Anyone Done Business with Hardened Arms?

[etrain16]

Absolutely agree! I have a Shockwave on mine and have practiced house clearing with it. Besides having the buffer up by your face , it feels real good snugged against my body by the side of my elbow.

BTW, the 10.5" upper allows for a carbine length gas system instead of a pistol gas system... really smooths it out!

That's good to know, I've been having a hard time deciding between a 7", 8.5" and 10.5" and only have found a little bit of info on how the guns run using those shorter gas systems. What I did come across was some info on shorter barrels being potentially harder on the buffer and may cause premature wear - something to keep an eye on I guess.

I did a little 'shopping' last night and found 2 uppers on Hardened Arms in the price range I'm looking for, but not quite the setup I wanted (I don't want a full quad rail up front). I also checked out Primary Arms, Palmetto and one other I can't recall at the moment. All of them had 10.5" pistol uppers in the $200-$250 range (no BCG/CH), but I wasn't quite happy with any of them. I'm in no rush on this so I'll keep looking around and keep coming back to Hardened to see if they add anything else. In the end, I may just buy the cheaper quad rail model and buy my own forend/guard to make what I want. I was also curious about some different flash hiders that might help reduce flash back toward me, especially for home defense. More research.

I did end up taking step 1 on an AR9 build though and put in an order for a stripped AR9 receiver from Palmetto. Not sure if that will be a pistol or carbine yet, need to think about that some more.

 

[Diamondback]

@etrain16 FH suggestion, take a look at Indian Creek's BFD--it's a collar that goes around the FH/brake sorta like a Thordsen BD180 or Fortis Control Shield, except it'll work with any MD of 1" or less diameter.

Re your AR9, don't forget if you complete it as pistol first you can switch back and forth at will, but if first completed as a rifle it has to stay a rifle.

 

[etrain16]

@etrain16 FH suggestion, take a look at Indian Creek's BFD--it's a collar that goes around the FH/brake sorta like a Thordsen BD180 or Fortis Control Shield, except it'll work with any MD of 1" or less diameter.

Re your AR9, don't forget if you complete it as pistol first you can switch back and forth at will, but if first completed as a rifle it has to stay a rifle.

Good point on the AR9, I do build all my lowers complete as pistols first for that very reason, but that's a good reminder.

I'll take a closer look at that BFD, that's exactly the kind of device I'm looking for. It looks like PSA has something similar, but I haven't done any research on it yet. Thanks for the heads-up. Plus, I really like how it looks

 

[Diamondback]

@etrain16 If you wanna try the BFD and/or my Precision Armament AFAB out, PM me your address and as soon as the timing washers are in I'll let you borrow mine for a month to try out, on the condition that you write up a review with your thoughts. (And that you DO NOT lose any from the AFAB's timing washer set--when the time comes for me to fit it to my build I'm gonna need 'em!)

 

[Koda]

Etrain, try calling Hardened Arms and asking them to swap the forearm...

They make a variety of custom forearms and their basic quad rail is based on the Yankee Hill design so any from Yankee would easily install too.

 

[bbbass]

That's good to know, I've been having a hard time deciding between a 7", 8.5" and 10.5" and only have found a little bit of info on how the guns run using those shorter gas systems. What I did come across was some info on shorter barrels being potentially harder on the buffer and may cause premature wear - something to keep an eye on I guess.

I did a little 'shopping' last night and found 2 uppers on Hardened Arms in the price range I'm looking for, but not quite the setup I wanted (I don't want a full quad rail up front). I also checked out Primary Arms, Palmetto and one other I can't recall at the moment. All of them had 10.5" pistol uppers in the $200-$250 range (no BCG/CH), but I wasn't quite happy with any of them. I'm in no rush on this so I'll keep looking around and keep coming back to Hardened to see if they add anything else. In the end, I may just buy the cheaper quad rail model and buy my own forend/guard to make what I want. I was also curious about some different flash hiders that might help reduce flash back toward me, especially for home defense. More research.

I did end up taking step 1 on an AR9 build though and put in an order for a stripped AR9 receiver from Palmetto. Not sure if that will be a pistol or carbine yet, need to think about that some more.

10.5" rules!!! I also read about the pistol length systems can result in fussyness with ammo.

Yah, I have the basic cheese grater forend. I don't mind since I have Ergo rubber strips installed and it makes retention better IMO, but I sure like the smooth styles better.

Jealous 'bout your AR9. I might have to sell the wife so I can get one.

Please let me know what you find out about flash hiders. I have concern about this myself.

 

[Diamondback]

Please let me know what you find out about flash hiders. I have concern about this myself.

Some links for ya:
5.56 Muzzle Brake / Comp / Flash Hider Shootout!
AR-15 Muzzle Brake Shootout #2 -- TheTruthAboutGuns
AR-15 Muzzle Brake Shootout #3 - The Truth About Guns
AR-15 Flash Hider Shootout - The Truth About Guns
AR-15 Flash Hiding Test #2 - The Truth About Guns

 

[tarster]

I for one do not like how huge and heavy the stock quad rail is from Hardended arms.. I have recently been looking at some of the UTG Pro Slim rails and then also the Guntec AR-15 Ultrallight Octagonal Keymod handguard since they are so much smaller and lighter.. I am planning on putting on onto my uncles 8.25in 300blk out upper one of these days, If I ever get around to building a 9mm upper I will be going as light as possible with it.

 

[Diamondback]

I have two Hardened [EDIT: Carbine-length] quads in my PIF box... if they were just a touch smaller around they could almost pass for a freefloat version of a KAC RAS. (I bought the lot they were in hoping they'd fit a Middy FSB upper.)

 

[etrain16]

@etrain16 If you wanna try the BFD and/or my Precision Armament AFAB out, PM me your address and as soon as the timing washers are in I'll let you borrow mine for a month to try out, on the condition that you write up a review with your thoughts. (And that you DO NOT lose any from the AFAB's timing washer set--when the time comes for me to fit it to my build I'm gonna need 'em!)

I appreciate that offer, I may just consider taking you up on that down the road!

 

[etrain16]

10.5" rules!!! I also read about the pistol length systems can result in fussyness with ammo.

Yah, I have the basic cheese grater forend. I don't mind since I have Ergo rubber strips installed and it makes retention better IMO, but I sure like the smooth styles better.

Jealous 'bout your AR9. I might have to sell the wife so I can get one.

Please let me know what you find out about flash hiders. I have concern about this myself.

If you ever plan to build one, and want to go with a PSA AR9, their stripped (blemished) lowers are available right now for $119.99 with free shipping. That's a lower with a dedicated extractor ready to go and a dedicated Glock magwell - just have to make sure you pair it with a PSA AR9 upper. I decided to plunk the $120 now so I can get it started - it may be next year before I complete it with an upper from PSA - in the meantime I'll finish it out with a buffer and LPK and let it stand by.

 

[etrain16]

Etrain, try calling Hardened Arms and asking them to swap the forearm...

They make a variety of custom forearms and their basic quad rail is based on the Yankee Hill design so any from Yankee would easily install too.

I may try that - they didn't offer a chance to change it on the website. I'm still not sure exactly what I want, but I know I don't want a quad rail and I don't want keymod either. I'm thinking possibly an M-Lok of some kind. I plan on adding either a Magpul or Fab Defense AFG to the pistol build so I need a good anchor point for that without the rest being too bulky.

While I haven't shown it on the forum yet, I recently completed another rifle build - the upper has a Nordic Components NC1 free float hand guard - it's round, somewhat light weight and different from the usual. I'll get some photos of that rifle up hopefully by this weekend. This is what that handguard looks like:

 

[bbbass]

just have to make sure you pair it with a PSA AR9 upper.

Because of the extractor?

 

[etrain16]

Because of the extractor?

They are specifically made to be mated to a PSA AR9 upper. I think the extractor is part of it, but if you look at the lower, it's not quite an exact copy of a standard AR lower, though AR LPK's will work in it. I know you can use standard AR lowers with magwell inserts to build an AR9, but from what I've heard, the dedicated PSA kits help remove some of the problems folks have with them. They have a 'hybrid' BCG they make for the AR9 too, which I guess also helps with cycling issues.

 

[bbbass]

They are specifically made to be mated to a PSA AR9 upper. I think the extractor is part of it, but if you look at the lower, it's not quite an exact copy of a standard AR lower, though AR LPK's will work in it. I know you can use standard AR lowers with magwell inserts to build an AR9, but from what I've heard, the dedicated PSA kits help remove some of the problems folks have with them. They have a 'hybrid' BCG they make for the AR9 too, which I guess also helps with cycling issues.

Got it. Yes, I considered an AR9 conversion for my most recent build. I decided it's not the way to go because it's pretty clunky IMO. Gotta have the real deal.

 

[Koda]

I may try that - they didn't offer a chance to change it on the website. I'm still not sure exactly what I want, but I know I don't want a quad rail and I don't want keymod either. I'm thinking possibly an M-Lok of some kind.

here it is on sale with m-lok... Product Details: 10.5" 5.56 SDX Mk II Rail Upper

I know that some of their packages have pull down menus to upgrade certain items but specifically on their own m-lok Talon handguard page they offer that on sale as an upgrade to any complete rifle or complete upper. Product Details: 12" Talon (TLN) Free Float Handguard upgrade

Im pretty confident they would upgrade to any m-lok handguard on any sale with a call... just my guess.

 

[etrain16]

here it is on sale with m-lok... Product Details: 10.5" 5.56 SDX Mk II Rail Upper

I know that some of their packages have pull down menus to upgrade certain items but specifically on their own m-lok Talon handguard page they offer that on sale as an upgrade to any complete rifle or complete upper. Product Details: 12" Talon (TLN) Free Float Handguard upgrade

Im pretty confident they would upgrade to any m-lok handguard on any sale with a call... just my guess.

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Thanks for the heads-up on that one! Unfortunately I ended up spending my little bit of upper money on a part trade for a PSA 9mm upper earlier this week - just a chance opportunity to get one for my 9mm PSA lower that's on the way as we speak.

I still plan to get a 10.5" 5.56 upper though - and I'm even more excited about doing that now that the ATF has reversed it's "shouldering" decision this week. Can't wait! I'll keep my eye on HA sales down the road though.