The Ugly Truck Gun started off with a free un-anodized upper receiver that I got from PCR-00 a few years back. As with most gun parts something had to grow around it. My goal was to make a gun cheap enough that I wouldn’t be afraid to toss it behind the seat of the truck.

In that respects, it was a rousing success –

I built it for < $400, but it had a small problem. It doesn't want to shoot worth crap. It fails to feed the 2nd round, 1st one doesn't get ejected fully. This doesn't do me much good. A baseball bat would be more useful.

In addition to the upper, I also got the handguards and A2 sight parts from fellow ARFCOM members. I had the A2 stock from another build and added a blemished lower receiver ($90!), DPMS lower parts kit and barrel bought from another ARFCOM member. The BCG is also DPMS if I remember correctly.

I decided it was time to update it, an anodized upper receiver was 1st on the list. And if I was going to do that I figured I may as well add a Magpul MOE stock to make it easier for other family members to shoot. I ordered them from Del-Ton who I have dealt with before. The stock was backordered for about a week, but finally all the parts arrived.

The extra stuff there is a Brownells Upper Receiver Action Block and an AR15 Armorer’s Wrench. I also have a set of punches and roll pin holders which are helpful for putting together lower receivers.

Swapping the stock was simple, other than almost losing the buffer detent and spring.

I pulled the handguards off (nearly the hardest part of the whole operation), and knocked out the gas tube retaining pin. Note, pull the tube out and put it in from the front. Its easier that way. Trust Me(tm).

Removing the barrel requires clamping it in the action block and using the armorer’s wrench to remove the nut from the upper receiver. This was made alot easier because of some advice from Dino over on ARFCOM — User high temp bearing grease on the threads when you put it together.

When putting things back together you have to line up all the rings so that the gas tube will fit. It can be tricky to get the slots in the nut just right.

Put the gas tube back on from the outside of the receiver. I’ve already tried it the other direction. It doesn’t work so well. Make sure the gas port is aiming down and the retaining holes line up. Use a roll pin holder to drive the pin back in and finish it off with a punch.

And the final product. Hopefully I’ll make it to the range this weekend to see if the operation has been improved at all.

I recently re-joined the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club in an effort to give myself a good reason to get out of the house and do something other than sit in front of the computer. I’ve acquired a couple of new pistols over the last year and not had much chance to shoot them, so today was the day to get some lead on the paper.

I noticed that Mr. Completely and his wife Kee Wee were going to be at the match. I’ve been trying to meet him for the last several years and can never seem to make it out to a match. Today things worked out perfectly, I was already planning on heading to the range with a friend — We didn’t compete in the match, but managed to see Mr. C shoot a couple of stages — his barrel holding technique has to be seen in action!

He and Kiwi are off to Holland for the European Steel Challenge Championships, Best of Luck to them!

We spent a couple of hours putting the new guns through their paces, everything worked out fairly well. As usual I was anticipating recoil with my 1911′s (hitting low to the left), holding on too tight and using the wrong part of my finger on the trigger. Gee, lots of things to improve on! The IMI Automag III was a BLAST to shoot as always. One of the nice things about it is that you don’t have to put alot of ammo through it to get a huge amount of pleasure out of shooting it. As usual the first shot left my friend grinning from ear-to-ear. I tried to catch a picture of the muzzle flash, but my camera wasn’t shooting fast enough.

It is interesting that when shooting the Automag I don’t have my problem shooting low-left, instead they string out straight to the left just a bit. The grip on it is noticeably longer than the 1911, and with its extra mass it moves around in my grip less.

My new Buckmark ran great! After tweaking the adjustable sights a few clicks to the right it was hitting right on. I think I’ll try my hand at the Fun Steel Shoot next month using this gun — its dead easy to clean and .22 is still pretty cheap to shoot. I’ll have to get some practice in beforehand, but at least I won’t be breaking the bank.

I also got to try out a Sig 226 in .22 and 9mm. Why Sig makes their .22 magazine 10 rounds and the 9mm 20 rds. is a mystery. Shot a Kimber Ultra Carry II as well. Tiny little gun which has a very noticeable amount of muzzle flip compared to my 1911′s. I wouldn’t want to shoot it regularly, but it makes an excellent concealed carry piece.

The weather was great, the guns all worked really well, the company was excellent and we had an excellent lunch at the Red Apple Diner on the way home (Prime Rib special for $8.95, who could pass that up?).