With the Alexander Arms (AA) .50 Beowulf DIY Upper comes one actual Beowulf magazine built to AA’s specifications by E-Lander Magazines of Israel. This gave me a chance to see what they did differently to support the ‘Wulf and it comes down to a relief in the front of the otherwise normal AR magazine. This allows the shoulder of the cartridge to pass by without hanging up on its way towards the chamber. Everything else appeared the same in terms of the feed lips and the follower.
E-Lander of Israel makes the Beowulf magazines for Alexander Arms. One is included with the DIY Upper Kit.This is the top front of the E-Lander magazine. Note the notched out area. On a normal AR magazinet his goes straight across,
So, armed with how basic this was, it immediately hit me that a flap sander could make a quick angled surface faster than the drum mag. So, I loaded up a 3/8″ 120 grit flap sander with a 1/8″ shank into my bench rotary tool.
The magazines I convert are D&H 5.56/.223 magazines that Palmetto State Armory sells. They are reliable and well made plus they are very affordable with sales prices starting around $8.99 and normal price around $12.99 for buyers in a rush. They also have regular combo deals such as a case and seven mags for $89.99. You have to love PSA’s deals. Click here to see what they have.
The first step is to remove the floor plate of the magazine. On these D&H magazines from PSA, I just use a screw driver to lift the floor plate for the tabs to clear the magazine body. Pull the floor plate off while trapping the magazine spring. Remove the floor plate, spring and follower so they are out of your way.
I slide a small screw driver between the magazine body and the bottom plate to then lift and remove the plate from the magazine. Note, the magazine spring will come fling out.See the tabs/ridges stamped in the floor plate? That is why you need to use the screw driver to lift the plate so those tabs can clear the magazine body.Any rotary too will use. This is my benchmounted unit that I use on grips and what not, Any Dremel or other rotary tool would work.
So you basically use the flap sander to to cut a ramp on the inside edge of the magazine. You do not need to replicate the notch – just use the flap sander to quickly remove the material.
The left magazine is an original unmodified magazine. The middle has the ramp cut and the right unit has been reassembled. Be sure to blow out the mags before reassembly.
Using the flap sander can get the job done in 30 seconds or so – it’s literally that fast. Be sure to blow out the magazine bodies to remove all of the grit before you reassemble them. Failure to do so may cause you problems later either with the magazine failing or getting into the rifle.
The final step is to test each magazine to make sure it feeds properly. Load two rounds to test chambering in a safe place with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction. Never take a risk.
That’s all there is to it. You can convert a magazine faster than the time it took you to read this post. I hope it helps you out.
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I don’t recall exactly when I first found out about the Midwest Industries (MI) Combat series of rails but used one this past Spring when I built a 10.5″ 5.56 AR Pistol. The biggest thing I like is the barrel nut. Now that may sound like a crazy thing to get excited about but there’s a reason. Look at the MI Combat barrel nut – it is a knurled circle with a groove in it. The reason this matters is that the handguard can rotate however it needs around the nut and is secured by a steel key and clamping onto the knurling. If you don’t have this kind of a design, you need to use shims or do some combination of filing and potentially crazy levels of torque to get the handguard’s top Picatinny rail to “time properly” (or align properly) with the rail on top of the upper receiver and also to get the gas tube to pass through into the upper receiver’s bolt carrier channel. PSA has good prices on them so click here to see what they have.
This is the MI barrel nut that the combat rail uses along with a small tin of AeroShell – 33MS/64 Extreme Pressure Grease, MIL-21164D and an acid brush to apply it.The key shown just to the of the screws is part of the cool design. The small nub sitcking out goes into the groove to lock the handguard into position front to back. The two screws go into the handguard to both secure the key and to provide the clamping pressure onto the knurled surface of the barrel nut – it is a very elegant and effective design.Here the key is inserted and the two screws were just inserted. They have blue Loctite on them and will be torqued down to 55 inch pounds.
I do have a few tips for you to bear in mind. Bear in mind the Beowulf has a kick. Bring everything to a torque spec and use Blue LocTite 242 or 243. Both are “medium” formulas that can be readily disassembled with the right tools and 243 adds a bit better oil resistance. I’m moving to 243 as I use up my 242 supply but it’s up to you one which you want to use.
Install the Barrel Nut First
First, just back out the set screws and the low profile gas block will slide right off the barrel. You need it out of the way to install the barrel nut.
Next, secure the upper assembly in a vise. You will need to use a fixture to hold the upper when you do this. Absolutely do not use your lower to hold the upper. You will bend things. My tool of choice now is the Magpul Barrel Extension Vise (BEV) Block. It very securely holds the upper by engaging the barrel extension. It’s the best tool I’ve found and PSA carries it.
This is my BEV Block along with a spare bolt carrier I use to secure it into the barrel extension akong with a cross pin.
The following is the approximate process for installing a barrel nut:
Degrease the receiver threads and the barrel nut. The Combat rail comes drenched in oil.
Apply the AeroShell – 33MS/64 Extreme Pressure Grease, MIL-21164D to the receiver’s threads – I use an acid brush to get an even light coat.
Torque the barrel nut down to 35 foot pounds (yes, this is foot pounds unlike the gas block) using the spcial MI torque plate they provide and your 1/2″ torque wrench
Loosen the barrel nut – ideally not with the torque wrench to save it from wear and tear.
Torque it again to 35 foot pounds again and loosen it again.
Now, this is the final torque – take the MI nut down to 35-80 foot pounds. I took mine down to 40 foot pounds and called it even. Why the huge range? Well, if you have an old school barrel nut, you may need to torque it quite a bit to get things to align but in our case we just need to apply enough torque to call it even.
Installing the Gas Block
The gas block set screws do have a torque spec if you hunt long enough. Alexander Arms (AA) does not provide it in their general purpose Beowulf manual or instruction sheet that comes with the DIY upper. People cite 25 inch pounds (not foot pounds) with one drop of 242 Loctite per “echnical Repair Standard (TRS) SOFWEP-07-G12P-00032-00 Rev 1 Appx H” that I have yet to locate a copy of that manual. With that said, that is exactly what I did but I used the 243 formulation of Loctite.
Also, AA has done all the machining and used centering set screws to go into the divots in the barrel. You do not need to worry about needing to measure a set back from the barrel’s step lip – just slide the gas block on, put a drop of Loctite on each screw, carefully align the tube and then torque down the screws.
One drop of 242 or 243 Loctite and then torque each set screw to 25 inch pounds – I used my Vortex torque screw driver to tighten mine down.
Timber Creek Heart Breaker Brake
Based on my first Beowulf, it’s very critical to get a good muzzle brake. If you want to reduce felt recoil, the best things you can do in order are: 1) install a good brake. 2) have a good recoil pad 3) make the rifle heavier. Now, I do all three plus I use a hydraulic buffer that helps a tad but a good brake is absolutely critical. For me, it is absolutely my first priority and I knew I wanted to use the Timber Creek Heart Breaker again.
Here’s the Heart Breaker from the side and you can immediately see the heart shapes that give the brake it’s name. Also note the jam nut behind the brake.A view from the top with the ports shown. The bottom does not have ports – just the top to reduce climb.
The AA barrel uses a unique 49/64-20 RH thread. If you are not using an AA barrel, confirm the thread before you order a brake.
To install the brake, I run the lock nut to the bottom of the thread and then thread the brake on as far as it will go, rotate it into final position and then tighten down the lock nut to 20 foot pounds using a crowsfoot head on my torque wrench. I’ve not used Loctite but you can if you want extra protection – I would still go with the medium strength 242 or 243 formula.
Lubrication
To lubricate the whole rifle, I use SuperLube grease and oil. I know it sounds like an infomercial name but it actually works really good. The base is a synthetic lubricant with “micronized PTFE” (think tiny Teflon particles) added in.
If it slides, I apply a light brushed on film of Superlube grease. If something rotates, I use drops of the Superlube oil. Now some folks will disagree with me and go with all CLP or LSA or some secret blend they like – fine. This is just what I do.
Before I pick an optic, I think about how the firearms it is going on will be used. For the Beowulf, it will be hunting and target shooting typically within 100 yards and maybe out to 200 max plus low light situations might well occur.
Armed with that, I decided to use a Vortex Optics Strike Eagle with a 1-6 power magnification, a 24mm objective and a lit reticle. My eyes aren’t so red hot any more so I knew I would need some basic magnification while still having a wide field of view at 1x. Also, I am a huge fan of Vortex due to their quality and no BS warranty. If anything goes wrong with a Vortex optic, they will repair or replace the unit and not run you ragged.
I also opted for a quality offset Vortex mount. You need a solid mount and not something that is going to constantly shoot loose or break under strain.
How Does It Look?
I haven’t had time to take it to the range yet, but am definitely liking how it turned out. The Alexander Arms DIY upper was great to work with as were the Geiselle trigger and MICombat handguard. The PRS stock helps balance out the rifle and adds weight plus the great recoil pad that comes with it. Now, If I can just find some time to go to the range 🙂
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My apologies but I have no way to filter out items that the vendors have sold out such as ammo. For example, most places sell out of the ammo fast but you should keep an eye on both Midway USA and going to Underwood Ammo directly – Underwood makes very good ammo by the way. I usually run Alexander Arms ammo but they are sold out most places and while you can place an order directly, you will need to wait quite a while for it to be made and shipped.
As mentioned in the last post [click here] – building a Beowulf is pretty much like building any other AR15-class rifle. I put it that way because the AR10s are different and the Beowulf uses the AR15 platform with the notable exception of an enlarged ejection port. The modular capabilities of the AR platform are what make it versatile.
Lower Build Comments
First, I’d like to point out I ran into one small snag with the Spike’s lower. The detent spring and pivot pin hole had some kind of debris in it or maybe a bur. I had to chase it to clean it out. Other than that, it went great.
Normally, installing the front pivot pin is pretty easy with a tool like the one shown that helps you trap the deternt and spring. Because of somethign obstructing the hole inside, the deternt didn’t push down and actually scored my relativelyt soft tool. So, I chased the hole and it installed no problem. Two lessons learned – #1 chase the holes first. #2 – I decided to mve to a stainless steel install tool.
My second comment is about the Magpul PRS Gen 3 stock. Wow. It is really cool. First, I went with the rifle buffer tube because I assumed the Gen 3 needed it – in fact, it does not. When you look at the Gen 3, it has a modular front nose that comes apart just behind the front swivel hole. It comes from Magpul all set to use a carbine buffer tube! Now it is a fixed stock and will not adjust but you do not need to change tubes. Had I known that, I would have used a carbine tube to avail of all the different buffers that are out there.
By the way, the PRS is an expensive stock and it pays to watch for sales. Also, this is specifically then third generation model – you will see older stocks pop up on eBay, etc. The older ones will not have the really thick recoil pad or the ability to use a carbine tube. Here it is for sale at PSA.
The PRS Gen 3 is sweet! Note the really thick recoil pad and modular front end that can accomodate either a carbine buffer tube or be swapped out to support an A2-style rifle buffer tube. This gives some nice flexibility.The carbine modular front end is to the left and the rifle is in the right.
By the way, I took the time to torque down everything including the rifle buffer tube in this case. The Magpul wrench makes it real easy to bring the nut down to the torque spec of 35-39 ft lbs.
Screwed in the rifle-length buffer tube with just a bit of moly grease on the threads.Used the Magpul wrench and a toruqe wrench to bring the receiver extension / buffer tube down to a 35-39 foot pound torque spec. In general, I set my wrench at the lower end of a scale unless there is something very specific.
I think I will stick with the basics going forward. In other words, I’ve tried extended head pins, bolt catches with giant heads, ambidextrous selectors and in the end, I find I really don’t need them. The takedown pins and controls are all mil-spec in this build.
Upper Build Parts
The upper is the actual DIY (Do It Yourself) upper from Alexander Arms and they do all the engineering and machining for you. I also need to point out that it is really well done. I have zero complaints on the fit or the finish.
The DIY kit includes the upper receiver, bolt, carrier, charging handle, barrel, and the gas tube has already been installed in the lowe-profile gas block. The unit arrives assembled including their already divoting the barrel for the two gas block set screws. What you will need to do is to add your own barrel nut and handguard plus whatever you want to do for a muzzle brake. The DIY comes will a thread protector for the 49/64-20 right hand (RH) threads.
Here’s the upper fresh out of the box.They already drilled the divots in the barrel an are using centering set screws so you can just remove the gas tube, install your barrel nut and then slide the gas block back on and tighten it down.
Folks will tell you I am either particular or eccentric (maybe both) when it comes to my builds. I knew there were some parts I wanted to use on this upper:
MI Combat 15: M-LOK handguard. These are very nicely done with all edges beveled plus I like the barrel nut they use. It simplifies aligning the handguard and receiver rails. Also, I really like having the flexibility to add rails or accessories where needed while having a slim profile where I don’t. Keymod has pretty much died out and M-LOK seems to be the lead attachment method now.
BCM Mod 3 charging handle greatly simplifies working around optics to charge the rifle.
Timber Creek Heart Breaker muzzle brake. This is an excellent choice for taming the Wulf. I was so impressed by it on my first rifle that it was my automatic choice for this second rifle.
Upper Build Instructions
A Beowulf upper is very much like any other AR with the exceptions of no ejection port cover and a screw on gas tube block.
Here are some third party resources on assemblign AR uppers in case you are interested:
I always like to combine stuff I read, like the above, with videos I can watch. I always pick stuff up both ways and think the two perspectives are very valuable. With that said, here are some build videos.
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Okay, so I built my first .50 Beowulf rifle in 2018, spent a lot of time planning out the recoil mitigation and documented the adventure – click here for the post. At any rate, I sold it to move on to fund other projects but ran into a problem – I missed the ‘Wulf. There are some bragging rights when you say you have a .50 caliber rifle even when you explain it’s not the .50 BMG round. So, I decided to build another one and make it pretty unique. It’s the Alpha, or the dominant Wulf in my mind.
The first thing I want to point out to folks is that the 12.7x42mm is the generic designation of the .50 Beowulf round and is mainly used by firms who don’t want to get into intellectual property issues with Alexander Arms (AA). If you look on Gun Broker and do some searching with Google you will turn up tons of listings for complete 12.7x42mm uppers starting just over $300. … Let me put this delicately – I would recommend that you avoid them. You will get what you pay for either in terms of performance out of the box or over time. If you do some searching you will read that I wasn’t the only buyer who had issues with Radical Arms uppers for example because of the wrong bolt being used.
If you do buy a cheap 12.7×42 upper, I’d recommend you test it right away before the warranty expires. I’m sorry – I just don’t have much faith in them.
Started With an AA .50 Beowulf DIY Upper
This time around, I decided to use an actual Alexander Arms (AA) upper and not screw around with cheap stuff. The only problem was that I wasn’t really sold on the handguards of their complete units. That and the prices were a turn off the last time. As I looked down the AA page, I saw they now sell a “.50 Beowulf Upper Kit DIY” that had everything except for the barrel nut, handguard and brake of your choice. They have both 12″ and 16″ barrel versions of the kit. As much fun as a 12″ howitzer would be, that didn’t interest me as much as building a new rifle using a 16″ barrel.
Here’s the 16″ DIY kit from Alexander Arms. It is very nicely done. Fit and finish were excellent. The manual is for their Beowulf rifles in general and doesn’t help much with the assembly. They do give a bit of guidance with a sheet of paper that comes with the upper. A person new to ARs will need to research how to assemble an upper – I’ll give a quick summary of what I did in this post.Here’s the upper receiver assembly – good finish. No ejection port door as the port is enlarged. I thought about making one but I really don’t need the cover. This is their low profile gas block. All the machining work has been done for you. They already fit and pinned the gas tube plus dimpled the barrel for the two set screws on the gas block to center on. They do include a muzzle nut over the threads. AA threads their barrels 49/64-20 RH for brakes and you definitely want a brake for a ‘Wulf. A brake is essential for reducing felt recoil – weight of the weapon and a good recoil pad help as well.A view of the bottom of the upper – again, want to point out the nice fit and finish. Nothing gritty like you feel with cheap parts – these are very well done. They need lubing certainly but that is to be expected. Cheap parts can be so bad sometimes that it feels like two pieces sandpaper rubbing together. Everything in the AA upper slides/moves smoothly.Here are the two set screws for the gas block. Mine were very lightly tightened and thus easy to remove. I’ll mention this again later but when you install use medium blue Loc-tite (formula 242 or 243 if you want the numbers) and tighten the set screws to 25 in/lbs each.
To sum up the AA upper, they make this build real easy. For me, building an AR is like building with Lego parts from different kits to make something unique, which was exactly my plan with this new ‘Wulf. Next, I am going to skip the upper for a minute and tell you what I in terms of the lower receiver. Why? Well, I’m a creature of habit and always build the lower first and then the upper.
An Overview of The Lower and Parts Used
The stripped Spikes Tactical lower I picked is pretty cool! You have the Crusader Cross up front and then look at the selector markings – Pax Pacis (Peace, Truce, treaty)), Bellum (War) and Deus Vult (God Wills).
I thought about using an existing AR lower from another rifle but I decided to build one from scratch. In case you didn’t know it, a Beowulf upper is actually designed to work with any 5.56 AR lower without any modifications being needed to the lower itself – same trigger, buffer, etc. The magazines are slightly modified but we’ll return to that later. So here are the parts details for the lower assembly:
CMC Triggers AR-15 Lower Assembly Kit without Fire Control Group or Grip. Definitely solid mil-spec parts. Beware of cheap stuff that isn’t dimensionally correct or doesn’t last. I used to get the extended bolt release and takedown pins and ambidextrous safeties but I just didn’t find them necessary as I was so used to the originals.
Geissele SSA-E trigger – these triggers and the CMC trigger modules are my favorites. I used the Geissele because it probably just nudges out CMC just a bit to be my #1 favorite AR trigger plus I had one on hand. These triggers can be hard to find as they are popular. Check out the sources listed at the bottom of the post.
Magpul PRS Gen 3 stock – this new version of the PRS stock is stunningly cool. I’ve used every generation now and this is definitely the best. I’ll write up more later but this is the reason I went with the rifle length buffer system – the interesting thing is that the PRS III can work with a carbine buffer system as well! That was news to me. PSA tends to have them in stock.
Ergo Tactical Deluxe Grip With Palm Shelf – While it may have a hokey product name this is my favorite grip for precision rifles. I couldn’t decide whether to install this or a Magpul grip but since I am running with a precision theme, I decided to use this Ergo model.
Building the Lower
A Beowulf uses a standard lower so there really isn’t anything special that you must do. Thus, I’m not going to do a complete part by part instruction just for this rifle. Here’s a write up I did a while ago while building an AR pistol, which is pretty similar other than the use of a brace with a pistol vs. a stock with a rifle:
Buffer Tube and Arm Brace — An AR rifle will have either a carbine buffer tube, carbine buffer and M4-style stock or a rifle buffer tube, buffer and fixed stock. A pistol is similar but can differ depending on the brace you use. The new SBA3 and SBA4 come with Mil-Spec carbine receiver extensions (buffer tubes) so they are just like a carbine right up until either the brace or stock is installed.
I always found having multiple perspectives to draw on can help. Here are two excellent written resources for you if you are new to building lowers:
Okay, so you have an idea of the Alexander Arms DIY .50 Beowulf Upper upper I bought and the lower parts plus assembly. In the next post, I’m going to give you some tips/observations that I had when assembling my lower. I’ll add a link to the new post here as soon as it is complete.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
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On November 10th, 1919, Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Михаи́л Тимофе́евич Кала́шников) was born in Kurya, Altai Governorate, Russian SFSR (now Altai Krai, Russia). He grew up from humble beginnings to be known as the father of a very famous rifle, the Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947, or AK-47 as we know it in the West.
Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 Type II Photo from Wikipedia
While he died on December 23rd, 2013, at the age of 94, he is still revered as one of the leading small arms designers in history. In memory if him, Russia is celebrating his 100th birthday today. Being a student and fan of his designs, I would like to also say, Happy birthday Mr. Klashnikov.
You definitely need to visit the memorial website that the Kalashnikov Concern is hosting – it is in Russian and your browser can translate some of it but not the videos. Click here to visit the site– knock on the door and click on various items in the study to learn more.
There are a lot of books on the rifle that also discuss Mikhail as you need to understand the designer (really the most publicized of the designers involved) to understand the evolution of the rifle. There is one book that I really like gets into more detail about the man and he even authored the introduction. That books is “Kalashnikov: The Arms and the Man” by Edward Clinton Ezell.
If you want to learn more about the rifle, the best reference source is “AK-47: The Grim Reaper” by Frank Iannamico, now in its second edition.
Videos
There are a few brief videos on YouTube that touch on Mikhail’s life and let you hear different perspectives and see a number of different photos and videos of him at various events:
Without a doubt, Kalashnikov was a superb designer and it does seem very fitting to take a moment and remember him on his birthday. As always, best wishes to all and hope you find this interesting.
Please note that all photos used are the copyright of their respective owners or public domain. The stamp and rifle photos are from Wikimedia and the website screenshot is from Kalashnikov Media’s website.
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In my previous posts, I covered a bit of the history of the Galil Ace, did two posts about the differences between the Ace and an AKM that I observed (click here for the first and here for the second) and now that leads up to me making a few tweaks of my own to my 7.62×51 Ace pistol.
Moved to a SB Tactical SBA4 Brace
My Ace came with a SB Tactical SOB brace mounted on a proprietary IWI tube with a very heavy hinge. While the SOB is rugged, it is not adjustable so I installed and SB Tactical SBA4 brace. Seriously, the SBA4 is the most rugged brace I have found yet.
The SOB4 brace is what comes with GAP51SB pistols. Palmetto had a great deal on this model and that’s why I bought it. If I could have found the pistol model without a brace cheaper, I would have done that.The SBA4 brace is beefier and more rigid that previous braces. The bottom e dges do not flop around like they do on the SOB and SBA3 braces. The FSM-AR adapter is between the tube and the receiver.
Now some may wonder why I didn’t just file for a short barreled rifle (SBR) tax stamp and run a normal stock. I may very well do this in the future but I didn’t want to deal with it right now. Both PSA and Brownells have the brace available.
The Ace design allows for very easy changing of a rear block by simply driving out one roll pin. The block can the be lifted straight out and whatever you want installed in its place.
The Ace is resting on a green bench block and I used a roll pin punch to tap out that single pin. That’s all you need to do and then the rear plate of the receiver that holds the hinge, or anything else for that matter, will lift right out.With the pin removed, it literally lifts out. Notice how the “plate” or “block” sits in a groove and that’s what provide the bulk of the strength. The roll pin is just stopping vertical travel and is more than enough.
Since the SBA4 is ATF approved, I opted for a modular adapter block from KNS Precision going to an Ace Limited (owned by Doublestar and not IWI) folding M4 adapter – the FSM-AR. Note, if you install a folder, buy one with the boss – the raised oval shape. It will fit into the groove in the KNS Precision adapter and make for a very solid connection.
This is the external face of the KNS Precision adapter. The groove is where the boss from the FSM-AR adapter will sit to limit movement. I’d recommend always getting adapters with the bosses unless you intentionally do not want them. The two screw holes allow for variations in mounting.This is the back side of the KNS adapter. The one roll pin goes through one of the grooves to hold it in place. It is very nicely done – kudos to KNS Precision.The KNS adapter just slides right in and is secured by the roll pin.This is the Ace Limited (owned by Doublestar and not IWI) FSM-AR adapter. You can see the oval boss on the left part of the folder. This gets flipped over and screwed into the KNS adapter. Also, oil the hinge at some point before you close it. Sometimes they can be a bear to actuate when dry — personal experience talking there. Also, use blue Loctite on all screws or they will shoot loose.
Special note – the charging handle for my Ace pistol is on the left side. In my case, I was not worried about operating when folded. If you want to fire with the stock folded, you must go with a right side folding mechanism. If I had it to do over, I would have used a right-side folder but I simply used what I had in this case to cut cost plus I don’t plan on folding it much.
Here’s the Ace folder open to the left and the brace assembly does interfere with the charging handle. If you want a weapon that will operate with the brace folded, then go with a unit that folds to the right.
The SBA4 comes with a Mil-Spec receiver extension (buffer tube) and I used a generic castle nut that I had in my tool box along with an end plate that has hoops to connect a sling.
The SBA4 comes with a Mil-Spec receiver extension/buffer tube. You will need to supply your own castle nut .
I only use my Magpul wrench now for installing castle nuts as it enables a very positive/sure connection. I’ve done my fair share of scratching stuff with tools that used older methods and the MagPul is the way to go. I also used an automatic center punch to stake the nut.
For dealing with castle nuts, you simply can’t beat the Magpul wrench. I don’t use the combo wrench below it any more because I have scratched a ton of tubes accidentally with it.
The Magpul armorer’s wrench is available from both Brownells and PSA. Again, I highly recommend this wrench over others that I have used.
All in all, it was a very straight forward swap and allows for some adjustment now. In case you are wondering, the SBA4 is very beefy. I do not like the SBA3 as the end is soft and and ears that go around the shooter’s forearm just kind of bend and flop around. The SBA4 is very well done.
I definitely will SBR it at some point down the road but am happy with what I have for now.
Installed a RS Regulate GAR-9M-N Handguard
I was not fond of the original handguards and was pretty sure I would like the GAR-9M-N handguard from RS Regulate based on photos that Scot Hoskinson had posted. Let me tell you, it is a huge improvement. First off, it’s way longer and second it uses a M-LOK attachment method for accessories so you don’t have unnecessary rails bulking up the girth like you do with the originals.
This is the RS Regulate GAR-9M-N handguard for Ace pistols. It’s machining and finish are excellent. Installation was very easy.
Scot Hoskinson, the owner of RS Regulate, has put together a real nice installation guide with plenty of illustrations. The one thing I’ll tell you is that the two original handguard screws from IWI have threadlocker on them.
Just behind the mouth of the gas tube & front sight block is the mounting point that holds the two screws that retain the original Ace handguards. They do have threadlocker on them so warm them up to make removal easier.I used a 1/4″ ratchet with a 4mm allen bit and the retaining screw on each side came right out. Note, you will see two rivets on each side – one rivet head is visible between the wrench handle and the bit. You don’t need to do anything to those. You just need to remove the two screws. You can see one of the above just forward of the bit.
You can heat them up and make them easier to loosen, use a 1/4″ ratchet with a 4mm allen/hex head to break the screws free or, what I did, was a bit of both. With the gas tube off and out of the way, you can see where the two screws mount on the barrel. I heated that up and backed them out with the ratchet pretty easily.
Once the screws are removed, slide the handguard forward slightly and pull the rear down. It will come right off.
From there, you basically pull the stock handguard down nose first and pull forward. Then, follow Scot’s instructions. You will need to pay attention and install a small spacer between the barrel mounting point and the handguard when you install the new screws. I applied blue Loc-tite and torqued them down to 25 in/lbs per Scot’s instructions. You also have to install one long screw at the rear that you’ll want to use the blue Loc-tite and torque to 25 in/lbs also.
The RS!Regulate comes with the three screws, two spacers and an allen wrench. I applied medium-strenght Blue Loctite and used my Vortex Optics torque driver to tighten the screws to 25 in/lbs. oThe installation instructions where spot on and I did not encounter any surprises at all. The unit bolted right up with no fitting needed.The fitment is really superb. Here the rail is sliding over the rear block and will be secured later with the long screw that squeezes the rail’s walls together further locking it in place.I like the RS!Regulate unit far, far more than the original. It’s longer and it fits my hand way better in terms of girth.
Opted For a Vortex Razor AMG UH-1 Optic and 3x Magnifier
I figure this will be a close in weapon – certainly within 200 yards probably – and will figure that out when I get it to the range. With that in mind, putting a high power optic on it just does not make a lot of sense but I also wanted magnification just in case so I checked out what Vortex Optics had to offer.
I’ve now used a boat load of their red dots and scopes on all kinds of firearms including 12 gauges, .50 Beowulf and .338 Lapua. They’re solidly built, good glass and back by a no-nonsense warranty. So they are my go-to for optics and have been for several years. Yes, I do actually have to buy them and no, they do not pay me to say that.
At any rate, I’d been eyeing the Razor AMG UH-1 for a while. Now that is a mouthful and I notice a lot of guys just refer to it has the “Huey” due to the UH-1 helicopter. It’s a true holographic sight which means a laser image (a hologram) is projected into the viewing window. The benefit of this is that regardless of the angle you look through the lens at, if the dot is on the target, it’s going to hit there.
The Razor AMG UH-1 or “Huey” mounts easily with its quick release lever and is ruggedly built.It has a large viewing window that makes sight acquisition very fast.The controls are well laid out and easy to use.
Battery life is somewhere around 1,500 hours and there are a lot of variables that can influence that including the brightness of the reticle (there are 14 levels), whether you are using a CR123A battery or a rechargeable LFP123A. Note, Vortex found that recoil kills the basic rechargable RCR123 batteries in 2-300 rounds. They stopped testing the LFP123A at 10,000 rounds and it was still working. I’m using the supplied CR123A still at this point and will likely use Surefire CR123A batteries going forward as I keep them in stock for lights.
In short, the Huey is very slick and it’s getting great reviews. I’ve been a long-time red dot fan and the UH-1 is my favorite at this point.
To get a better view at 100-200 yards, what I did was to pair the Huey sight with the Vortex V3XM Micro 3x magnifier. What this does is give me the ability to install, remove or even swing the installed optic out of the way when I need or don’t need the target to be magnified 3x.
Some assembly was required and I applied medium-strength Blue Loctite to the screws.Here’s the Vortex Micro 3x magnifier paired with the Huey.
The V3XM is small, light, has a quick release lever also, just like the Huey, and pairs very nicely with it.
Magpul PMags and Drums
The 7.62×51 Ace uses Magpul’s 7.62×51 PMags. You can get them in a number of sizes as well as a drum if you really want to rock and roll. I bought some 20s, 25s and one of the D50 drums. I’ve not tested the pistol yet but expect it will work great with all of them. Note, both PSA and Gun Mag Warehouse have a variety of mags and drums that will fit.
Here’s the end result with the SBA4 brace, RS!Regulate rail and Vortex Optics combo.
Summary
The pistol really turned out slick. It balances well and ought to be a blast. Now just to find some time to get to the range before it really gets cold 🙂 Here are some photos for you:
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AK handguards have evolved from wood to bakelite to elaborate affairs made of polymers or aluminum. In the case of the Ace, no rhyme intended, an aluminum handguard with Picatinny rail is covered by sculpted rail covers.
The handguard is U-shaped with rails at the the 3-, 6- and 9-O’clock positions. The top rail is integral with the gas tube. Note now they have a cut out read for a pressure switch and the rails are open on the middle for wiring. There is one socket screw on each slide to fasten the handguard to the weapon.The two socket screws thread into a retainer and have thread locker on them. When you look at the top of the rail, you see a small circle indentation on each side and then just a bit further back a rectangular shaped indentation. The screws are on each side. Also, you also get a good view of the front sight .These are the three rail covers for the handguard. They lock into place and can be released by pushing the visible button at the back. The panel in the middle is the bottom piece and it has a lip that serves to help you index your hand.
So, two differences to note – a unique railed handguard and it is held in position with screws vs. the traditional AK front handguard retainer.
As a personal comment, I stopped buying tri-railed handguards some time ago because they feel too fat for me once you add on rail covers. The Ace handguards aren’t too terrible but they are fat and shorter than I would like. The stock unit will be replaced by one of the excellent handguards from RS Regulate – the GAR-9M-N model to be exact and that will be in a future post.
The Gas tube has tabs and a rail but no locking lever
This is a unique little item right here. The gas tube slides into place via tabs on the unit that mate with slots on the rear base. It does not have a locking lever like an AK does.
The top has a Picatinny rail and the whole unit is locked into place when the dust cover is installed, which pushes the gas tube forward into position. The fitment is so well done that the Picatinny rail is level all the way across the top.
The gas tube goes over the nipple on the front sight block. The relieved tube you see with the screws are where the handguard retainer screws thread in from each side.This is the gas tube with the rail on top. Note the tabs at the bottom rear and the groove on the rail that mates with the rail from the dust cover.Here’s another angle – you can see the heat shield on the handguard and the slots on the rear block. We can’t call it a Rear Sight Block (RSB) like we would on an AK because the sight is on the dust cover on the Ace. Here, all it is doing is securing the gas tube.The fitment of the dust cover and the gas tube are so well done that despite being two separate parts, their two respective rail sections align very nicely.
Integral lower plastic assembly – grip, magazine guide
Part of the revisions from the IMI Galil to the IWI Ace was changing 12 parts from steel to plastic. To be honest, I did not hunt down all 12 and itemize each. What I did readily see was the plastic lower assembly that connects with the steel forged receiver. It has the following:
An integral grip that has a hollow storage area
Ambidextrous magazine releases
An enlarged integral trigger guard
A natural hand hold curve just forward of the magazine
Folding Brace Assembly
IWI makes two models of the 7.62×51 pistol – the GAP51 without a brace and the GAP51SB with the brace. I really just needed the GAP51 but went with the GAP51SB because the price was so good from Palmetto State Armory at the time.
What you get with the GAP51SB is an IWI designed integral folder with a 1.25″ diameter pistol tube and an SB Tactical SOB brace. The SOB part makes me smile every time I write it. So, it does give you a well designed fixed length brace and a rock solid folder.
The SB Tactical SOB Brace with the unit locked into position.That hinge is soooooo cool.A close up with the brace folded alongside the receiver.The unit is very compact and functional with the brace closed. Note the IWI logo on the brace but it is definitely an SB unit and the butt end has their logow. SB Tactical OEMs for others as well – meaning they will sell units with the logos of other firms displayed.
Magpul Pmags
No AK ever used Magpul magazines so I think this counts as a difference 🙂 The 7.62×51 Ace uses Magpul’s 7.62×51 PMags. You can get them in a number of sizes as well as a drum if you really want to rock and roll. I bought some 20s, 25s and one of the D50 drums. I’ve not tested the pistol yet but expect it will work great with all of them. Note, both PSA and Gun Mag Warehouse have a variety of mags and drums that will fit.
The 7.62×51 Ace uses readily available Magpul Pmags.
The Manual
I can’t say that I’ve ever read a very good AK manual that has tons of illustrations and covers a lot of topics – operating, cleaning, trouble shooting, and a detailed parts breakdown. The IWI Ace manual really is exceptional. The PDF copy is 88 pages long!
That’s it for differences I’ve noted thus far. In the next post, I’ll share a number of reviews and videos that I watched before I purchased the unit. By the way, this pistol is amazingly well made. It’s the most impressive firearm in terms of design and execution that I’ve seen in a long time. If you get a deal on one, buy it.
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The Ace is definitely a modernized AK weapon. One look inside confirms that. The Colombian defense firm ofIndustria Militar (INDUMIL) began a commercial relationship with Israeli Military Industries (IMI) that would later carve out the small arms division to become Israeli Weapons Industries (IWI). Their collaboration was on the Galil Automatic Rifle (AR) and INDUMIL obtained exclusive rights to it.
What the two organizations accomplished is remarkable. The two collaborated and modified 43 of the 96 parts in a base Galil AR to reduce the weight by approximately 1 KG (about 2.2 pounds). 12 of the parts shifted from steel to plastic. The goal wasn’t just to reduce weight, they improved precision as well.
I decided to see how many differences I could observe between it and a traditional AK. I wish I knew enough about Galil’s to compare a traditional Galil AR to the Ace but being an AK guy, I was very curious to see how the Ace compared.
I tried to be objective about things and started out that way but the more I took the pistol apart, the more genuinely impressed I became. So, let me try and catalog the differences with as many photos as I can.
Two Chamber Muzzle Brake
One thing that caught my eye was the two chamber muzzle brake and that it is held on by a jam nut, which is a nut that is tightened uo from the rear against the brake to lock it in place. The thread is 5/8-24 for the 7.62×51 Ace models.
In comparison, an AK-47 typically has a 14mm diameter by 1mm pitch left hand thread (14x1mm LH). They are held in place by a detent pin that protrudes from the front sight block (FSB) and engages a timing groove that secures the brake in the correct orientation. Now, 14×1 LH is typical for AK-47s but once you add in the variants, threads are all over the place with different style brakes and boosters.
Improved Sights
Note the longer sight radius, integral gas block with front sight, aperatrue rear and protected front sight.
There are five things I noticed right away
The Ace has a longer sight radius, which is a fancy term meaning the distance from the rear to the front sight is longer. In general, the longer the sight radius, the more accurately the weapon can be aimed.
Aperture rear sight – The Ace sports an aperture (meaning a hole you look through) rear sight that has flips to show either a small circular hole for distance work (300-500 meters) or a larger circular hole for close quarters work (0 to 300 meters).
Integral Front Sight and Gas Block – The Ace sports a combination gas block that combines the gas and front sight blocks. Note, AK folks use the term “blocks” to refer to the three sub-assemblies that sit on the top of the barrel – the front sight block (FSB), gas block (GB) and rear sight block (RSB).
Both the front sight post and the larger rear aperture have Beta Lights – Tritium Gas – for low-light visibility. In general, tritium is radioactive and will last about 10 years. After that, the sights still work but you will not have the glowing effect.
The height of sights enables co-witnessing with optics such as red dots.
View of the front sight and you can see the tritium (white dot) painted on the post.Rear sight with the close quarters aperture flipped up. Note the tritium circles for low light. This close quarter aperture is 0-300 meters.View of the rear sight showing the smaller aperture sight flipped down. It is used for distance work and the manual identifies it as 300-500 meters.
Ok, this pistol is in 7.62×51 and has an 11.8″ barrel – I’m real curious to see what it can do within 100 yards. The sights are the same used on the full size 16.5″ barreled rifle so I really don’t think the smaller aperture would ever realistically be needed but we will see.
Railed Dust Cover
The dust cover of the Ace is pretty interesting. Most of the cheap aftermarket railed AK dust covers simply aren’t very stable or consistent when the dust cover is removed, installed and the weapon fired – in short, they don’t really work very well.
The Ace dust cover is beefy and installs very firmly with no travel it is a stable platform to build on. The top of the dust cover has a Picatinny rail section on the top that is welded in place. It aligns with the rail section on the gas tube via a small tab.
This tab slides into a corresponding groove on the gas tube to align the two rail sections,
The rear of the dust cover has a second layer of sheet metal wrapping the bottom making for snug fit and reducing flexion.
This is the dust cover = you can see the rail, dual aperature rear sight and the double reinforced rear bottom that mates with receiver.You can see the welds that secure the rail to the dust cover plus the reinforced rear.
In short, the dust cover is remarkably solid. I actually have to give it a knife hand chop on the rear to get it to seat down fully into the receiver. It needs to fit tight as the installation of the dust cover also locks the gas tube in place.
Milled Receiver
Speaking of the Ace’s receiver, it’s milled and built like a tank. I found it very well machined with nice touches like a funnel design to help guide the recoil rod assembly into position.
As an example of the care taken in the design, note how the seat for the operating rod assembly is funnel shaped to help with installation.
Note, while the modern AK (AKM ) uses a stamped receiver, the Type 2 and Type 3 AK-47s used milled receivers so it’s not entirely new but it does differ from the AKM. In fact, some countries continued to use milled receivers such as Bulgaria, Finland and Israel in at least some of their weapons.
Milled Recoil Assembly With Rubber Seal
The recoil rod and spring assembly is of a tubular style you typically see in RPKs. The benefit of this is a more consistent pressure being applied to the bolt carrier particularly when it comes to lock up. The thumb tab that locks the dust cover in place seems a tad longer than what I see in other AKs. Last comment is that they added a rubber seal at the rear of the assembly to seal out debris.
Here’s the recoil rod assembly with the dust cover removed. You can see the long thumb tab and also the rubber seal. It also gives you a good view of the plat that seals the length of the groove where the bolt cocking lever passesShows the recoil spring, tubular rear, round front shaft and retainer. In an AKM, rather than a tube and rod, two pieces of folded wire form the central element and can bounce all over the place. Not a big deal in a typical AK but it does matter when you want to improve consistency.
Forged Galatz Fire Control Group (FCG)
The Ace FCG is very nice. Let’s face it, most AK FCGs reflect and elegantly utilitarian design that isn’t very refined. I have always been impressed by the simplicity of the AK design and what the Ace designers decided to do was to take the enhanced FCG from the IWI Galatz designated marksman’s rifle (DMR) and used it in the Ace weapons.
Here are some differences I noted:
A single large forged trigger hook for holding the hammer
Engagement surfaces are polished such as where the disconnector grabs the hammer
Hammer and trigger springs are separate whereas the AK has two wires spiral wound together that power the hammer and push down the rear of the trigger’s rear ears/bars.
The top of the hammer is asymmetrical with only half of the normal bar that adds mass to the top rear of AK hammers. This is what normally gives an AK hammer the hammer-head shark hook.
View of the hammer. Note the polishing. You can see the double-wound hammer spring and a part of the single-wound trigger spring sitting on the left ear of the trigger.Here it is from another angle. You can see the top rear of the hammer is asymmetrical vs. having the hammer-head shark design typically found in AK rifles.
An AK has a single selector lever on the right side of the rifle that also serves to seal the receiver. It’s about as basic as you can get. On a semi-auto AK, the selector either physically blocks the trigger from actuating by moving a bar directly above the rear ears of the trigger or it moves out of the way allowing the trigger to move freely. On an automatic weapon it also allows the user to select full-auto or semi-automatic.
The Ace has a thumb control on the left side and more of a switch vs. the traditional long lever on the right side. Internally, the linkages do the same thing for semi-automatic in terms of moving the block bar into or out of position. The Ace has a separate plate for sealing the groove where the cocking handle reciprocates so the selector lever is not doing double-duty in that regard.
Visible are the thumb selector switch at to top of the grip and so is the charging handle and the very interesting articulating plate that pivots down and allows the charging knob to pass by in both directions.Here’s the right side selector switch located where the traditional long AK selector lever would have been.
Note, the thumb selector connects to the safety bar via a linkage. The movement of the lever is an arc and not a horizontal slider. It is stiff and definitely needs lubrication when you get the weapon. I’ll comment more about that below when reviewing the pistol grip base.
Pistol Grip Base vs. Grip Nut
With AK’s, there tends to be a grip nut or in the case of Yugo-patterned AKs, a grip strap with an integral nut that the grip screw threads into. For the Ace, there is a “pistol grip base” that is uniquely shaped because it has a tube on top and my best guess is that it is to limit travel of the thumb selector and possibly to trap the pin so it can’t back out if it were ever to come loose.
The “barrel” in the middle of the receiver is the top of the “pistol grip base” as IWI terms it in the manual. You can also see the linkage – you’ll definitely want to oil this.Another angle on the grip nut and thumb selector linkage.Just behind the selector bar you can see a 6mm thread protruding from the bottom of the receiver. It is threaded into the unique “pistol grip base”.
Bolt Carrier and Bolt
The moment you open up a Galil Ace, you know you are looking at a rifle with an AK heritage and the bolt system clearly is AK inspired. When you look at the bolt and carrier, the refinements are interesting:
Most obvious perhaps, the traditional right-hand side cocking left on the bolt carrier has been moved to the left side and is tubular to reduce mass.
The bolt carrier has a lightening cut – that would lower mass and impact energy
Bolt and carrier do not appear to have serial numbers. While I can’t find confirmation of what I am about to say, perhaps the manufacturing tolernces are so good that the traditional hand fitting and matched components are no longer required.
At least for the 7.62×51 version the gas pistol is significantly shorter and has a collar on it.
While an AK’s firing pin is free floating, the Ace has a spring loaded firing pin that is pushing it back away from the bolt face. Now some will argue whether this was really needed or not but it is a design difference.
Note the short piston with the collar and that the cocking tube in on the left side.A better view of the very short gas pistonHere’s a view of the underside of the carrier with the bolt installed. Note the knurling on the kocking lever. I am curious about the pin hole under the cocking tube. It may allow for the swapping out of the lever – some dayI will take it apart and see if this is the actual case.Here’s the bolt. Definitely a good sized extractor.Lightening relief/cut on the carrier.Bottom of the carrier with the bolt removed. Curiously, notice the machining marks where the bolt’s lug would engage with the carrier.
Wrapping Up The First Post
There’s definitely more ground to cover and that will be in the next post. Click here to read it.
Note, I have to buy all of my parts – nothing here was paid for by sponsors, etc. I do make a small amount if you click on an ad and buy something but that is it. You’re getting my real opinion on stuff.
If you find this post useful, please share the link on Facebook, with your friends, etc. Your support is much appreciated and if you have any feedback, please email me at in**@*********ps.com. Please note that for links to other websites, I may be paid via an affiliate program such as Avantlink, Impact, Amazon and eBay.
