MSTN “Hellsgate” Hard Use AR-15 – SanTan, Noveske

This rifle is named after Arizona’s fabled “Hellsgate” Wilderness Area – Rugged yet at the same time beautiful to behold. How about a hard use rig, one that will blast away hundreds upon hundreds of rounds a day but still shoot MOA with match grade ammo – with some added style points?

It may sound corny, but nothing is harder on an AR-15 than training hard with an AR-15. Far, far more rounds are sent downrange in a professional work up cycle than will ever be fired in a tour of duty. A rifle built for professional use must have this taken into account with the selection of every single component. Nothing can fail.

Reliability and precision are ensured by only using top shelf components:

SanTan STT-15 full ambi billet receiver set

Noveske 14.5″ hammer forged, chrome lined “Light Afghan” profile barrel with mid-length gas system – At 26.5 ounces in weight, these barrels are not not so heavy as to be burdensome and are sub-MOA capable. A full six ounces more steel comes in this profile than the Noveske “Skinny” 14.5″ barrel as used in the previous build. The feed ramps are contoured and polished.’

Full mass Young Mfg. M-16 bolt carrier – forged, then centerless ground, then hard chromed, and lastly Ionbond DLC coated

Chromed and then DLC coated gas key, torqued and staked by yours truly

JP DLC coated bolt – headspaced at 1.4666″

LMT DLC coated firing pin and cam pin

Geissele Super Charging Handle

Geissele SD-C straight trigger

Geissele Mk 13 Rail

Vltor A5 recoil system with A5-H1 buffer

Surefire WarComp

TIG pin and weld of the muzzle device by Matt McLearn of McLearn Custom Guns

V Seven titanium receiver push pins, receiver end plate and tube nut, buffer stop, ambi safety selector, and grip screw

Magpul CTR stock and MOE+ grip

The final weight? A very manageable 6 LB 10 OZ, ready for hard use over many, many thousands of rounds.

The price is $3300 delivered.