Workbook

Entre'prise "Zero Climb" muzzle brake. Very similar to the DSA with the addition of two top ports.

While slightly rougher machining than the DSA, the holes are nicely chamfered and my test sample indexed

perfectly. A complete review with photos is in the NOTES section of the ARS website. ($25)

Smith Enterprises US muzzle brake for standard barrel. I won't use it. See text under attaching brakes

for details.

Smith Enterprises US muzzle brake for Israeli FALO. There are two types. One is male threaded for

insertion in the Israeli FALO bipod coupler. The other is female threaded and includes a smaller coupler that

precludes the use of a bipod. The latter is good for short "Congo" heavy barrels. For a trimmer look on the

former, remove the indexing nut and time by removing material both from the shank and shoulder. Test fit

bipod before refinishing as the back shoulder will probably have to be beveled slightly.

TAPCO StG-58 "Stoll" look-alike muzzle brake. Excellent. 5 sets of two ports. Resembles original.

Matte blue finish. LH thread. ($25).

DSA gas piston. Perfect. Can be differentiated from original by non-threaded hole on end. ($35)

FSE gas piston. Generally good. A few not heat treated. Can be discerned from original by three grooves

on head instead of two.

FA Enterprises Inc. gas piston. Unique two-piece

stainless design. identified by pipewrench marks on

shaft. Standard on currend CAI guns. Garbage. 100

rounds of FA beat it to pieces, compressing and

flaring the junction of the two halves to the point it

had to be pounded out of the gun, badly bent.

First Son Enterprises (FSE) US hammer, trigger,

sear: FSE is out of business, but the parts are still

around. Nicely finished. There was a small batch of overly-hardened hammers that shattered after a few

rounds. Earlier hammers also had the full-auto sear notch removed which was to insure that it could not be

considered by firearm-design ignorant baby-burners as a "machinegun part" Unfortunately, it served an

additional function by engaging the lip on the locking plate to keep the hammer from flying so far forward as

to disengage the hammer strut and send that part downrange. Removing the notch entirely lets the hammer

strut launch downrange, but removing it partially causes the resulting angular "wedge" to break the front lip

of the locking plate. The solution is to either machine or cut with a rotary tool cutting disc a small ledge to

engage the lip on the locking plate. Later production parts retained this notch. The trigger and sear are

excellent. Overall, I have been pleased with FSE. The surface finish on the parts is the best I have seen and

they have the additional nice feature of being clearly engraved "FSE US." Occasionally, the sear nose needs

to be shortened a few thousands slightly to engage the hammer.

Hesse Arms US hammer, trigger, sear. The hammer and trigger are the roughest cast of available parts and

need considerable filing and polishing to remove the mold marks. The mould mark on the hammer crosses

the sear notch, which must be trued for a good trigger. Some hammers show warpage which causes them to

bind on the receiver or the rat-tail of the bolt carrier. The hole for the hammer pin is also not perpendicular

to the hammer axis. Sometimes the hole is undersize also. Best bet in those cases is to return. Robert Hesse

advertises an unconditional, money-back guarantee. Compared to the hammer and trigger, the Hesse Arms

sears I have used are excellent. See the section on trigger jobs to insure the nose angle is correct. I think

they are more trouble than they are worth, and I won't bother with them when the DSA isreadily available.