A few more parts came in. The only thing missing now that I actually ordered is the receiver - stripped KAC SR-15. Though not clone correct, I think I will be satisfied with it for now and focus my attention on getting the correct barrel and maybe the right glass.
Since all I've ever had was ARs with collapsible butt stocks (with the exception of the 20" PWS built that I tore down to start this project), I wanted something with the traditional fixed butt stock. It's funny, when I first joined the Reserves, I didn't like the fixed butt stock on the C7A1s, and all I wanted at the time was carbine butt stocks, rails and red dots.
Anyway, I understand that the LMT SOPMOD stocks have been seen on Mk12s, but I wanted this build to look different than all my other ARs so I started sourcing an A1 or A2 butt stock. I found an A1 for sale online so I jumped on it, and supposedly it was a Vietnam era Colt, along with a Vietnam era Colt pistol grip. I had no way of authenticating that these were Vietnam era (perhaps I can get the opinions of the folks from the forum?), but I'd been having an incredibly hard time finding an A1 stock in Canada through any retailers, and even A2 stocks weren't easy to come by. My buddy Hermes gave me an A2 from his spare parts bin, but it was missing parts, so I took a chance and ordered this A1.
Well, I found parts for the A2 about the same time I found the A1, so I bought those too, lol!
So, now I have a complete A2 stock, not sure what brand it is, or the exact model. If I find out, I'll update this post, but again, maybe someone who sees this will be able to tell just by looking at it?
Also ordered the KAC Flip Up Front Sight (part #99051) in exchange for my left nut. $239 for a folding sight I likely will never use considering the status of ARs in Canada (can't shoot on crown land so basically restricted to shooting off a bench at a range), it was a lot of coin to drop in the name of clone building.
A1 grip that came with the A1 stock. I already have one of these for my Mk18 clone build, and found that I like it, so I grabbed another, and it was fairly cheap so hard to complain. I've seen a lot of Mk12 builds with Ergos, and I think I may have one of those laying around in my spare parts bin, but we'll see.
I think the C mark inside the grip is one way to authenticate that it's Colt? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
So, this is the A1 stock I sourced. What a POS, lol! The seller said it was from a Vietnam era rifle, and considering all the rust on it, I find that very possible. Definitely a chargeable offence if seen during inspection.
The plastic seems to have expanded and the rubber butt pad was cracked in some places, but more or less intact.
Not sure what the spots are on the A1, probably mildew or some other sort of funky growth.
Not sure what the spots are on the A1, probably mildew or some other sort of funky growth. I've since hosed it down with some G96 so it's a bit darker, hiding the splotches, and it smells nice now.
The newer A2 stock on the left and the A1 on the right. I have no idea how to tell if it's a real Colt butt stock as the seller claimed.
A comparison of the butt pad. The A2 came with a trap door for an AR tool kit, and it seems to be in excellent working order. The inside appears to be simple hard foam of some sort.
I don't think I have the skills to salvage this thing. I gave it a squirt of G96 so instead of a bright red rust color, it's now a a dark red rust color.
I swear they dug this stock out from the bottom of some swamp somewhere in Southeast Asia.
Comparison of the three fixed butt stocks I have now. I'll probably end up using the A2 stock. I really liked my PRS stock when it was on my PWS build, and though it makes total sense to use it, but my OCD is not giving me the nod of approval. And though I've heard some people prefer the A1 because of the shorter length of pull, I'm not sure I want to use that swamp donkey of a stock. I'll try to clean it up and see if I can get that thing to look a little better.
So I threw the A2 onto my LE6920 lower (from my Mk18 build) just to see what the assembled rifle would look like with a fixed stock. I found the length of pull acceptable actually, so I may not even need the A1 stock. Another consideration was eye relief of the scope. Since I'm running a non-clone correct scope, it may have different eye-relief than a clone correct scope. With the Patrol, I found it had very forgiving eye relief and I don't need my face right up to it to see.
From the side, the rifle looks pretty long. With the 20" barrel and the A2 stock, it actually is quite a bit longer than your typical Mk12 build. This is probably painfully obvious to the seasoned clone builder, but to the uninformed, I think it probably doesn't look too bad.
Pic with my other 20" AR.
I'm not calling this build done, but it's pretty damn close (for me), and I am very satisfied with how it looks compared to what I had previously. There was nothing wrong with the PWS set up I had before, and it was a shooter, but I just wanted something that looked different. I kept the barrel from it because it produced sub MOA groups, but the heart of a proper Mk12 clone is the 18" Douglas barrel, so I may get one eventually, or just be content that I have something close.
Next update will be when the stripped KAC SR-15 lowers ship from One Shot Tactical.
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