Sprog #4 Birthday Gift Pink Rifle - Populating the lower

Sprog #4 came over today to work on her birthday gift.  I already have a lot of the parts she needs for her rifle, or I thought I did.  While going through my spares, I've somehow misplaced 2 six position carbine stocks with buffer tubes, buffers and buffer springs.  I also cannot find the ammo can with the delta rings or my multi-wrench.  I found my buffer tubs wrench, but not my good AR-15 armorers wrench.

Oh well on to the pictures

Megan's receiver with the parts from a PSA LPK minus a few things which aren't necessary/  It's kind of hard to help her install parts and take photos, so there are only 5 pics today.

The first thing we installed was the safety and it's retaining spring and plunger.  It was quite easy, only requiring  a proper size punch to hold the plunger and spring in the depressed position while we installed the safety.  Then came the hard part, installing the trigger, disconnector with their springs, and then to slide in the retaining pin.  This actually took Megan almost 30 minutes to get everything lined up.  She had to pull the pin back out several times as she didn't keep pressure on the disconnector and it slid up, allowing the pin to scoot under it.  Once she got everything lined up, and held proper downward pressure on the disconnector, the pin slid in just right.

The hammer and it's spring took her less than 6 minutes to install, as she has helped me replace the hammer in my Franken-15 before.

Fitting the bolt catch/release and the buffer retainer.  The bolt catch/release was actually very easy to install, using only a pair of channel lock with some tape on the jaws to prevent marring the receiver.  The buffer retainer on the other hand, took both Megan and I almost 20 minutes to tap the long roll pin in properly.  I also bent my roll pin punch while doing so, so I need to buy a new one now.  But with how tight that pin fits in, completely across the back of the receiver, that buffer retainer isn't going to come out easily.  Also checking with both a loaded and an unloaded magazine, the mags drop free with no problem and there is very little wiggle when they are locked in place.

The lower fully populated, well except for the buffer and buffer spring.  I know I have 2 of them around here somewhere, but I can't find them right now.  The lower function tests properly, although it feels extremely light compared to my Franken-15 or my AM-15 lowers.

A closeup of the internals.  The GWACS Armory, CAV-15 MKII does not use the standard takedown pins.  The take down pins have their own locking pin built right into them, so Megan and I didn't need to install the itsy bitsy teeny tiny take down pin retaining pins and springs.  I'm actually going to order a dozen or so of the GWACS Armory Take Down Pins to keep as emergency spares for my own AR-15's.  they are a good idea and test fitting a flat top upper receiver on to this lower, they hold very tightly.

So, what is next on the agenda for Megan's rifle?  Finding my carbine buffers and springs, and installing them.  then using the upper from one of my rifles to take it to the range to test fire.

Then we will start getting the rest of the parts of her upper, and build it up right.

Sprog #4's Birthday Pink Rifle Build - Stage #1

My youngest daughter turns 19 this year on Veteran's Day.  November 11th.  For her birthday present I decided to give her a rifle.  However.  I want her to KNOW that rifle, so I'm giving it to her a piece at a time.

Her first piece,

From GWACS Armory, a Pink, CAV Arms-CAV 15 MKII  AR-15 Lower receiver.  Shel at GWACS sold me this lower for $50.00 off because it is a "Blem".  Honestly, Barb and Tony at the Sooper Sekrit Gunstore, where I do all of my transfers, and I searched for over 20 minutes while waiting for Megan to get there, and the ONLY blemish we could find was a small nick between the magwell and the trigger guard.  If GWACS considers this a "Blem", I need to buy more of their "Blems".

She'll be putting a PSA LPK in it because I already have two of them in the parts box for spares.

I will be getting parts for her rifle as I can afford them.  What I would LIKE to get her is really out of my price range.  I was thinking a pink cerakoted  A4 upper, with a custom Hello Kitty Dust cover also in pink, a boron nickle bolt carrier, and if I could afford it, I'd love to get her a Huntertown Arms DOLOS with a pink Yankee Hill Machinery free float smooth forend, with a 18" 1:7 .223 Wylde chambered Green Mountain Rifle barrel and an A2 flash hider.  Add on a decent optic and MagPul BUIS, and find some pink 30 round magazines.

Now, Megan will be "Building" this rifle herself.  I'll be helping her, but the vast majority of the labor, will be HER labor.  So she KNOWS, how to repair her rifle.  she's already said, that she plans of turning her rifle from "Pink" to "Pink Camo" once it's built.  And she has torn down my AR's to help me clean them several times, so this project is not beyond her skill level.

But you've seen what I would "Like" to get her.  What I will probably wind up doing is stripping the anodizing off one of the A4 uppers I already have and having it cerakoted to match her lower, then getting a standard carbine barrel and MagPul furniture and then add a PSA BCG which I already have in the parts box.

::sigh::

My wishes are larger than my pocket book.  Plus, I still need to look in the parts box to see what other parts I already have, and what parts I need to get for her.

However, I WILL be documenting her putting her rifle together.  I hope, I will have all the parts so she can build it before her birthday, so on her birthday, she can take it the range and test it out.

Once she finishes her lower though, I'll take an upper off of one of my AR's so she can test it and see that everything functions right.  Which will probably be this Wednesday/tomorrow, which is her day off from work.

So keep an eye out for posts tagged ""Sprog #4" to keep updated on her progress.