Gotta say goodbye to this one tomorrow. It's 11.75 pounds without the scope. Shoots pretty good too. Built with Bula M21 MR receiver and a Criterion 18.5" medium weight barrel. Bedded into a McMillan M3A Adjustable stock in GAP camo.



Final group at 100 yards with 168 grain FGMM


If the owner is good with handloads, he should be able to bring it down a bit more. If I spent a little more time behind the rifle, I could have brought it down a little more but this is a good starting point.

This is one of my favorite builds so far. The McMillan's always come out looking and feeling great.

Tony.

That GAP camo looks great on that rifle. Super cool build. Fun day ringing steel from 50-1000 with that thing for sure.

I've always liked those McMillan stocks.

I'm currently building another AR, and I keep saying "no more new guns". I need (want) some good glass for 2 rifles, 2 red dots, some extra magazines...

Then I open threads like this and say to myself "why not another gun?!?"

This place is costing me a lot of money!

benny6, I can only imagine the money, and time you have invested there ... but when its a labor of love, we seem to quit counting.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
I've always liked those McMillan stocks.

I'm currently building another AR, and I keep saying "no more new guns". I need (want) some good glass for 2 rifles, 2 red dots, some extra magazines...

Then I open threads like this and say to myself "why not another gun?!?"

This place is costing me a lot of money!

Unless your building with JP Enterprise or other premium parts you could build an M21 just like the one above for what it cost to build at least 4-5 AR's ... with this kind of "space management" you won't have to buy as many safes! Besides, except for wimmons ... variety is the spice of life!
(I'd include wimmons, but after the 2nd one they start getting expensive)

The customer spent roughly $3,300 in parts and labor for this rifle minus the scope. The scope is my test scope.

Tony.

I have an honest question. Why is this platform so expensive? I've always wanted one but the accuracy doesn't match the performance. I may own one someday as I've always loved the looks of these rifles.

quote:

Originally posted by swage:
I have an honest question. Why is this platform so expensive? I've always wanted one but the accuracy doesn't match the performance. I may own one someday as I've always loved the looks of these rifles.

The M14 and M1 Garand are among the most difficult receivers to manufacture correctly, even with modern CNC machinery. The forged receiver alone is $800, the parts kit minus barrel and bolt is close to another $750, the bolt is $150, the barrel is $265 and the McMillan is roughly $800. Hand fitting is laborious as is the bedding.

This rifle is roughly 85% forged steel where Springfield Armory rifles are roughly 40% forged and the rest, cast.

When it comes to M14's the acceptance criteria for match armorers was under 1.5 MOA to be used by competition shooters which is enough to hold the 10-ring with a high X-count on SR targets. The action will settle into the stock and the groups will tighten up. Proper load development will tighten it up more.

The acceptance criteria for the standard M14 battle rifle was roughly 5 MOA. The M14 is also nicknamed "The Last Steel Warrior."

Tony.

That was a super deal that Bula offered in July 2017, with the headspaced receiver and barrel assembly, including bolt, for $795. And, I had to go back and look at the SF archives to verify that pricing. I bought their XM21 and 22" NM barrel, and had fun putting it together with their parts kit. I also purchased their CBR chassis for that build.

The bonus for me is that several of the Bula components are forged, and the company that made these forging presses is in my hometown.

How does this receiver compare to LRB’s M25?

quote:

Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
How does this receiver compare to LRB’s M25?

I own three LRB's and now four Bula's. I honestly can't say one holds an edge over the other. They are both forged. They are both made to correct tolerances. LRB's are hammer forged. Bula's are press forged.

Bula's are typically more readily available as they do all the forging and machining in house where Bula has to contract out to JV Precision out of Seymour, CT.

Both companies perform destructive testing of samples from each lot using an outside company for this service.

Both require bolt lapping for full lug contact. Both have extremely smooth surface finishes both inside and out.

The M21 DMR receiver is $800.

Tony.

Brings back fond memories. Our company level DMR/Sniper (whatever command called the user didn’t seem to matter because they only put someone behind one when needed) it was still the XM21 -mid 80’s. Awesome fun rifle. Wish I’d gotten some pictures back then.