Spikes Conversion kit follow up

Second range trip with the Spikes kit. Still had the same issues where the fired case was getting caught between the bolt and the chamber or between the bolt assembly and the charging handle.

I was able to test it in two other AR-15s and had the same malfunctions in each so the problem seems to lie with the kit, rather than the rifle. I also tried several different types of ammo and had the same results.

Per the Spikes thread on AR15.com, this seems to indicate too strong of a recoil spring. I'll try trimming it down on the next trip to see if it helps.

I did notice when I went back to shooting 5.56 that I was more acutely aware of the blast and the buffer and spring working. I was hesitating between shots trying to figure it out, kind of like a trigger freeze. I'll need to work on the transition between the 22 LR and 5.56 in order to get the best value from the conversion kit.

Postscript:
I cleaned the unit up and used a cratex cone in a Dremel to polish out the feed ramp and polish the chamfer around the chamber opening. I then used a tight fitting patch and some JB Bore Polish to polish out the chamber itself and the barrel extension past the chamber. I clipped 1/4" off the recoil spring and lightly oiled the spring, guide rod, and spring channel on the bolt.

The Federal Champion rounds drop right in with a little "clunk". The Remington Golden Bullet HPs whcih did not chamber before, now drop in but a bit tightly. I'll give them another try to see if they will actually run now. If so, I hope to see better accuracy as the Remington bullets are a bit oversized.

Spikes Tactical 22 conversion kit

I just got in my Spike's Tactical 22 conversion kit today. I headed out to the range this afternoon to give it a bit of a workout. It ran pretty well on Federal Champion 40 grain solids. I shot 75 rounds with two different magazines and had around 5-6 failures to eject. I believe this is likely to be a break in problem. I'll feel better once I've run a couple hundred rounds through it.

I had some Remington 36 grain hollow points which are not recommended as they are oversized. These were no exception. They would not chamber without repeatedly pulling and releasing the bolt, essentially hammering the round into the chamber. I got two to chamber and fire but decided life was too short to continue with them.

I have the rifle sighted in at 34 years to approximate a 300 yard zero with my 55 grain loads. I set up a target there to check the 22 LR accuracy and was not terribly impressed. I fired around 25 rounds and got a group around 3-4 inches in diameter. I'll have to measure it and see what it really was.

I'd like to get a dedicated 22 LR upper but for right now, the conversion kit seems to be a better investment, ~$245 delivered with two magazines vs. $630 plus shipping for the upper.

Iron sights

I've gotten iron sights on my Sabre Defence rifle in the past few weeks. I wanted the longest sight radius I could get and the barrel diameter at the end made this a challenge, .728 stepped to .705

Chuck Haynes in New Market bored out a .625 ID sight base to match the barrel and installed set screw on the bottom to anchor it in place. It works very well with the DPMS removable rear I picked up from Shannon Thrasher at Athens Guns.