Photo updated to the gun's current configuration.
This will be my first AR of any kind, so I figured I'd go off the deep end and build it up the way I want it. I intend to use this thread as a place to post photos and ask questions along the way. The gun will be for my own education, fun, and maybe home defense at some point. I'm hoping for something highly portable, maneuverable and quiet, though still with the power of a 30-caliber supersonic round. I'm happy to pay for quality, and I want a tool such as this one to function perfectly and be highly intuitive. That ideology led me to the 300 blackout round, an 8" barrel, a titanium suppressor, and a red dot with fixed iron backups.
CURRENT PART LIST
- Aero Precision stripped lower receiver
- Aero Precision M4E1 upper receiver
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight mag catch with FDE button
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight ejection port door
- BAD-CASS-SA-ST selector with short levers in FDE
- ALG ACT trigger
- Magpul MOE-K2 grip
- Thordsen Pistol Builder's Kit
- KNS turned LPK
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight castle nut
- IKickHippies SLAP endplate
I was able to get the lower built without too much issue. I used Vice-Grips to push the trigger guard pin. The mag catch install was a piece of cake, as was that of the trigger group, selector, and pivot and take down pins. Earlier this afternoon, I tightened down the castle nut and staked it without issue. I'm only awaiting a RRA coiled roll pin to install my Seekins Bolt Catch. I'm confused as to why that part doesn't come with one, but it sure didn't.
The photos below do not show the V7 castle nut, which has a finish that is a much closer match to the upper and lower. The nut that came with the Thordsen kit had no place for staking. The V7 piece is also 60% lighter. Also worth noting, the gap between the nut and the buffer tube cover in the photos disappeared with the V7 piece.
Without further ado (serial number removed only in post-processing of the photos)...
EDIT: I wanted to edit the original post here to make a clarification that I hope will keep those viewing the thread from buying the Thordsen kit and using it to walk dangerously close to the line between AR-pistol and illegal short barreled rifle (SBR). As we know, the BATFE has issued a paper stating that the Thordsen kit with the CAA saddle is NOT a stock, based on the fact that the kit's purpose, as designed, is to give the user an enhanced cheek-weld. This was recently further clarified by the BATFE in a response to Thordsen, in which BATFE states, "As long as the saddle device as evaluated and installed to an AR-type pistol, is not designed or redesigned and intended to contact the shoulder and is not used as a shoulder stock, its possession and use would not be prohibited." Thus, using the Thordsen kit as originally designed causes the weapon to maintain pistol status. Incorrect use, such as shouldering the weapon, constitutes a redesign and may classify a weapon as an SBR, which would be illegal without a tax stamp. Use as designed, for an enhanced cheek weld, was and is my intention with the Thordsen kit and CAA saddle. I do not care for the NFA's existence, nor its vague nature, however I do choose to abide by it as law. I would discourage any person from shouldering an AR-pistol in any configuration, as such an act may cause said person to be in violation of the NFA. In my case, I am placing more value on the $200 that I won't be required to spend on the tax stamp to remain legal than the value I am placing on the ability to shoulder the weapon. I plan to try my hand at shooting the gun this way once it is finished, as I have never shot an AR pistol. If the configuration and firing without shouldering does not work well for me, I will choose to submit a "form one" in the future, and once approved, replace the Thordsen setup with a real stock, thus creating a legal, registered, NFA-compliant SBR.
Hopefully this educates and helps to prevent anybody from building a gun that is clearly in violation of the NFA, or even one that is stuck in a gray area. Remember, I am not a lawyer. This is only my interpretation of the current state of affairs.
This will be my first AR of any kind, so I figured I'd go off the deep end and build it up the way I want it. I intend to use this thread as a place to post photos and ask questions along the way. The gun will be for my own education, fun, and maybe home defense at some point. I'm hoping for something highly portable, maneuverable and quiet, though still with the power of a 30-caliber supersonic round. I'm happy to pay for quality, and I want a tool such as this one to function perfectly and be highly intuitive. That ideology led me to the 300 blackout round, an 8" barrel, a titanium suppressor, and a red dot with fixed iron backups.
CURRENT PART LIST
- Aero Precision stripped lower receiver
- Aero Precision M4E1 upper receiver
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight mag catch with FDE button
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight ejection port door
- BAD-CASS-SA-ST selector with short levers in FDE
- ALG ACT trigger
- Magpul MOE-K2 grip
- Thordsen Pistol Builder's Kit
- KNS turned LPK
- V7 Weapons Systems lightweight castle nut
- IKickHippies SLAP endplate
I was able to get the lower built without too much issue. I used Vice-Grips to push the trigger guard pin. The mag catch install was a piece of cake, as was that of the trigger group, selector, and pivot and take down pins. Earlier this afternoon, I tightened down the castle nut and staked it without issue. I'm only awaiting a RRA coiled roll pin to install my Seekins Bolt Catch. I'm confused as to why that part doesn't come with one, but it sure didn't.
The photos below do not show the V7 castle nut, which has a finish that is a much closer match to the upper and lower. The nut that came with the Thordsen kit had no place for staking. The V7 piece is also 60% lighter. Also worth noting, the gap between the nut and the buffer tube cover in the photos disappeared with the V7 piece.
Without further ado (serial number removed only in post-processing of the photos)...
EDIT: I wanted to edit the original post here to make a clarification that I hope will keep those viewing the thread from buying the Thordsen kit and using it to walk dangerously close to the line between AR-pistol and illegal short barreled rifle (SBR). As we know, the BATFE has issued a paper stating that the Thordsen kit with the CAA saddle is NOT a stock, based on the fact that the kit's purpose, as designed, is to give the user an enhanced cheek-weld. This was recently further clarified by the BATFE in a response to Thordsen, in which BATFE states, "As long as the saddle device as evaluated and installed to an AR-type pistol, is not designed or redesigned and intended to contact the shoulder and is not used as a shoulder stock, its possession and use would not be prohibited." Thus, using the Thordsen kit as originally designed causes the weapon to maintain pistol status. Incorrect use, such as shouldering the weapon, constitutes a redesign and may classify a weapon as an SBR, which would be illegal without a tax stamp. Use as designed, for an enhanced cheek weld, was and is my intention with the Thordsen kit and CAA saddle. I do not care for the NFA's existence, nor its vague nature, however I do choose to abide by it as law. I would discourage any person from shouldering an AR-pistol in any configuration, as such an act may cause said person to be in violation of the NFA. In my case, I am placing more value on the $200 that I won't be required to spend on the tax stamp to remain legal than the value I am placing on the ability to shoulder the weapon. I plan to try my hand at shooting the gun this way once it is finished, as I have never shot an AR pistol. If the configuration and firing without shouldering does not work well for me, I will choose to submit a "form one" in the future, and once approved, replace the Thordsen setup with a real stock, thus creating a legal, registered, NFA-compliant SBR.
Hopefully this educates and helps to prevent anybody from building a gun that is clearly in violation of the NFA, or even one that is stuck in a gray area. Remember, I am not a lawyer. This is only my interpretation of the current state of affairs.
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