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Thread: Evil Twins

  1. #1
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    Evil Twins

    I have built 2 rifles here that seem very similar on the surface, but have completely different personalities. Both were built with the same goals in mind. That goal is to be a general purpose rifle that can be pushed into home defense or SHTF if the need would arise. In this post I will try to explain some of the reasoning of why I have 2 similar rifles set up the way I do.

    First, here are the 2 rifles in question. Rifle 1 on top is a Noveske Gen 3 receiver set with an NSR keymod rail. Rifle 2 on the bottom was built off of an SMOS GFY receiver set with M-LOK rail.





    M-LOK vs Keymod
    As you can see the Noveske Gen 3 and SMOS GFY receivers are virtually identical and the rails are also very similar except for M-LOK vs Keymod. The Noveske set was built before the NSR was offered as M-LOK so that determined the decision to go Keymod...that and the fact that I have other rifles that I have invested in keymod. The M-LOK on the SMOS set was chosen because SMOS does not yet offer keymod, so I took it as an opportunity to experiment with the M-LOK system. I have always liked keymod but have yet to use an M-LOK rail. I have some M-LOK attachments on the way, so I will soon get to play with those and determine if I prefer one over the other in practice.

    Barrel Choice
    Both barrels are of the Noveske 14.5" flavor. The Noveske set uses a CHF Noveske barrel while the SMOS set uses the stainless steel variety. The Noveske rifle has a pinned and welded Silencerco Trifecta FH while the SMOS rifle has a more traditional YHM Phantom FH permanently attached via silver solder. I plan on running the Noveske suppressed in the future, but not the SMOS. I chose the CHF barrel on the Noveske barrel for ultimate longevity and service life while I went with the SS barrel on the SMOS set to see if I can find any difference in practical accuracy between the 2 variations. I am not a crack shot, so while I don't think the SS barrel will be more practically accurate for my uses, I have just had the itch to try a Noveske stainless barrel for myself.

    Ergonomics
    The Noveske runs a Magpul STR stock because I like the enhanced cheek weld and built in QD socket. The SMOS has a Magpul fixed Carbine stock for the combination of weight savings, the accuracy benefits of a fixed stock, and the simplicity of removing a moving part. Both rifles have a Magpul SL grip because I like the grip angle and the texture. They also both have Odin Works mag releases as I have found that it is easier to manipulate with my smaller hands.

    Sighting Equipment
    Both rifles utilize the Magpul MBUS back up sights. They have proven themselves reliable and easy to use. I have not found any reasons to change. The Noveske rifle is topped with an Aimpoint PRO due to its proven reliability and battery life. The EOTech 518 on the SMOS was chosen for its reticle design and field of view advantages, along with the fact that the reticle does not distort as much with my astigmatism. For whatever reason, the EOTech circle dot looks better to my eyes with severe astigmatism than the traditional red dot of the Aimpoint. For all of the flaws with EOTech, I still feel as though it is a solid optic choice.

    So in closing, both of these "twin rifles" were built with similar goals, but different parts were chosen on each build that change the character and the handling of each. This was a fun (yet expensive) exercise. The best part is that I now have 2 awesome rifles that make me smile every time I open the safe. It'll be hard to choose which one to take on my next trip to the range.

    Which one would you choose?
    Last edited by rxer311; 29 December 2016 at 18:30.

  2. #2
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    Quote Originally Posted by rxer311 View Post
    Both barrels are of the Noveske 14.5" flavor. The Noveske set uses a CHF Noveske barrel while the SMOS set uses the stainless steel variety. The Noveske rifle has a pinned and welded Silencerco Trifecta FH while the SMOS rifle has a more traditional YHM Phantom FH permanently attached via silver solder. I plan on running the Noveske suppressed in the future, but not the SMOS. I chose the CHF barrel on the Noveske barrel for ultimate longevity and service life while I went with the SS barrel on the SMOS set to see if I can find any difference in practical accuracy between the 2 variations.
    I've thought about doing something similar to your choice here, only polar opposite using a Rainer Mountain CHF barrel that has a pinned and welded muzzle device. The gun (in my example) would not be for suppressed shooting but it would be a hard use one. It's basically a M249 machine gun barrel built for an AR15.

    Here is my reasoning for such... if I ever get the itch or want to run the gun really hard and blow a case of ammo... or I take a class or whatnot, I would NOT do it suppressed. After 3 mags of continuous fire the heat build up on the suppressor is quite a lot. If you go beyond that you can substantially shorten the life of the suppressor and cause damage.

    As for 'accuracy' there is a bunch written on the subject and we can get into how and what all comes into play...but suffice it to say there are a lot of variables. And for a gun that I would run super hard I wouldn't waste time or money on special ammo that would get me that extra bit of "accuracy". "Accurate enough" would probably be more along the lines of my expectations in that case.

    The SS barrel would be the choice for suppression.

  3. #3
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    Between the two you have there I would pick the top one :) I like the optic better (personal preference).... but that said both are very nice rifles!!!

  4. #4
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    "which would I choose?"

    Answer: Build two more.

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  5. #5
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    I still cant get on board with m-lok. Keymod is so much easier imo!
    Last edited by iflyjets; 6 January 2017 at 07:55.

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