Shuggy

Al, I was pleased to read that story, which shows that some Forces do apply compassion and common sense. A key point for me is that if people have reached out for help and are trying to improve their health, then Forces shouldn’t immediately treat them as a threat to themselves or the public. It’s a sad fact though that some tragic cases do slip through all of the checks and balances that are there. These incidents seem to happen in the UK about every decade; and the types of firearm controls in place seem to make little difference to their occurrence. The key question is whether society finds that to be acceptable level or not.

As always, the media and politicians are looking for quick fixes. It seems to me that all the talk about treating ‘incels’ as a terrorist group, or conducting enhanced social media checks is distracting everyone from the core issue that it is probably quite difficult to spot someone heading for a catastrophic and murderous mental breakdown. Mental health issues are incredibly common and have much less of a stigma than they used to. It worries me that people engaging positively with treatment to help them get better might be victimised for doing so when their certificates are up for renewal.

It seems that the backlash against licence holders has already started. Apparently licence applicants will now be subjected to enhanced ‘social media checks’ during the application process.

Direct - very good service.

3200 ft and dry… the average elevation in the UK is 246 ft and wet! This is probably why 168 and 175 grain bullets don’t work so well for us at long range.

0.308 is really a lovely calibre - accurate and good factory ammunition widely available. I would never be without one (I now have 3), but it really doesn’t do so well in comparison to other calibres at long range. You can certainly play tricks with transonic tolerant bullets, or take the FTR shooters approach of 32 inch Palma barrels and heavy projectiles. But as Pete says, none of this is as easy as simply picking a better long range calibre.

Having watched a few US YouTube gun channels, a lot of stuff just gets done ‘because you can’. Logic often doesn’t get much of a look in.

There are just so many bipods on the market now, that no one can possibly try them all and give you a balanced opinion. However, I have an Atlas BT10 and also a Phoenix/Fortmeir, which I find to be nice and wide and stable.

Re-reading the OP, I realise that you are probably talking about the US ‘innovation’ of a moderator with a brake on the end. I agree with BBM - sounds like a load of marketing guff to me.

Matching brakes and moderators are not at all common in the UK. The two most commonly available are probably the AI double baffle brake and the Ase Utra BoreLock. Matching moderators for the AI brake include AI, A-Tec, Oceania Defence and Lawrence Precision. For the BoreLock, you are limited to Ase Utra moderators, but that’s by no means a bad thing. There are probably a few other matching brakes/moderators including some for the the old AI single baffle brake, the A-Tec Marksman Brake and one from Brugger and Thomet. But personally I have never seen these ones in the UK. I have both the AI and BoreLock on my rifles and each have their pros and cons. You can’t go much wrong with Ase Utra though. The moderators are pretty bullet-proof and the service from Jackson Rifles is widely recognised as excellent. I have a Klarig BoreLock compatible low profile brake on one of my rifles (probably one of the few in the UK), which makes for an interesting alternative.

This is a very well known photo. Stumpy barrels may be handy but are not really a good idea in 5.56.

No criticism inferred! Ammunition may well have been a factor, but my point was that there are very few types which will expand and perform effectively at ~2,500 fps.

I think that they were fortunate not to have injuries from shoot throughs - there were several more holes in the nearby bus. However, I am not going to pass judgement on officers who showed extraordinary bravery in running towards a suspected suicide bomb. The firearms appear to be the Met issued Sig MCX in 5.56. The apparent lack of effect may have something to do with the dinky 11.5” barrel, which substantially reduces velocity and lethality. The CTSFOs are apparently moving to 300 Blackout, which works much better from a shorter barrel, as well as being much more effective against body armour.

The best response is surely to say (with your best Ted Hastings from Line of Duty impression) that you will comply with the ‘Letter of the Law’ but nothing more.

Personally, I rather like the idea of these folks being able to ‘cheat’ a little bit in their job. The UK Armed Forces adopted the PRST tripod for their snipers not so long ago. However, I am sure that they will still teach the ‘3 broomsticks’ method.

Jet Z is a great moderator, but the Ase Utra SL7i model is lighter, quieter and stainless to boot.

I have always liked the sound of a .221 Fireball for a rabbit rifle - but they are not common. However, the Lyman Cast Bullet Handbook shows that the much more readily available .222 Remington can be safely loaded to match normal .22 Hornet velocities.

B&T SMG suppressor probably comes closest to your needs: https://bt-ag.ch/en/produkt/bt-smg-pdw-suppressor-cal-9mm/ Diameter is correct, correct thread can probably be ordered. It’s just a bit shorter than you need. I think that it would probably be easier to just order a slightly longer barrel, or use a shorter handguard. Otherwise you will probably have to go for a custom build from one of the numerous boutique suppressor manufacturers, some of which have already been suggested.

I just bought some Molyslip Copaslip to replace my VP90 grease. It’s good up to 1100 degrees C and rated for Stainless and Aluminium. To be honest, I think that many of the copper based high temperature anti seize greases are very similar.

The HRD Gear 6mm br mag kit for the AW/AT/AX308 mags seems to be the one that consistently gets the best comments on the US forums, but I have yet to read a really thorough review, including comments on feeding reliability. I think that Sporting Services is now selling them.

It’s a thread seized with carbon. That’s very unlikely to require any proprietary knowledge from AI to sort it out.

I’m the same as One on top of two; after having being asked to remove the brake from my rifle at Bisley, I now have combined brakes/moderators for my non-classic rifles.

The AT has to be one of the best bang for buck options for a precision rifle on the UK market, especially now that it is available off the shelf with a 26” 6.5 Creedmoor barrel. The price probably compares very favourably will a full custom option and it’s simplicity itself to replace the barrel when the time comes. Plus, the thing really is built to take the harshest of use, which isn’t something that can be said for many custom actions.

You will not be disappointed if you choose Neil. His work is immaculate. He’s between Basingstoke and Reading.

Copper slip high temperature anti-seize grease is probably the best type of all to use; I should probably pick some up. But back to the OP, if it really is stuck, then I have always found PlusGas to be the best stuff for seized threads. It’s just as good as Kroil.