The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2

in Competition, For Rifles, Gear Reviews, Gun Reviews, Gunsmithing
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 1

To make the lightweight BCG and ultra-light buffer actually work, you need an adjustable gas block. Over gassing causes a lot of cycling problems in ARs and also beats up your components. The downside to adjustable gas blocks is that adjustment screws can get carbon locked and the detents and springs are tiny and complicated. I would also be using a handguard with a small inside diameter so I needed a low profile gas block. SLR Rifleworks to the rescue!

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
SLR Rifleworks Sentry 7 adjustable gas block in Titanium. The front screws adjust the gas flow with 15 positive click positions.

SLR Rifleworks Sentry series of gas blocks are tiny and can fit under almost any handguard. The adjustable versions are also super simple. A big leaf spring with a 1400 degree temper on the outside puts tension on a detent ball allowing 15 gas settings with a positive click between each one. They also come in Titanium! I went with the Sentry 7 (for .750 barrels) with set screws with .400 spacing. The blocks are also available in a clamp-on style and for various barrel diameters. 

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The SLR Rifleworks Sentry 7 gas block features 2 set screws to hold it in place. Green Locotite was used to ensure the screws don’t back out.

Craddock dimpled the barrel for a single set screw but the SLR has two set screws. SLR makes fantastic dimple jigs that work with multiple screw spacing. They come complete with a drill bit, centering screw, and drill bushing. The jig also has many pairs of flats so you can put it in a vice when drilling. With the jig, I was able to easily drill the second dimple in minutes. I paired the block with SLR’s Black Nitride coated gas tube and their long-shafted ball end drivers for adjusting the gas block under the handguard. 

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The SLR Rifleworks dimple jig is a fantastic tool. As shown by the engraving you can dimple your barrels for setscrews with .400, .425, .450, .470 or .500 spacing.
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The SLR jig comes complete with a drillbit and this bit guide.

I received the parts from SLR long before the actual assembly started and when I sent SLR some early preview photos of the rifle they noticed the leaf spring was an old design. A few days later I had the new spring and a small pile of screws (extras) in my hands to upgrade the gas block. SLR makes great stuff and their service is also top-notch.

I knew I wanted a 15-inch handguard to get a long clamp grip. I wanted it small and light, with minimal pic rail, and lots of M-Lok slots. Midwest Industries Ultra Lightweight fit all my requirements. It is made of 6062 aluminum and has M-Lok slots at 3, 6, 9, and 12, two anti-rotation QD sockets, a small chunk of pic rail built-in at the front and rear, 1.5 inches outside diameter, and it’s super light. The 15-inch version weighs only 8.9 ounces including the Titanium barrel nut and mounting screws. You will see a lot of 15-inch handguards in the 9-10 ounce range but they don’t include the barrel nut. MWI’s published weight is installed. How do they get it so light? They carved out every bit of unused space possible, tiny scallops between slots, holes all along to top channel and even the pic rails have extra material taken out. Despite all that it’s still very rigid even when pushing on a barricade stop or bipod.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The Midwest Industries 15-inch Ultra Lightweight handguard. It’s only 8.9 ounces including barrel nut and screws.
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Detail view of the MWI handguard shows how they cut away every gram possible to keep it light yet strong. This photo also shows the NP3 finish on the handguard.

I have never had a side charging AR but I always wanted one. I did not know if I would love it or not but I wanted to try it. I went with the New Frontier version of the Gibbz sidecharger, with Gen 2 detent charging handle, the C-4. This billet upper weighs in at a beefy 13.3 ounces and features a non-reciprocating charging handle. It’s made from 6061 aluminum and works with any standard BCG by changing out the cam pin. There is no brass deflector but it does have a large ejection port that works up to .458 Socom. There is no forward assist; they are dumb so this is a plus. There is no cut for a standard charging handle; instead, there is a door that seals the rear from gas which is great if you use a suppressor. There is no ejection port dust cover but this is a competition gun so I am not worried. I did have to modify the MWI handguard’s anti-rotation tabs to make it fit this upper, but that only took a few minutes with a file.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The Gen 2 detent nonreciprocating side charge handle on the New Frontier Armory C4 upper. A longer competition handle is available but for me the standard handle is plenty. The handguard anti-rotation tabs had to be cut to fit the cutouts in the receiver.
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The C4 upper features a trapdoor that flips up to remove your BCG but when closed keeps all the gas out of your face. A big feature if you shoot suppressed with a can.

I went with the billet competition lower from KE Arms. It’s made from 7075 aluminum and it’s also beefy tipping the scales at 9.6 ounces. What makes this lower awesome is the giant magwell. Unlike some other magwell lowers on the market this one is compatible with both Surefire quad stack mags and the fantastic Magpul D60 drums. I shoot in Open Division so I don’t often reload but they are faster with this lower. On stages with lots of close paper and then long-range steel I use 55gr on the paper and switch mags to 75gr for the steel. There is no sense wasting 75gr ammo on 10-yard paper targets. For stages where you start slung and empty and have to load on the clock, this setup is awesome. That’s where these two receivers really shine. In my first two matches with this rifle, we had 3 stages where you had to load on the clock. The magwell makes it easy to get the mag in the gun and when slung you can easily charge it with sidecharger. With a conventional charging handle, you need either a really long sling or you need to take it off your body to charge it.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The large flared magwell on the KE Arms lower and a 20 round PMAG with TTI basepad.
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The dings inside the magwell shows that it is doing its job well and funneling the mag into the receiver instead of stopping it.

I still needed a way to shoulder this rifle and I needed a cheek rest with adjustable height, but most of those stocks are heavy. Not Mission First Tactical. They are well known for their ultra-light 5.8 ounce Minimalist stock but they have other great options too. I went with the Battlelink Utility Low Profile (BULS) stock at 8.75 ounces with the optional adjustable cheek rest at 2.72 ounces for a total weight of 11.47 ounces. For comparison, the Magpul Gen 3 PRS stock weighs in at 31.2 ounces. The BULS stock is adjustable for length and the cheek rest is wide and comfortable. The stock also features a storage area in the butt via a hinge, a sling slot, and two QD sockets. It is available in both Milspec and Commercial sizes.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The Mission First Tactical BULS stock with BACP cheekrest weighs in under 11.5 ounces.

With the building blocks of an accurate rifle in place, I needed a good trigger. I tried several cassette-style triggers in my old rifle for over a year or so. Over time I had issues with them lighting off primers with Hornady Steel Match 75 gr., my go-to for 200-500 yard shots. The problem continued even when using heavier hammer springs. 

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The fingerpad of the Hiperfire Eclipse trigger. It ensures your finger goes to the same spot every time and it is adjustable for height.

While looking for other options I found the Hiperfire Eclipse. I don’t know if the guy that designed it was drunk or a genius but it’s a true out of the box design. The beauty of the design is that the two coil springs make the hammer hit hard; it does not affect the pretravel weight. I also really like the finger pad. It’s adjustable for height and with that pad, your finger goes to the same position on the trigger every time – consistency counts. It breaks at a very clean 2.5 pounds with less than 0.5mm of pre-travel and minimal overtravel. This makes follow up shots and doubles lightning fast. While it’s light and short it’s also very predictable. Between testing in both the old rifle and new rifle, the Eclipse trigger has been flawless for over 5000 rounds. It’s a keeper!

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Detail view of the Hiperfire Eclipse trigger and its unique double coil spring. Photo Courtesy of Hiperfire.

On to controls. Battle Arms Development (BAD) makes cool rifles and great controls. I used their Badass Pro Ambi safety set for a 60-degree throw. The levers attach via a dovetail and headless screw (be sure to use thread locker!) and are interchangeable. As a righty, I put the long lever on the left and short on the right. The safety has a positive and audible click when flicking on or off and the levers are textured on the top and bottom to prevent slippage. The center section is reversible for either a 60 or 90-degree throw and it includes detent and spring.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
The top view of the safeties from BAD shows the texture for positive contact. You can also see the dovetails used for the modular levers.
The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Side view of the BAD safety lever and KE safety engraving.

I also used BAD’s billet enhanced bolt catch in Titanium. The bolt catch has a nice machined texture and a larger release paddle and bolt hold open. It is compatible with the Norgon Ambi catch but I am not using it. BAD also supplied a set of their Titanium takedown pins as well. They are 50% lighter than Milspec pins and have a nice texture on the outside for a positive grip and they are slightly longer than milspec making takedown easier. 

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Titanium bolt catch from BAD. Looks cool, saves weight, and has an aggressive texture and larger paddles.

Lastly, I used BAD’s Enhanced Modular Magazine Release with the large finger pad and BAD’s mag catch. The finger pad uses a similar dovetail setup to the safeties.  It can be easily swapped for the smaller pad or a milspec sized button in seconds. I have long fingers and no trouble reaching a standard button but the larger pad just gives me a bigger target to hit when reloading and has not resulted in dropping a mag accidentally so far.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Extended mag catch button from BAD. The finger pads are modular and come in several sizes to fit any preference.

Side note: installing a bolt catch can be a massive pain and it’s easy to ding up your new lower when installing it. Two things made it much easier. KAK’s bolt catch roll pin starting tool, a steal at ten bucks. The other was using a stainless coiled roll pin instead of the standard roll pin. The coiled pins are much easier to start and often can be reused if you remove them. You can find them and complete coiled roll pin sets on eBay for a couple of bucks.

I used a Magpul MOE grip. They are simple, they work and they don’t cost much. They are also relatively light. To attach the grip I used a V Seven Titanium grip screw. I also rounded out the small parts with V Seven’s Titanium trigger pins, end plate, castle nut, and buffer catch.

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 2
Titanium castle nut and end plate from V Seven. The raw Ti goes well with the NP3 finish on the upper, lower and buffer tube.

Part 2 Build List

Gas Block                             SLR Rifleworks SA7-Ti-S                MSRP $188.49

Gas Tube                             SLR Rifleworks GT-R                       MSRP    $23.99

Dimple Tool                        SLR Rifleworks DJ7                        MSRP $31.99

Gas Block Tools                 SLR Rifleworks BD8                        MSRP $12.00

Barricade Stops                 SLR Rifleworks HS-ML2B              MSRP 33.99

NP3 Coating                       Coating Technologies LLC             MSRP $500.00

Handguard                          Midwest Industries ULW15         MSRP $259.95

Trigger                                  Hiperfire Eclipse                            MSRP $275.00

Stock                                     Mission First Tactical BULS          MSRP $99.00

Cheekrest                           Mission First Tactical BACP           MSRP $19.99

Grip                                       Magpul MAG415                              MSRP $19.95

Lower Receiver                 KE Arms Magwell Lower                MSRP $279.95

Upper Receiver                    New Frontier C4 Side Charge      MSRP $225.99

Safety                                   Battle Arms BAD-ASS-PRO           MSRP $45.00

Ti Receiver Pins                 Battle Arms BAD-EPS-Ti                 MSRP $38.95

Mag Catch                           Battle Arms BAD-EMMR                MSRP $33.95

Ti Bolt Catch                       Battle Arms BAD-EBC-Ti-B            MSRP $50.00

Ti Castle Nut and Endplate V Seven Systems                       MSRP $100

The Ultimate 3 Gun Rifle – Part 3

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About the author: Matt Kartozian is a current Hi-Point Grand Master and former professional competition shooter, and gunsmith. Matt now works as a photographer and writer and can often be found on the sidelines of professional sporting events and on racecourses around the world. You can follow Matt’s adventures on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/customglock/ and https://www.instagram.com/durkadurkaphoto/

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  • Ben Anderson February 25, 2021, 3:29 pm

    Well written article Matt!
    Incredibly looking and preforming rifle build with full specifications and details for their manufacturers. I will be looking into some of these new companies and their products for my future builds.
    Thanks from Phoenix AZ!

  • William powell February 22, 2021, 11:18 pm

    fantastic series!

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