Monday, July 3, 2023

FBI HRT Carbine c. 2014-2015 Clone (Pt2)

More about the airsoft gun.

I had a way cooler image in mind. Sucks to be an iPhone camera!

The model of airsoft gun I built this upon is a Vipertech M4, produced in I think 2019-2020? I bought it in 2020, at least. It started life as the M4A1 KAC RAS variant, and upon receiving it I immediately attempted to take off the handguard in order to replace with my ZParts reproduction of the Geissele Mk16 handguard.

That's not supposed to happen.

I suppose the fellers over at Vipertech torque their barrel nuts to some insanely high level, as I wound up bending one of the teeth of the barrel nut itself. I'd took to an owners' chat group beforehand, asking what was the best way to break the torque on this nut. Their recommendations didn't help, so I took matters into my own hands.

To quote what I wrote in that chatgroup:

the art the artist

i used an adjustable wrench to hold the receiver in place and a 60" heavy duty pipe wrench to defeat the torque
this was after i tried what [user] did, lube, and after i cut through the delta ring and did the same thing without the delta wring pushing against the wrench

It was a rather tough ordeal. I later learned that this apparently was a common problem on the models that used the typical USGI barrel nut and slip/delta ring combination handguards, and that the problem did not manifest on guns that used a low profile gas block (such as Vipertech's reproductions of the Knight's Armament Corporation SR16s.) Nonetheless, I ended up with a build that I was mostly happy with. It also had some issues with bolt bounce (where the bolt carrier would "bounce" against the chamber after cycling), however a buffer meant for real AR15s with a shifting weight inside solved that problem.

Later on, I decided to clone the HRT Carbine using the same gun as the base. This entailed getting the new handguard, but also some other parts such as a new outer barrel. It wasn't as much of a chore putting it together at that point; the hardest parts was acquiring the parts.

Quick tangent; Did I ever tell you that I hate short-barrel builds?

My first foray into AR-based builds. Built on a Tokyo Marui M4 MWS.

It stemmed from my first build. While young me didn't really build it out in an ideal way, the experience still turned me off on short carbines at around that length. There's so much compromise when it comes to integrating a laser aiming module, a flashlight and the remote switches needed to actuate either.

The pressure switch for the laser doesn't matter too much, as you can actuate the fire button by placing your thumb over the device. It's the switch for the flashlight that gave me trouble. You could place both laser and light far on the end of the rail, and then mount the pressure switch to the back. However, that places your hand awkwardly close to the rear of the gun, rather than further forward where it is more ergonomic. You could place the switch on the top left corner of the handguard, but that makes it difficult to actuate it when shooting with your left hand. And don't get me started on mounts such as the GBRS Hydra. It's all compromises down. This compared to a longer gun with a longer handguard, which gives you more freedom to place the switches further forward and on the top.

Which brings me to my woes about my clone build.

The gun is a near "exact clone" of the carbine seen in the hands of the HRT agent in the Washington Post images. The agent had a pressure pad attached to the bottom right of his handguard, just under the flashlight. The flashlight itself had a typical clicky tailcap, similar to small pocket flashlights you'd find at fancy hardware stores that don't actually sell real hardware.

The thing is, American special mission units -ergo the HRT, or say Army Green Berets- do not use visible flashlights that often. They have night-vision goggles, and in combination with infrared flashlights make use of those instead. As a result, they don't really make use of visible flashlights all that much. Visible flashlights would only be used occasionally.

This is the complete opposite of my use case. I play airsoft, I do not own night vision goggles, and have to make use of the visible flashlight as my primary way to see in the dark. The laser aiming module on this is purely for looks. Because of the lack of a separate pressure switch, I have to actuate it in a way that's not ideal.

I typically grip the handguard with my thumb high or on the top of the handguard. This allows for better control over the end. This isn't about recoil control as the concept is nigh nonexistent in airsoft. Rather, it is easier to maneuver the end around obstacles and tight spaces. This is all well and good, but it doesn't make it easier to actuate the clicky tailcap. I have to take my thumb off of the top, maneuver it round the bottom and then onto the tailcap. This is fine when presenting the gun forward or while shooting, but gets awkward when I short-stock the gun.

Short-stocking is when someone pulls the gun back and tucks the buttstock over or under the shoulder. This allows for the muzzle to still be pointed roughly forward while letting you get closer to an obstacle (say a door or a piece of cover.)

Holographs!

The optic is an EOTech EXPS 3-0. The 'E' means it uses a quick-detach mount and sits higher than normal. The '3' stands for its night-vision compatibility, and '0' stands for the reticle it uses. The reticle is a standard circle with a dot in the center. A lot of people like that feature as the circle supposedly makes it faster to aim in close quarters. I don't like the circle as I think that it makes the reticle too busy, and that for precision at speed a simple fine dot is better. EOTech does make this optic in a plain dot version (EXPS 3-1), however it is only available from one retailer.

While I haven't taken the gun to an airsoft game yet, the optic so far is really good. I want to mount the optic a little bit higher -I have gotten used to optics mounted at least 1.93" high-, but I don't have the appropriate riser for that. There's little to no tint, which was a serious issue on even the most "premium" reproduction EXPS optics I've tried. This makes it way easier to use in dark conditions.

Speaking of the dark, the light I have on it is a Surefire M300C. This is one of their older lights, and while Surefire's weapon-mounted lights have since been eclipsed by more modern competitors such as Modlite or Cloud Defensive, their lights are still capable all the while. The light is relatively bright, but is not very capable at "throwing" that light out at distance. This is in comparison to my (understandably unfair) Modlite PLHV2, which is bright at both up close and at distance while still being wide enough to be easily used up close. Unfortunately, it seems that I've lost my Modlite, so I cannot post a comparison photo right now.

I NEED A SHIM KIT

The muzzle end is comprised of an Airsoft Artisan reproduction of the Surefire FH212A closed-tine flash hider, with an also Airsoft Artisan repro of the Surefire FA556 silencer. I'm not very familiar with the history of both products, but I'll try my best.

The Surefire FH212A and its brothers in the same product line were a series of flash hiders and muzzle brakes that Surefire produced prior to the now contemporary SF muzzle devices and SOCOM RC/RC2 silencers. Similar to the SF and SOCOM series, the FH212A and some of its brothers were also meant to serve as mounts for the "Fast-Attach" series of silencers. While both silencer models are visually similar, they can be distinguished by a couple of features. The FA556 has a visible weld line near the muzzle end, and the front has a conical depression. The SOCOM series in contrast has no visible weld line and an extruded inwards flat end.

Much to my chagrin, the Airsoft Artisan repro does not have a version threaded in 1/2x28 threading, and instead uses the standard airsoft threading of 14mm CCW. So the barrel I bought was of that model, however the retailer that sent me the product accidentally sent me the model in 1/2x28. They were good about it though, and sent me the correct 14mm CCW adapter for free. I typically superglue the thread adapter to the muzzle device, as this makes it easier to uninstall and install the muzzle device. However, this wasn't necessary here as the muzzle device unscrews opposite to how the thread adapter unscrews.

The reproduction muzzle device is fine, I guess. It has an unnaturally black color as opposed to the dark grey-ish I've come to expect on steel parts. I despise the fact that it comes with a crush washer as opposed to the typical shims. "Timing" the muzzle device -the process of ensuring that the flash hider is rotated the correct way- is very difficult, as the crush washer doesn't provide consistent resistance against the muzzle device due to its function of being "crushed" to fit. This is versus flat shims, which do not have such elasticity.

The silencer is also alright, I guess. While in the photos the finish of the collar looks unnatural, it does not look as bad in real life. It's still not all that great, but it certainly isn't garbage. The finish of the body of the suppressor itself is alright, too. The fake welds actually hide the seam line, where the front end can screw off for you to mount "tracer" units -devices that make your BBs glow when shot through- which is really cool. It's a tad bit wobbly though, which is really disappointing when the rest of my airsoft gun doesn't wobble at all.

Quick-fire round on the rest of the parts, as I don't really have much to say about them.

The Magpul MBUS 2 are a pair of cheap flip-up sights that nobody actually uses, they just have it on there. I have it on there only because it's clone correct.

The TangoDown Stubby Foregrip is a short foregrip. I had to grind down the top, as it was a bit too fat on that end and wouldn't fit on the screwed-on picatinny rail segment. The disc I used was not too optimal and the melted plastic kinda stuck to it. Oh well.

The charging handle is the stock USGI-style that came with the Vipertech. I have removed the existing latch and replaced it with VFC's repro of the Precision Rifle Industries Big Latch-Military. It's just a bigger latch, and it was seen on the rifle used on the manhunt photographs. I feel like I should cut down the spring that pushes the latch inwards, as the steel has really done a number on the 6061 Aluminum hole for the latch. I also have a tiny bit of me that sorta wants to replace the upper as well, so as to not get a latch that's super done-in. Oh well.

The buttstock is a Magpul CTR. Nothing special, although it wobbles on the airsoft buffer tube. I had gotten a real AR buffer tube to replace the airsoft one in order to make sure that buttstocks didn't wobble on it anymore, however I'm not sure if my gun was out-of-spec or this tube was but the tube didn't cover the buffer retaining pin properly and was really hard to screw into the last bits. I'm chalking it down to the buffer tube.

The pistol grip is an ERGO Grip Suregrip. It's at an angle similar to stock A2 pistol grips, but the texture is extremely rubberized. I'm not really a fan compared to more "typical" pistol grips with slightly smoother textures such as the Magpul K2+ or the Bravo Company Mod 3, but I got used to it. The angle makes it a teensy bit harder to reach the safety, but that's because I got used to using a pistol grip with a more vertical angle.

And that's it for now. This gun still isn't "field legal" and shoots way too hot to be safe or comfortable. Next on my list is getting more parts for a future build AND parts to make the gun shoot "cooler", the combination being to save on shipping fees. In addition, I'll be trying to convert this gun to use VFC magazines, as their magazines are cheaper to find. And that'll be for the next post.

Sunday, July 2, 2023

FBI HRT Carbine c. 2014-2015 Clone (Pt1)

To kick things off, let me start with a short bit about my last-couple-of-years-white-whale, my airsoft clone build of an FBI HRT rifle.

It's like the physical representation of the transitory period between Magpul Dynamics DVDs and GBRS Patreon videos.

I first saw this thing in the hands of an FBI Hostage Rescue Team agent in in a couple of photos arranged together by AR15.com. I was young, I had just learned about airsoft and thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to dress up like a real soldier guy?"

At the same time, I was really fascinated with the at-the-time relatively new Counter-Strike release, Global Offensive. I bought the game on disc for PC at a local Data Blitz store. While I probably couldn't find the paper sleeve it came it, it still is special to me as it was the first game I ever asked my parents to buy, and a game that I owned on the Steam account I created myself.

I saw the FBI guys in that game and thought that they were really cool. So a couple years later, I thought that I should try to copy their look. I never did, and after a couple of questions that would have probably gotten me banned from that chatroom later, I decided to hold off on it for a while. But I never really stopped wanting it. It was just out of reach for someone my age.

A couple years later, I had a little bit more disposable cash. I was browsing some forums and did eventually find someone who somehow was in possession of the rail being used in that gun. The handguard itself isn't common, and was produced only in little numbers. I jumped on the opportunity to grab it, as it was kind of the keystone of the whole build. A couple hundred dollars, a few continents and a long couple of months later, the rail was in my hands.

I, uh, might have also bought the same model handguard a few months earlier, just the wrong length. I promise there's a visually distinct difference! 😅

The handguard itself is a Geissele Super Modular Rail, Mk3, Mod1, RevB, in a length of 9.5 inches. That's a mouthful, so I'll just abbreviate it into the Geissele SMR Mk3 9.5".

Geissele at the time of writing is a pretty familiar name in the firearms space. First known for their triggers, they later ventured out into making scope and red dot mounts, charging handles, firearms and most importantly, handguards. They are best known for winning the contract for US Army SOCOM's Upper Receiver Group - Improved (abbreviated URG-I). What most people picture the URG-I is a standard A2 Flat-top Upper receiver with a Daniel Defense 14.5" barrel with a mid-length gas system. The handguard present on the URG-I is Geissele's own SMR Mk16.

I originally wanted to build a clone build-ish, but halfway through decided "fuck it" and did my own thing. This isn't representative of what a military URG-I looks like. The handguard is the same, though.

Obvious tooling marks on the concave corner.

However, the Geissele Mk16's reputation is not the best. Reports of it bending under stress circulated the internet, putting it's reliability into question. The military mounts infrared laser devices on these handguards in order to better shoot at night, and these laser devices have to be adjusted to the rifle. Should the handguard shift, the "zero" of the laser would no longer be accurate.

In addition, people have called into question the prices of their triggers, citing that equally as good -if not better- triggers could be bought at cheaper prices from companies like LaRue Tactical. Geissele also does not have a good reputation for QC, as visible tooling marks can be seen on handguards, signifying a lackadaisical approach to milling the handguard out. This was even present on my 10" Mk3 handguard, which surprised me as I thought this problem was a relatively modern thing.

As a result, people don't trust Geissele as much as they did in the past. The present community was not there for Geissele's initial offerings into the market. This was during the era of picatinny rails, when keymod wasn't even a thing, and when Magpul was still fairly new at making accessories.

They first opened into the market with the Geissele SMR. At the time, it utilized a mounting system that was unique for the AR-15 platform. The barrel nut was completely smooth, save for groove and a couple of holes. The handguard would slip fit onto the barrel nut, and two cross bolts would go through the groove and the taper in the middle and behind the barrel nut. This theoretically allowed for ease of installation and un-installation while also being secure enough for mounting lasers or iron-sights.

The design was -by their own admission- based on the HK416 barrel nut and handguard system. At the time, all other handguards would either use the same mounting system as typical M4A1s (a slip ring with a spring pressing against a handguard cap) or a complicated barrel nut system that required shims to time the nut to allow the handguard to screw directly into the barrel nut. Geissele was the first at this, and the entire industry would later use a variation of this system coming forward.

Attachments are mounted via picatinny rail sections that screw into the sides and the bottom. This system, while archaic, is secure and can be trusted to hold zero for laser devices (unlike in my opinion M-lok and Keymod.) This system is also present in the Geissele HK SMR for the HK416. That handguard was adopted by US Army CAG, which is why most people see the old Geissele AR15 SMRs and think it looks like a weird HK416 handguard.

Geissele would later go on with the Mk2 and the Mk3, addressing concerns of weight during that time. They would make the Mk4 in first a unique standard, then Keymod and then M-lok, putting an end to their screwed-on picatinny sections. This system would live on in Geissele's wife's brand ALG in their Enhanced Modular Rails. However, all ALG handguards would go on to be quietly discontinued, probably in favor of moving production of handguards to the main Geissele brand.

Meanwhile, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team was at this point using a mixture of Troy Alpha Rails on their carbines and default HK416s. However, in both a Washington Post article and a manhunt both featuring the unit, they would be seen sporting carbines featuring the Geissele Mk3 handguard. One was a 10.3" barrel, while the other was a 11.5" barrel, but both were in a similar layout.

This was towards the end of their use of Troy Alpha rails. They would go on to move towards Mk3 SMRs. Given the rarity of its use and the FBI's eventual universal adoption of upper receivers with Mk4 handguards, I assume that the FBI were testing and evaluating Geissele products for a future standardization. Or, these uppers were custom built and sent to the FBI or an individual agent. Nonetheless, it's an interesting note in history that makes me wonder about what went on behind the scenes.

Next post about this will probably be about the clone build itself. I wrote this in like 30 minutes to an hour last night (It's the next day as I'm editing this)

redacted

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It's been years since I've done anything like this. Wondering if I've got it right?