M1Sales service and turn-around question

[Fibonacci]

First post at QB. A few days ago I ordered a 300-221 upper from M1 Sales. Got a confirmation email of the order but no shipping date. My credit card has not been billed yet and am wondering if anyone has any experience with these guys.

Their phone line seems to be constantly busy and I've not received an answer to my email.

Anybody have an idea of typical turn-around time with them?

Thanks

[Pitt300]

Turn around time is now pretty long.
Just wait.
You will like it when you finally get it!
I've had a M1S 300-221 upper for a couple of years & am VERY pleased w/it.
You need to load a short COAL as it is not exactly the same throat as 300 Whisper.
It will shoot sub 1" groups if you do what you should.
http://www.quarterbore.net/forums/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=452

[natec]

I ordered a bbl on 12/12. Got email notification same day. Credit card was charged early March. Bbl arrived last week.

Hope yours turns around quicker.

nate

[Fudmottin]

There is a general backlog on AR bits and bobs with everyone. It started around November 4th of last year. I'm not sure what the cause was. But suddenly, everyone and their brother decided that it would be good to own a "black rifle".

I was ahead of the crest of the wave when I built my custom AR in 223 (farmed out the barrel & gas block part). Ended up behind the wave when research into this mysterious thing called 30/221 or 300-221 or any other number of names turned out to be the trademarked 300 Whisper. Further research convinced me that I had to have an upper for my AR in this caliber.

Went to order the upper bits to send to the same guy who did the barrel... And found out about the delays. I only got my completed upper rather recently. I'm totally stoked. I'm working on saving up for or building a can (Form 1). Probably going to buy one on the F4.

You may want to get your reloading dies while you wait. I got redding dies from Midway and had to wait on those too. Same deal with bullets, powder, etc.

Some things are worth the wait.

[Fibonacci]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I've got my dies already (Redding from Graf and Sons) and am trying to decide on bullets and brass. I'm leaning toward the 208 Amax both for cost and my experience with the 105 Amax in my .243 win.

As for brass I'm undecided as to whether to go with the .221 fireball or to cut down .223 Rem. cases. Suggestions?

[Fudmottin]

FWIW, all my 300-221 brass is mixed, once fired, 223 cut down. I got it from 320pf because he can produce lots of it quickly and I would have to do each one individually by hand.

Virgin 223 is cheaper than 221 Fireball.

[Casey]

I called M1S a couple of weeks ago and they said they were 5-6 months behind on barreled uppers. Hopefully the turnaround time on fireball uppers is shorter.

[GrumpyOlMan]

I ordered a 300\221 barrel (AR15) from M1 and received it within 2 weeks after being told it would take 4 to 6 weeks.
4 days after the ordering the original barrel, I ordered a second barrel for a friend after he got very excited about the calibur. That barrel came 3 weeks after my initial order.
UPS tracking number was recieved for the first barrel but not for the second or the Yankee Hill flash hider I ordered for the second barrel later.

Mega upper
16 inch M1 barrel
Vortex 9mm flash suppresor
Yankee Hill folding front sight\gas block
M1 bolt group
Sightron 3x9 scope on a Larue mount
Yankee Hill folding rear sight
GG&G Carbine length forestock
Spikes lower
Timney 3lb trigger group
Vltor milspec buffer tube and basic carbine modstock

[mooster1223]

It took them just shy of 11 weeks to get my kit to me. I had them do some non typical items like thread 5/8 24 and drill in the pistol position. I've not found the accuracy sweet spot yet, but the gun runs just fine.

Jim

[Fudmottin]

5/8-24 threading is non typical? That's the standard on the AR-10 and other .308 auto loaders. I was also under the impression that pistol position was the standard place to port the 300-221. There pretty much isn't a .30 cal can you can't buy with 5/8-24 thread mount.

[interceptor]

Yeah, but we're not talking about an AR10 type chassis, are we? It may be a .30 cal to us, but it's an AR15 to them. Also they, by default, put the gas port in the carbine location but will drill it in the pistol location and I understand they will not assemble it in this configuration.

[mooster1223]

Yeah, but we're not talking about an AR10 type chassis, are we? It may be a .30 cal to us, but it's an AR15 to them. Also they, by default, put the gas port in the carbine location but will drill it in the pistol location and I understand they will not assemble it in this configuration.

Correct on all counts. They shipped me a box of parts.

[Fudmottin]

Point taken. The route I took involved purchasing an upper assembly, gas tube, bolt / carrier assembly, and float tube assembly (two piece) from DPMS. Then I sent the upper, float tube, and bolt (still waiting on the gas tube) to Paladin Machine to have the custom gas block and barrel installed. The bolt was simply supplied for head spacing. I got everything back as a fully assembled and tested upper.

This worked out very well for me. While my rifle is mostly DPMS parts, the few special bits make the whole quite special to me. I've even got my Internet nick stamped on the barrel.

I also assembled my lower from DPMS parts. The stripped receiver was purchased locally on a 4473. I opted for a Chip McCormick 3.5lb single stage trigger which is rather nice and doubled the cost of the lower. So I've got spare trigger bits from the parts kit. While it's a simple assembly job, it still has a bit of satisfaction associated with it. I can't mill my own receiver.

I didn't save any money over an off the shelf AR this way. But I didn't spend more than what they are going for either. At least not more than a high end brand. And the route I took gave me special appreciation for the AR design. I can switch between 223 and 300/221 simply by swapping uppers.

Now I'm researching the rather interesting challenge of doing an F1 can for less money than a commercial can without using expensive tools in its construction. Believe me. When you don't have a mill and lathe on hand, it is a challenge. If you have all the shop tools, there is no reason NOT to go F1 for a can.

[interceptor]

Depends on what your time is worth. I do have access to mill and lathe and I have still bought all of my cans and feel that I came out on the good end of the deal.

[Fudmottin]

There's a very good probability that I won't be able to produce an F1 can as good as a commercial can. Investing in the right tooling to be able to knock out a can an hour (or faster) would set me back more than the dozen or so cans I would have to make to break even. With a setup like that, it would be worth it for me to get an 07/02 FFL/SOT.

I spent a bit more than my firearms budget for my custom AR. I was doing fine until the song of the 300 Whisper lured me in. And I already have a pretty good 223 can from AWC.

I can still F4 a can. I've just decided to take on the challenge of seeing if I can do my own for less. Time vs money is a tricky calculation. Both are available in finite quantities. I guess its how you invest your time that counts. I know I prefer the shooting range or my motorcycle more than sitting in a cubical. And I really enjoy making things even though most of the things I've made have been virtual constructs.

[avnut]

Just a note on the M1S barrel.I ordered mine with threaded barrel and found the standard AR flashider WONT work.Threads are a different pitch.Std is 1/2x28 and the M1S 300 fireball has 1/2x36.

[Fudmottin]

Ouch. I hope they supplied a thread protector.

Most of the silencer companies will do other threads besides the 5/8-24 or M18 (metric) standards for .30 cal. So at least getting a can still shouldn't be an issue.

[mooster1223]

Just a note on the M1S barrel.I ordered mine with threaded barrel and found the standard AR flashider WONT work.Threads are a different pitch.Std is 1/2x28 and the M1S 300 fireball has 1/2x36.


Can we all assume that you ordered a 300/221 barrel from them? If you did and you were expecting 1/2 28 then you are the EXACT reason that they do this. If they sent it out threaded 1/2 28 and you took your standard .22 can and threaded it on the end, bingo bango!!!

1/2 28 IS STANDARD for .22 cal.

[interceptor]

If it's 1/2x36 then I imagine it's real thin out on the muzzle, and not much of a crown either...

Maybe should have asked for 5/8x24 or 9/16x24 as they seem to be fairly standard .30 cal thread pitch.

[JimM44]

My M1S 300 barrel came in last week while I was out of town, ordered 2/21.

I got 16" threaded with low profile gas block. They told me when I ordered they didn't do the pistol gas hole that they received them with the hole already drilled.

[Fudmottin]

Asking for 5/8-24 is what I did because I saw all the 30 cal cans were available in that pitch. Also got a thread protector.

I went with Paladin Machine though, not M1S or SSK.

[avnut]

Can we all assume that you ordered a 300/221 barrel from them? If you did and you were expecting 1/2 28 then you are the EXACT reason that they do this. If they sent it out threaded 1/2 28 and you took your standard .22 can and threaded it on the end, bingo bango!!!

1/2 28 IS STANDARD for .22 cal.

I did order the barrel from M1S.I installed the stripped barrel,checked headspace and completely assembled the upper.Even if I was foolish enough to not check it,it wouldn't have mattered in my case.My stock 1/2x28 flashider measures .332 id.
PS:I am a former Class 2 manufacturer

[Pitt300]

My understanding from M1S is that they are using AAC's drawing for 5/8x24 as their standard thread pattern on 300-221 unless you ask for something else.
I sent AAC's drawings to them.

[Fudmottin]

It's very cool of AAC to have all their threading standards available on Silencer Talk. Good public service.

[mooster1223]

I did order the barrel from M1S.I installed the stripped barrel,checked headspace and completely assembled the upper.Even if I was foolish enough to not check it,it wouldn't have mattered in my case.My stock 1/2x28 flashider measures .332 id.
PS:I am a former Class 2 manufacturer

The flash hider is not the problem. If you were to suppress the barrel and mistakenly threaded a 22 cal can on the end, that's when it would have hurt. They TRY and make things fool proof, but the harder they work at it, the more foolish some people become.

Not picking on ya, I just wanted to point out that they thread them different for a reason.:smile:

[mooster1223]

My understanding from M1S is that they are using AAC's drawing for 5/8x24 as their standard thread pattern on 300-221 unless you ask for something else.
I sent AAC's drawings to them.

Their "standard" is 1/2 36 for the 300-221. If you request 5/8 24, they use AAC's guideline. My blackout flashhider went right on.

[TCCrewchief76]

M1S charges an extra $50 to thread 5/8-24 according to the lady I talked to there. I don't understand why they would standardize on 1/2-36; that's pretty thin on the end after the threading.

Kevin