bradders Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 A couple of retro builds I've had on the go for a few weeks, not that I have customers for them, but just because I wanted to build them The GAU-5A/A was a rifle designed for the USAF, a Commando Carbine with slick sided upper, 11.5" (formerly 10.3") barrel and the now famous sound moderator The ones in my pics are just flash suppressors, although they don't have the slots cut yet because I burned out my cutter and am still searching for a replacement....a minor thing at this time Everyone always talks about the Grey finish, and replicating it is not so easy as getting your hands on one in that colour in good condition is easier said than done I did get access to a XM177/GAU and a Colt Commando recently (see pics) and you wll see the problem with a rifle that has fought in Vietnam then spent the last 50 years there getting knocked about Numerous internet searches pointed to Cerakote Sniper Grey being a good match......it wasn't, and I finally settled on Sig Dark Grey, and I couldn't be happier with the end result, as I fel it is as close as you are going to get. After painting I sent them away to my laser engravers to have the logo and serial numbers put on through the paint, and again this has exceeded expectations in my view The rifles.... One is a .223 with a Walther 1:8 barrel, 300mm long and in a Govt pencil profile with the correct .625 FSB, non serrated chrome bolt carrier and (lucky me) I somehow managed to source an original incredibly rare Colt plastic coated 2 position stock that cost a pretty penny here in the UK, that once may have belonged to "Them" who live "There"! :;-) I have shaved the finger ledge off the grip, but I am awaiting a couple of retro grips to finish them off I am also waiting on 1x A1 rear sight assy, it's on backorder The flash hiders are reflexed over the barrels to give as short a look as possible As you will see from the pics of original rifles, they were had in various lengths and configurations, both with fenced and unfenced lowers, so mine are fairly true to the original The other rifle is in .22lr with a Walther barrel, CMMG chrome kit (for the look) and a plastic Fiberite 6 position stock Still the only .22 rifle manufactured in the UK Really pleased with the end results, the engraving and colour and overall feel of the rifles The attention as they say, is in the detail 🙂 Black vs Grey The Real Deal The buttstock before refinishing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moorlander Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gandy Posted December 18, 2018 Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 Cracking post, enjoyed the history element of it most thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted December 18, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2018 6 minutes ago, Gandy said: Cracking post, enjoyed the history element of it most thanks for sharing. You're most welcome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lukas_K Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 Just off the title first thing that came to mind was the A10 warthog 😄 Very nice as a modern nod to the classical firearm, thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 20 minutes ago, Lukas_K said: Just off the title first thing that came to mind was the A10 warthog 😄 Very nice as a modern nod to the classical firearm, thanks for sharing GAU is a USAF definition, Gun Automatic Unit, but as everyone here is a Gun Nut, you all already know this, don't y'all? 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCetrizine Posted December 19, 2018 Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 I did know that because I fired a GAU19A in America a while back and got a lecture about it beforehand. On another note, your rifles are stunning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradders Posted December 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 minute ago, MrCetirizine said: I did know that because I fired a GAU19A in America a while back and got a lecture about it beforehand. On another note, your rifles are stunning. Thank you, a very nice thing to say I've always tried to pay attention to details Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDP Posted August 18, 2019 Report Share Posted August 18, 2019 I'm so happy to have managed to get these two GAU-5 builds - truly superb rifles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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