Cheer Up Sunday!

Some of the vast international readership of this popular mind blog are complaining, C'mon LSP, lighten up, it's Sunday! 

And who can blame them, it's not pleasant to be confronted with billionaire pedo Epstein on a Sunday morning. So to correct the balance here's a kitchen carbine, uplifting or what?

A bottle of wine and a .45! Now you're talkin', good times.

And look at this, a resting attack dog. 

See? Better already. In other compelling news, our military's taken some 50 tons of gold from ISIS. Ahem, a certain irregular cavalry unit's in need of funding. Over to you, RHSM.

And now everyone's happy, even though Hillary's unaccountably not in jail, we're in the midst of a new Ice Age and Epstein continues to fly the friendly skies of the New World Order in his especially cozy private jet. 

Cheers,

LSP

Texas Country

Unlike Chicago, no one's trying to manufacture a riot here in Texas, but we are mostly underwater. Smart people are investing in watercraft to navigate our newfound inland seas. 

It's Like Aberystwyth But Everyone Has A Deadly Assault Rifle

I have a good mind to go fishing after visiting the flock. I might even break with tradition and catch something. In the rain.

God bless,

LSP

Deadly Assault Carbine Got Even More Deadlier, Installing the Fortis Hand Guard

Sometimes you look at your deadly black assault carbine and think, "I know, this gun's got to get more deadly, much more deadly." Inspired by this vision of the future you go out and get a new hand guard. In my case, this meant getting a Fortis Switch 556 12 keymod system.

Obey the System

Why? In the first place, keymod fore-ends are practical because you can attach items to the rifle without the extra weight and profile of multiple rails. Why Fortis? Because their system is lightweight, robust, easy to install and in-budget. The hand guard simply clamps into place over the supplied barrel nut without the need to index the gas tube assembly to the nut. At least that's the marketing. What's the reality?

Exactly as described. After removing my old Yankee Hill free float tube, the new barrel nut torqued onto the receiver without a hitch, the gas tube went into place above it and the hand guard worked as advertised. I eyeballed the guard's top rail with the receiver and liked the snug fit, there's negligible space between the two.

The gas tube doesn't need indexing with the barrel nut

Then, to clamp the hand guard into place, simply close the proprietary Fortis mechanism's lever  90 degrees until it clicks into place and... that's it. Absurdly easy to install and as described, it's robust, lightweight and well made.

Line up the hand guard with the receiver

Would I recommend the Fortis Switch to a friend. Yes, I most certainly would. Is it easy to install? It comes with instructions, I'm not sure they're necessary. Is it tactical? Look, it's black, what more do you want. Does it work?  I should say so! Is it affordable? Yes, cheap at half the price.

Clamp Down!

So go out and get yourself a Fortis hand guard, if you want, and I don't think you'll be disappointed. This version has the following specs:

Material: Aircraft Grade 6061-T6 Aluminum / Locking handle: 7075-T6 Aluminum

Length: 12.42”

Weight: 8.5 ounces minus barrel nut. Barrel nut is 1.6oz.

Internal Diameter: 1.34"

Continuous Top Rail

Rotation Limited QD Sockets

Keymod at the 3, 6, & 9 o'clock

Mil. Spec. Hard-coat Anodized

4140 heat treated barrel nut (1-7/16 X 16 T.P.I.)

A whole lot deadlier, thanks, Fortis

It's made in the USA too, and that's a bonus.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Deadly Assault Rifle Got More Deadlier #AR 15 Build

This blog is mostly concerned with the life of the mind, so it may not surprise you to know that I've been busy turning one AR 15 into two AR 15s, all thanks to a church person who offered to build me a new upper for my stock CMMG.

While I was waiting on that, I thought I'd teach myself to assemble, or build, these rifles, and started off by installing a new hand guard and gas block on my existing carbine. Then, thinking that the new upper-in-waiting could do with a better lower receiver, I went out and built one. Thanks, Fun Guns, in Waco, and Spike's.

The new upper arrived today after Mass, and I'm pleased. It's made out of parts from Rainier Arms: 18" match grade barrel, 1-8 twist, mid-length gas system w/micro gas block, nickel boron bolt carrier group, compensator, keymod hand guard, and a Hipertouch Enhanced Duty Trigger (4.5 lb, single stage). Hogue grip, Magpul stock, back up sights and magazine(s).

My old carbine can stay as just that, a 2 MOA red dot sight carbine, and I'll swap out the free float tube for a keymod rail system. Why? It'd be lighter, neater, and I think it looks more deadlier. The new rifle gets to have a 1x6 optic, and I'll be shopping around for that.

Kick out the Jams,

LSP

Juke Box Sunday

Part of the ethos behind this family blog is firearms, or guns. And I'm in an AR phase right now; I like the little gas-driven heaters. But some people think they lack knock-down stopping power, and they call these deadly assault rifles "poodle guns."

With that in mind, I wouldn't mind something a bit heavier. Like an M14. Some of you might think this rifle passed out of use, services no longer required. Think again and check out LL's post on the M14 and its enhanced SEAL variant.

When we ride on Austin and hook West to take out Burning Man and San Francisco, there'll be a few EBRs in the mix. And Drones. Obviously.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Stations & Benediction

So what's up, LSP? You ask, in that questioning way. Well I'll tell you. I drove to Dallas in ferocious highway rain to give a Lenten sermon in that space between Stations of the Cross and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Get a Haircut

It was good to get out and I like the church and its people. My theme (set by the Rector) was, "Give us this day our daily bread." I was pleased to talk about that, and they're a good crew at St. Matthias, Dallas.

O Salutaris

Somehow, "deadly assault rifle" got into my sermon. Unlike "fire and movement." Must work on that.

Homiletic skills,

LSP

Go On, Shoot Your Upgraded AR15

Keen-eyed readers of this family oriented info blog, will know that I decided to take my AR15 apart and install a new gas block and a Yankee Hill free-float tube. Why? Just for fun and because I wanted to learn more about the rifle, with a view to building one myself. Neat project.

Must Get Front Sight...

I reckon the reassembled gun looked good, in a deadly black assault rifle kind of way, but I took it to a friend who knows about these things before I shot it. He gave it the green light, so off I went to the range with some boxes of cheap steel cased Tulammo and a value pack of Remington .223.

That'll Do

How did it shoot? Just fine, and I had fun setting myself various drills from 30, 50, 75 and 100 yards. Were the groups any better with the free-float thing? Maybe a bit, given no magnification, eyesight that could be better and a dog who enjoyed leaping up in sheer joy and excitement at the sound of the gun.

I Love The Range!

I had to put him on a leash in the end. But I'm pleased with my first foray into the world of under-the-hood ARishness. The gun worked and worked well. Next step? Keep this carbine to shoot cheap steel cased ammo and build a 7.62/.308 on the same platform. I've decided against a "6", you see, but that's a whole new story.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Filthy Little Beast

Filthy

It's all very well to swing by the range on the way back home from visiting the flock and it's a lot of fun to unleash the power of the deadly black "assault rifle." No doubt about it, a great way to unwind, but the gas operated bullet burner gets real dirty, real fast.

Dirty

That's bad, because a dirty weapon can quickly become a jamming, malfunctioning, failure to eject shell casings nightmare and that's no good.

Unclean

I've noticed it can make all the difference, especially with cheap ammo; a dirty AR tends to stick on nasty, cheap, steel cased Russian ammo. At least mine does, but hey, give it a scrub, oil it up and everything works just fine.

Nasty

With that in mind, I gave the filthy thing a good cleaning on the tailgate this afternoon. 

Loser

Good to see that the fast declining Episcopal Church (TEC) has lost another lawsuit, this time they're losers in the Diocese of Quincy. More on that later.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Filthy Beasts!

Lent, for me, involves a certain amount of fasting, self-denial, almsgiving and extra worship. It also means weapons cleaning.

The deadly assault rifle was pretty filthy. It got a good cleaning.

So did the .45.

A clean gun is a happy gun, I always think.

God bless,

LSP