Barrel done
I don’t know if there are multiple starts on the upper thread but I kept tightening and backing off until I got it to the point where it was adequately tight and one of the holes lined up. Getting the gas tube in took a little finagling but it’s in and pinned in place, and the handguards are in and properly aligned.
Tomorrow I’ll stake the gas key and I think that pretty well completes the build (other than either replacing the carry handle or fixing the one in place) The carry handle thing still annoys me, I ought to know when to stop. It’s just aluminum, dammit. I’ve broken 1″ taps for Christ’s sake.
Anyway, a few steps closer to being done. Stupid question: What do you do with a Fakog type sight with the regular sight still in place? Does it aim over the regular sight?
26 comments Og | Uncategorized
you can get a carry handle moount for your facog, but since your cary handle is removable, I would just take it off.
yes, I know. I figured to just mount it on the rail- but won’t the front sight be all I see?
The Bushnell facog is a zero mag red dot and the dot co-witnesses with the irons.
Ah, cool. Then that’s the ticket for me, at least until I can get a rail type gas block with a folding buis.
Co-witness is the hotness in a fighting gun. Or the new black. Or whatever. Guys who know more than me run their guns that way by choice so I do too and try to keep up.
Is the lower third co-witness still a thing? I’ve never really understood that one.
aczarnowski,
If you’re going to take the time to mock it, you should at least know that lower-third is the new new hotness and a straight-up co-witness is so 2004. ;)
Og,
Personally? The only reason I’d go with a folding front BUIS is if it’s just intended for range use and might see a low-power magnifying optic mounted at some point.
I figure on a real gun, if the optic goes toes up, then I’m not going to want to take time fooling around raising the front sight. (And a higher powered magnifying optic, pretty much anything over 4X, makes the front sight tower disappear when you look through the glass anyway, due to some kind of light-bending deviltry I don’t understand…)
toes up?
Modern optics are durable enough that I don’t even bother with iron sights. My ACOG in Iraq took quite a beating and never went toes up.
I have a 4x ACOG and the fixed front sight just enough in focus to bother me. I got a folder on a gas block. I will say this, if the ACOG is trashed, I’ll bet the AR is trashed as well. Trijicon makes good stuff. Expensive but good.
I won’t be able to afford an Acog, it’ll be a facog. Even those, though, are pretty well made.
Son was really happy when finally talked the supply guy into issuing him a ACOG; he flat loved it.
Of course, I found the civilian price for the model he has is around $1200
Professor Hale,
“Modern optics are durable enough that I don’t even bother with iron sights. My ACOG in Iraq took quite a beating and never went toes up.”
Yeah, but why tempt Murphy? The way I figure it, irons are cheap insurance. I mean, somebody wins every lottery drawing and a certain number of poor bastards get electrocuted on the golf course every year, and if I was playing the odds straight, then I wouldn’t even own a fucking social carbine, or a pistol for that matter. :p
(And a Bushnell FACOG is nowhere near as durable as modern optics of the EOTech/Aimpoint/Trijicon variety. For starters, battery life is measured in hours, rather than months or years…)
“irons are cheap insurance.”
So if you put on a facog, and leave the front irons, what do you use for back irons? Or do you just use the buis on top of the facog?
Kids these days and their new fangled co-witness setups.
I’m open to schooling though. Why lower third? With straight co-witness I get to index my rifle hold off the front sight post. All I hear about lower third is it gets the sight post out of the way. That’s never been a problem for me.
Og,
You want a folding rear sight with the facog. I like my plastic MagPul OK if you don’t want to spend $120 on everything else.
If the ACOG goes down, I have a whole cabinet full of back up guns. But in a pinch, I am pretty sure I can align the barrel at zombie-sized close in targets well enough to hit them even with out sights.
I got the model with the great big glow in the dark ring and post sights built on top. Guess if the glass is busted out and you are still able to shoot they would be better than nothing. I like the idea of a set of folding backups. I did spend a few extra bucks for GG&G rear and front, I like having elevation in the rear. I fell out with cheap sights and optics years ago, I have several rifles with more money on top of them than I paid for the rifle.
Yeah, Blind, if I was gonna be serious about this it’d have a better sight. Since it’s gonna be a toy it won’t get much investment.
Og,
“Or do you just use the buis on top of the facog?”
I’ve got the FACOG on the M&P-15/22, so I just use the rear irons (plastics, actually,) that came on the piece. The plastic Magpul MBUIS on the centerfire gun seems to work good, too.
aczarnowski,
“All I hear about lower third is it gets the sight post out of the way. That’s never been a problem for me.”
Hey, I just said that lower third was the new new hotness; I didn’t say I preferred it. Given my druthers, I’druther have a straight cowitness.
I mean, sure the front sight tower is there in front of your dot, but since it’s there when you’re using irons too, I can’t for the life of me figure out why it suddenly becomes a problem when you slap a dot on the top of the gun. ;)
Tam,
Have you ever dealt with Barska Fakogs?
If i could get a barska facog for thirty bucks id try one, but given druthers i think the bushnell is nearly as cheap and is at least a recognizable name. Or are they all made in the same muddy asian shithole, Tam?
If the label is all that separates a bushnell from an ncstar i can get the ncstar cheap.
The Bushnell is maybe made in a slightly better grade of Chinese internment camp. Also, all anecdotal evidence I’ve gathered shows that, should you actually decide to use their customer service department, you have a better than average chance of being a satisfied customer.
Then my original supposition is the one I’ll go with. Plus the Bushnell looks more tactikewl.
Even WITH the bushnell I’ll still be in the neighborhood of $585 total.
If the $30 Barska is like the $30 BSA I had on the Carbine it’ll go toes-up at the first shot. Good thing WalMart takes returns, that’s my kind of customer service.
I have a Barska 4x on my squirrel rifle, and I like it fine. it’s bright and it was cheap, and has lasted for five years.