ideola from United States, IL Public Profile

...and I've used plenty. For starters, they didn't come with any wrenches, which ordinarily wouldn't be an issue, except that these pins use a tiny AF torx head, instead of a standard allen head. After finding two torx wrenches in my vast collection of previously purchased parts kits, it was still nearly impossible to install these because the screws din't thread cleanly, and the pins themselves were too tight to feed into standard milspec trigger group parts. I've purchased a lot of CMMG parts without issue, but these pins SUCKED.

No bling, no frills, no worries...perfect! I install the MagPul Enhanced AR Mag Release on ALL of my builds. It really improves the ergonomics for my shooting hand (I'm right handed), making mag drops much quicker and smoother. Highly recommended!

The RA-140 is my favorite drop-in trigger for custom AR builds, especially for AR pistols / PDWs. Clean, crisp, and light...but not TOO light. And BONUS! The Optics Planet Exclusive version was about 20% cheaper than the other versions of this excellent trigger! I'm not a "logo wear" kind of guy, but you can't see the logo once it's installed, so no worries!

Why can't I get a lower parts kit (LPK) standard with an ambi safety?! The XTS-SSL ambi safety selector is a great value, easy to install, and works as expected.

I own several SightMark reflex sights, so I was excited to try this. Unfortunately, the switch for changing the reticle was non-functional. It did not change reticle, and it did not "click" when moved to the different "detents" as the instruction manual indicated it should.

This sight is also a LOT bigger and heavier than I expected. Exchanging for a smaller, lighter unit that will hopefully function correctly out of the box.

I purchased the Battlelink Extreme Duty Minimalist Stock (mil-spec) to install on my Bushmaster AR57. Overall, I like the looks and functionality of this stock. There are some areas where this item could be improved.
1. The cheekweld is adequate, but could be better. It sure would be nice if Mission First would make these to accommodate aftermarket cheekweld attachments, or slightly increase the surface area for improved cheekweld.
2. I have Mission First's gen 1 minimalist stock, and it allows a QD swivel in the forward mount just beneath where the stock release lever is located. I bought this version because it appeared to me that the addutuinak rear QD mount gave me TWO options, but the forward mount on the underside is unusable for a QD mount because of the way the spring assembly for the stock release lever is implemented on this version. Which leads to my next point:
3. The stock release lever / spring setup binds up when trying to adjust the stock. The whole point of having it spring loaded is to be able to operate with one hand and rapidly collapse or expand the stock. Unfortunately, because the lever binds up and doesn't auto-restore, I have to use two hands when collapsing and expanding the stock. It's hard to get the stock aligned to the detents on the buffer tube. I'm hoping this is a just a kink that will work out over time, but I may end up having to disassemble that portion of the stock to see why it's binding.

I purchased the UTG Gen 2 400 Lumen Weapon Light/Green Laser Combo to install on my F&N FN15 5.56 Military Collector rifle. The integral quick release mount is nice, but that's about the only good thing about this package. In retrospect, I should have purchased a brighter light, and I'll be ditching the laser altogether.

The laser has really bad parallax, nearly impossible to zero, and not bright enough to be useful in daylight or brightly lit rooms. To adjust the swivel mount on the laser, you have to unscrew the front element of the light, so not terribly convenient.

The worst thing, though, are the switches, especially on the flashlight. There is no button switch on the tail cap. The only way to turn it on is to twist it all the way, or unscrew it slightly and use the spring pressure to use the tail cap as a momentary switch. So then I installed the pressure switches, which only work as momentary. Also, the adhesive on the velcro strips for mounting the pressure switches is useless. Overall, I'm very disappointed in this purchase, and that the UTG poroduct description such a poor job of describing how the switches worked. If I'd have known that the tail cap switch wasn't a dedicated button switch, I never would have purchased this in the first place.

This package is a classic case of "you get what you pay for". I will probably end up putting this in the toy bin, and eventually replacing it with a more professional grade product.

I purchased the Simmons Prohunter 2-6x32 handgun scope to mount on my Ruger Mark IV Hunter .22LR pistol. Unfortunately, the eye relief is so long on this scope that it is virtually unusable, especially at higher magnifications. I'm using a pair of Simmons cantalever high ring mounts, and have the scope positioned as far forward as possible. Even in that configuration, and when using a two handed grip with arms fully extended, I have great difficulty position the scope without shadowing or occlusions. For reference, I'm 5'10", so average height / build.

Rapid target acquisition? Forget about it. I'm taking this off of the Ruger Mark IV, and will see if it's salvageable on my Marlin Model 60 rifle.

I purchased a ShotLock Shotgun Solo-Vault Gun Safe to mount my Mossberg 590 Shockwave in my truck. Overall, I am fairly happy with this safe. However, the overall design needs some improvements. In particular, once mounted in the truck, the front "door" that is used to secure the firearm doesn't mesh well with the locking mechanism, requiring me to press down on the portion of the unit where the keypad and knob are. The door catches don't line up with the receivers, so there is some kind of an alignment problem once everything is torqued down. The other issue, which may be related, is that the simplex unlocking mechanism is hit or miss. The whole point of purchasing a simplex lock is for rapid access that can be operated by feel. The problem is that once the code is entered, the unlock knob doesn't always disengage the lock, requiring multiple entries of the code. The behavior is sporadic, so I haven't been able to isolate whether it's related to the aforementioned alignment issue, or just a faulty locking mechanism. Fortunately, the unit has the backup key option.

Unfortunately, I was not able to use these rings with the Sig scope that I bought because the bell on the scope was too large. These are high quality rings, though, and match the Sig scope nicely. Just make sure to check the size of the bell of the scope you intend to use first! I'm going to keep these in case I pick up a small scope for one of my lighter rifles.