Jarhead Gunsmithing

•jarheadgunsmith@yahoo.com

•Providing General Gunsmithing Services

•Specializing in AR15/M4 Type Rifles

Labor - $25 per hour

Materials – cost plus shipping  plus 5%

Written Appraisals - $10

Minimum  Charge - $25

All services are billed at an hourly rate plus materials unless otherwise noted.

General Shop Services:

  Weapon Function Test

  Remove Fired Case from Chamber

  Remove Live Round Chamber - plus $20.00

  Remove Obstruction from Weapon

  Dents removed from shotgun Barrel

   Legally shorten shotgun barrel 18.5” no shorter do not ask.

  Trigger jobs

  Sling swivel installation

  Stock repair

  Chamber polishing

 

Cleaning:

   Detailed Cleaning - $35 for two day turn around $45 for next day

Metal Finishing: Touch up to Complete re-finish

  Aluma Hyde II in any of nine colors – Hourly rate + Materials, colors other than black will have to be ordered.

  Cold Bluing – Hourly Rate + Materials

Sights:

  Scope Mounting – Hourly rate, customer to supply optics and mounting hardware or I will order anything  requested . Bore Sighting + $10

  Zeroing -  Plus ammunition and target cost.  I will zero with full metal jacket or cheapest ammunition unless otherwise supplied by customer.

AR-15 / M-4orgary Builds:

Customer will have to supply lower receiver as I do not yet have an FFL.  I will build to any specification requested by the customer.  Material cost estimate will be provided as customer will have

pre-pay . 

AR-15 customization - will customize an AR-15 to whatever the customer wants from tactical to target.  No Short Barreled Rifles at this time all NFA laws will apply.

Pistols:

Grip repaired

New Barrels

Slides fitted

MAGPUL

I saw an MOE handguard on a SIG Arms AR-15 clone today.  Man they have come a long way from the guy who wanted a better way to pull magazines from a pouch hence mag-pul. 

Gunsmithing Course Work

I am on my way to getting my offical Gunsmithing Certificate.  I will be putting a flyer together and business cards.  If you are in my neck of the woods and need anything from a rifle cleaned to an AR built holler at me.

.45 ACP is never going away

The Marine Corps for Force Recon and MARSOC (Marine Special Operations Command) has narrowed the selection for new handguns for these units to Colts new 1911 Rail Gun and Springfield Armory's Operator model.  It is good to see this pretty big contract somewhere along the lines of $22 million dollars going to a US company for a change and not FN, Beretta, HK or Sig.  Yes I know that all of the weapons those companies make for the military are made in the states but sometimes it is good to know that US iron mongers can still win contracts.

Just in case anyone was wondering Force Recon and MARSOC have been using special built MEU(SOC) .45.  Regular Marines will still be issued the Beretta 92FS and not the .45

I find it very interesting that every time one of the services looks at new handguns they go back to the .45 caliber which even shooting military full metal jacket rounds does a good job with putting bad guys down.

Olympic Arms

I sent a query to Olympic today to ask for some more details on my rifle since it is no longer carried in their product line.  I was very impressed by Tom their director of sales getting right back to me and requesting more information to better answer my questions.  I think that is flat outstanding I have been a loyal user for a long time and will continue to be.

Thanks Olympic Arms I am truly impressed.  Now if I could just get a flat top upper from them but understand their production is going into their rifles.

OG

My son sent me this thought it was too funny not to share.

It has been decided

Now that I feel like a complete moron the rifle debate has been decided for now.  My Oly arms has a heavy match barrel yes I knew it was a heavy but not a match.  No wonder that sucker weighs so much on the front end. Anyway here is how I am going to lay out my rifle build.
Test to see the max grain bullets that I can shoot without the bullets hitting sideways.  I know it likes 64 grain hollowpoints that I have.  Heck it even shoots junk stuff I have pretty well.
I am going to put the barrel in a nice flattop upper, add a Magpul MOE hand guard. Why not free float, why no massive tactical rail forend? Well this sucker weighs a flat ton already and with the Magpul I can add stuff as I need it and still be light.  I am then going to put a sliding stock on it to try to get the weight down a bit.  There is nothing wrong with a DMR type rifle with a good slider DPMS makes just such a critter and once I get the tube on I can always switch it out.  Find me a good scope I am liking the new Nikon .223 scopes in my price range and get good reviews.  Then one of these days put in a new trigger.  I do not need a two stage target trigger as this is used for home defense but a nice single stage to get the weight down to around 4-5 lbs. 

There you have it.  Finally I have made up my danged mind.  Now just to sell a kidney for the cash.

Learned something new

Learned a new armorers technique for the AR 15 and its clones.  I will be doing it to mine as soon as I get the screws in.  Anyone in NW Arkansas that would like the rear detent takedown spring made into a captive spring let me know.

782 Gear

I am big on having stuff especially a way to hold all of my magazines, knives, general back packing gear etc.  I have finally put together a decent set of 782 gear.  One is for concealed carry days and the other is for well I do not know what it is for but dang it is cool at least to me.

For everyday carry:  I have a Taurus PT111 9mm in a Tagua Taurus holster my spare magazine is carried in a Blackhawk CQC mag case.  I will be adding pepper spray to this as I would rather do that than have to shoot someone and so would the court. I always have a knife of some type.

My field gear is a Red Head hunters Hybrid Pack (not exactly like this as my front pouches are removable). A Desert Storm Era CamelBak, and a Blackhawk chest rig.  Also I have a single Brownells Mag pouch.  I can load out with 10 30 round magazines and 1 20.  Why the 20 you ask cause I like it and I have a box of 64 grain hollow point match bullets in it.  Actually it is down to 17 rounds because of two less deer on the planet.  I can then add knives to taste I keep a older Benchmade folder in my chest rig as well as a flashlight.  My three big carry knifes are a Cold Steel Recon Tanto, Recon Scout, or my old reliable Marine KaBar.  If I want to get silly and heavier I have a Cold Steel Machete Kukri as well.  My dad has thrown a tomahawk on his assault vest which is very cool and would be great on zombies. 

So while it might not be named branded and high speed low drag.  It suits my needs really well and did not cost me four arms and a leg.

Great Idead from the guys at ITS Tactical

Apparently the National Gun Victoms Action Council has decided to boycott Starbucks because they allow legal conceal carry licence holders to bring their firearms into their stores (actually would be real hard to stop but that is a different story).  So the guys at ITS tactical are having a buycott.

Self Guided Bullets

These things are groovy and a little bit spooky.

Sandia Labs has devloped a self guided bullet that they claim can be developed quickly and inexpensively.  With a range of 2000 meters with a claimed accuracy of within 8" at 1000 meters.  It would be time to throw away the ballistic computer, put your laser on the target and bang. 

Here is a picture of it in action. From Sandia's website

Talk about wicked cool

XM-25 and M32 Grenade Launchers

I wonder if they would let me deer hunt with this.   I have posted about this weapon before

When these were first being field tested they were basically hand made now H&K who combined with FN are pretty much making all the coolest toys lately have gotten into the production side of it.
Where is my beloved Corps on this weapon so far mum but they do have this.

The M32 Multiple Shot Grenade Launcher cause sometimes firepower is better than precision.

My SDM

Well as readers know I have been wanting to build my version of an SDM in 5.56 as this is my go to rifle for hunting and zombie defense.  Both of the barrels I had flagged to watch to go on sale...went on sale today and well this weekend we had to play responsible parents and buy an emergency pair of glasses for one of the princes.  Such is life I have waited this long I can continue to wait.

I am torn though is the accuracy potential in free floating the barrel worth it?  I really like the MagPul hand guards.

Oh something groovy I got from Pat
http://splodetv.com/double-bolt-action-rifle

K Zone Targets

Targets are expensive tactical type targets are really expensive running anywhere from $1-$2.  What I am attempting to do is create a kill zone sized target in an inexpensive manner.  Meaning you can tape or staple these targets to anything and it will give the shooter the dimensions of the primary and secondary kill zones for the torso and head of an average sized male (me). 

Also these targets will not freak the wife out by showing the outline and bone structure of a person.  I know my wife is not a fan of that when she shoots.  So if you can substitute the dimensions you get the benefits of a tactical target with the appearance of a regular target.  Once I get the design how I want it and test it I am going to try to sell these for $.25 a piece.  Details to follow.

Gear Check

The Queen and I have two hikes planned for this spring one is an 11 mile float followed by a two day 15 mile backpack with an overnight stay out on the Buffalo river.  This will be an absolutely beautiful float and walk if you have not been to this area it is well worth the trip.  The second is the Devil's Den loop which is a 15 mile loop this is also some beautiful country while it does not have the stunning vistas that the Buffalo area has it is great as well.

Since I am in charge of equipment on these trips of ours I thought it might be a good idea to make sure we have everything we need.  Our last trek turned into a huge adventure as it was over some bad ass bush in the White Rock forest area.  When the trail guide says it is hard believe it as we got whipped.  Anyway on to the gear.  Last time we turned out to be a little heavy in the weight department but that had a lot to do with our sleeping bags weighing 7.5 lbs.  Anyway this is how we are decked out.

Backpacks:
We both use Outdoor products Firefly external frames.  These are very light 3750 cu in. packs that have internal hydration system pouches, two side pockets for .5 liter water bottles. I have only have one complaint the lashing tab on the bottom of my bag is tearing out and that will cause me to have to re-think how we pack.

Boots:
The Queen uses L.L. Bean Waterproof Trail Model Hikers she loves these boots.  She also bought a pair of Teva hiking sandals that she is going to try out this year both in the kayak and the trail. 

My boots blew out last year and I have replaced them with Magnum Cobra 8.0 WPI this boot comes with a four star reviews and was in my price range.  We will see they will be coming in some time this week. 

We have a quality two person tent 8 lbs and each carry our own stoves and a fuel cell which when full is 12.5oz  This makes meals easier as we can both cook and carry more compact mess kits which with the stove weighs 15 oz.

Our biggest issue was bags we have been suffering with 7.5 lbs bags and that just will not do.  We both have Magellan bags good to 32 degrees but like I said they are heavy but were what would could afford last year.  Well we were able to upgrade this year while staying with Magellan bags our are now rated to 30 degrees and only weigh 2.5 lbs. That takes five pounds each off our loads and will let us pack some nice things like binos and a camera.  My Queen required a better sleeping pad than the old blue foam one that I use but it only costs her another 21oz.  She might pack both of them this year but that weight is minimal as the pad I use is only 13.5 oz. 

We each carry a head lamp that weigh 3.5 oz  and have mini lanterns for inside the tent these weigh7.5 oz each.  I also carry a crank powered light just in case.  I do carry a mixed bag of AA and AAA batteries for a total weight of 8oz.  We do not use any light that needs non-standard batteries and while I know the funky lithium's you need for Surefire products are stronger they are also more expensive and harder to find in small country stores. 

We both have Camel back that we just put in the pouch in the back pack.  I have a 100oz and she has a 60 oz plus we both carry several more water bottles and water purification tabs as I am prone to dehydration. 

We carry a small assortment of tools namely a Swiss Army knife 5.5 oz I know where is the Leatherman...I like my SAK actually she carries that and a 7 oz Buck camp knife that I normally carry deer hunting that is a great little knife.  I carry a random pocket knife, a National Geographic folder, and the hatchet (before you tree huggers go all crazy it is mainly to drive tent pegs).  We round out or load out with other small things like a first aid kit, silverware, and spices for the Mountain Home food, and a compass. We have already packed three meals which comes to 16oz.

Dry - No water starting weight is 19lbs for my Queen including pack and boots. My starting weight is a little higher at 26 lbs.  After adding about 10 lbs more with water that is still a reasonable pack weight.  Seeing as neither one of use is carrying a rifle the weight is really managable.

We finally bought some real hiking clothes, she got Adidas and Columbia I got Magellan and BGT. I will let everyone know how those turned out as well. 

If anyone has an suggestions please let me know as I am always willing to listen and learn.

Fast and Furious

Looks like Holder is getting grilled but good today.  This operation was failed from the begining there should be people going to prison over this but that will not happen.  Not only were they allowing weapons to be shipped into Mexico bought by felons but did not bother to tell the Mexican government that by the way we are shipping over 2000 weapons into your country.  This has resulted in hundreds of Mexican nationals being killed and one US border agent. 

Sadly further documentation has shown that the BHO administration was going to use this as a way to try and futher gun control. 

German AR15 MR556A1

Well Heckler and Koch has finally started selling the civilian offspring of the HK416 which is a piston driven M4 carbine.  The US Navy SEALs and Delta have both selected this weapon as their carbine of choice usually with a 14.5" or shorter barrel.  It seems the SEALs have something for a 10" rifle and it was one of these the did in OBL so I guess they work. 

Here is what H&K has to say about it:  "A direct descendant of the HK416, the MR556A1 is a semi-automatic rifle developed by Heckler & Koch as a premium level commercial/civilian firearm with match rifle capability. Like the HK416, the MR556A1 is a major product improvement over conventional AR-type carbines and rifles."

Anyway on to the civilian MR556A1 granted I have not handled one and at around $3000 retail I doubt I will, yes I said $3000 for a AR15 carbine.  From the reviews I have read it is piece of beautiful German engineering.

Here are the specs
16.5" Moly cold hammer forged barrel with no chrome lining (unless you refuse to clean your rifle you do not need this anyway).
Free float rail system
Iron back up sights
Six Position collapsible stock
So basically everything we expect from an M4 clone.

Here is what is also has:
It weighs 8.5lbs EMPTY!!! The full sized M16A4 weigh 7.18 lbs empty tack on 1lbs for loaded magazine tack on a pound for an ACOG scope and you are only at 9 lbs. Put basic accessories on the MR556A1 and you are looking at a 10lbs carbine.  I thought we wanted a carbine here.  Also the take down pins are captive and require a special tool that is supplied in the butt stock.  So if you do not like the stock and swap it you have to have a different place to keep this special tool.  However these pins are removable and can be replaced with normal take down pins.  With the gas piston system it raises the profile of the rifle therefore requiring special optics mounts to attain the ideal 2" above bore level.  LaRue Tactical makes mounts that account for.

However all the reviews I have read say this thing is like shooting a tank as in solid, it has a match grade barrel, and is utterly reliable.  That says a lot right there.  I wonder though if the Germans left in the crazy detent and spring for the take down pin?

If you want an utterly reliable AR platform weapon and you have $3000 for the rifle plus accessories this is the rifle for you.  This weapon more expensive than the Remington/Bushmaster ACR and the FN SCAR series of rifles.  Folks there are very reliable ARs out there and you could build/buy two of them for the cost of one of these rifles but you are buying a Rolex not a Timex.