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Lo and behold, a MATEN build begins!

sentry1

sentry1

Crayon Eater
Full Member
Minuteman
Jul 7, 2012
1,991
5
41
Madison, Alabama
sentry1 said:
It's (almost) done! Still waiting on a BCG.

zHhIcRnl.jpg
Click to expand...

This finally arrived today. I'm waiting on some miscellaneous parts to come in from Brownells, then assembly can get going!

x6pCZ1Vl.jpg


It's getting a Gessele SSA-E trigger, Bushnell ERS 3.5-21x50 in an ADM Recon mount, and a Magpul CTR & Battleline SAPR combo on the backend. It'll get a 16" carbine length gas system DPMS barrel to start, and get upgraded to a 20" rifle length gas system Mega Arms barrel when they come in. Still searching for a .308 BCG.

My build list so far:
MKM Extended Rifle Upper
Badger Tactical Latch upgrade (I got one with my very first AR, and I really like them) It's TACTICAL.
JP Full Mass BCG with enhanced bolt
YHM low profile gas block
DPMS AP4 7.61x51 carbine barrel (soon to be replaced with a Mega Arms 20" barrel)
AAC 51T Muzzle Brake
Norgon Ambi-catch ambidextrous mag release
Geissele SSA-E trigger
Magpul CTR stock on a 6 pos mil-spec buffer tube
Slash modified .308 carbine buffer spring

Factoring in a 3% overhead for miscelaneous stuff, shipping, and etc... the build finishes out at about $2500, not including optics.

For assembly, a standard torque wrench, a set of allen wrenches, a DPMS receiver blocks (upper and lower). Mega's manual states the DPMS is the only one they recommend for use with their uppers.

I'll keep the updates coming as parts come in.

05/06/2013
Got a BCG ordered. Forgot to order the buffer tube with all the other parts... DOH! So I snagged one off Amazon with my Prime membership, should be here tomorrow. Got the barrel installed and torqued down per the directions. Everything is looking good. I'm looking forward to testing this thing out!

P8KIs9yl.jpg
 
Last edited:
Nice!

My MATEN is supposed to arrive tomorrow. Ill be asking noob questions and watching this thread to learn how to do this!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
sentry1 said:
This finally arrived today. I'm waiting on some miscellaneous parts to come in from Brownells, then assembly can get going!

It's getting a Gessele SSA-E trigger, Bushnell ERS 3.5-21x50 in an ADM Recon mount, and a Magpul CTR & Battleline SAPR combo on the backend. It'll get a 16" carbine length gas system DPMS barrel to start, and get upgraded to a 20" rifle length gas system Mega Arms barrel when they come in. Still searching for a .308 BCG.

I'll keep the updates coming as parts come in.
Click to expand...

Good place to start, nice trigger and glass.

Also, sending a PM about a vender for a BCG.
 
Congrats! I still have awhile to wait for mine. Looks like a nice start for the build
 
Congrats! I am a little jealous of your 14" upper in your kit. I have a kit with a 12" upper that should be here Friday but now I am wishing I would have been able to get the 14" instead.

You gonna build it into a .308?
 
Yup, building this up into a .308, and then rebarreling my Rem 700 to 6.5 Creedmoor.

This is what I've got so far. All the parts won't be in from Midway and Brownells till Tuesday.

TOt6uMyl.jpg
 
Last edited:
Got the barrel installed. Lower is fully assembled. Just waiting on the buffer tube that I forgot to order the first time around, and it'll be ready to go!

U3tUpXtl.jpg
 
How hard is it to install the barrel? If you can, walk us through it?

Just got my Maten last Thursday, so looking for tips and all. :cool:
 
Barrel install was a breeze, I just followed the directions.

1) A light coating of anti-seize all around the barrel extension (my gunsmith uses red loc-tite, but he's a wise old man who knows WAY more than I do).
2) Insert the barrel into the upper. A little whack on the back of the receiver to make sure the barrel extension is fully seated.
3) Put upper on receiver block and mount on bench vise
DPMS .308 UPPER RECEIVER BLOCK | Brownells The Mega manual says this is the only one that should be used for the MATEN upper, so I bought it.
4) Cover barrel nut threads in a light coating of anti-seize
5) Torque barrel nut to 65 ft-lbs, loosen, then re-torque to 65 ft-lbs.
6) Install gas block
7) Insert BCG and test fit (still haven't gotten to this part, BCG still in the mail).

The thing I like about these new barrel nuts on the keymod handguards is that you don't have to align a hole for the gas tube to go through. Makes life much more convenient!
 
If you aren't too concerned with a little extra weight and LOP than the CTR, a Magpul ACS-L with a SAPR would fit the bill nicely as well. I missed having a hook on my AR.

A sweet build for sure.
 
I don't like the ACS line much, the one I bought had a crummy QD swivel mount installed, I sent it back and got an STR. That's on my AR15, for this build, the CTR is getting a SAPR on it. I like that option better than the PRS.

I did originally buy a PRS for this build, but that was last year, before a Magpul SAPR existed. I sold that and rolled the money into the SAPR purchase.
 
You will like the ctr/sapr combo! He really built it well. It is also lighter than the LMT sopmod version until he comes out with the new sopmod lighter version. I have it on my str and am really glad I went that way instead of the plastic larue risr with light springs.
 
I just got a mega upper and lower off gunbroker last week and should be here at the end of the week. My build is similar to yours but i did not know jp made a full mass bcg. I have been waiting for the low mass one for almost 3 months. Seeing yours is makin me antsy, i got a magpul prs,geissle sde,jp bolt,jphandguard,vortex viper pst,larue mount with a black hole weaponry 243 barrel and the mega upper and lower.
 
Those are looking good.
I really like the MATEN. I hope I can get my hands on one.
 
That's interesting. I had no idea JP had a full mass .308 BCG. Mine is ready to complete too if I ever get the stripped upper. :-/
 
looks great, i was a little worried after they stopped the monolith due to the legal action from LMT, but damn those uppers still look great!
 
I still dont see the full mass bcg on jp website. I think they just have the 223 full mass.
 
Your going to love it. I have the extended length MKM with a 20" barrel as my primary. I'm parting out my regular Maten if anyone is looking for a reciever set. It's wearing blue titanium Cerakote and has all the lower parts installed ready to add barrel, rail and stock. I have a BCG too if anyone needs one. I have no need for two now that I have an MKM.
 
Crappy lighting, but it's (almost) complete. No BCG yet, and there should really be a Mega Arms 20" barrel in it, but the DPMS AP4 barrel will do for now. I didn't bother putting the flash hider back on because... Well who am I hiding from?

8m9NNhGl.jpg


Now to post it on FB and troll all my liberal friends from NY.
 
Last edited:
sentry1 said:
Crappy lighting, but it's (almost) complete. No BCG yet, and there should really be a Mega Arms 20" barrel in it, but the DPMS AP4 barrel will do for now. I didn't bother putting the flash hider back on because... Well who am I hiding from?

8m9NNhGl.jpg


Now to post it on FB and troll all my liberal friends from NY.
Click to expand...

Looks good, I just picked up the same receiver set a couple weeks ago but haven't done anything with it. Did you get your bcg yet? If so what did you end up going with and how does it function?

If you're still looking for the Mega 20" barrel JSE surplus has them.
Mega 20" 308 Winchester Stripped Barrel
 
With the AP4 barrel and some cheap Brazilian 7.62 147gr it held about 2 MOA groups at 200 yds if I settled in and didn't jerk the shots around. With Southwest's 175gr SW118LR ammo groups tightened up a little bit, it wasn't impressive.

I'm going to need to get a SAPR on that stock. With the scope height I need on this thing for a 50mm objective, I don't have a cheekweld, I have a chinweld, and that's just not comfortable or stable for me.

Thanks for the heads up on JSE! I snagged a 20" barrel, the site said they had 4 in stock, so I'm hopeful I'll have a better barrel soon.
 
I plan on running a CTR and SAPR on mine, still unsure if I want to get one of the mega barrels or go another route.
 
Mega's website guarantees 1MOA or better at 100yds with match ammo. And considering that the barrel was actually available, and the price point, I decided it was worth the risk of testing out a new barrel.

I've heard (on the internet, where everything is true), that the Mega branded barrels are made by one of the reputable barrel makers. Haven't seen any sort of confirmation on that, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping the barrel works well for me.
 
Yea, after endless ordeals. I got excited and ordered a .223 JP BCG from a site, fuck my life, that site setup was cramped and I thought it was the .308 BCGs they had in stock. $322 for a complete JP .308 BCG, hell yea! WRONG.

Cancelled that order, stalked arfcom until I found a FA chrome BCG, had to part with some of my M855 stash to get it :(. Got a cheapo DPMS bolt from a shop up in TN, though I have my hopes pinned on getting a JP enhanced bolt at some point. Brownells had firing pins in stock, finally!

The new barrel should be here soon, but I'm out of town this holiday weekend. Next weekend I'll break out the IMR4064 and 175 SMKs, and make some bastard Mark 316 Mod 0 to shoot.
 
I'm glad you got it worked out. I was going to offer you my JP BCG since I've been back ordered on the upper for 6 months. At least someone could enjoy their build.
 
Take pictures once its on there and report how it shoots. Im stuck looking for a barrel and have been looking at the Mega 20" for my Maten build
 
My God, that is sweet. I have a MA-Ten build, too, but the new keymod MA-Ten's are a brilliant design.
 
Exscuse the necro post, but, OP, did you ever complete this?

sent from Jennifer Lawrence's bedroom
 
Could you possibly link it, please? I'm trying to find it in your posts, but nottt having much luck haha

sent from Jennifer Lawrence's bedroom
 
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