How to Install Elfman Tactical Anti-Rotation Pins in an AR-15 Lower

How to Install Elfman Tactical Anti-Rotation Pins in an AR-15 Lower

 

How to install an AR-15 Dust Cover
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Anti-Rotation Pins are normally not a necessary modification to an AR-15 lower, but their are some exceptions.  What the pins do is prevent the hammer and trigger pins in the AR-15 (or M-16) from rotating.  A steel pin in an aluminum receiver can rotate and elongate the holes.  This causes malfunctions and the destruction of a lower.

Normally the design of the pins prevents this, and a new lower doesn’t cost much more than the pins.  However, many people that own registered pre-1986 lowers for fully automatic AR pattern rifles add them because their lowers are irreplaceable.  If their lowers pins elongate they lost a machine gun.

I add one on my polymer lower because the hammer pins on mine wallowed out after less than a magazine worth of rounds.

One thing about installing the Elfman Tactical Anti-Rotation Pins in a freedom15 polymer AR-15 Lower, there is a strengthening rib molded on the lower that you will need to chisel off in order to install the anti-rotation pin.  It was not hard to do, but took a sharp chisel and permanently altered the lower.

I used to link directly to the item on Amazon so you could purchase it easily, but they have, in their infinite liberalism decided to remove firearm parts as they find them – they did this with tannerite also.

Emergency Food Bar Recipe

How to Make an Emergency Food Bar

Recipe: Emergency Food Bar
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Emergency food needs to be shelf stable and contain needed nutrients. It is a plus if the food tastes good, is light weight, and not very expensive.

This was not the easiest project to achieve, and I had to test many different recipes until I settled on this particular one.

This particular food bar recipe makes a hard biscuit that is reminiscent of both hardtack and the commercial Datrex bar. It is not a gourmet meal, but it is light and if stored properly can last for well over one year.

This is a very simple recipe, and the base recipe I used can be found on many websites. I found that by modifying the recipe and making small “cakes” instead of the more common loaf makes the food bar much easier to eat and handle.

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups oats (quick or flaked oats work equally well)
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 TB honey
  • 1 3 oz package jello (orange or lemon)
  • 3 TB water

Equipment:

  • Bowl
  • Measuring cup
  • Spoon
  • Saucepan
  • Parchment paper
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Aluminum foil or plastic bag

Procedure:

  1. Mix the oats, powdered milk, and sugar together in a bowl
  2. In a medium pan mix 3 tablespoons of water, one package of jello and 3 tablespoons of honey. Bring to a rolling boil. Due to the small amount of water and the high amount of sugar, this recipe is very sweet. If you use flavors other than lemon or orange you may find this bar to be TOO sweet.
  3. Add jello mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well. If the dough is too dry, add a small amount of water a teaspoon at a time.
  4. Do not use too much water because this bar only works if it is bone dry.
  5. The mixing process involves work, mixers aren’t strong enough and you will have to use your hands and arms.
  6. Preheat oven to 3500F
  7. Most food bar recipes have you shape the well mixed dough into loaves at this point. I found that rolling the dough into ping pong sized balls that are then smashed into flat disks the end product is much handier and easier to eat.
  8. Bake your bars at 3500F degrees for 10-15 minutes. (If your making al oaf time is more like 20 minutes). You are not trying to cook the recipe, but rather dry it. I find that by propping the oven door open slightly you get a dryer bar (the dryer the bar the safer you are from food borne illnesses like botulism – and the bar will store longer).

Alternatively, you may want to cook for 10 minutes and then place in a dehydrator until completely dry.

Let cool completely.

Wrap in aluminum foil to store. Another benefits of the disk shape is they can be rolled like coins.

If you want to store these in your car or bug-out bag it would be a good idea to seal these in a vacuum bag after you put them in aluminum foil

Yield:

This recipe equals approximately 2000 calories which is the caloric needs for an average adult

Practical Pole Building Construction

Book Review: Practical Pole Building Construction
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In Practical Pole Building Construction the author has given the extra dimension of original plans for a lean-to barn, horse barn, hillside house, garage/wood shed, mountain pole cabin, and a coastal house.

Pole building construction saves money, time, labor, and materials because it involves limited grading, no excavation, flexibility on site, and few materials.

I originally bought this book because I needed a cheap barn and most people around my area build pole barns, but upon reading it I saw how flexible the building method is.

Combined with reciprocal roofs, pole building has the potential for very inexpensive buildings around my land.

How to Replace an AR-15 Gas Block

How to Replace an AR-15 Gas Block

 

How to Replace an AR-15 Gas Block
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I wanted to add a free float rail to my AR-15, but my A2 Style front sight was in the way.  I had to remove it and replace it with a a low profile AR-15 gas block.

This was not complicated, but it did take some effort.  Proper tools of good quality make this process much easier.

The recommended tools are:

  • Cupped Punch
  • Good Punch set
  • Hammer
  • AR-15 Gunsmiths block
  • Vise
  • AR-15 Upper Receiver block
  • AR-15 Barrel Wrench

Here is the basic process.

  • Remove hand-guards and upper receiver
  • Unscrew the flash hider and crush washer if present
  • Remove the tapered pins holding the front sight/gas block
  • Remove the pin holding the gas tube to the front sight/gas block
  • Pull gas block off end of the barrel – a block of wood may help is the gun suggest the block move.
  • Put the gas tube into the gas block, align it so the large roll pin hole lines up with the roll pin hole in the block.  Also you must make sure that the gas hole in the tube lines up with the gas hole in the block.
  • Slide the new gas block onto the barrel, be sure to line up the large gas hole in the block with the smaller gas hole in the barrel.  If the holes do not line up the gun will not work as a semi-auto
  • Tighten the set screws to tighten the gas block into the barrel

AR 15 Solvent Collectors

AR 15 Solvent Collectors
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I am going to give you my opinion and tell you some common thoughts on the idea on solvent collectors but remember I am not a lawyer, am not familiar with the state laws of your state, and am not responsible for you getting arrested for breaking the law.

At gun-shows across the country, and all on the internet people sell adapters that screw to the barrel of your firearm on one end and on the other it is threaded to some device designed to trap cleanign solvent.

I have most commonly seen such solvent collector adapters for oil filters, soda bottles, and maglites.

I have also seen people adapt oil filters, soda bottles, and maglites into DIY firearm noise suppressors.

One of these uses is legal, the other probably is not.

Now I have, in the past owned one of these solvent traps, but the temptation of trying it with a oil filter was great and so I parted ways with it.

Because, unless you have the proper federal paperwork and tax stamp showing you have paid your money it is a federal crime to have an adaptor, a gun, and a collector with a hole though it.  The BATFE considers this to be an unregistered suppressor.

Now, you can make a legal suppressor if you first pay money and fill out the proper forms.  I really want to do a video of a maglite suppressor build.  I don’t because the BATFE has ruled that once the suppressor is built the entire device is a single non-repairable unit if a non-manufacturer builds one.  Meaning when I shoot out the freeze plugs that make up the baffles I am out the $200 tax stamp.

What makes this so irritating is that I have a friend that is a licensed manufacturer, and if he makes the same thing he can repair his (or mine if I bought it from him).

I don’t revolt against the law, but the confusing and nonsensical regulations that are not law but are enforced as law is the main reason I am 100% in support of dissolving the BATFE.