One of my long term projects is finally coming together.



This was my first mock up. I'm using my 6520 lower that is SBR'd and usually is my XM177E2 clone.

I couldn't figure a good way to hold the front sight base for drill and pinning so I modeled up a set of fixtures in Fusion 360 and printed them up last night.







Worked like a charm. What did y'all do when you built yours?

Couple more questions.

What buffer and/or mods did you do for 9mm?

I don't remember where I got the front sight base but boy is that thing got some loose tolerances. The hole is .630" and my barrel is .620". Don't get me started on the roll pin holes for the folding front sight.

Does your folding sight jiggle around and if so does it affect accuracy?

Do I need a 50 meter rear sight?

I was going to say, that's a hell of a way to start, until I noticed the username...  

The 9mm is really nice to shoot with a heavy buffer.

I made up a heavy buffer with the following:
(1) Ebay H3 buffer, this was a bit of an accident from a different project, but when they arrived I found they were steel bodies with steel weights.
(3) tungsten weights, used to replace the steel weights in the before mentioned buffer.

Ended up with about an 8oz buffer for $30, which was good enough and I didn't want to spend $100 on a heavy buffer from some of the online vendors.


I've had one of these buffers in my kick around Spikes SBR lower for several years now with no issues, and up until recently when I made a dedicated lower for my DOE, I was switching back and forth between my 9mm DOE upper with magwell insert and a suppressed 10.5" 5.56 upper.
As a point of reference, I do not run a spacer in my buffer tube and have not had any issues.

I did end up needing a 9mm mag catch, the regular one wouldn't hold the mag enough.

Could it be a Sherluck part?
They're a bit "loose" on tolerances. I didn't notice on the barrel as I cut the barrel to fit the sight hole.
The folding sight on mine was loose. The problem is that the detent was a ball bearing that was too loose in the hole. I turned a new rounded end cylindrical detent that fit the hole and I replaced the roll pin with a hard solid  pin. I can't remember if the longer detent stiffened up the locking of the sight, or if I put a stiffer spring in it, but either way it works.

Who makes the handguards and front sight now?  Matsucorp doesn't list the handguards on their website.

When I got my barrel from Liemohn at the SAR West show he told me they bought all of Matsucorp's handguards.

I don't see anything other than original handguards in his store.

Liemohn Manufacturing LLC

I think this is a Sherluck front sight now that I think about it. If I do another one I'll get them from somewhere else.

I can fix it but it sure would be nice if I didn't have to.



Looks pretty mean with Magpul and Endomag inserts. The last round bolt hold open even works.

80's Action Hero edition!

Sherluck makes the front sight parts and the handguards, and the prices are reasonable. The parts are nice but some of tolerances are a bit loose. It doesn't take much to fix them up. Of course, it's easier to do before you install them. The biggest issue is the undersized ball used for the sight detent that allows the sight to move around. A cylindrical detent sized to fit the hole eliminates the problem.

Sherluck's handguards are one-piece delrin. They are not authentic in construction and don't have heat shields, but they are very high quality and have the appearance of the original handguards. They actually worked better for me than the originals as I needed the extra room for the 5.56 gas system. I was going to put a heat resistant liner in mine, but I found I didn't need it even with some moderate full auto firing.

The laser's almost as big as the damn gun!

I think it weighs more!

I’ve played around with several different buffers  versions in my 9mm DOE. Currently I’m running the  hydraulic piston style buffer and my gun likes it best.

I want to do a DOE build in .300 BLK....

That is a sexy build OP. Thanks for sharing.

Sweet!  I went a little different route, I used the CMMG MK9 lower for my build.  

The upper and BCG are Colt.  I got the handguards and FSB from Matsuo and ADCO did the barrel for me.

Tried it with a JP Silent Captured Spring setup, that didn't work.  I've swapped out to the Spike's ST9X.