Rail gun for AR-15 uppers?

[David Bookstaber]

Has anyone seen any machine rests or rail gun receivers for precision testing AR-15 uppers?

Hyskore has a commercial offering but overall reviews seem to be that it is kludgy and poorly made.

What do real rail-gun bases cost, and who are machinists that might be good at integrating an AR receiver with one?

 

[waynemac]

That's an intriguing proposition... Semi-auto rail gun. I could see how that would appear to be a defining test of the accuracy of an upper assembly, and it would certainly look good to the buying public. Back in the 80s Ruger test fired all there Gov. target Model .22 Autos from a machine rest with a laser sighting device. Mine had a decent factory group in the box with it when I got it. Point being, it sold the pistol as far as I was concerned. I don't think it would be too hard for a enterprising, or should I say innovative machinist to attach an AR upper to a return-to-battery type base leaving enough room for a 5 or 10 round mag. or it could be loaded single shot.

Just my .02...
Wayne

 

[tdking]

At the NRA convention in Houston last year I stopped by the Bill Wiseman company booth. They had a return to battery test fixture for accuracy testing of AR-15 uppers. IIRC it had a magazine well machined into it and you could load 20 or 30 round magazines. You pinned the upper into place using the standard front pivot and rear take-down lugs. It was built using air bearings and weighed probably 300 pounds or so. I asked about the price and was told it was around "22" depending on options. I though he meant $2200 dollars, however he correct me by stating that it was $22,000 dollars! Nice rig but a little out of my price range!

As far as return-to-battery benchrest rigs (also called rail guns), the kits for them cost about $1500 and require you to machine the pieces and put it together. You can buy used rail gun rigs for about $2000 to $3000 if you look around. No one I know makes one for the AR, however most of the rigs I have seen use some form of a barrel block for mounting the action. You could do that with an AR, but would have to allow clearance in the block for the gas tube or op rod. I suppose you could make one that mounts the AR upper by pinning it to a trigger/magazine block, but that would be complicated.

I don't know of anyone who might be interested in building this kind of rig. But if the money was right I am sure someone would do it!

TDK