From the Vault: Caleb's New Hotness

No, Caleb hasn't had a makeover. He's as immaculately groomed as ever! We've been getting a lot of requests for him to share the deets on the gray AR-15 demo rifle he uses in a lot of our videos. It's a relatively new build, and he is eager to give us a tour of his new "Hotness".

Starting from the front, the muzzle device is a SureFire Warden Blast Regulator mounted to a SureFire muzzle brake. Why a muzzle brake instead of a flash suppressor? Caleb explains. The Warden directs all the muzzle blast and concussion forward, away from the shooter and other shooters on the firing line. The Warden can be removed quickly and replaced with a SureFire sound suppressor. The muzzle brake is pinned-and-welded to the barrel to meet the NFA requirements for a minimum 16" barrel length, so Caleb didn't have to pay for an SBR tax stamp. The actual length of the Sons of Liberty Gun Works (SOLGW) barrel is 13.7", so permanently attaching the muzzle brake gets the overall length to the 16" requirement. 

The gas block and gas tube are also both from SOLGW. The gas block is designed to clamp to the barrel with a setscrew, but to make it totally "bombproof," Caleb pinned it. He chose the Midwest Industries Ultra Lightweight One-Piece Free-Float M-LOK® Handguard to save weight. It has lengths of M1913 Picatinny top rail only at the front and rear, plus a Titanium barrel nut. The back-up front sight comes from Knight's Armament, with non-slip side grip panels by Slate Black Industries, JMac Customs front hand stop, and Bravo Company vertical grip. The sling is permanently attached to the rifle via a Magpul M-LOK® swivel. Caleb decided to forego QD swivels to keep the sling setup simple and reliable. 

Moving farther back, we have Brownells house-brand mil-spec upper and lower receivers, with the lower milled by Caleb to accommodate a Ronin Armory PDQ Ambi-Bolt Release because Caleb shoots rifles left-handed. There's a V Seven lightweight ejection port cover, Battle Arms Development pivot / takedown pins, and a standard mil-spec magazine release button supplemented by a Troy Industries ambidextrous mag release on the left-hand side. 

The Battle Arms Development ambidextrous safety selector has the long lever on the RIGHT-hand side because, you know, Caleb shoots left-handed. As a bonus, the short left-side lever doesn't interfere with his trigger finger's access to the Geissele Automatics SSA-EX Lightning Bow trigger. Protecting the wide shoe of the SSA-EX is a slightly oversized Knight's Armament triggerguard. 

For the forward assist, Caleb chose the Forward Control Designs unit with the cute dimples..... of the non-slip variety. The flip-up rear sight is by A.R.M.S., and the Reptilia AUS scope mount securely supports a Brownells 1-8x24mm Match Precision Optic (MPO) with BDC, bullet drop compensation. 

A Primary Weapons Systems (PWS) ratcheting endplate / castle nut anchors the Geissele carbine receiver extension (aka, "buffer tube") without the need for staking the castle nut. This supports the B5 Systems Bravo stock with the comfy wide cheekpiece but no storage compartments inside. The Bravo has QD swivel sockets, but Caleb threaded the Spiritus Systems / Sierratac sling through the Bravo's traditional sling loop. The ambidextrous Radian Raptor SD charging handle has a built-in gas deflector and gray levers to match the rifle's gray finish. 

What about that unique light gray color? Caleb stripped all the small parts off the receivers and handguard, so he could blast them with aluminum oxide before applying Wolf Gray Brownells Aluma-Hyde® II, speed cured at low temperature in an oven. Caleb uses this gun a LOT, but that tough Aluma-Hyde® finish still looks excellent! 

The F1 Firearms bolt-carrier group is built the right way with the right materials and has a rose gold PVD coating. Why rose gold? See how nicely it contrasts with the Wolf Gray? A Geissele Super 42 recoil spring motivates a standard H1 buffer to deliver a very neat, consistent brass ejection pattern. 

NOTE: Products in this video are to be used only for lawful purposes, including hunting, self-defense, and competitive or recreational shooting. If you purchase any of them, you are responsible for understanding and complying with all federal, state, and local laws that apply to the purchase, possession, and use of these products.