AAR SLR15 AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 Armorer Course, KLETC Huntchinson KS

Greg "Sully" Sullivan

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SLR15 Rifles AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 ARMORING COURSE

When: April 4-5, 2017

Where: Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, in Hutchinson Kansas

We conducted a 2-day (16-hour) AR-15 / M-16 / M-4 Armorer Course at the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center. We have taught armorer courses here for several years, and look forward to many more. The training room with plenty of table space, decent lighting, and a screen that we were able to project animated graphics of the weapons system, powerpoint detailed pics of gun parts, and especially when looking at finer detail things like machining, stress cracks & wear. The student base was all Law Enforcement from Kansas and Oklahoma.

Rifles represented in this course were Colt, Daniel Defense, CMMG, Rockriver, Stag, Bushmaster, DPMS, PWS (pistons), Smith & Wesson, Windham Weaponry, Harrington Richardson, and a few custom builds.

Day-1 started with going through the course manual and tools that we supplied to everyone. Everyone was shown the tools in front of them, and what they are for, and that these will do about 95% of the work on their rifles (short of restocking and rebarreling, of which wrenches and sometimes fixtures are necessary). We also supplied everyone with a sampling of Slip2000 "EWL" Extreme Weapons Lubricant and #725 Cleaner Degreaser, etc. A short session of nomenclature was covered, at which time covered every feature and exterior piece of the rifle to include all the hidden design features that most people are not aware of, and everyone prepped the rifles for disassembly work. Everyone was taught the procedure series of checks that we recommend.

Everyone was walked through our recommended procedure for field stripping a rifle, and why we do it this way so as not to cause damage, premature wear or stress on anything. We covered maintenance of where and what to clean, and what needs lubrication to keep it running. We showed why not to use the firing pins as tools. We showed everyone what fouling does, and our method for removing it.

We went through the entire bolt carrier assembly, which included inspections, maintenance, upgrades, 3 types of gas rings, differences in finishes, machining, etc. We had several students that gas keys that needed to be staked better, of which we supplied several of the MOACKS tools that were put to good use.

Note: One of the CMMG rifles had what looked like a well staked gas key, on visual inspection it showed that there was plenty of gas key material that was pushed into the gas key screws. But the gas key was loose. This helped to show everyone why we have a preference for counter staking the screws, as we have found several gas keys that appeared to be staked with plenty of material pushed into the screws, but things still came loose. The gas key screws were retorqued to spec, and things were staked and counter staked.

During the afternoon, we went through the lower receiver assembly. The lower receivers were disassembled. We went through the fire control group, to include detailed inspections of all the sear engagement surfaces, spring types, single stage, and two stage trigger systems. We ended the day with going through a detailed session of the eight cycles of fire, proper timing, .223 vs 5.56, different gas systems, etc.

Note: We had several rifles present that anti-walk and/or anti-rotation hammer/trigger pins, and one CMMG rifle also had and anti walk pin on the to sear. This rifles hammer/trigger pins had the allen heads stripped out, and you could see that these had red loctite on them. The Officer wanted the pins out, and they had to be forcefully removed to the point they were no longer usable. He was given a new set of standard pins. Everyone came to the consensus that the standard pins are a very nice choice as compared to aftermarket anti-walk/rotation pins, as if you have to remove the trigger group in the field to remove things like a blown primer then standard pins can be easily removed, especially when you don't always have access to allen wrenches or heat to deal with the loctite.

Day-2 started with a review of everyone that was covered on day-1, and we went back into proper timing on the gun. We covered proper timing, cycles of fire, showed what effects timing, how & what happens when it is out or proper time, dwell time, suppressor issues, etc. During this session we dispelled lots of myths, and showed how to get the rifles set up for maximum reliability.

We went back into the lower receivers. Everyone in this class had some type of collapsible stock, so we went through mounting & gauging, and staking. A couple of the rifles present had to be re-indexed, and staked. We went through machining on parts and receivers, showing examples of good & bad, and how this effects the entire rifle. Once factory machining was covered, we then showed where people alter trigger systems by doing a trigger job, both good and bad, and covered whey we don’t recommend that people do a trigger job on a work rifle. We then went through full-auto, burst, and illegal street conversions. Lower receivers were then reassembled for the last time, inspected, stocks indexed with the castle nuts staked, and everyone made sure everything is in proper working order.

After lunch we went through the entire upper receiver assembly. We had two PWS long stroke piston rifles in class, so we covered how the piston system works. We went through barrel removal, mounting, gauging & inspections. Everyone was allowed to rebarrel their rifles or make adjustments. Everything was gauged, and we had several rifles and were improperly mounted. This improper mounting was causing premature wear & stress, of which these rifles were fixed before they left the class. When inspecting barrels that had been removed, none of them had been put together to the Milspec from the manufacturer. Every barrel that was pulled, was remounted to Milspec, torqued, and properly indexed.

Note: One Officers Stag rifle had a barrel nut that was loose, as it could be turned by hand. The barrel was removed, things were cleaned and inspected, then it was remounted, torqued, and properly indexed.

At the end of the day, everyone reassembled their rifles. A function test was done to ensure everything was in working order prop. Everyone did chamber inspections, checked & gauged the four gas seals, gauged firing pin protrusion, measured the trigger press, and headspace.

Here is a brief overview of a few things that were covered:
History of the Weapon
Cycles of Function
General Disassembly & Assembly
Identification of Common Problems and Parts
Nomenclature
Identification of Group Components
Semi, Burst, and Full Auto Parts and Conversions
Complete Armoring Disassembly / Assembly
Barrel Replacement
Cleaning and Maintenance
Sight and Distance Considerations
Ballistic Issues
Barrel: Twist, Length, and Profiles
Gas System
Parts Interchangability, including Brands
Headspace
Firing Pin Protrusion
Trigger Jobs
Chamber Inspection and Issues
Troubleshooting, diagnosis & repair
Gauging, Inspections, Stress & Interval Issues
Accessories and Customizing
Tool Options and Selection
Iron Sights
Optics
SOP/MOD Accessories and Additions


CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
SLR15 Rifles
TheDefensiveEdge.com
(763) 712-0123
 
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