Quick backstory:
After a 30 year run of fooling with the M1A/M14/M25 platform in every combination of furniture, barrels and parts imaginable in so many rifles and to the tune of so many tens of thousands of dollars that I've lost count and after always getting out MOA'd by my buddies with their out of the box stock AR 10s, I finally resigned myself and came into the 21st century this year and started jacking around with the AR 10 platform after realizing that the physics of the beast just plain outweigh the old timey sex appeal and nostalgia of the venerable old Devine rifle. Being one who tends to go all in when he likes something, I've already run through a few DI and piston rigs in the last few months but hadn't yet found that sweet half minute hog busting rig that I've been dreaming of.
Now I've got LT mounts and hardware on a lot of my stuff so I know how well engineered and robust that kit is but in the past LT rifles to me have always been a sort of esoteric somewhat over priced DI platform that I knew little about and cared even less about.
While at the range in south central Texas recently, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our finest; a 75th Ranger Sniper home on leave from Fort Benning playing with some of his toys. (I love the fact that down time for these guys means taking the wife to the range and doing more shooting). Here I am with a piston rig trying to stay under 1.5 while getting out shot by his wife with his 16" OBR and him driving tack standing offhand with an SBR. Anyway being a good sport, he let me have some trigger time on his 16" OBR topped with a Horus reticled Bushy Elite and my shooting life changed for ever. Needless to say, I had an epiphany!
After driving round after round of M118 practically thru the same ragged hole as well or better than any of my 700 bolt guns I knew I had found it; the elusive white rhino, Moby Dick, Bigfoot and boy was I was smitten! I had it bad son! It didn't take me 24 hours to call and get on the LT list for an 18" and then a 20" OBR but damn it all a year is too long a wait so off to Gunbroker a hunting I did go while draining my safe of contents like a true gear whore to fund my new LT addiction.
I found a well used SMOS receivered 16" OBR on the other side of the country up in Washington state. On the first day to the range she snapped the pin on the PRI latch and started stove piping on me real bad. The latch was a quick fix and the stove piping turned out to be minor too just a broken extractor spring which I replaced with one from a 15 just to get me by. In spite of everything, she shot well in the .6 to .8 range with factory 175s and 168s.
So I told you that story to tell you this one.
I was at the range this last Monday shooting with a bud who lent me an Armalite AR-10 extractor spring, plastic titty and o ring to get me by while I called the fellas at LT to get some spares.
Now I'm a realist in that I realize that consumables break especially on well used equipment and I don't really expect these folks who are getting slammed by orders and trying to meet demand to care too much about a well used second hand rifle but after taking my serial number John called me back in less than 20 minutes and told me that my rifle was manufactured in early 2010 and that he wasn't going to sell me extractor springs. He was sending me a new bolt carrier group just to be on the safe side. It's now Wednesday night and I'm holding a brand new gorgeous chrome plated bolt carrier. What can I say.
It's like rollin up in an F40 Enzo, it's got admirers and haters but everyone knows what it is and what it can do. Now the pressure's always on me to live up to the capabilities of this rig.
Laruminati for life baby!!!!!!!!!!!!
After a 30 year run of fooling with the M1A/M14/M25 platform in every combination of furniture, barrels and parts imaginable in so many rifles and to the tune of so many tens of thousands of dollars that I've lost count and after always getting out MOA'd by my buddies with their out of the box stock AR 10s, I finally resigned myself and came into the 21st century this year and started jacking around with the AR 10 platform after realizing that the physics of the beast just plain outweigh the old timey sex appeal and nostalgia of the venerable old Devine rifle. Being one who tends to go all in when he likes something, I've already run through a few DI and piston rigs in the last few months but hadn't yet found that sweet half minute hog busting rig that I've been dreaming of.
Now I've got LT mounts and hardware on a lot of my stuff so I know how well engineered and robust that kit is but in the past LT rifles to me have always been a sort of esoteric somewhat over priced DI platform that I knew little about and cared even less about.
While at the range in south central Texas recently, I had the pleasure of meeting one of our finest; a 75th Ranger Sniper home on leave from Fort Benning playing with some of his toys. (I love the fact that down time for these guys means taking the wife to the range and doing more shooting). Here I am with a piston rig trying to stay under 1.5 while getting out shot by his wife with his 16" OBR and him driving tack standing offhand with an SBR. Anyway being a good sport, he let me have some trigger time on his 16" OBR topped with a Horus reticled Bushy Elite and my shooting life changed for ever. Needless to say, I had an epiphany!
After driving round after round of M118 practically thru the same ragged hole as well or better than any of my 700 bolt guns I knew I had found it; the elusive white rhino, Moby Dick, Bigfoot and boy was I was smitten! I had it bad son! It didn't take me 24 hours to call and get on the LT list for an 18" and then a 20" OBR but damn it all a year is too long a wait so off to Gunbroker a hunting I did go while draining my safe of contents like a true gear whore to fund my new LT addiction.
I found a well used SMOS receivered 16" OBR on the other side of the country up in Washington state. On the first day to the range she snapped the pin on the PRI latch and started stove piping on me real bad. The latch was a quick fix and the stove piping turned out to be minor too just a broken extractor spring which I replaced with one from a 15 just to get me by. In spite of everything, she shot well in the .6 to .8 range with factory 175s and 168s.
So I told you that story to tell you this one.
I was at the range this last Monday shooting with a bud who lent me an Armalite AR-10 extractor spring, plastic titty and o ring to get me by while I called the fellas at LT to get some spares.
Now I'm a realist in that I realize that consumables break especially on well used equipment and I don't really expect these folks who are getting slammed by orders and trying to meet demand to care too much about a well used second hand rifle but after taking my serial number John called me back in less than 20 minutes and told me that my rifle was manufactured in early 2010 and that he wasn't going to sell me extractor springs. He was sending me a new bolt carrier group just to be on the safe side. It's now Wednesday night and I'm holding a brand new gorgeous chrome plated bolt carrier. What can I say.
It's like rollin up in an F40 Enzo, it's got admirers and haters but everyone knows what it is and what it can do. Now the pressure's always on me to live up to the capabilities of this rig.
Laruminati for life baby!!!!!!!!!!!!
