WIP-Bringing the 556 back

[Gabe]

That's "work in progress" for those uninitiated. Anyway:

Finished drafting a mod idea. Been looking at the 556 since I got home and decided to take apart the front kit down to the last screw. I discovered a fix that won't leave me with more unneeded parts, will take about 2 hours per part, and best of all, won't cost more than $10. The pic is for the front kit, I'll simply explain the rear kit since the drawing looks like ass.



Basically going to fill the red area with a combination of homemade aluminum shims and teflon tape. Going for an excessively tight fit that will snug in as the tape compresses. Totally undoable if something messes up. The bottom half needs a bigger shim since the barrel likes to sag a bit. This will also fix the minor feeding issue caused by the weird hopup 'shoe' that came with the kit (lightest gray in the picture) by making it line up at a much closer to 90 degrees that I need for proper feeding.

For the Magpul PTS stock, I can save the PTW buffer tube by making my own bolt. I found a threaded rod that fits perfectly through the mounting hole on the stock itself, and have a tungsten carbide dremmel tip that's perfect for shaving away bits of steel. By cutting a hole straight through the receiver's endcap, I can put an anchor nut on the interior, snug against the gearbox. It'll rest in a hexagonal niche I cut out for it to prevent it from turning while I screw the stock on. Too bad the 552 V3 didn't come with a hole in the back. This would have been MUCH easier. Anyway, after that I just thread the rod onto the anchor nut, and place another just inside of the buttpad on the PRS to hide it.

These modifications will get the visuals I'm looking for, as well as produce more consistent performance. It's still mostly a showpiece gun (considering the 2 PTW's I own now) but the uniqueness is definitely worth the work.

[Gabe]

Finished. Not sure if I like the front the way it is. Solid for now, but I don't know how well it will hold. I am considering getting a 550 front end and modding it to fit a 556 RIS, but that's a lot of money for a gun that's basically my backup's backup.



Ended up not going how I planned, so I just modded the proprietary buffer tube to fit the PRS, and threaded a small hole in the lower half of the stock to keep it from twisting back and forth. I just cut a fat o-ring for the stock bushing so there wouldn't be a gap; it incidentally keeps anything from creaking, so it's win-win. The best part is that the stock will still fit on a PTW or GBBR if I feel like removing it.

The scope is thrown on just for looks, so pardon the crookedness. I also chopped the front hooded sight since the 556 doesn't have a built in rear sight anyway. Makes it look cleaner IMO. Future builds may include the rear diopter and a front hood again, but that all depends on if I keep it like this.

[Skywalker]

What's actually in this sucker? FMI

Needs a longer outer barrel... IMO...

Yeah the scope is crooked lol. ... Bipod mounted on the rails?

I guess most of those comments are for if you're going for a full DMR look. Based on the PTS, I'd assume so.

[Gabe]

Internals are TM with Systema bits. I took a Systema CMB and moved all of the compatible parts (it was a V2) into the TM gearbox. The incompatible parts from the CMB were substituted with guarder, and because the nozzle is particularly difficult to find a fit for, I left it alone and just affixed it to the tappet plate. The spring is a madbull 120. When it was newly assembled it pushed 450 FPS, but I'm sure the spring has relaxed a bit since then.

The OB is already pretty long, it just doesn't look like it with that bigass scope up there. It's just a tad shorter than a Sig 550. I prefer shorter barrels to keep the gun from being front heavy myself. The main reason the carbine front isn't on there anymore is because that would just be ridiculously short. The scope is indeed crooked, you'll notice there's only one ring with mounting hardware attached . Again, just for the picture. As for bipods, I don't normally use them. Mainly for the same reason I like shorter barrels, and it's just another piece of equipment that can snag on something, break, get lost, etc. I wouldn't use it enough to justify it.

As for the 'look' I just want it to be cool. I have been doing what people call DMR's since I built that Mk12 SPR back in 07 but pretty much everyone calls their guns DMR's nowadays, so it's hard to say exactly what that means.

[Skywalker]

I think to call your gun a true DMR its got to be doing 500+fps, with semi auto. If nothing else, its gotta be semi. People who call their guns DMRs but can run around using full auto are.... idiots....

Have you seen the custom 556 that uncompany.com makes? I like the look of that outer barrel more. ... But its not my gun If it was it'd probably have to have some silencer on it haha.

Yeah I was just givin you crap about the scope Any sig is already a pretty uncommon gun, so any custom sig is automatically cool.

[Gabe]

I think to call your gun a true DMR its got to be doing 500+fps, with semi auto.

This is what I mean about defining a DMR. There are certainly criteria that separate them from other guns, but I don't necessarily associate FPS and a gun's externals to what role it can fill. This 'gray area' is kinda hard to define IMO. As far as rules go, there's definitely an FPS/fire rate limit, but if a player can confidently fill a role with a gun, does it necessarily matter what the gun is? If I were to play with this gun, then I would play like a DM. The selector plate is modified to keep it from firing in fully automatic, and it is reasonably accurate, but most important would be my approach to a combat situation. I'm standing by my belief that a player defines what role his gun is, not the other way around.

[Skywalker]

Yes and no, because you generally use your gun to the role that it will be most effective. Extreme exaggerations of doing that incorrectly are sniping with 30rps 300fps or running indoor CQB with a bolt. Yes, there is a grey area... But I know I completely change how I play from a 400fps gun to a 500fps semi auto gun to a 500fps bolt action rifle. My definition of a DMR is really more like a Semi Auto sniper rifle. And I generally associate FPS with effective range, even though they are not truly the same thing, they generally go hand in hand. So... the change from a 325fps full auto gun to a 400fps full auto gun is something like 50 more feet of effective range. I don't see how 50 more feet is enough to put your gun into a whole separate category. Thats still just an assault rifle to me.

And also, if you're going to have the gun semi auto... You might as well be pushing the fps limits a little more. m170!!!! lol

[Dominum]

A player always defines his role, but though you can use a wrench like a hammer a hammer is better suited to the job. That's why it's called a hammer. Same with guns and airsoft replicas.