Brownell's makes a reasonably faithful copy with a lot of original features, including that 20" barrel. GREAT physical by SOTAR on one
Whats really funny, and with out even a little sense of irony here, there is ONE little Carbine out there that has faithfully done everything we here are asking, that's the little M-1 Carbine! You get the right combo of parts and set up, you got one very reliable little fighting carbine that packs a punch. Only real problem is the ammo isn't really all that good, and they take some serious work to suppress properly, but still,........ My old Remington Mod-8 is perfection, in it's two pieces, it's only slightly more then 22 inches and chambered in .308 win, plenty powerful enough for nearly any challenge, and accurate enough to be a serious threat to anyone stupid enough to try me! Mag capacity isn't a big deal, that's 5 rounds of fuck off on board, and reloads are a snap with the stripper clip conversion, much like I came up with for my beloved Winchester 95's! Speaking of the 95's, my .405 is also a take down, and, well, .405 leaves nothing on the table except it's a challenge to suppress, but,...... It could be workable for a few rounds with your ear tucked into your shoulder, the other side will ring for a few hours, but that's better then not having anything to fight with!
Folder build is complete and down to testing and tuning the buffer and spring combo. I've decided to call this project the "Crack Weasel" due to it's Honey Badger inspiration. Remember this is a fairly specialized set up to allow for concealed carry in an urban environment. If you are a rural Monkey it could be useful for trips into town during a transition to a breakdown into SHTF. Since the firearm is technically a pistol it is lawful to carry concealed in the pack if you are in a Constitutional Carry state or have a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). During SHTF that goes out the window and replace the brace with a compact stock you shoud have on hand. Here is the Vertx Commuter with the folded Crack Weasel inside The bag is a perfect fit for the folded Crack Weasel including the sound mitigating muzzle device. A same length but slightly fatter silencer is currently pending ATF processing. A design goal is to prevent permanent hearing damage when there is no time to allow for hearing protection. Folded Extended: LAW folding stock adapter. A bolt carrier extension is used to allow the bolt carrier to reach the buffer. Easy to install and solid, but stiff at first and requires a little break in. A little focus on the front. There was very little wiggle room so component selection was critical. I'd started with a Midwest Industries clamp style block as they have virtually no leakage, Unfortunately there wasn't enough room for the cross bolts, so a BCM set screw block was used. It just provided enough clearance for the hand guard. The barrier stop had to be installed after the hand guard to keep the M-LOK fasteners behind the gas bloc. To keep this in the pistol category you are not allowed to use a grip in the hand guard. Hand stops and barrier stops are allowed, and the Magpul barrier stop does both. It's mainly to prevent your hand from accidentally getting in front of the 6" barrel. Why 300 Blackout Supersonic? Why Not 5.56? The 6" barrel length pretty much rules out 5.56. 300 BO is very efficient and is much more tolerant of shortened barrels. There is still a fair amount of velocity loss so supersonic ammunition is needed to provide more energy to make up for it. For my defensive use I'm running Sig 120 grain solid copper designed for the similar Sig Rattler. To keep from mixing my 300 BO subsonics and supersonics with 5.56 I'm using the following scheme to keeo them straightened out: 300 BO subsonics go in opaque FDE Lancer Mags only 300 BO supersonics go in translucent smoke Lancer Mags only 5.56 goes in everything else. This is important because 300 BO will chamber in 5.56/.223, but that 30 cal bullet in a 22 cal barrel will cause very bad things to happen. Sights: A red dot or open sights would be a natural, but prior to cataract surgery my eyeballs preferred prismatics. Surgery happened after my holiday sales parts purchase so I went with the tried and true. The Primary Arms 3x Raptor is quick and I can shoot it with both eyes open. As a prismatic it's not dependent on batteries. There is no legal restriction (so far) for putting a normal length eye relief on a pistol so it still passes the pistol test. I may switch later to one of the newer red dots. I have a cheap Burris to play with before I decide to make a change. EDIT: See post below For a secondary sight I chose a Votatu P4L-G Picatinny Laser. This green laser is daylight bright and punches well above it's price point. It uses an internal rechargeable battery and has an included magnetic charging cable. The pic mount screws could have been beefier but still hold very snugly. It's very low profile and has a rear mounted momentary or on/off switch on the rear that's in easy thumb reach. The nice thing about a laser is that if you are in a shooting position where you can't get behind the primary optic you can still aim. Part Notes: While you can use any of a number of standard AR parts some parts are critical. Barrel - The Faxon 6" Gunner 300 BO is the best choice due to it's fast twist and large gas port. This provides very good accuracy and a reliable gas system. The fast 5:1 twist results in a 300,000 RPM spin that results in an explosive power transfer much like that of the even faster 8.6 BO. Bolt Carrier Group - The highly efficient Sons of Liberty Gun Works (SOLGW) or it's identical twin from Sionics is a great choice. Each bolt undergoes HPT unlike the majority of manufacturers that test one per batch. These are not only efficient they are highly reliable and run around $150. Buffer System - I'm using a lightweight Tubbs flat spring and a standard weight carbine buffer. I'm tuning this for supersonic suppressed loads and this is my starting point. I'm looking for reliable but smooth so it may take a bit. Others have reported success using a Springco yellow and the JP captured spring system has multiple weight and spring options. The JP is commonly used by competition shooters but is really not considered combat reliable, making it my last resort for tuning. It should still be adequate for this purpose, but I like simple when my life depends on it. Lower Parts Kit - I've been using the CMMG kit for a long time. Most LPK's are good to go, but their take down and pivot pins are a cut above the standard Mil Spec. They include a nice detent on the left side so if you are using a bullet as a tool to open a stubborn one the tip won't slip. They are also slightly longer allowing a better grip on the large side. I've seen similar after market pin sets that aren't any better that cost more that the entire CMMG LPK. Folding Adapter - There are two choices worthy of consideration. The LAW adapter is the gold standard but the Sylvan Arms Gen 3 is just as good. The LAW adapter is steel and you can in an emergency fire one shot folded. Being steel it's also heavy. The Sylvan Arms Gen 3 Adapter is made from 7075 T6 Aluminum same as the receivers and just as strong while being much lighter than the LAW adapter. At the same price I would personally chose the Sylvan for the weight difference. I went with the Law because I got it on a steep sale price in FDE. Preferential Parts - these are small things that add up to better handling and more accurate shooting: Radian Raptor ambi safety - While the standard safety works very well I like the option of using my index finger to manage the safety. I also prefer a 60 degree throw. I looked at and tried several of them but all except the Radian have serious design weaknesses typically depending on fragile fasteners. The Radian is bombproof and has an exceptional feel with very positive surfaces. If it weren't for the Radian I would still be using Mil Spec. Radian SD charging handle - Mil spec works, but again I use ambi charging handles. There are lots of exceptional ones out there, but IMO Radian makes the best. The SD has vents the push gasses upwards to help keep them out of the operator's face during suppressed operation. If I was using a conventional suppressor that provide more back pressure I'd have used a PRI Gas Buster, but they are a bit clunky. Radians are very strong and ergonomic and since I won't have a chambered round in a folded pistol I need something that is quick to charge and the ability to charge with bladed hand on deployment. BCM Mod 0 vertical pistol grip - due to the short pull of shouldering a pistol brace in an emergency a more vertical grip is more comfortable. It's also more comfortable to use when shooting as a pistol. The BCM fits my hand better than the others I have tried and I don't like the extra material that many grips add in the thumb web area. This is something you really want to play around with to get the best fit. But, But, But, it Isn't Black! - Black works just fine, but I prefer to use solids in greens, brown, and grays to break up my AR's. It helps them to blend in (look at the pics above and tell me what parts stand out against the background) and in the case of urban use helps to avoid the black gun hysteria found in people who get their knowledge from shoot 'em up entertainment. In field guns it helps them to stay cooler in the hot sun and they will also cool down a bit faster after shooting as well. Trigger - use what you are comfortable with for self defense. As built it has a high quality single stage (ACT) but a brand new Giessele SSA-E I picked up for a stupid low price just showed up in the mail Sound Mitigation - The current device is a Witt Machine SME. It's basically a robust compensator with a screw on blast forward device. It works by directing sound away from the operator and doing so quickly enough to minimize the noise coming back through the receiver. Not quiet, but not loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage. It's as good as you can get without a suppressor. The suppressor awaiting approval is the Witt Machine Dirty Thirty. It's a compromise due to the necessary compact size (same length as the SME) and works by sending the sound forward away from the operator like the SME but much more effectively. As a flow through device it does not reduce sound to the target and only protects the hearing of the operator. This provides improved hearing protection and the ability to hear during an event such as commands from any responders.
As an update, I tried a few red dots and my vision now supports it. I did some research and selected the Holosun HE510C-GR. This is an awesome and rugged sight. It has a 20,000 to 50,000 hour battery life on a single CR2023 and a solar charging system that will let it operate during daylight even if the batteries die. It has shake awake to further preserve battery life, a built in QD mount, a titanium outer shell, and a nice feature set. The shape also lessens the potential for hanging up when quickly removing the pistol from the bag. The price is stupid low for what you get and the reticle (I went with green) is very crisp, The green reticle works very well in all environment I have tested so far, including harsh sunlight. It's amazing how well it shows up against green backgrounds like vegetation. Torture test video. This optic is ready for prime time. At the end of the video you get to see if it kept zero after having been blasted by a shotgun.
Yeah I need to update the red dot on my p50 SBR. It's got a aim point from the 1990s on there now. I wanted something that less than the width of my shoulders and fires in the folded position. I have a buddy that went all in on 300 blackout. He says subsonic 300 blackout sucks but he doesn't have a silencer. Says full power supersonic 300bo is the way to go. I told him to bring that blackout and some subsonic ammo out here and we can try it with a silencer.
300 BO subsonic silenced is a LOT of fun! For a very short barrel supersonic helps to overcome the velocity loss. For subsonic you really do want to go with a silencer. The whole point of 300 BO was something very quiet that had more power than 9mm in the same role, along with M4 compatibility. Supersonic the round is slightly less powerful than 7.62x39 and 30-30 Winchester. I have a Ruger American boltie that is Hollywood quiet since there is no moving action. I also have a 10.3" AR SBR that is near Hollywood quiet, but you still hear the action cycle. That's my home defense rifle. I don't have to worry about having ear damage and when the cops get here I can hear to follow instructions. No fun getting put down because you can't hear the cop tell you to get down on your belly because he hasn't figured out who is who because you couldn't hear him.
