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I want to change the Butt Stock on my Colt HBAR. What do I need, Mil Spec or Commercial and for future ref.,what is the difference?
Thanks
Steve
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Mil-Spec 1.148" tube diameter
Commercial 1.168" tube diameter
Last edited by Rusky; 03/13/12.
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Mil spec is the better option and is what Colt runs.
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If you're starting from scratch and have no other collapsible stocks, it doesn't matter one bit. If you already have collapsibles on other guns, I'd try to be consistent with those.
The Milspec diameter (not to be confused with actually being a "Milspec" extension) is actually smaller and thus slightly weaker, at least in theory. Again, there is no difference on a practical level.
With that said, I'd go Milspec.
RLTW
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How is it being smaller in diameter weaker? Am I brain farting here or not?
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For a given wall thickness, a .020 larger diameter tube, although slightly heavier, will be slightly stronger. It would be a trivial amount.
I've never measured the ID of a commercial tube, are they the same as a mil-spec tube? I would think since they use common springs and buffers the ID specs would be the same. That would give you .020 more wall thickness(.010 per side), which would be quite a bit stronger.
Last edited by 68injunhed; 03/14/12.
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Nope, the smaller mil spec tube is stronger than the commercial. Has to do with how it's made.
Commercial is cheaply made and the threads aren't full point, they snap off right behind the castle nut. And yes I have seen em break not just something I'm guessing about here.
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Nope, the smaller mil spec tube is stronger than the commercial. Has to do with how it's made.
Commercial is cheaply made and the threads aren't full point, they snap off right behind the castle nut. And yes I have seen em break not just something I'm guessing about here.
This is what I was thinking...
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Nope, the smaller mil spec tube is stronger than the commercial. Has to do with how it's made.
Commercial is cheaply made and the threads aren't full point, they snap off right behind the castle nut. And yes I have seen em break not just something I'm guessing about here.
That's a blanket statement that is not accurate in all cases. I can provide you with commercial diameter extensions that are absolutely identical to the mil spec extension in every way but diameter. Additionally, the vast majority of the extensions that are commercially available as "milspec" extensions are not actually made to meet the specs. I am sitting a few yards from a several thousand true "milspec" extensions that are headed to the military as I type this, btw.
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Nope, the smaller mil spec tube is stronger than the commercial. Has to do with how it's made.
Commercial is cheaply made and the threads aren't full point, they snap off right behind the castle nut. And yes I have seen em break not just something I'm guessing about here.
That's a blanket statement that is not accurate in all cases. I can provide you with commercial diameter extensions that are absolutely identical to the mil spec extension in every way but diameter. Additionally, the vast majority of the extensions that are commercially available as "milspec" extensions are not actually made to meet the specs. I am sitting a few yards from a several thousand true "milspec" extensions that are headed to the military as I type this, btw. That must be why all high end AR's have milspec extensions?
John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
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Blanket statement it is. I stand by initial statement.
I have no doubt other companies would make a mil spec sized but commercially made extension. That's why I deal with known goods.
Last edited by TWR; 03/14/12.
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Most commercial diameter extensions are made from 6061-T6 aluminum at best. Some mil-spec diameter extensions are made from 6061-T6 aluminum. Proper quality mil-spec extensions are made from 7075-T6 aluminum. People talking about mil-spec receiver extensions often only think of the diameter and not the material composition.
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I agree that not all milspec dimension tubes are the same and that a poorly made milspec tube is as bad or worse than a commercial but the ones made that are used by LMT, BCM, Colt and a few others are not worse than commercial tubes.
John 8:12 "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
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This explains it alot better than I did. http://m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=101And FWIW, my favorite is LMT. I have of course used Colt and VLTOR as well. These are mil spec.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Thanks all, I think. I'll figure it out.
Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Give a man a welfare check, a forty ounce malt liquor, a crack pipe, an Obama phone, free health insurance. and some Air Jordan's and he votes Democrat for a lifetime.
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Nope, the smaller mil spec tube is stronger than the commercial. Has to do with how it's made.
Commercial is cheaply made and the threads aren't full point, they snap off right behind the castle nut. And yes I have seen em break not just something I'm guessing about here.
I wasn't referring to any specific items, just a theoretical comparison to answer a previous post, assuming equal materials and machining quality. In a perfect world, both tubes made out of the same thing and machined using the same standards and methods, the bigger tube wins for strength. That's just physics. Obviously in the real world, that doesn't happen as often as it should.
Last edited by 68injunhed; 03/15/12.
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Understood, I just used the quick reply and was actually replying to greentimber.
In a perfect world you would be correct, same material only thicker would be stronger but the commercial tubes used by BM RR dpms and the like are compromised at the threads and possibly the material. Another corner cut...
Sorry for the confusion.
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No problem.
You'd think someone would take the oppurtunity to make a "bettter than mil-spec" tube for the commercial stock owners out there.
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Evidently Greentimber knows of one as good, maybe he will share the mfg.
But if I were gonna replace one, it'd be with an LMT mil spec tube.
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From the ground up on a new rifle or build, I would too, but if you had, say a MagPul stock with a commercial tube, of the low quality type, it might be nice to just replace the weak piece, instead of having to replace the stock as well.
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