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M96 Recon Owner & hobby Machinist checkin-in . . .

2K views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  BamaSteve 
#1 ·
Greetings, guys.

I am a long time RA M96 Expeditionary and Recon rifle owner turned machining hobbyist now joining the group here.

Having no luck in getting my broken RECON rifle OP rod replaced (Favorite rifle to shoot, BTW), I have decided to turn my hobby-machining efforts into making a replacement for that part.
I look forward to other M96 owners chiming-in and discussing your adventures and figuring out how we can help each other in getting our broken rifles squared-away and functional again.

Recently embarked upon an adventure in making a replacement OP Rod and am still in the throes-of-it.

Will keep you posted of my successes and failures until I get it right.

Best wishes and happy shooting!

Steve.

:)
 
#4 ·
I am 1 of the diehards here although I don't take mine out as much as I used to. Welcome aboard.
 
#5 ·
Hi Diehard (SSBiggun).

Thanks for the welcome and glad to see at least one other person with an M96 here so far.

Been turning down 5/16" t304 SS rod to 0.308" diameter and after looking closely at the peening on the tail of the original Chrome Molly rod, I can see why it failed as it did.
The cross-cut in the rod is 90* instead of a stronger rounded cut profile and the peening of the end of the rod inside the carrier causes enough of a gap to form over time that the cross-cut-slot fails and breaks-off the tail piece inside the carrier due to the force of the return spring.

I'll eventually get a new rod made and will post my findings after thorough testing.

Do you have the original Expeditionary Rifle with a 21" bbl or a RECON, or - both?

I have both . . .

Best.
 
#6 ·
#8 ·
Finally spent enough time hovering over the lathe/mill/drill-press with some 5/16" diameter t304 SS rod and now have a functional rifle again.

We'll see how long it lasts. (It functions splendidly).

If anyone needs/wants me to make a replacement for them I am open for discussion but this is not an easy or cheap task.

Best!

:D
 
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