Wife and I shoot Appleseed several times per year - we're currently scheduled to instruct two more (this month and next), plus Dear Wife is doing an all-women Appleseed in Iowa at the end of this month. I expect we'll add more as the year goes on and our time-off schedule is sorted out. In any case, instructing at an Appleseed means having an extra brick or two of .22 for the shooters who run out (for sale, not donation), and shooting an Appleseed weekend means just shy of three bricks for the two of us.

I also managed to score yesterday - one of several places I'd been keeping an eye on for ammo had cases of Federal XM193 for $399. I grabbed one. It sold out between my order and six hours later. No shock.

Confirmed that my pusher has ready availability of the powder I will be loading .223 with. I have brass. I have about 600 bullets. Have one pound of powder for working up loads and will buy a keg when that's running low. I need to order some heavier bullets if I can find them in stock - 55gr is a fine plinking round, but out beyond 300m or so it's not going to shoot so well. Midway had stock on Barnes TripleShock 72gr, which will be fine for nuisance deer hunting, but I'd really like to find some 62gr BTHP at a reasonable price. I may grab a box or two of the 75gr and 80gr match bullets to see how far I can really stretch this AR...

Gun Porn and A Range Report

I replaced the sight pin on the AR today. Took out the default .0-whatever square post and replaced it with a KNS Hooded Duplex Reticle. Wow... a .010" crosshair with rifle sight radius? Freakin' amazing. Appleseed teaches "focus your eye on the front sight" - well, it's almost impossible not to with this bad boy. It's just ... there. And given the human nature of centering circle-in-circle, it just lines right up.

That done, I snapped a few pictures, and headed off to the range to function check and zero.

Function check: load one round in a magazine, insert in rifle, work charging handle, chamber round, safety on, pull trigger - nothing. Safety off, pull trigger - BANG, and bolt locks back. Good. Drop mag, load two rounds in magazine, insert, charge, pull trigger and hold - BANG ... Good. Release trigger, feel sear reset, pull trigger - BANG. Bolt locks back. Good.

Stapled up a sighter target at 25m, loaded five rounds, got slung up (note to self: order a Turner Sling!), get prone, check NPOA, focus ... squeeze ... BANG. Breathe. Hold. BANG. Breath. Hold. BANG. Etc.

Check group. About 1.5" excluding a called flier. Four inches low and two right. Adjust front sight for elevation, rear for windage, load five, repeat.

Elevation is spot on, windage still a hair right. Adjust windage, load five, repeat...

Prone. NPOA. Breathe. Focus. Squeeze. BANG. Breathe. Focus. Squeeze. CLICK. *BWAH?*

Work charging handle. Nothing comes out. Hm. Misfeed? Look. Spent round in chamber, rim ripped off by extractor. Sonofa ... No DammitStick in my truck or range bag, either. *swear some more* Remove upper, try to remove round with Leatherman tool and harsh words. No joy. *swear some more*

Packed up, headed home, stuck a brass rod down, and stuck case was removed in about thirty seconds. I will now have a brass rod in my truck at all times.

Lessons learned:
- This rifle is quite accurate. I expect when I have a dialed-in sight and hand loads with a proper sling, I will turn in pretty respectable scores.
- A DammitStick MUST be in my range bag from now on. This is the first stuck casing I've had in ANY of my firearms. EVER.
- Wolf .223 with a steel case really should not go in my AR, since that (steel casing) seems to be the reason the rim tore off. I have dies on order, have brass and bullets, need primers (HA!) and powder (double HA!).
- Wolf works fine in a Mini-14. It can stay there. I now have a near-lifetime supply of ammo for my Mini-14, since it is no match gun and will be relegated to utility work.

And now, on with the gun porn!
(Click to embiggen.)










Specs and particulars:
Lower: Territorial Gunsmith Limited Edition 2nd Amendment lower. #215 of 232. (Wife has 216.)
Lower Parts: M-A Parts. (Trigger is lousy. Considering upgrade.)
Grip: ERGO SureGrip right-hand.
Stock: Spec A2, rifle buffer.
Upper: DPMS DCM post-ban, 20" 1:8 stainless bull barrel, .223Rem, NM rear sight. Replaced front post with KNS reticle as mentioned above.
Magazine: PRE-BAN (it's dated 6/91) 30rd GI. I'll be ordering a pile of 10-round mags soon.

Engraving on the lower was part of the 2A edition. Color fill on roll marks is mine.