Freedom Rifle Update!

A few weeks back I got one more piece of the Freedom rifle puzzle in, the Flat Dark Earth pistol grip that matches the stock Brownells was kind enough to send for the rifle build. Yesterday, the last piece of the puzzle arrived, the carbine-length Magpul MOE handguard that will go on the Tactical Solutions .22LR upper that will eventually be attached to the rifle. Here's what it looks like so far:

That's a York Arms Conspirator AR-15 lower (the "Fill yer hands" Fire selector setting variant) with a Magpul MOE stock, pistol grip, and handguard courtesy of Brownells. Brownells also sent along a parts kit to complete the lower as well as an upgraded trigger kit which have yet to be installed. At some point the pieces will all go together, but since I'm waiting for the upper right now (and also crazy busy with move stuff), it's on the back burner.

The irony of this rifle is that by the time it's all together, I will be in Virginia, making it truly a Freedom rifle. There are many advantages to this: I can get magazines with standard capacity for it, I can accept the upper with the bayonet lug and flash hider attached, and I can replace the fixed stock with an adjustable one so that the rifle really can fulfill its primary function - teaching new shooters.

Because bringing new folks into the fold strengthens our position as gunnies and introduces more folks to the true freedom of self-reliance.

That is all.

Freedom Rifle Update...

So, last week I got another package from the good folks at Brownells. The lower parts kit (from High Standard, ironically enough) needed to complete the lower for Freedom Rifle was in, as was a special upgrade courtesy of Larry Weeks, an ALG Combat Trigger (ACT) from ALG Defense. I couldn't resist, again:

All I need to do is put the fiddly bits in place and that will be a fully operational AR-15 lower. Yeah, I kinda cheated for the picture and dropped the standard trigger and pistol grip in place (simulating how it would look if it were complete, if I had the patience to start the assembly). With only the Magpul MOE pistol grip left - and a perfectly good pistol grip in the parts kit - the assembly can be finished and the search for an upper can commence.

I've been looking at the Tactical Solutions .22LR uppers, and I'm torn between the traditional M4 style upper and the LT upper. The LT upper is lightweight and a free-float forend, so it would be a real tack driver with a nice 4X scope or red dot sight. The M4 style upper has a standard handguard, which could be swapped out for the matching Magpul MOE carbine forend, and also has a front sight should we stick with iron sights for the rifle. Both require Massification, and would only be allowed with 10 round magazines.

Thanks again to Brownells for their support in this project - I can't wait to complete this rifle!

That is all.

Freedom Rifle, Update

So, the Big Brown Truck of Happiness stopped at my house yesterday and deposited this:

It's a stock completion kit for the AR-15 rifle, courtesy of the good folks at Brownells. They have been kind enough to sponsor the completion of the lower for the Freedom Rifle project, and this is the second piece to come in. Naturally, I had to get a shot with the first piece:

It's starting to almost look like a lower now! Now all I need is the lower parts kit and the Magpul pistol grip and the lower will be complete. I'll most likely graft the upper from the Bushmaster just to try her out when she's finished, but I really do want her to be a dedicated trainer/new shooter rifle, so that means a .22LR upper...

Man, I can't wait to get this rifle to the range!

That is all.

Freedom Rifle...

I mentioned picking up my second York Arms lower a few weeks back. Now, I'd been wondering what to do with it for a while now, going back and forth between a few ideas. Wally has been pushing an SBR angle for it - there's a great deal of appeal to that thought, especially with the "Fill your hands" safety selector and "5.56 POODLE" caliber designation. It is not exactly a serious gun in that regards. Another idea floated was an AR-15 based 9mm carbine.

And then NY happened. And York's response to the insane rush to DO SOMETHING that resulted in a law so hastily enacted that they forgot to exempt law enforcement from the magazine ban. And then CO jumped in on the stupid (and appears to be poised on the edge of enacting a ban that will bring them in line with NEW FREAKIN' JERSEY on magazine restriction).

I had the very good fortune to break bread with Pete Brownells at SHOT Show in January. He joined a group of us bloggers and new media types and YouTubers for lunch, and we bent his ear for the better part of a couple hours over the state of the industry, the atmosphere surrounding firearms and politics, and what we as media folks friendly to the Second Amendment could do.

And everything clicked - and I knew what this rifle would be: My Freedom Rifle.

It starts here:

That's a Magpul MOE stock kindly donated by Brownells for this project, along with a matching Magpul pistol grip, and a Brownells parts kit and stock kit once they're in stock. All will be assembled on the York Arms lower, which will be mated to a dedicated .22LR upper. This rifle will be used for new shooters and anyone that's curious about the AR-15 platform. I'd love to put something like a Leupold Deltapoint or an EOTech on it as a quality red dot optic to make the rifle stupid easy for even the newest shooter.

There's just something poetic about a training rifle for new shooters assembled out of a lower from a company that told NY to get stuffed, wearing furniture from a company that told CO to get stuffed, put together by a gun nut from Massachusetts. If I could find a .22LR upper from a company that was part of the NY - or CO - boycott, that'd just complete the deal...

I'll be detailing this as things come together, so stay tuned for the ongoing saga of the MArooned Freedom Rifle!

That is all.