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Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 03-11-2020
If you're in this industry long enough, a day or two, you'll undoubtably come across a buyer with "no budget, just want the very best." That always lasts until you spec out a build and present the potential buyer with a price. At that point, you find out what the budget really is and you go from there.
So, it happed again the other day. I had a perspective customer come into the shop and start asking about the possibility of building him a long range Grendel. The conversation went a little like this.
Customer: "Let's say I want to shoot a target, or even an animal, really far away, like really really far, and I want to shoot it with an AR-15. Could you build me something to do that?"
Me: "Absolutely, I'd be happy to. First we have to nail down some specifics then I'll put together some options for you. First, what are your goals? Second, do we need to worry about things like weight, overall length, etc? What about your budget?"
Customer: "I already said, I just want to shoot things really far away. There is a long range contest at my gun range in May, I want to win. I don't care what it takes. It doesn't matter if it's long and heavy, heavy might even be good, less recoil. Oh, big scope so I can see far."
Me: "Budget?"
Customer: "Do I look like I care what it costs?"
Okay then... I've built a number of custom guns for this customer before so I already know his preferences. Furthermore, I'm very familiar with what he already has in his safe (and has thus rejected for this competition in May) so I have an idea of where this is headed. Here is what I spec'd out for him;
- Six Sigma Arms Lower
- AR Gold Trigger
- KNS Trigger Pins (FDE)
- Magpul PRSv3 (FDE)
- Magpul MOE+ Grip (FDE)
- Magpul MOE Trigger Guard (FDE)
- Geissele LPK
- Seekins Precision IRMT-3 v3 Upper
- Seekins Precision SP3R v3 MRS MLOK
- LaRue MLOK Rail Panels (FDE)
- Geissele CH (DDT)
- Lilja AR24 6.5 Grendel (DC FDE)
- Lilja Maxim bolt + TC carrier
- APA Gen3 Fat Bastard
- Wojtek Adjustable GB
- Geissele 34mm SP Mount (DDT)
- Schmidt & Bender 3-20x50 PM II H58 (RAL8000)
- Magpul MLOK Bipod
- Built/tuned for LR accuracy
- + Misc small parts
After getting it all spec'd out and figuring out pricing, I had a quick chat w/my customer. I passed on some numbers expecting full well to quote a few alternatives, things like dropping the Seekins upper/rail and going with something more "conventional". "How would that affect accuracy," was the primary question I was expecting to hear. I must have had 3-4 backup scope choices queued up as well, for the exact same reason. Instead, the answer that awaited me was simply, "Sounds good. Order it up! How soon can I have it?" :eek:
Alright, another one of these. I've had a few of these builds over the years. Guys are drop dead serious, even willing to pay more for expedited shipping from my suppliers, cause they need it, quick! Then, when it's all done and ready to go, they can't make it to the shop, they need to renew their purchase/carry permit (don't get me started), they had some bills come up, etc. I get it, life happens, but custom builds are every bit the risk/investment for the builder as they are for the customer.
Long story short, I know enough to ask for a down payment on one of these. So, I tip-toe into the topic... "You know, a build like this is pretty specific. I'm going to need a down payment on this one. I'm sure that you understand." Without missing a beat my customer replies, "Really??? Dad??? Just build me the gun. I think that I've earned it." Sigh... He's not wrong. He's been through a LOT and it won't be ending anytime soon either (kidney transplant is imminent, after nearly 30 surgeries and ~75 hours of cross-clamped bypass, it's no surprise). Shooting is really the only option for competition he has at the moment and I'm not about to quench that fire. As a result, my tax return and annual bonus is being reallocated and the medical bills will need to remain on the payment plan.
Watch out guys, Blake is already one hell of a shot at distance. He routinely shoots a 6" steel plate at 250y and will chew through boxes of ammo between misses with an "adequately accurate" .223. I'll almost feel sorry for the guys showing up with decked out turn-bolt Creedmores that my 9 year-old beats with his gas gun using lighter/slower bullets, almost. I told him that the qualifier was to hit a 9" steel plate at 200y once in 5 tries and he laughed himself into a stupor. I'm really glad that understands that different levels of behavior are acceptable at different times. I just hope that an upcoming transplant doesn't get in the way of this shoot, they don't do this at our local range very often.
Build pics to come. Parts should start rolling in as early as tomorrow.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - Lastrites - 03-11-2020
Dad...lol!
eta: Great post, the best is yet to come!
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - PNWTargets - 03-11-2020
LOL. Good post!
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - Dirty Steve - 03-11-2020
Good on you, DAD! Hope the young man wins. More over, I hope his medical hurdles and requirements turn out even better!!
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - Mustangfreek - 03-13-2020
Thats aw some...much deserved it sounds like.. Pics of said beast when done
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 03-13-2020
Mustangfreek Wrote:Thats aw some...much deserved it sounds like.. Pics of said beast when done
Absolutely! I would have posted a few pics by now but the only things that have showed up so far are things like the LPK, gas block/tube, buffer tube, etc. All the boring stuff. LOL The upper and barrel should be landing today. Hopefully I can get the barrel out for DC this weekend so I can get that turned around quick and get this build finished.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - tdbru - 03-13-2020
here's a challenge to this vile horde. step up and help out Blake.
-tdbru
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - pacificpt - 03-14-2020
Looking forward to more of the story, and pictures.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 03-14-2020
I have almost everything here already. Of course I screwed up an order and grabbed a KeyMod rail instead of MLOK. I ordered a new one and need to send the KeyMod rail back now (unless someone wants a killer deal on a 15" Seekins SP3R V3).
Here were all the parts that I had on hand as of last night. I don't have a DDC charging handle at the moment so I'll run a black one until the DDC one shows up. As I previously noted, that's the wrong SP3R so it'll be staying in the box. We might have to swap out that DDC scope mount for a black one too. It's totally functional but it's clashing with RAL8000 a little. Both RAL8000 and DDC are pretty unique shades, I'll blame it on the DDC since it clashes with the Vortex Razors too.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15714[/ATTACH]
All that really remains before I can fully assemble the upper is to get the barrel blasted and cerakoted. That will buy me a little time to get the correct rail and charging handle though so it's all good. Usually I can get a barrel refinished in about a week but we have some extended Mayo Clinic trips coming up that might impact that a little.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15715[/ATTACH]
I tossed in Blake's 1911 just for good measure. I love these little Brownings. They fit his hand really well and they're nearly as tunable as a "standard" 1911. This one was pretty good out of the box but we hand fitted the safeties and reworked the trigger a little bit anyway. The safeties, especially the grip safety, were really touchy to begin with.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15716[/ATTACH]
Here is Blake getting a few shots in prior to leaving for surgery last fall.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15719[/ATTACH]
APA Fat Bastard g3 showed up this morning. I've sold a few of these and customers have been really happy with them thus far. The g2's get great reviews as well. This will be my first g3 however and it will be the first one that I'll be tuning myself. I'm really looking forward to seeing how it works, especially when compared to the g2. I'm specifically interested in if the Grendel moves enough gas to make the g3 worth it over a g2.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15717[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15718[/ATTACH]
Sorry about the orientation of the pictures. For whatever reason, rotating them on my phone & computer is not making a difference on the forum. I'm sure that it's due to the software that I'm using in combination w/iPhone pics. I'll pull out the one of the SLRs for my "completed build" photos.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - FLshooter - 03-15-2020
Nice barrel.Should be a shooter!
Looking forward to range reports.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - RobertFL - 03-15-2020
Awesome bunch of parts! Blake is getting a fine Rifle.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - centerfire - 03-16-2020
The parts list looks good. Those Magpul bipods are horrible and really doesn't fit the quality of the build. EuroOptics has LRA bipods in stock otherwise a TBAC or CAL/SCAL would be a major step up.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 03-18-2020
Someone commented on the bipod (I got an email but the post is gone now) and would be interested in recommendations/experiences on long range bipods. We're starting w/the Magpul since I had a few on the shelf and it bolted right up to the handguard but am very interested in hearing what others have used with success. I usually just run a couple of Wiebad bags but thought a bipod might be nice to have on this one.
Anyway... I finally got the correct handguard!
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15748[/ATTACH]
It's coming together. I dropped the barrel off with my Cerakote guy today and hope to get that back in a week or so. Then I can do finally assembly and get this out to the range to tune/test fire.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - tdbru - 03-19-2020
Rebby,
what is the target weight for the build? also what buffer and spring setup are you using? i'm not familiar with a TC bolt carrier. standard weight?
thanks,
-tdbru
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 03-23-2020
tdbru Wrote:Rebby,
what is the target weight for the build? also what buffer and spring setup are you using? i'm not familiar with a TC bolt carrier. standard weight?
thanks,
-tdbru
We didn't really have any target for weight. It's no lightweight though, that's for sure. It might end up being one of the heaviest AR's in my personal arsenal. The TC bolt carrier is just your "plain jane" ToolCraft M16 carrier, nothing special there. I'm using a standard "Rifle" buffer and green Sprinco chrome silicon recoil spring. Like the bipod, I had these parts in the shop and since I can tune the gas at the block, I didn't feel like anything special was necessary.
My Cerakote guy needed to order some FDE so I may have to wait a little while on the barrel. I'm itching to get this put together but, with all the pandemic stuff going on, I don't have much time anyway so I'm trying to be patient. It's like 2008 all over again! Somehow I still have 2 g44's in stock! Not sure how that happened. LOL
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 04-02-2020
I was able to grab the barrel late last week, right before MN went on a lock down of sorts. Finally forced myself to spend a few hours this afternoon getting it all together, for the most part. Its ready to get to the range to tune the gas so that I can finish bolting on the hand guard (its so much easier to tune the gas with the hand guard removed). Fortunately my local range is still open to members so, with a little luck, Blake and I can get out and do a little shooting this weekend.
On another note, it was Blakes 10th birthday yesterday so the timing is nearly perfect. Ill get some pics of Blake w/the rifle tomorrow.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - Lastrites - 04-02-2020
Hope he really enjoys it!
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - rebby - 04-03-2020
[ATTACH=CONFIG]15856[/ATTACH]
We have a happy little boy. Chances are that he will need dialysis tomorrow so we'll try to get to the range this weekend.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - FLshooter - 04-03-2020
Thats a fine looking build there!
Prayers sent that all will go well.
Build Thread, Six Sigma No-Budget Build - RobertFL - 04-04-2020
Wow nice Rifle! He will be banging steel way out there.