AR Sponsor
Posted: 8/11/2004 8:04:00 PM EDT
Can anyone tell me if the M5 RAS fits on a HBAR or does it only fit on a mil-spec barrel???
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I know this is a can of worms, but Hbars are stupidly heavy and the only purpose they serve is saving the manufacturer $ by not finishing the machining on the barrel profile. Just get a 20" govt profile bbl from bushmaster. It will be chrome lined and made out of 4150 steel. That is superior to rock river 4140 steel and no chrome. The govt profile is good enough for all of our military, and we use it in the most demanding conditions in the world. Never buy any bbl that is not chrome lined. For those who think the Hbar is necessary, have you ever looked at the bbl profile of the M14, FAL, etc? Why would you get a M5 ras? It will add alot of weight to your rifle making an already too heavy Hbar even heavier. If you are going to add the weight, at least get something for it and put a free floated handguard on your rifle. At least that will improve your accuracy, making the weight worth it. Oh yeah, they look cool and that is a good enough reason to install one anyway :) There are a bunch of options in the FF RAS and most are better, cheaper, and lighter than KAC. All of them support civilian sales more than KAC also. Also, the rock river match trigger is crap. The trigger and hammer pins are "oversized" and have to be hammered into your receiver. I immediately put the trigger back in the bag and sold that POS for only a loss of the shipping cost. If you hammer a pin that is oversized into an aluminum hole, common sense says you damage the receiver by enlarging the holes, which is one of the ways an AR wears out. I will never find out, but I have read plenty of accounts of the RR second stage disappearing. I will stay away. The only reason to install a match trigger is for the accuracy benefit, so that is one more reason for a free floated handguard if you spend the $ on a match trigger. Just my thoughts anyway. |
For the most part I agree and I too prefer the A2 profile over the H-BAR but I have to disagree with the "good enough for all of our military" part. If that was true, what's up with all the SAM-R's and SPR's they are using now? Besides, "good enough" in military terms too often means "barely adequate if that". Not necessarily in this case but you I think you know what I mean.
The over-sized pins are there for a reason. As you kind of states, AR trigger pins holes can wear out over time. If yours have, the over-sized pins are perfect. If not, then use you current pins and you are good to go and you still have the over sized pins in case they ever do. |
Yeah, I agree with you on military issue. The point I was trying to make is that the mil spec barrels hold up to some rough treatment in the service. They take a lickin' and keep on killin' I have spent enough time on road marches in the Infantry to appreciate that light weight is always better if you have to carry it. As for the HVY bbl they are putting on the SPR types... I really don't think that the extra weight is necessary. There may be a slight advantage in the heavier weapon helping you hold it steady, but I don't see the disadvantage of the weight outweighing the very minor potential accuracy increase for 5.56 mm ranges. The only real advantage of a thick bbl that I can see is in full auto fire when you really heat up the bbl. I do have a AR-10(T) that has a heavy walther bbl on it, but that is for out to 800-1000 yard range, and I still think the bbl is a little too heavy.
The problem is that the pos rra trigger does not work like that. I tried to install the trigger with the current mil spec pins in my unfired bushmaster lower and it did not work. The smaller hammer and trigger pins would just fall out when you turned the reciever on its side. I put a Knight's Armament trigger in it and it dropped right in and has run flawlessly. The best trigger I have used. My buddies jewel might be a tad smoother, but it is more of a match only trigger. I don't like the idea of all those adjustments on a combat rifle. TheRicker pegged the cutout on the side of the KAC M5 RAS. It is there to make room for the strap that attaches the M203 under the bbl. I knew I would kick off a lively discussion with my post. Anyway, hope it helps.
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Thanks guys for chiming in...info on the barrel makes sense and I will change to a Bushy chromed barrel. But I am sticking with the RAS. I am one of those anal-retentive ex-military types that like their stuff as close to military issue as possible. It worked for me in and it will work with me out as well! Thanks again guys!
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AR Sponsor