Mt. Katahdin

     While I am waiting on parts to complete the second half of my AR15 build I thought I would share some pictures from my recent hike of Mt. Katahdin. For those who are not familiar with it by name, Mt. Katahdin is the highest peak in the state of Maine, stretching up one mile into the clouds overlooking Baxter State Park in the states northern wilderness. This years hike ended up being a very long day due to a number of reasons but the pay off was no less amazing than ever. Last year my hiking partner and I took the Saddle Trail to the summit and decided to follow the same path back down after taking in the views from the top. This year the wind was so still and calm at the top we had to try the Knife's Edge. Knife's Edge is the most famous trail of Mt. Katahdin. It starts by the summit and follows the mountain ridge to Pomola Peak where it branches off into several different trails going down the mountain. This trail has the best views by far but it gets as narrow as three to four feet in places with cliff on both sides so you want to photograph carefully. All in all it was a great day. We rested at the summit for lunch and I cooked hotdogs and sausages on my folding camp stove (which I was quite impressed with). Here are some of the views.

This is my hiking partner making his way down the trail. Does it get any better than that?

The two pictures above are the Knife's Edge trail from a ways back. Yes, you basically walk the top of the mountains. How cool is that?

That's a long way down...so long in fact that we found ourselves above the clouds....

It was absolutely beautiful at the top this day, barely any wind, plenty of sun, and lots of people enjoying Mother Nature's glory. The scenary doesn't begin when you get to the top though. The trails are filled with gorgeous brooks, bridges, and wildlife that makes the entire experience very sureal. Below is a random trail picture as we had just started hiking.

Pictured below is probably the hardest part of the Saddle Trail. It is known as the slide. The rocks are very light-weight and can slide under your feet if your not careful. To the left side of the picture, which would be the right side of the trail as you go up, are bigger rocks that can be climbed over to avoid sliding.

At the end of our adventure I was sitting in the parking lot. I was switching my shoes and taking my pack off for a much needed break. I heard something in the woods and walked over a few feet to see what it was. Just as I got a little closer an adult doe stepped out into the parking lot in front of me (and of course my camera was in the car). Luckily she waited for me to go grab it and take her picture. What a way to end a beautiful Maine hike!

Mt. Washington is coming up in a few weeks. I'll be sure to post more pics from there.

AR15 project part 1

     While thinking of what after-market parts I should equip my rifle with, I was first faced with the decision of what I wanted my rifle to do for me. When I bought it , it had a very nice Leupold vari-x iii hunting scope on it. This scope brings close to four-hundred dollars brand new and would definately allow long range shots to be taken with ease, however, this particular rifle is a carbine with a 14.5 inch barrel. If I wanted to take shots from a long distance I would have bought a rifle with a eighteen or twenty inch barrel for increased accuracy. The carbine length barrels were designed for ease of movement. They were primarily made for tactical and self defense purposes. With this is mind I wanted products that would add to the functionability of the rifle. I wanted tasks such as magazine changes and solving weapon malfunctions faster and easier. I want to be able to acquire my target quickly and accurately, and be able to squeeze off multiple rounds on target if need be. I decided the first thing I was going to do was improve the trigger.
     I did this by replacing the factory fire control springs (trigger, hammer, and disconnector) with J.P reduced power springs. This definately made the trigger pull much lighter and cleaner, dropping it by approximately three pounds. I then installed a set screw into the lower reciever to take up the "creep" or "pre-travel" (the ammount of space the trigger moves before engaging the disconnector and releasing the hammer). The instructions for this process can be found by running a search for "the 50 cent ar trigger job". When doing this one must use a little common sense in not taking too much creep out. Taking too much out can result in the weapon firing twice with one pull of the trigger or misfiring when bumped, both are very dangerous. If you don't feel like you know how much to take out then DON'T DO IT! This has been your official disclaimer so don't try suing me if you do it wrong.
     So now that my trigger pull was smooth, light, and clean it was time to increase my rifles modular capabilities. I changed out the factory handguards with a Magpul M.O.E composite rail interface system (R.I.S). With the addition of the composite rail pieces I was ready to add modular accessories to my weapon. The first of these was a three inch forward vertical grip (F.V.G). This grip allows me to move the rifle around easier in close quarters and also had a hollow compartment in which I keep a few spare internal parts for repairs in the field if necessary. I also purchased a grip sleeve cover from Manta rail. This F.V.G cover has a pocket designed for pressure pads, so if I ever decide to run a light or optic with a pressure pad activation system I can keep the switch right there on the grip for easy access.
     I also wanted a light. If this rifle was going to be used for home defense it would make sense that having a light attatched to the weapon would be huge during low visibility situations. The only problem is that most weapon lights that are worth anything are very expensive ($100-$300). As rugged and cool as they may be I just could not see myself spending that kind of money on a flashlight. So, I bought a one inch drop light mount on ebay and went shopping. I found an impact/water resistant Maglite XL50 LED at Walmart for thirty dollars. Maglite has a lifetime warrantee on all their lights and the tail cap switch makes turning it on and off while holding the rifle a snap. Considering the difference in cost I will take my chances and hope I never have to use the light after my gun has been thrown in a pool and run over.

This is the forend of the rifle with the Magpul handguard and rails, FVG, and Maglite. The rails have UTG rail covers over them for a better feel while I am shooting and to protect the rails themselves from damage. This Maglite is very bright! I also bought an accessory pack for it that came with the rubber lens cover you see and colored lenses (red and blue).
     The next two item I put on were also tactical upgrades and I stuck with Magpul. I installed the Magpul oversized trigger guard for easier trigger acquisition and winter shooting with a gloved hand. I also installed the Magpul B.A.D (battery assist device) lever. This lever allows me to operate the bolt catch with my trigger finger , so I never have to remove my support hand. I didn't much mind the old way when it came to loading a fresh magazine but I cannot begin to tell you how much faster and easier magazine changes are with this little B.A.D boy. When the last round is fired from a magazine the bolt locks backward. Usually you would change the magazine and then hit the magazine release button with your left hand before having to return it to the handguard to resume firing. With the B.A.D lever as soon as the new magazine is in you can return your support hand to the weapon and simply slide your trigger finger down over the lever, releasing the bolt and loading the first round from the new magazine. It is incredibly smooth. This lever cost me around thirty dollars and is probably the most worth-while investment I have made so far. Magpul got it right with this thing when they say they give shooters an "unfair advantage".

 I will post more of the upgrades I made in a few days. As usual if you have any questions on where I got any of the items or how I did anything leave me a comment or send me a message and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Don't forget about the free emergency fire-starter you could win at the end of this month. Happy shooting!