Penguin

No the gas system is longer than a mid length but shorter than rifle length. Way longer than a carbine length gas system.

Yeah..... arms, legs, face, chest, back, hands, even my damn toes. Sadly the follicles atop my head are no longer interested so much in growing a lot of hair, those lazy fuckers are like the French in 1940: full retreat. I also notice that as I approach 40 years of age, the hair in my nose and my ears seem really really motivated to grow. Broke down and bough an eyebrow, nose hair and ear hair powered trimmer a few months ago. I'll have to live vicariously through my son in the hair on top of head department. He's 9 months old and is growing a luxurious head of blond hair to go with his blue eyes. He looks like I did at his age. Hope he doesn't grow too fond of that full head of hair.

For a carbine I don't see much use for it, and some potential downsides like undesired bump firing if the reset is short. I'd stick with a 2 stage on a light carbine that will have more recoil to the rear and movement to the front as the bolt carrier group slams home. That's a recipe for bump fire doubles combined with a short reset trigger and a light trigger pull. Used on a heavy barrel SPR type outfit that will not be moving as much or at all under recoil, the SSP might be a winner for those who like a single stage trigger that breaks like the proverbial glass rod (because all of us know what glass rods feel like to break....:roll eyes:..... cliche'd phrase...).

For anyone who is interested I have decided to post up an initial thoughts review of a carbine I recently acquired: the Knight's Armament SR-15 E3 Mod 2 M-Lok. I understand that not everyone is going to be interested in a high end hard use factory gun on here, but figured some might find the topic interesting since it is not something usually found LGT.com. For those who don't know Knight's Armament Company has been in business since the 1980's and has focused almost exclusively on selling weapon systems, suppressors, and other cool toys to Uncle Sam for our troops to use in the pursuit of shooting savages in the face. The company has been particularly successful in introducing and selling weapons and suppressors to the US Special Operations community since those units often have a lot of acquisition discretion that the regular Army, Navy, and Marines don't enjoy. Knight's has the distinction of being the last company to employ Eugene Stoner, and his influence is apparent in the larger SR-25 as well as the refinements to the smaller platform that is the SR-15/SR-16 family. In the last few years Knight's civilian market business seems to have picked up and they're making a more distinct effort to offer high quality hard use guns to regular law abiding citizens. Not that they ever discouraged it, just that up until the last few years finding any KAC complete rifle, carbine, or upper was like finding a unicorn on the civilian market. A few months ago I ordered an SR-15 E3 Mod 2 M-Lok through Brownell's since they were offering a pretty solid price and I had some gift certificates, and their military, LEO, retired military discount applied as well. I've had a chance to shoot it a bit, and compare it to my other AR/M4 variants and have a few observations. First of all some of you are going to ask what is it, and how is it any different than any other AR variant? That is a fair question and at the heart of the SR-15, what makes it different is the E3 bolt and the KAC approach to the gas system. There are other nice touches and a lot of quality parts, but what makes it tick is the bolt and the changes to how the DI gas system is implemented. So about that bolt.... it is different than a standard AR bolt. To begin with KAC implemented the SR-25 like changes to bolt lug geometry that Stoner helped refine later in his life. The lugs are rounded where they meet the bolt body, both at the rear of each lug where lateral bolt thrust loads are present, and in between the lugs on the sides where rotational thrust will be present. This is a known method of reducing the possibility of cracking, and reducing crack propagation. In the interests of reducing bolt lug cracking the bolt face is supported where the normal AR bolt is relieved for the extractor. By designing the part in this manner the bolt lugs adjacent to the extractor are much more well supported against rotational thrust loads. Another effort in the crusade against premature bolt failures is the bolt cam pin hole is smaller in diameter leaving more material in the bolt tail area and increasing strength. Finally unlike a standard AR bolt, which will usually be made from Carpenter 158 steel, the KAC E3 is made from a "proprietary" alloy. The "proprietary" alloy is rumored to be AerMet 100 which is more or less a super steel used for aerospace applications, and of the 3 AerMet alloys has the highest resistance to crack propagation. AerMet 100 is also popular in the auto racing community as a material for output shafts because it is so tough. Unfortunately it costs a lot not only for the material but to machine and heat treat it. Of course KAC is mum on what the alloy actually is, but there are no reported failures of a KAC SR-15 bolt in the wild. I was able to find one where the extractor got bent up my a case head blow out, but the bolt itself was good to go just needed a new extractor. The first photo is a factory Colt bolt carrier group, nothing unusual: The next photo is of the KAC E3 bolt carrier group: Also note that the extractor is different, the KAC design utilizes double springs and a relocated pivot point to exert more leverage on the case rim. Colt on the left KAC on the right. Here we can see the differences in cam pin hole size, Colt on the left KAC on the right: The next image gives a look at each bolt broken down, Colt on the left KAC on the right, notice the KAC bolt face supports the case in a full 360 degrees: Assembled bolts facing the camera for a view of the bolt lug difference, Colt on the left KAC on the right: Now in order to accommodate the different bolt lug shape the barrel extension is also different, so the KAC E3 bolt is proprietary to the KAC barrel extension. Cleverly in an emergency the KAC barrel extension will accept a standard AR bolt though, so if you have a spare AR bolt and your KAC bolt were to break you can still run the gun with a regular bolt until you can source a replacement KAC part. I would try to photograph the gas manifold but all attempts resulted in mediocre photos that didn't really show what is going on very well. So I'll explain it as best I can. First of all the gas system is longer than a mid length, but shorter than a full rifle length on this 16" barrel so we'll call it an intermediate length gas system. The second change is the attachment method of the gas manifold/gas block, instead of dimples in the barrel and set screws or a roll pin, or taper pin, KAC has threaded the outside portion of the barrel ahead of the gas block. On this threaded area a castle nut is torqued down against the KAC gas block, the inside diameter of the block must be tapered a bit, and so must the outside diameter of the barrel where it mounts; the castle nut being torqued down creates a very tight secure seal as the tapered ID of block is forced onto the cone OD of the barrel. On top of the gas manifold where the gas tube mounts there is another change, instead of the gas tube inserting into the gas block the end of the tube is flanged to fit over a nipple shaped outlet on the gas block with a threaded area behind it; over which a nut is torqued down forcing a tight leak proof seal here as well. All of these changes allow a relatively small gas port to be utilized for the gas system length, resulting in a very very smooth shooting carbine. Even with the stock 3 prong flash hider, which does nothing to mitigate recoil or muzzle climb, the gun stays pretty flat, and recoil is negligible. Brass is ejected into a nice consistent pile to the 3:00 with 5.56 NATO and to about 4:00 using 75gr .223 match ammo. I haven't tried any remanufactured 55gr .223 ball which is often loaded light so I can't comment on it. Winchester M855, IMI M193, Black Hills MK 262 Mod 1, Hornady 75gr 5.56 Superformance, and Hornady 75gr Steel Match are all it has been fed so far. No failures to feed, extract, or eject. One failure to lock back on the last round using an ancient Colt 20 round magazine with a spring so weak I was surprised it didn't have any other issues, this mag will often not hold open the bolt on my other AR's so it's time for a new magazine spring. All other magazines have functioned 100%. Accuracy is in the 1" range for 5 shot groups at 100 yards, I've only shot it using the iron sights and a Nightforce NXS 1-4X24 with the FC-3G reticle in a Nightforce Uni-Mount. Not an ideal optic for shooting groups since the center dot obscures quite a bit of target and is tough for me to consistently place on target the same every time. I suspect that if I mount my 3.5-15X50 NXS I'll get better results, and might do that for fun, otherwise the little 1-4X24 is a light compact scope and it gets useful hits on reasonably sized targets just fine and makes more sense on carbine that weighs 6.5lbs. So what else do you get for all your hard earned $$$ (make no mistake it costs some $$$ too...)? Well for starters the carbine has a 16" cold hammer forged, chrome lined barrel. KAC doesn't want to share with everyone what the alloy is, but Ballistic Radio put 20,000 rounds through one and never cleaned it and got it really hot... and it was still turning in 1" groups at 100 yards at the end; so whatever it is it's pretty tough. The contour is not heavy but it's not quite a pencil contour either, there is no Government Profile stupidity going on before the gas block. Just a gentle taper until the barrel flares out a bit for the gas block to mount against, and then a light contour out to the muzzle. The muzzle appears nicely crowned and the chrome lining looks good. Inside by either luck or design the gas port on my barrel is in one of the grooves, so happy meal for me. The chamber area chrome lining looks like a mirror, so KAC did a good job of polishing the chamber and fired brass shows it, no dings, no scratches, no tool marks. Looks like it came out of a bolt gun. Out front KAC mounts their 3 prong flash hider, which is also a suppressor mount for their QDC line of suppressors, it looks nice and probably does a good job of killing muzzle flash. I will probably replace it with a hybrid device until I get a suppressor. The rest of the upper is also pretty nice, with the KAC URX M-Lok rail which is 14.5" long and doubles as the barrel nut making the assembly light and very very stiff. There are built in QD cups for a sling at the 9:00 and 3:00 on the rail ahead of the upper. Included are KAC folding iron sigths, the front is adjustable for elevation with no tools. The rear sight is adjustable for windage, and has a calibrated elevation drum from 200-600M. You also get a fully ambidextrous lower receiver with the safety, mag release, and bolt release all being lefty friendly. The furniture is Magpul and I see no reason to change it. The trigger guard is a KAC aluminum piece that fills in the gap between the pistol grip and the lower, very nice touch. The receiver extension is a 6 position, nothing fancy just functional, KAC has put on an end plate with built in QD cups on both sides though. Inside you will find the KAC two stage match trigger, they claim a 4.5lb total trigger pull weight and that is probably accurate. It is a similar trigger to a Geissele SSA not only in feel, but in how the sere surfaces are relocated vs a GI trigger. One nice touch is all the trigger group internals appear to be nickel plated or NP3 plated. I'm a huge Geissele trigger fan boy, but the KAC trigger will stay where it is, no need to change it. The carbine also ships with: 1 hilariously detailed owners manual with fold out schematics. 1 30 round Gen 3 PMag with window. 1 box of 6 MagPul M-Lok rail grip panels. 1 KAC 3" 5 slot aluminum M-Lok Picatinny rail adapter. 1 KAC locking device that inserts into the mag well, and then via roller locks, locks into the upper making it impossible to separate the upper from the lower, or do anything with the weapon. it is also designed to make it very difficult to get a set of bolt cutters into the area where the pad lock locks it up. 1 Pad lock and keys for the above mentioned KAC solution to preventing unauthorized users. 2 QD sling swivels for the owner to mount his or her sling with in the provided QD cups on the carbine. 1 SR-15 sticker, cause you gotta represent yo! 1 KAC branded hard case. Ultimately for a not insignificant amount of money you get a very refined light carbine that shoots well, will probably last longer than a "lesser" carbine under a heavy firing schedule, and that is ready to go out of the box. Just add a sling, an optic if you want, and whatever else you think you need bolted onto the outside but the rifle itself needs basically no upgrades at all. Hope some of you found this interesting.

Those are en-bloc loaders.

Some communist shit they have to do in shit ass Maryland.

Godspeed brother, we await your arrival in the free United States.

My dad has a 527 in 7.62X39. Nice little rifle, surprisingly accurate. He did crack the first stock it came with, but CZ fixed it.

You can always re-stock it later if needs be. Although it’s easier to shoot a rifle with a stock a bit short than too long.

For the record a CZ .22 bolt gun represents an astounding value for the money. My son’s first rifle will probably be a CZ youth model .22LR because there’s nothing cheap, chintzy, or sub par. Part of my plan to introduce the boy to responsible gun use, recreation, marksmanship, and accountability is to make sure he understands that guns are not toys. CZ’s are made like real rifles out of machined steel, and put in wood stocks, so they don’t look or feel like toys. They also don’t shoot like a toy, no point trying to teach marksmanship with a rifle that won’t put bullets where you want.

Couldn’t tell you definitively, the rifle is guaranteed to shoot 1/4” groups at 50 yards with Lapua Midas and it does when I can hold up my end of the deal. It’s by far the most accurate .22 sporter I own or have been able to shoot. A CZ was a possibility but when I was trading the other rifle I was in a position to get a lot more “gun” on trade than I was cash from selling the rifle in question. We eventually agreed on the Cooper, I don’t regret it. The only downside to that little rifle is that the chamber is so tight and the throat so short, that a lot of live ammunition will not extract because the bullet is seated into the rifling. Since .22LR cases have rounded rims the extractor doesn’t have enough grip to pull a bullet out of the rifling. With heavily lubed match ammo, this is not as much of an issue, but with copper washed stuff if you chamber it you are going to have to shoot it.

They weren’t always that expensive. Plus mine isn’t a super fancy model, mine wears a laminated stock. No fancy walnut. It was around $1400 when I bought it, and I traded another rifle for it so my out of pocket was a lot less.

Yesterday was offhand challenge day (self imposed) with the VP9 and my trusty Cooper M57 .22LR. Windy as **** because South Dakota. Shot at a zeroing target with the .22 with plinking grade ammo at 50 yards, did better than I expected but no scoring rings so hard to determine a “score”. Got strange looks from other shooters because I wasn’t sitting at the bench. Glued a B27 onto the cardboard and proceeded to get even more strange looks from all the rifle shooters on the line when I stood up and proceeded to shoot two 50 round stages with the VP9 at 50 yards. B27 has scoring rings, so depending on how you want to score my results were “OK”. If using the x, 10, 9,8,7 rings where shots outside the 7 ring are worth zero I managed a 423/500 with garbage Magtec 115gr Ball. Using my somewhat better handload of a 115gr Hornady HAP over CFE Pistol I shot a 444/500. Going by the scoring system on the target (much more lenient) first target was a 242/250, and the second target was a 247/250. This pistol generally shoots 124/125gr ammo better. Both 115gr loads need windage correction, the Magtec shot to the left and the HAP reload shot to the right. Takeaways: 1.) Shooting pistol offhand at 50 yards will give your ego a check. Do it regularly and close range work is easy as **** though. 2.) Your pistol’s sights have to be both decent in sight picture and adjusted correctly. I need to buy a sight pusher so I can precisely dial in my windage for a given load, fortunately elevation is spot on. The stock night sights are only adequate for this type of work, there’s a reason target pistols usually have under cut black blade style sights. 3.) Shooting is a perishable skill, I haven’t done much shooting since last summer. The birth of my son, and a really shitty winter saw me not hitting the range much. I expect with a sight adjustment, a 125gr load the pistol likes, and most importantly practice that I can get back to over a 90% score (scored the strict way) at 50 yards on the B27. I also will note that my draws from the holster while I was on the pistol range were rusty as well to get my first shot. Again practice is needed. 4.) A ruggedized miniature red dot sight would be much easier to do distance work with, and may be in my future. I already have one but no slide milled to take it. Maybe time to get something done.

I see what you did there.

Joined 12-24-04. Been here awhile.

I didn’t buy the Comp M5 just played with one at the store. Uses AAA batteries by the way.

Brief update. New rifle showed up on Friday the 27th of April. Free shipping from Brownells, which was 2nd day FedEx, so kudos to Brownells for stepping up on that. Picked it up after doing my work related recertification and simulator training for the year, and headed to the range. It was windy as hell, with a 1/4 value wind somewhere in the 12-20mph range. Had to dial in more left windage than I wanted to to get zeroed, will have to revisit on a calm day. Shot only Winchester M855 that I have a good quantity of. My quest to find a barrel that shoots this garbage any better than 3.0-4.0 MOA will have to continue, the KAC cold hammer forged chrome lined barrel hates this shit as much as my Daniel Defense CHF nitrided barrel, and Colt button broached chrome lined barrel. At 200 yards in the wind conditions I was shooting in the M855 wouldn’t hold the head of a B27. In the KAC’s defense the wind was gusty and inconsistent, and it shot the M855 about equally well (or poorly) as anything else I’ve tried in barrels that I know are sub MOA capable with good ammo. Fired brass ejects strait to the 3:00-3:30 with the full powered 5.56mm NATO, so I’ll call this carbine very well regulated for the gas system and buffer. Brass comes out free of any marks at all. Unusual for full powered 5.56 out of an AR. No chamber marks. No damage to case rims from the extractor. No brass flow into the ejector. No dinged up case bodies from slamming into the shell deflector. Very nice. Part of this is due to the KAC bolt, unlike a normal AR bolt the bolt face is fully supported on the KAC, the normal extractor cutout in an AR bolt is gone on the KAC. Instead the KAC extractor is rebated to accommodate a fully supportive bolt face. The stock rifle is pretty much ready to go out of the box. The only thing to be changed will be the 3 prong flash hider. I don’t currently have a suppressor, so rocking a 3 prong flash hider made to host a suppressor has no benefit to me over a hybrid compensating flash hider at the moment. Stock trigger is a nice 2 stage, no need to replace with a Geissele. Stock BUIS are excellent. Stock furniture is pretty much what I’d put on anyway. Fully ambidextrous lower is nice but will take training to fully utilize. Have Hornady 75gr to run through and see if good ammo shoots well (be surprised if it doesn’t), then decide what optic I really want on it. Currently mounting an NXS 1-4X24, laid hands on an Aimpoint Comp M5 yesterday and really liked it too.

KAC showed up. Stand by.

I’m sure it will do just fine scoped. At this point after 17 years of conflict and .mil contacts being filled for M4’s, the state of duty grade CMV 4150 chrome lined barrel making is as good as it has ever been. I would be shocked if any quality barrel made to the TDP, or exceeding it, didn’t shoot well at distance with quality ammo from a good rest with good optics on the rifle.

In other news Brownells tells me that my Knights Armament Co. SR-15 E3 Mod2 M-Lok is on the way to my dealer. Should be in on Friday.

I told you a week ago that you’d end up loving The Jack. Not to beat a dead horse or anything.

I have had no issues seating fully loaded PMags in any of my rifles. With the bolt closed it takes a very firm insertion but they seat for me. I have mostly gen 2’s. Will try the newer gen 3’s shortly since I just got 10 of them in the mail the other day.

I had the interceptor Kevlar flak jacket with SAPI plates in it. Weighed about 4 tons, hot as ****, and very uncomfortable. You can keep that shit.

I don’t wear sweatpants in public because I can’t put a belt on them. Without a belt I can’t put on a holster. Without a holster I have nowhere to put a pistol. If you’re going to carry a gun, carry a gun.

I don’t run a vest anymore. I’m a civilian now. So I’ll mostly train how I’m most likely to be equipped to deploy my rifle or pistol. That means everything goes on a gun belt that fits in normal belt loops on normal pants. Holster, pistol mag carrier, and a tech-lock rifle magazine carrier I can put on in pinch. Ran this setup in class, and it worked fine. The only other shooter in class set up identically was Pat Mac himself. Train like you fight is an over used cliched phrase, that most tacti-tards don’t realistically grasp so you’ve got lawyers, dentists, carpenters, and other regular everyday normal guys showing up to class kitted out like they kick doors for a living or some shit. Give me a ******* break. If you want to have all that shit, knock yourself out. Train in it a few times to make sure it works and shake it out. Then go back to reality and get good at running shit from the belt you actually wear everyday and the pants you actually wear in public.