Your drill press doesn't have a depth stop adjustment??
MM
Index milling machine and yes it has a stop adjustment that is a PITA to setup. No sense in screwing it up, the rod will let me know when the drill bit breaks through and prevent it from going too far.
if you can' t make it work with just drilling it out and have to buy a new tube, let me know, I only shoot heavier loads, 68 and up generally and usually pretty dang warm and reloaded. I"ll bet I can work it just fine. Plus never hurts to have more of Johns work.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
I usually run into issues on the other end, it seems that most rifles tend to be overgassed...but my first inclination wouldn't be to make non-reversible mods to set a rifle up to work with the cheapest, crappiest, out-of-spec, low pressure ammo I could find.
If you were to just clean up the port and make sure the rest of the gas system is clear, after that there are different buffers to play with, it seems like that would do it.
I usually end up with a heavier buffer, but then I've never fired a round of Commie steel cased 223 ammo, but I wouldn't expect much from it if I had..
"Supernatural divinities are the primitive's answer to why the sun goes down at night..."
I usually run into issues on the other end, it seems that most rifles tend to be overgassed...but my first inclination wouldn't be to make non-reversible mods to set a rifle up to work with the cheapest, crappiest, out-of-spec, low pressure ammo I could find.
If you were to just clean up the port and make sure the rest of the gas system is clear, after that there are different buffers to play with, it seems like that would do it.
I usually end up with a heavier buffer, but then I've never fired a round of Commie steel cased 223 ammo, but I wouldn't expect much from it if I had..
I think shortening a +2" gas system from 26" to 20" already counts as a "non-reversible mod". LOL.
This problem has nothing to do with typical commercial grade 5.56 barrels being overgassed, which is true but a completely different thing. If you shortened a typical overgassed 16" carbine barrel to 10", you'll find it undergassed some of the time too. (Although I did shorten one 16" DPMS barrel to 10.5" that still had plenty of gas after shortening; that was a good illustration how overgassed it was originally.)
I think shortening a +2" gas system from 26" to 20" already counts as a "non-reversible mod". LOL.
Yeah...there's that...
I don't have a problem with chopping the barrel or drilling out the gas port... talking about the choice of test ammo.
Just sayin that I would set-up the rifle for ammo that was in spec and not worry about whether it fires the worst ammo that one can find. Lacquered cases can tend to stick to chamber walls.
That's likely a better than decent barrel and would shoot real well with good ammo.
"Supernatural divinities are the primitive's answer to why the sun goes down at night..."
Another option is to just drill it to max spec, and install an adjustable gas block, then tune accordingly. You could go from ‘bubba’ to ‘full custom’ that way, LOL
and after all this screwin around you could have just bought a new barrel and be done with it.
Some work with what they already have, others just buy and buy more. Different strokes really, and can generally work both ways.
I think he is so close to it working, other than being stubborn about cheap ball ammo, its almost there....as is.
Anyone cares to send me $100, I'll go buy a new barrel. I'd rather spend that kind of money something else. I could have gone and bought him a $2k name brand build, but what's the fun in that?
I have the equipment, if not the knowledge to find out if this barrel can be made to work. That's why I tinker with stuff. I always wonder why people are so concerned with how much work something might be for someone else and advise they buy their way out. I enjoy the challenge of a problem (that I admit I created) like this.
Just to clarify, I'm not building this to run steel case crap. I was just using some up to center the scope. When I say "cheap ball" I'm talking about Federal Eagle, IMI, Wolf Gold, and PMC brass cased stuff with inexpensive FMJ bullets. He doesn't hand load and is a poor college kid. Plan was I build the rifle from parts I've collected and his dad buys him a case of ball to play with and 100 rounds of "good stuff" for coyotes and other varmints. I get all the spent brass in compensation for my incredible effort.
I appreciate most of the input. I'll be drilling the port tonight and testing on Friday and Saturday hopefully. I will report back with results, good or bad.
if you can' t make it work with just drilling it out and have to buy a new tube, let me know, I only shoot heavier loads, 68 and up generally and usually pretty dang warm and reloaded. I"ll bet I can work it just fine. Plus never hurts to have more of Johns work.
I'll keep that in mind. It really balances well with the full size section under the handguard and that extra 6" missing from the front.
I would not make any permanent changes to gas port until you are sure you understand the issue. If the system is truly undergassed, I would do the following:
1. First, is the gas block self indexing, or fixed in position by cross-pin? If not, check alignment. 2. Have you removed all carbon from the existing gas port? 3. Any gas escaping around gas tube? 4. How many rounds on gas tube? Is tube kinked or fouled? 5. Do you have a standard weight Buffer and spring? 6. Are you running a muzzle device. Depending on type, this can increase gas pressure. 7. Make sure components (BCG, bolt, Mag, etc.) are not dragging.
If you are sure that you are maximizing existing gasses, then consider a lighterweight BCG, and other fixes.
Ran by Cabela's at lunch and picked up a few boxes of different brass cased ball type ammo. Then I couldn't stand it anymore and as soon as I got off work, ran home, picked up the rifle and headed to the range. Last night I pinned the existing port at .101". With the upper set up in the mill vise, I used a drill that measured .110, and dropped it into the hole. I had a dowel in the bore to confirm when it broke through and prevent going too far. The Lyman bore scope showed that there was very little burr on the inside. Put the gas system back on and was ready to go. Got to the range today and started with single loading the mag to make sure it would lock back the bolt. No issues for three single fired shots. Load two and repeat three times. No failure to feed or lock back. Started ringing the gong at the 200yd line with no issues. All cases were ejected about 8-10 feet at 3:30 to 4:00. I tried four factory loads and two handloads with zero issues. I set the target up at 100 and fired five shot groups with each type of ammo. Pic of target attached shows just over 1MOA with the 55gr ball and a bit better than that with handloads from my NMC service rifle. Groups were shot in failing light from less than steady rest with a 40 year old Western Field 2-7x scope. I would expect 25% better results if I actually took my time and had decent glass and a solid rest. Group 1 is on two targets because I couldn't see the first two holes and I thought I was high so I moved down one target. I then remembered I still had a box of the Wolf Polyformance steel cased stuff that didn't run well the first time. It would either not eject the fired case or eject but not load. It functioned the rifle fine, loading the next round through a ten shot cycle, but still would not lock back the bolt. Got quite different report with it as well, I'm pretty sure its loaded with a faster powder that would work better in a shorter gas system. The stuff is crap so I'm not concerned.
I'm claiming success. Ejection was solid but wasn't overly brisk. I could safely open the port a bit more, but I'm going to not temp fate and go with it where it is and I can always do it later if there are issues. Overall I'm pretty happy with it. I think I have less than $275 in the entire rifle by sourcing used and on sale parts, including a used Geissele trigger . Life is too short to use [bleep] triggers. I shortened and crowned the barrel in my lathe, shortened the handguard to clear the gas block, and got it all together and shooting without blowing myself up. Accuracy is excellent for a pile of cheap used parts and can mostly be attributed to the WOA barrel. I think my nephew will appreciate it and put it to good use. If he manages to wear the barrel out, I'll replace it with a take off 20" Service rifle barrel using a standard rifle gas system. When they stop holding the x-ring at 600yds they still have several thousand rounds left in them for shooting 100-200yds.
ball ammo at an honest just over MOA is something to be proud of. its not easy to get that junk to shoot that well. I never shot ball ammo that shot MOA.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
