Originally Posted By nchapa:
I would rather you start an optic thread in the optics forum, it will keep alot of the trolls away.  The people that go to more specialized forums are usually seeking info and knowledge which is what you are providing.

Thanks

Originally Posted By zackmars:


Well, no more federal for me

Originally Posted By dillehayd:

Great info! Thank you!



You said that the gas tubes wear out after about 12 months. Can you give us some idea what round count that would be at (e.g. on average) for a particular rifle? I presume that's all, or nearly all on, FA.



There are precious few resources for information gleaned from that volume of fire. Thank you for sharing!

Originally Posted By deuc224:
Got a question for Ron, im also interested in the replacing gas tube every 12 months, do you do this because erosion or to be on the safe side? Have or will you ever try on of the V7 tubes and see if it lasts longer?

http://www.vsevenweaponsystems.com/collections/frontpage/products/v7-extreme-environment-gas-tube

Just curious if that tube is the truth or a gimmick.

Originally Posted By HendersonDefense:



You couldn't be any further from the truth with your opinion but I will enlighten you about what we do and how we do it.

First, every single day that I am there (and I work six days a week at least 10-12 hours a day) I hear "oh my God.. I had no clue that's what it's really like" or "how did those guys do it during (insert WWII, Korea, Vietnam, OIF, OEF)" and the "wow.. I never wanted to touch a gun in my life but that's the most fun I think I've ever had". The customers DO walk away with an appreciation that THEY have because 90% of our guests don't own a weapon, let alone have ever seen a real, functioning example in person. Their only knowledge of a gun is from a movie where some actor holds two Uzi's or AK's and sprays across the scene killing every bad guy in sight. My staff are allowed to talk ZERO politics with guests and it always puts a smile on my face when I hear "I am from NYC/San Francisco and we just don't like guns but wow... that was SO different than what I thought it was going to be like... can I buy something like this where I live".  

Now, add to the fact that over 90% (actually higher but I don't have the time to do the math) of my staff are either prior service or still in the Guard/Reserves and the respect and appreciation factor just doubled with our guests. Every single one of my RSO's is prior service or Guard/Reserves (as well as all our drivers and my managers) and a majority of them are OIF/OEF combat vets. You can hear their appreciation when they start asking "so ALL of you were in the military.. my gosh, thank you so much for your service (and I would bet 99 out of 100 people have never uttered those words in their life).

As for the making money comment... I don't employ 58 people just to give me something to do, of course it's to make money just like any other business model. It's called capitalism and that's what we do. I don't judge people for their occupations because as long as it's legal and you feel comfortable with it, all the power to you.

I deal with GI's everyday that have heavy baggage they brought home with them from Iraq and Afghanistan. Nobody ever says the "PTSD" word because the minute you do, you're a "faggot" or "pussy". Meanwhile, as the employer I see it through their eyes and hear it in their words. I feel that I have a VERY generous policy towards PTO and if things are bugging you, take it. It also means that if you need to change from RSO to driver or driver to armorer, then so be it. It's put us in a bind more than once but since I claim we provide a "military experience", I as the employer, am also working in a "military experience". Everyday isn't sunshine and roses but I wouldn't trade a single one of my staff because they each bring their own "military experience" to work with them and that is what's made us so successful. I could go on and on about my staff because I know each of them by their name and they continue to raise the bar on what I think model employees should be. Quite a few of my guys are still in their twenties and medically retired from injuries they sustained while overseas. It lays heavy on my heart how these young men are so physically and emotionally damaged (IED's, blast injuries, falls, etc) but we adjust OUR schedule around them, not like most standard businesses.

Lastly, there are places like the ones you described here in Vegas. I know for a fact they are in it for the money and it's just an equation of how many customers can they get through the door and how fast can they get them through. They have the "gun girl" RSO's with hot pants, fishnet stockings and low-cut tops and that's 100% fine with me. They are providing a service to customers and they providing jobs. My problem is when they endanger employees and customers with shitty safety practices. We try to avoid hiring staff from other ranges because nobody wants retreads from places with bad practices but occasionally there are some gems among them. I know exactly how many ranges can give two shits about employees and lead hazards, throwing away filters contaminated with lead right into the garbage, writing employees up and firing them for having high lead levels (so OSHA doesn't find out how bad things are) or the TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars we spend each month to ensure a safe environment for both my staff and guests. That may seem like a stretch to some of you but trust me, I would rather be spending that kind of money each month on something else but it what it is. It's the cost of doing business and keeping my staff safe.

As for the little girl in Arizona, the day that happened I had SO many of my RSO's come up to me and say, "damn Doc, you're right about those mini subguns". My staff had always asked for them (and the new RSO's as they came on board) but I always told them no little subguns unless we have a front strap for the wrist AND a suppressor. I must give credit to Tony D over at The Gun Store because he's the one that advised me specifically against the micro or mini Uzi's because of the rate of fire and transfer of weight with the heavy bolt causing the weapon to act like a teeter totter. I do have MAC's (.45, 9mm,.380) but again, they have huge and heavy Bower's suppressors to keep them down. Also, my staff has ALWAYS had the discretion to choose if a customer is suited for a particular weapon. If my RSO's don't feel comfortable with the customer and the weapons they chose, they are getting substituted with something can do and I usually refund the customer as well. It's worth the extra ammo so everybody is comfortable.

One last word about my staff. I hired a new driver two weeks ago. He initially turned in an application four weeks prior but let one of my managers know that he had used marijuana three weeks prior. My manager told him that we drug test and it wasn't a good idea to submit an application. He did come back in after waiting about three weeks and my manager spotted him submitting the application. He notified me and I told him lets review his application before just tossing it. Everything looked good; infantry E5 who was running and gunning and DD-214 matched up with application. I told my manager to go ahead and interview him on the spot. After all was said and done about his service, he called him out on smoking pot. He admitted that he's had issues adjusting since being home and he was hoping that it would help him relax but instead made him more depressed. He said he heard about a place where it' mostly GI's working together in a military-style environment and he was hoping he would fit in. I told my manager to hire him on the spot and start issuing him uniform, boots and get him out for a whiz quiz and background check ASAP. Two days later he walked up to me and asked if he could talk. I said of course as my staff know that I have an open-door policy for personal matters. He told me that he thinks this is the best thing that's ever happened. He said he's tried to get jobs at other places but when you go from 100 miles per hour to zero it hits you hard. When just a couple months ago when you were shooting people down range and you have your boys with you everyday life gets turned upside down when you can't talk about it with fellow employees who will think you're crazy and going to do something stupid. He looked at me with those same eyes I get from so many of the staff and said thank you for doing this. He said he needed to get back in uniform, he needed to talk to guys who are on his level and have been there, done that and can cope with words that come out of his mouth.

So, I am 100% at ease with myself, my business practices, my staff and the experiences that I feel our guests truly do appreciate here at Battlefield Vegas.

V/R
Ron

Originally Posted By mitsuman47:
What (if any) problems have you had with AR lower receivers? EX: holes for the trigger and hammer pins wearing out with extended full auto use.


Thanks for the great info in this thread. And, I envy you.

Originally Posted By HendersonDefense:
A brief answer to the optics questions... I used to be a Eotech fanboy prior to opening the range but they didn't last long at all. It was always something with the Eotechs.. if the batteries weren't constantly dying, then it just quit working and THEN it was out of warranty. The Aimpoints and ACOG's just work and if they do "break".. we send them back and they are backed by proper warranties.

Originally Posted By HendersonDefense:





To answer your question Blood_Donor, I would say the most reliable "alternative" is the FN SCAR. That weapon has yet to break or wear out a bolt, brake a hammer, or any other major part. IIRC, we've only lost a charging handle and hammer spring. A stock was broken due to being dropped by staff and our SCAR-L has had three new barrels installed. The SCAR-L has been on the line since day one (it was used prior to that as well) and we opened on 01 OCT 13.

Originally Posted By cccollin545:
How do you get spare parts for your older guns like mp-40 and other old guns? Also, since you have new shooters there do you use recoil pads and compensators to help with recoil?

  Thanks again for all this information!!!!!!!!!

Originally Posted By Valintino:

<snip>

You guys run 308 Battle rifles? AR-10s? FN FALs? G3s?
How do they stack up under high round counts?

Originally Posted By HendersonDefense:
I apologize for not replying earlier so I will try and provide a bit more insight.

- We don't use steel-cased ammo in our AR15 platforms. We had to use it awhile back after the Sandy Hook incident when ammo was hard to get and we did lose extractors on more-than-average basis.

- Cam path wear is definitely noticeable on the uppers.

- I believe the armorers clean the AR's every 5-7 days.. sooner if needed and if business is good. After every cleaning, the armorers run twenty-five rounds down range and they check to make sure the rounds group somewhat close and they check for good ejection

- We have never used any of the "after market" gas tubes like those that have been coated with Melonite, adjustable systems or "pig tails". I've always tried to use "factory" parts wherever possible to keep things simple. I like the idea of the Melonite gas tube though, I just didn't know something like that was available.

- Regarding gas piston systems, the pistons have snapped (or bent) and even some of the roller cam pins have snapped right off. The only one to last so far has been the HK system.

- We have product-tested some other BCG's that were finished in some sort of Cerokote, Molyresin or other finish.. I just know they weren't parkerized. The carriers themselves held up even without the finish but the bolts themselves didn't last as long as the LMT or DD units.

- The one weapon that I know that has a factory Cerokote that has lasted 100% with ZERO defects is our Barrett M107A1. We've had this weapon for quite some time and it gets it regular cleanings and even though we don't dip the receiver into the ultrasonic cleaner, it still looks pretty close to new.

- I checked with the armorers and we've had to use anti-walk pins in a total of three receivers. Two of the holes were "egged" but it turns out that old primers made their way under the trigger and the increased pressure put stress on the pins. The receiver gave before the pins did so KNS anti-walk pins were installed. We had to use them on an auto-sear pin hole for one of the receivers.


To answer your question Blood_Donor, I would say the most reliable "alternative" is the FN SCAR. That weapon has yet to break or wear out a bolt, brake a hammer, or any other major part. IIRC, we've only lost a charging handle and hammer spring. A stock was broken due to being dropped by staff and our SCAR-L has had three new barrels installed. The SCAR-L has been on the line since day one (it was used prior to that as well) and we opened on 01 OCT 13.

A brief answer to the optics questions... I used to be a Eotech fanboy prior to opening the range but they didn't last long at all. It was always something with the Eotechs.. if the batteries weren't constantly dying, then it just quit working and THEN it was out of warranty. The Aimpoints and ACOG's just work and if they do "break".. we send them back and they are backed by proper warranties.

V/R
Ron