Firearms Technology

How the M-16 and AR-15 work | Detailed animation

When Eugene Stoner designed the AR-10 platform in the late 1950s, it is unlikely he could have imagined the success this rifle (and it’s progeny) would achieve. While the total number of AR platform rifles in civilian hands isn’t known, estimates range from 2-30 million. Combine that with the multitude of M-4’s and other descendants of the AR-10 in the US military’s armory’s, and it’s easy to see why the AR-15 is hailed as “America’s Rifle”.

While most people reading this article are probably already informed to a degree as to the general operating mechanics of an AR-15/M-4/M-16, the following video does a great job of detailing (and showing) the specifics of each function. This includes going into detail as to the operation of the auto sear and three-round burst cam. Check out the following video!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIBUIN30yU

Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Lee Armory’s Build Class: Make your own AK rifle

The guys at Lee Armory know AKs. They run a manufacturing operation and have all the jigs fitting and parts for building AK rifles. They also have a cadre of gunsmiths who know and love the Kalashnikov design in all of its variants. Most importantly, Lee Armory wants to help you build that perfect AK to your specifications.

If you live in an area with state restrictions, Lee Armory can talk you through your options for a legal build. Because they are close, California guns are a specialty. They will ship the rifle back to an FFL of your choosing for DROS. The rifle must be Featureless per California DOJ. They recommend a Strike Industries AK Fin Grip for California .

I have seen and shot AKs from all around the world. There are some amazing variants and enough models to give most shooters a dream gun. I am partial to full stock classic models because I feel they shoot better. I must admit, I am not immune to the charms of the triangle side folder, but the under folder is not the girl for me.

Like many people, I am fascinated with the simple and robust technology used in the AK. The design has many subtle features, not the least of which is the ability to fabricate the rifle under austere conditions for wartime production.

Building an AK style rifle includes the hhandcrafted art of rivet smashing. Rivets are much easier to make than screws and provide an outlet for repressed aggression. Lee armorers will instruct each student on the technique.

Barrel head space and population can be very frustrating. Many parts kits arrive with parts still attached to demiled barrels. Removing and reinstalling these parts is never simple. Canted sights are the most irritating issue with most AK Style Rifles, Lee Armory will show you how to prevent this in your build.

Head spacing encompasses one of the most important tasks for the rifle to function safely. Most home builders don’t understand the risks of incorrect head spacing. The AK design is very forgiving, proper head apace is essential.

Lee Armory has the tools you need to do things safely and easily. They meet you at your level of expertise and offer technical advice and support. If you are not comfortable with performing all the tasks required to build your gun, or have a gun already that isn’t quite right, Lee Armory also provides complete gunsmithing services.

If you want to Cerakote that build (or anything else), Lee can hold the rifle and send it out to We Plead the Second for Certified Cerakote Application. Cerakote provides a solid durable coating which is far superior to almost every other coating on the firearms market. They’ve tested Cerakote to 1000 rounds of continuous full auto machine gun fire with almost no issues.

There are two options in the build class, depending on your needs.

Lee Armory offers classes from a box of parts to barreled depending on your time constraints. Classes are the third weekend of every month!

1 Day Class – I have all parts ($500.00)

1 Day Class – I need all parts (Parts are extra, Billed Separately) ($500.00)

2 Day Class – I have all parts ($999.00)

2 Day Class – I need all parts (Parts are extra, Billed Separately) ($999.00)

Here is what you get:

One day classes are condensed, but all topics are covered including instruction.

Course Outline: Day 1
8am – Introductions
9am – Introduction to Riveting
12pm – Lunch
1pm – Introduction to Riveting (cont)
5pm – Conclusion

Course Outline: Day 2
8am – Q/A
9am – Introduction to Barrel Populations
12pm – Lunch
1pm – Introduction to Barrel Populations (cont)
3pm – Introduction to Final Assembly
5pm – Conclusion, Test Fire.

Lee Armory’s AK Build Class held in WARM and Sunny Phoenix, Arizona!
AKM Parts Kits Are Available and you can schedule the 1 or 2 Day class depending on your needs. To sign up click HERE

2019 Class dates:
THIRD WEEKEND OF EVERY MONTH!

*Photos by Mark Miller

Full-Auto vesus Semi-Auto

I grew up in a family full of Veterans and one of my favorite memories was heading to coffee with my Grandpa Jim and all the other WW2 Vets in town. Hearing the way they bullshitted with each other left a strong impression. Deja Vu set in once I joined the Army, as hearing a group of Rangers (or when near my brother, Marines) bullshit in the modern era doesn’t sound much different at all. Ditto to the few Vietnam Veterans I’ve had the pleasure of hearing stories from. While “shooters preference” may be a common term in training, it leads to the very best of arguments outside of the range.

Such is the nature of the argument of “Full-Auto” versus “Semi-Auto”. There are no brainless politicians in my perfect world, so we’re not mentioning “Fully Semi-Auto”. While every combat Vet I’ve talked with has agreed full-auto has an appropriate time and place for it’s use, there’s a bit of gray area as to just when you’ll want to use it, and as to how much training you’ll need ahead of time to be effective while using it.

Below are two videos covering the old “Full versus Semi” argument. The first if by YouTube user Hickok45 and demonstrates the M4/AR platform at close range, against menacing water jugs. The second video is by the legend Larry Vickers on his YouTube channel Vickers Tactical, where the Delta Force Vet and famous trainer demonstrates the AK platform against three paper targets.

Enjoy and discuss!

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Ghost Gunner 2 CNC Review | Machining for the masses

The concept of a company bundling an 80% completed firearm receiver with a kit to finish the product has been around since the ’90’s. The last 10 years have seen a massive increase in both the number of kits and the variety of firearms they’re available for. Defense Distributed (DefDist) is producing the Ghost Gunner 2, which is billed as “…the only affordable CNC solution for privately finishing your 80% lower receivers.” It attempts to be two things: a massive political statement, and an efficient method for knocking out finished AR lower receivers and 1911 frames (so far). Let’s take a look at how well the Ghost Gunner accomplishes these ambitions.

(Also, time lapse video of the machining process here.)

Technical Specifications:

For the tech specs, I rely heavily on DefDist’s website. I came in to this project with no machining knowledge or experience more in-depth than heavy dremel work.

“Ghost Gunner is built from rigid plasma-cut A36 steel and 304 stainless steel. The machine part count is greatly reduced compared to traditional CNC machines, which both increases rigidity and decreases cost.
Ghost Gunner 2 employs a horizontal milling format, a 10,000 rpm ER-11 collet unibody machined spindle and has a machinable area of 8.25″ x 2.95″ x 2.35″, optimized for machining AR-15 and AR-308 receivers.”

Regarding the software:

“Beyond files of our own .DD format, Ghost Gunner is meant to accept TinyG code from any CAM program. The platform is open and the plans and files will be disclosed to the public domain.”

So it’s a 50 lb pocket CNC. While designed for AR platform receivers, it is capable of much more. The hardware has been available on the market for a lot longer than the software marketplace has been open to the public, due to legal entanglements with the Federal government. With that aspect cleared up (Federally, though it is contested in some states), DefDist has opened the public software marketplace and one can expect user-submitted projects to be in the works.

Furthermore, given the open source nature of the machine, aftermarket functions have already started popping up. One website in particular, is the GhostWriter Engraving webtool by Matthew Komar. It is a simple and detailed program that generates the code needed to engrave text, serial numbers or even photos onto your receiver using the Ghost Gunner. The program is free and easy, underscoring how one person with knowledge of coding can change the game for a huge number of end-users who (like me) are lacking the technical skills to manually program or engrave them myself. So whether you need a serial number due to state laws, or want to engrave a photo on your rifle, what was once a “send out” job now takes 20 minutes in the garage.

Regarding legality:

At the federal level, it is legal for people to produce firearms for themselves free of serial numbers. If someone were to sell one, they then become a “manufacturer” to the government and subject to additional licensing and regulations; there are additional considerations in some states and local municipalities.

80% receivers:

DefDist was nice enough to send three receivers with the Ghost Gunner 2 for review, a pair of AR-15 receivers and one AR-308 lower. Also included was the software necessary to run the Ghost Gunner 2, jigs to hold the receivers in the machine and a collet, drill bit, end mill and an assortment of t-nuts and bolts.

I joined a Facebook group for Ghost Gunner users, hoping to get a bit of an education and avoid any new-user pitfalls. While the Ghost Gunner 2 doesn’t require a machining background to use, there is still a learning curve. A small mistake can ruin a receiver or damage the machine and a little studying and patience can prevent that.

The aptly named “.dd” files make the whole operation idiot-resistant. With a milling operation in .dd format, it breaks everything down into a step-by-step process that includes diagrams and extra details written in for clarity. You’re prompted to click “next” between every step and are even forewarned before the machine starts moving.

My first receiver took a pretty long time to finish because I stopped a couple times to second guess, research and restart the process. It still turned out great. The second receiver took just a few hours, with only about 20 minutes of hands-on time where I was setting up the next operation by changing the position of the lower.

In the end, both ended up looking mighty nice. Having learned a couple lessons along the way, I now know to slow the feed-rate (the rate at which the movements are performed) during certain processes to ensure a smooth finish. For example, running the drill through the hammer/trigger pin holes at 30% leads to a smoother finish and a tighter fit.

Speech is a code, code is a weapon:

So far we’ve discussed two of the main players here, Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner. With DefDist being the parent company behind the Ghost Gunner project, founder Cody Wilson has one more aspect here: DEFCAD. DEFCAD is the online firearms file resource and marketplace at the heart of the multi-year court battle with the State Department. Essentially, Wilson wanted to host and publish a number of blueprints for firearms on DEFCAD, the State Dept. said that would be a violation if ITAR, the International Trade in Arms regs. What Wilson did that was so genius was to intertwine the 1st and 2nd amendments. If a weapon can be broken down to code, and code can be called free speech, the government cannot stifle access to schematics and blueprints without also violating a right to free speech. While the 2nd amendment has long been trampled and disregarded by anti-gun jurists, the 1st amendment has proven far harder to infringe upon.

The settlement with the State department was much more than just making the case go away and removing federal roadblocks for DefDist to publish DEFCAD, “the government expressly acknowledges that non-automatic firearms up to .50-caliber – including modern semi-auto sporting rifles such as the popular AR-15 and similar firearms – are not inherently military”. While a settlement is less potent than a legal ruling, the quote from State you just read does set a precedent within the agency. Two of the main arguments for gun control have been effectively neutered in one fell swoop. Files containing all data needed to produce a gun? Available for download. The argument that modern sporting rifles (such as the AR platform) are “military in nature”? Refuted.

In closing:

It’s hard to review the Ghost Gunner without considering that it is also the financial engine that has funded one of the biggest proactive 2nd amendment victories in a fortnight. Are there less expensive ways to finish an 80% receiver? Undoubtedly. Are there other methods that produce a nicer finished product? Possibly, but not that I’ve seen. The Ghost Gunner does two things really very well. It lowers the technical barrier to enter a wider world of machining, allowing one such as me with no machining knowledge to produce a nicer end product (and many more of them) than a jig and drill kit. The second thing the Ghost Gunner does really well is give a giant “fuck you” to the entire anti-gun establishment. From politicians to hand-wringing news anchors, the Ghost Gunner is sending the clear message that those who defend the 2nd amendment will not be incrementally legislated into irrelevance.

For a consumer, the question is always “Is the juice worth the squeeze?”. For anyone who considers themselves a defender of the 2nd with an interest in finishing their own 80% receivers, the Ghost Gunner is worth a strong look. It has been around for a couple years, but the open-source software aftermarket is just starting to gain traction, as evidenced by Matthew Komar’s GhostWriter engraving webtool. It is a great shortcut that will get you ahead of the game, but only to a point. It will never replace a full-size CNC with a machinists education, nor does it cost nearly as much. It does quite a bit for the money, and will be doing more and more as time goes on. Now it’s time for me to order a 1911 frame to finish…

Defense Distributed, Ghost Gunner and DEFCAD continue to rankle enemies of liberty. Consider donating to DEFCAD’s fundraiser as they fight for the rights of all citizens.

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

Youtube Rex Nanorum

Watch | Ghost Gunner 2 CNC machine intro

In anticipation of my upcoming review article and (official) review video, I wanted to drop a little teaser video about Defense Distributed‘s flashpoint CNC machine, the Ghost Gunner 2.

A primer for those who aren’t familiar with the product: The Ghost Gunner is a small, open-source programmable CNC machine. Designed first for finishing 80% AR platform lower receivers (both AR15 and AR10), the Ghost Gunner is capable of more than that. Given it’s open source coding, one could perform milling operations on many other parts, provided they fit inside the Ghost Gunner’s “envelope”. Jigs and code to finish other 80% firearms are incoming, but let’s save the rest for the longer review article.

First, we can take a look at unboxing and the preperation of the first lower I put through the Ghost Gunner 2.

Next, you can watch the first lower being milled out.

Stay tuned for written review and video review!

–Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

YouTube Rex Nanorum

AR-15 Lowers | The difference between Forged and Billet

Many of the millions of AR platform owners are content to buy a factory rifle and run it as is, trusting the manufacturer to put together a good rifle. For others, a more hands-on approach is the méthode du jour. This usually involves putting together a firearm starting with a stripped receiver, or at the very least picking out a factory gun that lives up to their specifications. In order to be picky about what you want, you first have to know the options and what makes them different.

A gun’s receiver is by definition an integral, essential piece. The strength of the receiver determines the strength of the entire gun. In the AR world, the big question is whether to get a receiver that’s Billet or Forged. Guns and Tactics has put together an informative video dissecting some of the differences. Check it out:

-Rex Nanorum

@Rexnanorum

YouTube Rex Nanorum