Kestrel 4500NV with Horus ATRAG Ballistics

I'm not really sure I'm ready for one of these, but it was a good deal and I couldn't resist.

A buddy of mine who does long range and precision shooting for a living told me that after I get one of these, I could literally throw away my log/dope book.  We'll see because I'm not very smart and I'm not sure I have the intelligence to use one of these, lol!

Mk12 Mod 1 build - A2 stock, KAC 99051, A1 grip,

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.

Mk12 Mod 1 build - KAC Free Float Rifle RAS

The parts are starting to trickle in and the latest to arrive is the KAC Free Float Rifle RAS.  At $514.49 CAD, it was probably one of the dumbest expenditures I've made in my efforts to build a clone.  But, I've already started to walk down this plank, so no point in grumbling about it now.

As with all the KAC products I've encountered so far, when you open the packaging, you get the feeling they mean business.  Simple cardboard box, no flashy markings.  Inside, the RAS was sealed in a simple plastic bag and the instructions folded neatly underneath.

The fit and finish is top notch, nothing wobbled, no loose or rattling parts.  It was surprisingly lighter than I expected.  I didn't weigh it, but I had it in my mind that the old style cheese graters would be heavy.  Of course, if you want to start saving grams here and there, you can always go with an M-lok hand guard with no rails (until you install them), and likely for less than half the price of this unit, but then it wouldn't be clone correct.  I know, so OCD.

So, an updated picture of the collection of parts I've amassed for this Mk12 Mod 1 build.  I was planning on waiting until all the parts arrived before assembly, but I decided screw it, may as well start slapping together what I could.  

As you can see, the barrel is completely wrong.  It's not a bad barrel, in fact, this particular Colt HBAR produced sub MOA groups, but I didn't like the look of the build it was sitting in (PWS build with keymod handguard).  As you can see from the picture, the channels were cut into the barrel for the front sight taper pins.  I'm not sure, but I don't think these would be cut in the proper 18" Douglas barrels.  Also, to the Mk12 expert (not me), the heavy HBAR profile is different from the Mk12 barrel profile.

Off comes the barrel nut.

I probably should be referring to the instructions when typing this all out, but it's not handy so you'll have to bear with my made up names for the parts.  Spin off the end cap and the barrel nut should just drop out.

It's got two pins that you will need later.

Slip the cap down the barrel first and have it sit against the upper.

Then spin on the barrel nut.

The flat side should be towards the muzzle.

You'll have to time the holes so one of them lines up the hole in the upper for the gas tube.

Installing the gas tube and gas block is pretty straight forward.

Next, I installed the Allen Engineering brake and collar.

The collar has a set screw in it, and for my build, it's really just there for looks.  First, we can't have suppressors for which it is meant to align, and second, my barrel profile isn't correct, so I really have no idea where it's supposed to sit on the barrel.

I set it just under an inch away from the gas block for now.  I could always move it if necessary.

The brake came with a standard crush washer.

Then basically install the brake like any other muzzle device.  With the crush washer, I cranked it 1/8 circle turn at a time, backing off, then cranking forward until the brake was timed properly, with the narrower bridge on top.  The best way to do this is using a cresent wrench with painter's tape wrapped around the the surface of the wrench to prevent scratching the brake.....but I didn't bother with the tape.

Looking at the side profile, it didn't look right to me.  Compared to pictures of other Mk12 builds, the gap between the collar and the brake was far too much so I relocated it closer to the brake.

Spin the thread protector back on and this part is done.

It doesn't look horrendous, but the barrel is clearly two inches too long to be considered a proper clone.

Next, take those pins and drop them in the 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions.

Slip the hand guard over the barrel and fasten the end cap onto the hand guard threads.  I just hand tightened, but I hear there are tools out there to crank it down more.  

Once it was all together, it felt sturdy with no wiggle whatsoever.  Other free float hand guards I've used in the past were all fastened on with some sort of screws or clamp to the barrel nut.  Well, this design has seen plenty of experience so I have no worries about the design.

I threw my Patrol on there, which looks slightly off, but at least the rings are somewhat correct, lol!  Also just grabbed a bipod adapter and one of my Champion pivot bipods.  I'll spring for the correct mount and a Harris one day, but I'm not in a hurry for those parts.

Again, I borrowed the lower from my Mk18 clone just to get an idea of what the thing will look like.  Now all that's left is the stripped lower, A1 stock, and KAC front sight.

I really need to find a cheaper hobby.