Picture(s) A Day – 11 December 2010

Today was a very good day – I got to shoot my new rifle for the first time   I posted a picture of it Sunday night after I took delivery, but I wanted better circumstances for any further pictures.  The Clark County Shooting Park worked out pretty well for that and a little help from Infinite Arms helped out, too

11 December 2010 - My new AR-15 from New Frontier Armory - Beta C-MAG courtesy Infinite Arms

While it may look complex, my AR-15 is actually very simple compared to some other examples out there.

11 December 2010 - My new AR-15 from New Frontier Armory - Beta C-MAG courtesy Infinite Arms

The lower receiver is the part that is legally considered to be the firearm.  It houses the fire controls (trigger, hammer, and safety) and is where the stock, pistol grip, and magazine are attached.  My lower came from PlumCrazy Firearms and is really advanced technology.  PlumCrazy makes their lower receiver out of polymer and goes as far as making the hammer, trigger, and safety out of polymer as well.  With so much polymer, the entire lower receiver assembly including the stock and pistol grip weighs just 1.5 pounds.  I haven’t had the chance to weigh another lower on a scale, but the PlumCrazy is quite a bit lighter.

Another advantage of a PlumCrazy lower receiver is its price.  A complete PlumCrazy C-15 receiver assembly with the pistol grip, stock assembly, and fire control group installed and ready to be fitted with an upper receiver retails at New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms for $129.99.  MSRP for a similar assembly varies by manufacturer, but to give you an idea of the range I searched and found that Bushmaster’s MSRP is $370.00, DPMS shows $359.95, and Stag Arms suggests $290.00.  All are top notch equipment, but I haven’t found any way they’re superior to my PlumCrazy, so I’ll just enjoy the light weight and low price

11 December 2010 - My new AR-15 from New Frontier Armory - Beta C-MAG courtesy Infinite Arms.

While the lower receiver is the legal firearm, the upper receiver assembly is just as important if not more so.  The upper receiver is the part that contains the bolt and bolt carrier and is what the sights, hand guards, and barrel are connected.  My upper was built at New Frontier Armory and is a true marvel of value and engineering.

The barrel on my upper is a 16″ stainless steel match unit from Black Hole Weaponry which features three groove polygonal rifling for excellent accuracy.  The hand guard is an aluminum Yankee Hill Machine diamond rail.  It’s a “free float” system that doesn’t touch the barrel which increases accuracy.  The diamond rail has four Picatinny rails for mounting a wide variety of accessories.  This particular rail is “specter length” which covers the gas block that where the gas from the fired round is tapped from the barrel to operate the action and is capped off with an end cap which is also made by YHM.  The flash suppressor is a YHM Phantom 5C2 which prevents a large muzzle flash at night to preserve the shooter’s night vision.  The Phantom 5C2 has no downward facing port to minimize dust being kicked up by firing when prone.

11 December 2010 - My new AR-15 from New Frontier Armory - Beta C-MAG courtesy Infinite Arms

Last, but by no means least are the sights.  I chose Magpul MBUS (Magpul Back Up Sights) for their combination of function and value.  At about $95 for a set of these folding sights, you might think they’re expensive but other options generally start at $200 for a set of front and rear sights.  As I said, these are folding sights and as the name implies they were intended to be backup sights for someone whose optical (red dot, scope, or holographic) sight has failed for whatever reason.  They’re made of polymer just like the Magpul PMAG magazines.  Some people say they’re not good enough to go to war with.  I’m not too worried because I’m not going to war with this gun   For now they’ll serve their purpose just as well as any other peep sights until I get an optic of some sort and then they’ll stay on the gun in support of that optic.

11 December 2010 - My new AR-15 from New Frontier Armory - Beta C-MAG courtesy Infinite Arms

The magazines I’ve chosen are Magpul PMAG units, but we’ll get into those in a later post.  Adam from Infinite Arms offered me the use of his Beta C-Mag and I accepted   This is a $250+ magazine which I doubt I could afford anytime soon and something many people have never seen except on the internet or in magazines.  Most people buy these magazines for their “cool factor” as there are some drawbacks aside from the price such as weight.  I could see buying one of these for a few reasons like not having to reload often while target shooting.  I may not want to buy one right now, but it’s nice to know that in Nevada I have the option to do so later if I change my mind

DSCN11 December 2010 - Sighting in the irons - Yes, I need some practice

I started sighting in on the left hand target and the rounds were hitting way high in the beginning.  This target was only 25 yards away, so the rounds should be hitting a bit low to be correctly sighted for 100 yards.  I’ll work on the sights more the next time I go out

The right hand target was mainly shooting for fun – I was doing some rapid fire and double taps, so I wasn’t worried about pinpoint accuracy

My shooting done, I headed back down to New Frontier Armory / Infinite Arms to return Adam’s magazine and pick up a bit more ammo

11 December 2010 - Panorama - Last light on Las Vegas, NV

11 December 2010 - Panorama - Sunset on Sunrise Mountain

11 December 2010 - Panorama - Sunset seen from the Clark County Shooting Park

11 December 2010 - Panorama - Incredible color in the sky over Las Vegas, NV

Sunset tonight was especially gorgeous.  High, thin clouds lit the ground with a rose colored half light after the sun dropped behind Mt. Charleston and covered the Las Vegas valley in shadow.  As I said at the beginning, today was a very good day

Have a great Sunday everyone