Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between a White Oak Precision upper and a White Oak Armament upper?
A: The biggest difference is in the barrel and sights. I wanted to offer something for the new shooter that would be competitively priced with the uppers from RRA, Bushmaster, or Armalite, yet would have all top notch components so that new shooters can compete at all levels.
The White Oak Armament uppers start with a Wilson match grade, lapped blank which is chambered and machined here in our shop. Additionally the sights are not pinned unless you request that option ($55 upcharge). The sight parts however are the same.
White Oak Precision uppers start with a Krieger blank and sight pinning is included in the price of the upper.
Other than the barrel blank, all other components are the same between White Oak Precision and White Oak Armament Uppers.
Q: How should I break in my barrel?
A: I suspect that more barrels have been damaged than helped by “breaking in”. Barrel makers take a lot of care to get a uniform finish on the inside of a barrel. Barrels are lapped not so that they will be smooth, but so that the finish and dimensions will be uniform over the entire barrel. When you use an abrasive cleaning compound you will change the finish on the inside of the barrel. Since some areas of the barrel are going to be protected by copper that you are trying to remove, and others areas are not, the surface finish is no longer going to be uniform. Since I got a bore scope I have backed off on my use of abrasive bore cleaners. I use them, but not nearly as aggressively, particularly on a new barrel.
My personal break in procedure is to take a new upper to the range and zero the front sight and shoot a group or two. This will take about 15-20 rounds. I then bring it back to the shop and clean it good with shooters and a good quality brush. I check it with a bore scope, but generally very little copper fouling is present. Depending on how it looks I may hit the throat lightly with some JB. That’s it, it is now broken in.
This all for good quality hand lapped barrels. I will get a little more aggressive with mass produced barrels.
Q: What’s up with the Winchester small rifle primers? I hear they pierce, but I don’t have any problems with them.
A: It does not happen in every upper every time, but a lot of uppers will pierce the WSR primers with anything but mild loads. You should be able to swell a primer pocket before the primer will pierce. The old WSR primers were the same way, it’s not just the new ones. Again, not every upper, and not every shot, but it happens enough that I don’t see any reason to risk it when there are so many other primers that work just fine. If you are having good luck with them, then go ahead and use them, but I’ll keep an new firing pin on hand with your name on it. The first few times it happens it is very hard to see, but as it gets worse, it gets very obvious, and with enough time it can ruin the bolt also. Just this weekend I was shooting next to a shooter that was using them and every one of his had the primer all pierced and the anvil was even protruding through the hole in the primer cup. He needs a new firing pin, and probably a new bolt. If you are not having problems with them then fine, but keep a close eye on the firing pin indentation, and the tip of your firing pin. It is enough of a problem that I cannot recommend them.
Q: What is your opinion of single stage AR triggers?
A: You will never get a single stage trigger on an AR that will stand up to the constant use of a competitive HP rifle unless it has a lot of creep, and I don’t think you want that. The ONLY way to reduce creep in any of the single stage AR triggers is by reducing sear engagement. By time you get the sear engagement to the point that you do not have any noticable creep, you do not have enough left for reliability. For the casual shooter who shoots 500 rounds a year, or for the guy who likes to shoot little groups off a bench and can readjust his trigger ever shooting session, that may be fine. However, the HP shooter needs a trigger that breaks the same every time, and a trigger that can make it through at least two weeks of the nationals, preferably a whole season, without having to tinker with it. Also, if you get the creep down to a point where you do not have any perceivable trigger movement when you break the shot, the safety is not going to be reliable. The safety in an AR blocks trigger movement, not the hammer. If you only have .010″ of trigger movement, then you are going to have to have the safety within .010 of the trigger when in the safe position. This is a little tougher than just removing the safety.
Q: How do I determine the front sight height on my spacegun?
A: Your sight height should always be determined by proper cheek weld and head position. This will determine correct rear sight height, then you just put the front sight wherever it needs to be to hit the target. Most new shooters and a lot of old shooters, do it backwards. They buy a front sight base, then move the rear sight to zero the rifle, then move there head to the sight. Always start with a correct head position, then move forward. An adjustable front sight base makes this very easy.
Q: How do you rig your sling?
A: Illinois Highpower provided this great article to help
