As usual, life has an agenda different than mine. The buddy who swapped me the tricked-out Uzi Model A for a Mfaux has admitted that the arthritis in his hands makes it almost impossible to pull back the charging handle. He asked for suggestions on something that he could use better.
After some research, I suggested something with a reciprocating bolt handle, like an AK47, that he could grasp a number of ways. Oh, he's my age, so it's not really arthritis, but rather from four years of high school hockey. He's still proud of the fact the he still holds the school record for time in the penalty box, nearly 50 years later. :)
I decided building another AR57 using my substantial-but-not-complete stash of parts was the most economical, and produced what I consider the ideal "suburban carbine". Here's mine at the top of the photo, compared to his, using the next-generation AR57 upper, beneath it.
It's about 95% complete, still needing final decisions on optics and some furniture and accessory tweaking. But it's good enough to fire for accuracy and flash hider tests. I found out the original M16-type flash hider on mine did a poor job hiding the flash of the little 5.7x28 round, so I went with a pricey PWS flash hider. It would be nice of the new flash hider works properly out of the box.
Another reason the build took so long is that it's getting hard to find lower receivers, stripped or not. Not only was my dealer out of them, except for a few fully-built ones, but so many brands online at various sites were marked at "out of stock". Fortunately, I got a Twin Eagle from Brownells. Even common pins and springs took a lot of hunting. Fortunately, I have enough of mags and ammo to share with my buddy. Having bought the stuff when it was plentiful, if not exactly cheap. They're probably a bargain now.
While picking up a few odds and ends at my dealer, I caught a whiff of "new gun", which is becoming rarer and rarer these days, despite every gun and ammo manufacturer running at top capacity.
The H&K handgun case was significantly thinned-out, but I noticed something new. The owner said two came in, with no idea when they'd have more. My instincts kicked in, and I said, "I'll take it. What is it?"
It turns out to be a spiffy H&K 45C compact, with a couple of dweeby 10-shot extended mags, rather then the more practical and elegant 8-shot, as shown on the cover of the manual.
There are a number of cool and not-cool (mainly because I have to pay through the nose for them) features. The threaded barrel is cool. Having to pay $28 for a 16x1 LH thread protector is not cool. Buying 8-shot magazines at $58 each is not cool.
The modular fire-control mechanism is vey cool. As it exists today, this is a long-pull/short-pull mechanism with a decocker. Replacement modules include cocked-and-locked, like the M1911, long-pull-only with no external safety, and a couple other combinations.
I ordered the LEM (law enforcement module) version, which will turn the weapon into a partially-tensioned action, like the Glock and my S&W 4586. The decocking lever goes away, leaving the ambidextrous slide lock the only external control. Even the vaunted H&K can benefit from additional idiot-proofing for my own use. I looked at a "traditional" setup on another H&K, and that rear lever had tiny "safe/fire/decock" markings on it. Not for me, if I can do better with newer concepts like the Glock "safe action". The fewer failure modes that could bite me under stress, the better.
More news as my productivity increases. Meanwhile, I advise everyone to BLOAT now, if you haven't started already.