What a $247 M16A1 kit from Sportsman Guide looks like... - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What a $247 M16A1 kit from Sportsman Guide looks like...

Posted: 10/2/2014 12:37:47 AM EDT

So as some of you know, for a VERY brief time SG had their complete M16A1 kits (minus barrel, autosear and receiver) at a crazy low price. As a non-member, I scored one for under $250 shipped to my door using a $50 off coupon. They are advertised as used in good condition, and I have to say that's accurate. Even came with a new 30 round Brownels mag just for good measure!

Furniture looks okay, no spraypainted cage numbers on the stock, but has some white over spray on it from god only knows what. Next you can see that there are some small cracks in the buttplate, not a huge deal.

The triangle hand guards look fine, all intact with no cracks. Just a lot of handling marks which is to be expected, over all very usable for my needs. The upper receiver also has a lot of handling marks which is okay but more annoying, but more annoying is the super rusty ejection port door...

Everything else looks great, BCG looks almost new, no rust on the trigger group, so on and such. For under $250 I know I lucked out on this one, and its going to make for a awesome build, hats off to Sportsman for a awesome deal on this piece of history:)

Posted: 10/2/2014 12:56:09 AM EDT

[#1]

Congratulations! That kit will clean up nicely. AR15sport has nice 20 barrels that would make a nice 603 upper with that kit. Pictures when you build it are a must.

Posted: 10/2/2014 2:00:10 AM EDT

[#2]

So - another route to the $400 AR.

Posted: 10/2/2014 3:14:05 AM EDT

[#3]

Good score. There are some decent looking reporduction port doors available on e-bay for $12. Auction # 111295834174. No affiliation. Would work great until you find a deal on an original as they have become rather pricey. Clean and use the sprng from your kit as the repros aren't wound correctly IMO. Too much tension. Hard to tell difference from repro and original door. Thinking they were made for movie prop guns originally and have filtered through the cracks to retroland (this could be wrong but the one I bought came from a movie prop company). Has correct pin and latch on door is authentic. If reproduction it's very close to original rectangle pad door in weight, dimension etc.

Even stripping and reparking the pits are still gonna show. Same crapshoot, some doors aren't rusted and some are. All had a nice coat of dried grease. Look forward to seeing build. May be able to fill pits with Norrell's or Alumahyde or such. Not like Colt actually produced any of the originals.

Posted: 10/2/2014 8:08:27 AM EDT

[#4]

Use some bronze wool (pot scrubbers) and oil on that port door. It will clean up nicely

Posted: 10/2/2014 9:44:35 AM EDT

[#5]

Did the upper receiver have any forge codes?

Posted: 10/2/2014 10:31:19 AM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Congratulations! That kit will clean up nicely. AR15sport has nice 20 barrels that would make a nice 603 upper with that kit. Pictures when you build it are a must.

+1

Posted: 10/2/2014 1:09:32 PM EDT

[#7]

Details on the BCG? Actual Colt, with markings? Nice score for sure.

Posted: 10/2/2014 3:08:06 PM EDT

[#8]

I missed out on these. My membership didn't activate in time to get the lower price

But that looks like a decent kit, I know many people thought these would be beat to shit with little to no finish left.

Posted: 10/2/2014 4:38:44 PM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
Congratulations! That kit will clean up nicely. AR15sport has nice 20 barrels that would make a nice 603 upper with that kit. Pictures when you build it are a must.

View Quote

Sorry to go off topic but how well do those bbls perform? Love ar15sport.

Nice kit op. I was too scared to jump

Posted: 10/2/2014 6:28:03 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Details on the BCG? Actual Colt, with markings? Nice score for sure.

View Quote

Quoted:
Did the upper receiver have any forge codes?

View Quote

Here are a few more pics, like i said the BCG is in fantastic shape and is factory Colt from what I can tell. The upper is C H marked which from my brief research tells me it was made between 1974-82

Posted: 10/2/2014 6:34:11 PM EDT

[#11]

I know there is a lot of love for the classic Stoner design, and I've been a fan for a long time. Even when the tactical craze was at it's highest I would watch Vietnam War movies and listen to my dads stories and just lust at the rifles and knew one day id have get my own A1. By no means is my kit perfect, but IMO its not beat to hell either and should serve me well for my first classic AR15 build. Ill keep ya'll posted along the way

A question to anyone who may know; if i were to send off a standard lower receiver to US Anodizing to have it refinished to match my upper, whats are ya'll paying for this service?

Quoted:

Quoted:
Congratulations! That kit will clean up nicely. AR15sport has nice 20 barrels that would make a nice 603 upper with that kit. Pictures when you build it are a must.

View Quote

Sorry to go off topic but how well do those bbls perform? Love ar15sport.
Nice kit op. I was too scared to jump

View Quote

Thanks guys, Ive also been looking at the ar15sport barrels, seems like an inexpensive option I just hope they are quality...can anyone chime in?

Quoted:
So - another route to the $400 AR.

View Quote

I could probably make that work on this build, but I dont think i will. But i know itll come out cheaper than snagging an SP1

Quoted:
Use some bronze wool (pot scrubbers) and oil on that port door. It will clean up nicely

View Quote

Quoted:
Good score. There are some decent looking reporduction port doors available on e-bay for $12. Auction # 111295834174. No affiliation. Would work great until you find a deal on an original as they have become rather pricey. Clean and use the sprng from your kit as the repros aren't wound correctly IMO. Too much tension. Hard to tell difference from repro and original door. Thinking they were made for movie prop guns originally and have filtered through the cracks to retroland (this could be wrong but the one I bought came from a movie prop company). Has correct pin and latch on door is authentic. If reproduction it's very close to original rectangle pad door in weight, dimension etc.

Even stripping and reparking the pits are still gonna show. Same crapshoot, some doors aren't rusted and some are. All had a nice coat of dried grease. Look forward to seeing build. May be able to fill pits with Norrell's or Alumahyde or such. Not like Colt actually produced any of the originals.

View Quote

Ill have to check ebay if my cleaning job doesnt work out, thanks for the help gents

Posted: 10/2/2014 7:53:28 PM EDT

[#12]

Thanks for posting pictures of the kit, now I know what I missed out on! Congratulations and look forward to seeing your build.

Posted: 10/3/2014 5:39:52 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:
Thanks for posting pictures of the kit, now I know what I missed out on! Congratulations and look forward to seeing your build.

View Quote

Thank you sir

Here's how the ejection port door turned out with a little good old elbow grease. Got all the rust off best I could and it shows pitting and a lot of the finish is gone.....I love it! Honesly it took more work cleaning the upper then it did fixing the door, and after everything was done I rem-oiled' the crap out of everything thing and I couldn't be happier with it.

Also, after a bit of research I did pull the trigger on an ar15sport barrel. Once its here I'll use my barrel but and handguard cap though if I can. So far so good

Posted: 10/19/2014 7:48:24 PM EDT

[#14]

UPDATE

Did some testing today after assembling my kit on a A2 lower (haven't decided yet what to do yet lower wise) ran alright but has weak extraction. Get about 1-2 FTE per 20 rounds. Action is super smooth and recoil is mild with xm193. Fun project so far

Posted: 10/19/2014 8:22:41 PM EDT

[#15]

What's the twist on that barrel?

Looks like you're well on your way, dude. Good for you!

Ah, the memories . . .

Posted: 10/19/2014 8:33:35 PM EDT

[#16]

Looks like a great bargain to build a retro rifle.

Posted: 10/19/2014 9:34:52 PM EDT

[#17]

Quote History

Quoted:
Looks like a great bargain to build a retro rifle.

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Quote History

Quoted:
Looks like a great bargain to build a retro rifle.

That's what I'm going for sir, thank you

Quoted:
What's the twist on that barrel?

Looks like you're well on your way, dude. Good for you!

Ah, the memories . . .

Thanks man, it is a 1/9 twist with m4 ramps. Not super authentic but I wanted reliability and inexpensive so it seemed like a good choice. A close eye will also noticed I did a light BFPU job with sos pads on the new barrel and front sight to match the kit

Posted: 10/20/2014 1:47:57 AM EDT

[#18]

Looks good especially for your introductory build. You probably win "most economical" category hands down.

Posted: 10/20/2014 1:57:26 AM EDT

[#19]

Quote History

Quoted:
UPDATE

<a href="http://s131.photobucket.com/user/rob_97dsm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/rob_97dsm/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg</a>

Did some testing today after assembling my kit on a A2 lower (haven't decided yet what to do yet lower wise) ran alright but has weak extraction. Get about 1-2 FTE per 20 rounds. Action is super smooth and recoil is mild with xm193. Fun project so far

View Quote

I would replace the gas rings and the extractor spring for good measure at a minimum..

Posted: 10/20/2014 2:58:22 AM EDT

[#20]

You did a fantastic job cleaning up that port door, it looks so much better in the finished pic with the tree in the background.

Posted: 10/20/2014 8:34:15 AM EDT

[#21]

Quote History

Quoted:

I would replace the gas rings and the extractor spring for good measure at a minimum..

View Quote View All Quotes

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
UPDATE

<a href="http://s131.photobucket.com/user/rob_97dsm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/rob_97dsm/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg</a>

Did some testing today after assembling my kit on a A2 lower (haven't decided yet what to do yet lower wise) ran alright but has weak extraction. Get about 1-2 FTE per 20 rounds. Action is super smooth and recoil is mild with xm193. Fun project so far

I would replace the gas rings and the extractor spring for good measure at a minimum..

+1 on this advise. I've learned to do this on all the kit builds I have done. Turned out great. Looks like it was a cheap, fun project.

Posted: 10/20/2014 9:03:54 AM EDT

[#22]

Not a bad kit from what I see.

Posted: 10/20/2014 10:53:41 AM EDT

[#23]

I'd love to get a kit like that but they wont' sell to NJ

Posted: 10/20/2014 12:03:31 PM EDT

[#24]

Good kit for an instant "battlefield pickup" build!

Posted: 10/20/2014 9:54:22 PM EDT

[#25]

Quote History

Quoted:

+1 on this advise. I've learned to do this on all the kit builds I have done. Turned out great. Looks like it was a cheap, fun project.

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Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
UPDATE

<a href="http://s131.photobucket.com/user/rob_97dsm/media/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p284/rob_97dsm/Mobile%20Uploads/20141019_133105_zps1jdvgemi.jpg</a>

Did some testing today after assembling my kit on a A2 lower (haven't decided yet what to do yet lower wise) ran alright but has weak extraction. Get about 1-2 FTE per 20 rounds. Action is super smooth and recoil is mild with xm193. Fun project so far

I would replace the gas rings and the extractor spring for good measure at a minimum..

+1 on this advise. I've learned to do this on all the kit builds I have done. Turned out great. Looks like it was a cheap, fun project.

This will be my next step, thanks guys

Quoted:
You did a fantastic job cleaning up that port door, it looks so much better in the finished pic with the tree in the background.

Quoted:
Looks good especially for your introductory build. You probably win "most economical" category hands down.

Thank you both

Posted: 10/20/2014 9:55:49 PM EDT

[#26]

Quote History

Quoted:
Good kit for an instant "battlefield pickup" build!

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Quote History

Quoted:
Good kit for an instant "battlefield pickup" build!

Quoted:
I'd love to get a kit like that but they wont' sell to NJ

Quoted:
Not a bad kit from what I see.

So far so good with this kit, I can see the retro stuff could easily become an addiction

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - What a $247 M16A1 kit from Sportsman Guide looks like...

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