Gunsmithing

The benefits to an 18 make it something you should reconsider. For that little bit more length and weight, you get a softer shooter, as well as a minor bullet velocity gain. It is absolutely worth trying out.

This was my first every Polymer 80 build, and I hope it inspires confidence if you have been thinking of trying it out. I am in no way a gunsmith, and arguably not even a decent gun mechanic. I used simple hand tools, that I would wager everyone has laying around. No drill presses or lathes around these parts.

“Retro” ARs are neat rifles, and very interesting to research and build. Brownells did a really good job creating their likeness of the original AR-10. You can buy a complete BRN-10 rifle from them, should you prefer. But then you don’t have the fun of putting one together.

You can do many things, ranging from simple and cheap to costly and complex, to make a rifle more accurate. You may be able to do some jobs yourself with the proper expertise, tools, and machinery, but some are best left to a competent gunsmith.

If you restore or repair older firearms, you will eventually run into a broken spring for which a replacement is unavailable. Being able to make a replacement is a very useful skill to have.

The VMOS allows me to have more leeway with what is or isn’t an overly pressured load. This item seems to be perfect for the person who may not have the benefit of using the same exact load in their rifle every time.

One particular firearm I recommend to newer builders, particularly those without metalworking experience, for “the next build” is the FN-FAL rifle. I recommend the FAL because while it is definitely more difficult to build than an AR is; it’s not that much more so.

Lee Armory combines Russian design and quality virgin parts with American craftsmanship to make a superior gun. They take the risk out of buying an AK. Wither you build it or they do, you get a winner every time.

If you’d like to learn gunsmithing (or add some additional skills to your repertoire), take a look at the NRA Summer Series Classes at Trinidad State. You won’t be disappointed.