Collecting and Shooting the Military Surplus Rifle (2008)

Article Published Date: 01/28/2008

Article by R. Ted Jeo

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Never has there been a rifle/weapon system that the average �Joe blow� can build/convert/deck out with the ease and abundance of parts as the AR rifle. In this and future articles, we�ll be looking at just a FEW of items that I thought were neat enough to write about. Now, mind you, there are hundreds if not thousands of parts and add-ons for the AR in its multitude of configurations and I am only going to look at a few of them. I really do not want to turn into an AR writer for the rest of my life because with the quantity of aftermarket parts that are available this could be easily done� (But seriously, if you find something TRULY unique�..please let us know.)

I�ve been talking with several of my shooting buddies both in person and on line and it just seems that the AR bug has bitten all of them in one form or another. One friend ended up trading some computer work for a match grade Bushmaster AR full size rifle. Another was talking about how he was building up �yet another� AR rifle, this one decked out as the 1970�s issued style M16. Add in the recent article by Jamie on his AR sniper set up and a friend showing me an original COLT AR rifle (sans forward assist), AR rifles abound everywhere. This pretty much is a no brainer. Open up Shotgun News, I counted no fewer than 25 big ads, a lot of them full page ads, featuring AR rifles, parts or accessories. The AR has become the �Barbie Doll� dress �em up toy of the firearm world. Alternatively, if you are in the right age group, the saying, �Pimp my AR� may come to mind. I�m going to add my 2 cents of opinions on some items that I�ve found and like for my AR.

For a time now I�ve been thinking of adding some Picatinny rails to my M4 (Clone-4). Something to mount accessories to like lights, grips, coffee makers, sandwich grills, and lasers to. The issue was that I didn�t really want to switch out the fore grips with the Picatinny rails on all sides, like the SIRS (Stock Imbedded Rail System) grips. Instead I was thinking of just a simple one rail system on the bottom. Personal preference and cost reasons.

Picatinny�.who�.what�.where?

The name Picatinny, refers to the U.S. Army arsenal located in northern New Jersey. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. The arsenal first started out as the Dover Powder Depot only to have it changed to Picatinny Powder Depot a mere 4 days later on September 10, 1880. The name was changed once more in 1907 to Picatinny Arsenal. Picatinny made gunpowder and munitions throughout its history and is now the facility that develops new technologies in weapons, monition and armor systems for the U.S. Armed Forces. HOWEVER�. Picatinny did not develop the rail system that carries its name�per se.

The Picatinny rail system has its original roots back in the Weaver mount. There are two names of individuals that were instrumental in the subsequent development and evolution of the Picatinny rail system. [as much as I searched, I could find no definitive answer as to who or where the rail was designed. I did, however, come up with a few tidbits of info]
The first is Earl Reddick (of Reddick Arms Development). He developed the tighter specs for a Weaver-styled mount that included cross slots at precise locations and specifications. Basically, the difference between the Picatinny rail and the Weaver rail is the size of the cross slots on the mount. Weaver rails have a slot width of 0.180�, the Picatinny has slot widths of 0.206�. Weaver devices will fit on Picatinny rails, but Picatinny device may not always fit on Weaver rails. [I also read that Reddick was the first to develop the .50 BMG sniper rifle. I could find little more than that on the internet]. There is more info on the second name, Dick Swan of Atlantic Research Marketing Systems (ARMS). Swan (with ARMS) was influential in the realization and development of a standardized mounting system.

�In 1983, A.R.M.S. had developed a dovetail rail similar to the commercial Weaver style, but with significant variations to what was available on the commercial market. Some of those variations included, standardizing on a dovetail dimension for its product line, rectangular cross notches vs. the Weaver half round notch, a 3/8� wide channel thru the center top of each dovetail rail, and when practical, the notched channel was set at a STANAG length with holes placed at either end to facilitate the mounting of STANAG optical devices. In 1983, A.R.M.S. also developed a self-locking thumbnut design, that was used in the carrying handle optic rail mount. That self-locking feature is currently used to secure the M16 carrying handle to the flat top receiver.

�(�Sermon on the mount�, Mr. Dick E. Swan, Atlantic Research Marketing Systems, Inc. (A.R.M.S.), Joint Services Small Arms Systems Annual Symposium, Exhibition and Firing Demonstration, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 15-18 May 2006, http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006smallarms/swan.pdf)

Basically, ARMS worked with Picatinny�s Future Weapons Branch and Colt in the 1980�s and transitioned the M16A1/A2 style handle mounted system to a rail system. ARMS went on to develop the SIRS (Stock Integrated Rail System) that you hear a lot about now a days. [I suspect that the reason we call it the Picatinny rail is because of these cooperative efforts.]

What�s this about STANAG? It refers to the NATO abbreviation for STANDardization AGreement, which covers all sorts of technical and non technical specifications for NATO member countries. Countries agree to the specs and utilize them in their military. These may cover the Display Symbology and Colors for NATO Maritime Units (STANAG 4420) to computer issues like storage interfaces (STANAG 4575) and everything inbetween. STANAG 2324 was the adoption of the US MIL STD 1913 �Picatinny Rail� for NATO.

So, there maybe some some sort of cross over of history between the two names associated with the Picatinny/MIL-STD-1913/STANAG 2324 mounting system. Oh, and by the way, the 1913, Weaver and STANAG 2324 rails are not EXACTLY the same in dimensions.

Sources:

http://www.Wikipedia.org
http://www.pica.army.mil/PicatinnyPublic/about/history.asp
various forums and discussion forums

ERGO Tactical Accessories, part of Falcon Industries Inc., provided me with their aluminum bolt-on �universal mounting platform� (UMP) rails to do this job. ERGO�s UMP rails are Picatinny/1913 standard configuration and come in polymer as well. ERGO provided me with 2, 4 and 6 inch rails, but they also make 6 and 12 inch blanks (i.e., no slots cut into them) for those of you with �ideas� they want to work on. The UMP standard rails come with hardware to mount the rails as well as covers to protect them.

Figure 1

ERGO offers the UMP rails in three sizes and they come with low profile rail covers. Mounted 6�, 4� and 2� sizes. There are also instructions included to mount the rails to round free float style AR hand guards as well as those found of the FAL series of rifles as well.

Figure 2

Each rail comes with mounting hardware and instructions

Unlike other rail system options out there, ERGO�s rails mount onto and through standard AR �plastic� hand guard grips. The rails include the bolts and nuts that go through the AR�s hand guard vent holes. It is a simple matter of removing the front hand guards, threading in the nuts and bolts, and then reinstall the hand guards. You do not need to remove the rifle�s delta ring nor do you need to fiddle with front sight and barrel removal as seen in some of the more elaborate rail systems out there. I offer this type of rail installation as ONE option that is out there.

AS ALWAYS, MAKE SURE YOU START WITH AN UNLOADED WEAPON

To mount the rail, you need to remove the hand guards. That is accomplished by pushing down on the delta ring, releasing the spring tension on the hand guards so that you can pop them off.

Figure 3

The one obstacle, if you would, is the delta ring on the rifle. Under spring pressure, you need a four armed gorilla to take off the hand guards.

Figure 4

The answer is to use a hand guard removal tool.

Hand guard removal tools are, I think, a somewhat �new� device that has come on the market in recent years. I do not recall seeing them when I built my first AR back in 19XX�sure would have save a lot of skinned finger tips. Anyway, you can pick up one of these nifty devices from any number of suppliers, including MidwayUSA, Brownells, or DPMS. Prices range from $10 on up. The one I have is from DPMS. To use these devices, insert the hook into the magazine well. The arms of the device will go one either side of the delta ring. Gently squeeze and push down at the same time, this will release the spring on the hand guards enough that you can pull off them off (one at a time).

Figure 5

Here, the delta spring is compressed and I�ve lifted off the back end of the top hand guard. The order of removal is always back first, and then the top of the guard.

Figure 6

After you get the top guard off, remove the bottom. Note the barrel nut has the teeth on it. Those get in the way when you put the guards back on. They have to line up with the groove in the guards.

Once you have the hand guards off, take a look at the heat shields inside. Standard rifle length guards and some carbine short guards have single aluminum heat shields. There are also guards that have dual heat shields. You will have to determine which you have. If you have a dual heat shield, you will need to remove the top shield to install the nuts and bolts to the rail. The rail should just pop out from it side holders. You may need to use a thin screwdriver.

Figure 7

My rifle has single heat shields inside, so I did not have to remove anything.

Figure 8

On the bottom guard, place the rail so that it is inline with the center line of the hand guard.

I installed the full length 6� carbine rail onto my rifle. If you went with one of the shorter rails, you would have to decide the position of the rail in advance. Obviously, it will depend on what accessory you want to mount to the rail which will determine where the rail should be mounted. More on this later.

Figure 9

Insert the supplied bolts through the holes that line up on the rail and hand guard and install one of the supplied nuts. A droplet of Locktite on the bolt may be a good idea at this point.

This was one spot where I had a bit of difficulty. At first, it seemed that the supplied bolts were too short and I could not get the nut to thread onto it. What I needed to do was push down a bit on the aluminum shield (it is quite soft) and then the nut would fit.

Figure 10

Tighten up each of the three nuts using a 5/32 hex head driver.

Figure 11

Sometimes the rails on the Picatinny system need to be protected, either from being dinged up or from drawing blood from you body (they do have sharp edges to them). All of the ERGO rails come with the low profile covers (top). You can get more robust covers in different colors as well from them (bottom). Both can be cut to fit whatever combination of covered area that you need.

Re install the hand guards to the rifle using the hand guard removal tool. Again, you would insert the hook into the magazine well and then squeeze and push down to compress the delta ring spring. The thing to note when installing the hand guards is to make sure that the teeth of the barrel nut match up with the notch in your hand guards. Always place the front of the hand guard into place and then work on the back of the hand guard. And then presto..you have a Picatinny rail mounted to your rifle�s handguards. Hmmm..now what to put on it?

ERGO Vertical Forward Grip (VFG)

As I mentioned before, there are literally hundreds of optional devices that could be mounted to the Picatinny rail system. Lights, lasers, and grips, just to mention a few. In this particular case, the ERGO hand guard mounted rail may be best suited for the mounting of an addition Vertical Forward Grips (VFGs) or tactical light. Perhaps the VFG can be traced back to the Thompson sub machinegun, today the VFG is coming back into being a common item installed on our carbines. That being said, there may be some issue with mounting a laser SIGHTING device to this rail, because the rail is not on AS stable a platform as, say, a free float rail hand guard system, one mounted directly to the or replacing the barrel nut. (This may be a future article�).

ERGO offers a variety of different VFG�s to mount to their (or any other) Picatinny rails. They have:

Erogrip VFG- both clamp on and express mount grip styled after a traditional AR pistol grip
Pop bottle VFG- a �traditional� straight clamp on grip
Overmoulded VFG- styled as the pop bottle but with a rubber over grip for better grip surface
Aluminum VFG- tough, heavier and textured on the surface.
HD Husky VFG- overmoulded Santoprene rubber grip with glass filled nylon core
Broomhandle VFG- overmoulded with rubber, with a steel base. Shaped like a broomhandle�.

Several of the grips come with storage compartments in them. Several of them come with the quick release feature. The main advantages to the quick (or express) release are that you can remove the device quickly, easily and without having to remove other devices if you need to �slide� the device off the rail. They also release with a flick of your thumb, very handy if you need to adjust the location on the rail.

My selection was to go with the quick release Broomhandle. My feeling was that I liked the feel of the C96 �Broomhandle� Mauser..why not? That is not to say that ERGO�s grip is styled on the C96 grip! This ERGO grip comes with the express and in a variety of colors. Matter of fact, nearly all their grips (and most other accessory items they sell) come in several colors. The Broomhandle grip has a threaded and tethered cap that hides a storage area in the grip. A good place to hide a front sight tool, case extractor, batteries for your electronic sights, or most anything else that is about � wide and 3� or so long. I found the tether to be �taxing� to take on or off, but the secret seemed to be tighten or loosen the base while holding the tether in one place.

Figure 12

The Broomhandle grip has a storage compartment in the base, with a threaded and tethered cap. The compartment comes with a foam plug to dampen sounds from smaller items.

As with most Picatinny accessories, all you do is line up the cross screw in the device with a notch on the rail and mount the device. In the express release device that this ERGO device uses, it�s even easier, line up the notch and flip a lever.

Figure 13

A flick of your thumb and the VFG is mounted and locked in place. Another flick and you can remove or move it with little effort. You can make it right or left handed, front or back activated. Very handy.

Figure 14

The lever is on the left of each photo. If you need to adjust the mount for tightness, all you do is push in on the lever and the nut on the other end pops out of its retaining hole. Tighten the nut a couple of turns and test the throw of the lever. Do this until you get the desired tightness of the throw lever.

(Figure 14, not pushing in on the lever, Figure 15 pushing in. You can see the nut on the far right)

Figure 15

(Figure 14, not pushing in on the lever, Figure 15 pushing in. You can see the nut on the far right)

So, my M4 looks really good now (someone I know would even say it was �sexy��).

Figure 16

Here�s the finished deal. Just as an aside, if you look closely, the standard hand guards of an AR have a very slight taper to them, from receiver to barrel. If, for some reason, you want to make the UMP rail be truly parallel to the barrel, ERGO does make a tapered UMP angled adapter (like a wedge) that does the job.

But, what does this give you other than ogling looks at the range? To find out, I handed the rifle to none other than�.my wife? Her very first expression was, �Hmm�this is easy to carry.� Yup, with the VFG installed, the rifle does seem more ERGOnomically (ha ha) tailored. It comes faster to the shoulder, easier and faster to line up your sights on your target as well. But, as the saying goes, the proof is in the pudding. Mind you, I am not, have not nor will be (most likely) a 1) battlefield solider, 2) police officer, or 3) SWAT operator. So to be fair, I asked a friend of mine to �evaluate� the VFG. He�s a two tour Iraq veteran, so he�s been there, done that. We ran it out to the range, and he did some of the reactive firing training drills. You know, the type, carry the weapon muzzle down across the chest, quickly bring it up at the same time throwing the safety, two shots, bring it back down putting it back on safe, etc. He liked it and said it would work. Right now, I am going to state that JUST because he liked it and thought it was reasonable, his thoughts DO NOT constitute an endorsement of ANY kind by his employer�the U.S. Army. It DOES feel good. The VFG has a more natural feel to the supporting hand than gripping the front hand guards as normal. And, of course, it really looks good�.

BUT�what if you do not want to install the rails to your weapon BUT still want a VFG? Hmmmm�the folks at ERGO have an option for that. It�s called the Hand Guard Mounted VFG.

Figure 17

The hand guard mounted VFG comes with instructions and mounting hardware.

Figure 18

Same grip style, different mounting device. Right shows the express release broomhandle VFG mentioned earlier, left is the hand guard mounted VFG.

Mounting the hand guard VFG still requires the removal of the hand guards, which I mentioned above. The attachment of the base is accomplished a similar way with two bolts going through the hand guard at vent hole sites.

Figure 19

First you will need to remove the handle from its steel base. Use a 5/32 hex driver and loosen/remove the screw that is deep inside the handle.

Figure 20

This is the steel base of the VFG. The bolts will line up with vent holes. The center hole (threaded) goes to the grip screw.

Figure 21

Line up the base where you like it on the hand guard. This may take some guesswork at first. I found that having the grip further back (toward the shooter) was more comfortable and easier to use.

Figure 22

Line up the base with the slot in your hand guard making sure it is straight.

Figure 23

Push the two bolts through the vent holes�.

Figure 24

And thread on the flat nuts. Again, a droplet of Locktite on the bolt would be a good idea. Note the parallel alignment of the nuts. Remember, if you have the dual shields on your hand guards, you will need to remove the top shield, install the nuts, and then replace that shield.

Figure 25

Finally, use your hex driver to re install the grip and tighten it down.

Figure 26

You could remove the grip using the hex driver and leave the base in place if you really wanted to. Ideally, though, this is a more �permanent� install for a VFG. It handles comparably to the rail mounted VFG I mentioned above.

Figure 27

The hand guard mounted VFG rides a tad closer to the hand guards, basically the difference is the thickness of the UMP Rail. It is just as stable in use.

So there you have it. My first installment of �pimping� my AR. I�ve found that the ERGO products to be quality manufactured US made parts. By the way, these parts are so called �922R Compliant� parts. That�s the ATF regs requiring a certain number of USA made parts to be on a �kit�. Of course, for the AR (USA made to begin with), this does not come into play.

For ordering info visit Tennessee Gun Parts at: http://www.tngunparts.com/ or call: TOLL FREE 1-(866)-472-4986.

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