New to this site, but not the 15-22, here's my custom job

[lloydkristmas]

Hi guys, new here, but have had my SW for about a year now.

I built up this Smith .22 as a "range toy". I wasnt anticipating great reliability after reading a lot of horror stories online, but at this point I've got almost 3000 rounds through it with only a couple of ammo related issues. This thing is great, and is now my official varmint shooter. Inspired somewhat, but not completely, by the suppressed CAR-15 from BHD.

Love this thing.

 

[lloydkristmas]

Yeah she's seen a lot of use out here in the W Texas desert haha

Taken more than a few coyote, coon, armadillo, and even a hog.

I was going for that 'well worn' look when I painted it, but over time, it ended up looking that way regardless

 

[stevelee24]

Yeah she's seen a lot of use out here in the W Texas desert haha

Taken more than a few coyote, coon, armadillo, and even a hog.

I was going for that 'well worn' look when I painted it, but over time, it ended up looking that way regardless

is that still legal in the states

 

[Joni_Lynn]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[lloydkristmas]

is that still legal in the states

ohhh boy haha

 

[true_shooter]

im not sure why but that rifle looks damn cool i dont know what it is but that rough look is bad ***

 

[VooDuuChild]

That's sweet. Do your sights co-witness or somethin with those optics cuz it looks like they're in the way? Also, did you tape the whole mag so you can't get to the load assist? Any which way, bad-azz toy. Oh yeah, what's the other one?

 

[lloydkristmas]

That's sweet. Do your sights co-witness or somethin with those optics cuz it looks like they're in the way? Also, did you tape the whole mag so you can't get to the load assist? Any which way, bad-azz toy. Oh yeah, what's the other one?

The sights cowitness, they are just right smack in the middle of the optic. Full cowitness, as opposed to lower 1/3. I tend to use mostly iron sights unless night hunting so this is no problem.

The tape covers the whole mag up to the magwell, but you can still fill the mag to max capacity. You can use the assister for the first 10, then after that you have to manually press them in. No big deal.

The other one is an FN FS2000.

 

[Maximumbob54]

Looks great minus the taped on light. There are too many cheap rail mount one inch holders for that to stay on there. Other than that it looks like nothing but fun.

 

[lloydkristmas]

Ehh its a cheap light, and its an odd size, so it wont fit into any of the normal 1 inch light mounts. Its all utility anyways, Im not too worried.

 

[lloydkristmas]

oh yeah and I've gotta say Im very impressed with Primary Arms' Aimpoint clone, it works great and has held zero throughout the whole time I've had the gun. As you can see, the gun has not been babied, but the scope has refused to quit.

 

[Spheric]

what did you paint it with?

 

[lloydkristmas]

Krylon Fusion "Khaki"

Krylon "Flat Black"

-I started with a flat basecoat of khaki on the lower receiver and stock, and sort of a 'dusted coat' on the upper and other parts. I then dusted everything with a little bit of black, just random/sporadic, no real pattern. Then did another light dusting of khaki, followed by a final dusting of black.

Its not uniform, but it wasnt meant to be. After a few months of hard use, it started to wear in all the right places, and in my opinion the wear gives it character.

Total cost of paint: $6

 

[Spheric]

any chance you might have a better camera to take pics with? what vert. grip and can are you running on there? I agree with the wear=character!

 

[lloydkristmas]

All Ive got right now is my cell phone camera, but I'll see if I cant get some in better lighting.

As for the bolt-ons, nothing is too fancy.

Red Dot is a Primary Arms M3 Aimpoint Clone ($69), sitting on a Burris riser (1/2inch) ($12)

Sling is a Blackhawk 2-point in FDE ($20)

Vertical Grip and rail covers are ProMag brand, the VG tightens up via large knob on the bottom. ProMag makes crappy mags but their accessories are fine for guns like this. ($12 and $15 respectively)

Light is a no name $10 job from the local sports store, just enough to give me some light for midnight rodent killing.

The suppressor is, well, not a suppressor. Its just a polymer barrel shroud.

I havent sunk much into fancy accessories for the gun since its only a .22, but at some point I will likely upgrade to a Surefire light and proper mount.

I'll go work on those pics.

 

[lloydkristmas]

Ok here's a few more, gonna add them to the OP as well.

Sorry for the photo quality, my phone camera doesnt handle this sort of thing too well, especially in lower light.

I tried to get a close up of the grip, as well as some well-lit shots that show the most accurate representation of the color.

 

[ztmike]

Can you get a close up of the spray cans used? I love the look you got with them.

Did you bother to cover anything up or anything while painting? (Besides the scope/light if they were on)

And what kind of tape is that? Looked like wire tape but the texture looks wrong on it..unless its the paint making it look that way.

 

[Spheric]

hey thanks for givin it a better shot! The better lit picture makes it look less green haha. diggin the paint job, im thinkin about throwin some tan on mine

 

[lloydkristmas]

hey thanks for givin it a better shot! The better lit picture makes it look less green haha. diggin the paint job, im thinkin about throwin some tan on mine

There wasnt any green used, so if it appears that way, I guess its a matter of lighting. I'll try and get a day time picture next time Im at the range so youll have a better idea of how it looks.

 

[lloydkristmas]

Can you get a close up of the spray cans used? I love the look you got with them.

Did you bother to cover anything up or anything while painting? (Besides the scope/light if they were on)

And what kind of tape is that? Looked like wire tape but the texture looks wrong on it..unless its the paint making it look that way.

Here is a link to the tan paint that I used. ANY Walmart in the nation should carry this stuff for around 4 bucks.

Krylon 4291 Camouflage Spray Paint Khaki 12oz

The black is just plain old flat black spraypaint, any brand will do, I prefer Krylon.

The tape is just basic electrical tape, I guess its the paint that gives it an odd texture. But, what I prefer to use is baseball bat grip tape. Local sports stores usually sell a roll for about a dollar. It looks like electrical tape, but is less shiny and has a grippier surface. I was simply out of it at the time I installed the light. The tape wrapped around the magazine is baseball bat tape.

As far as painting....I painted the entire lower, using painters tape and an old rag to keep the paint from getting onto the trigger group or in the magwell. When dusting the upper, I covered the ejection port with painters tape to keep anything from getting into the action. I stuck an earplug into the barrel when painting the front end of the gun. As for the Aimpoint, I simply closed the lens covers and painted it. As for the light, I just set it face down and painted the body, this protected the lens/bulb.

THE BIGGEST THING that you want to do if you want to achieve this look is to LIGHTLY dust the gun. There are plenty of pics in the picture thread of guns with solid, matte coats of paint. Some look good, others not so much. It all depends on the look youre going for. The way I see it, cheapo spray paint is gonna flake and fade eventually, so why not just give the whole gun that "worn" look?

Hold the can about 1.5 feet from the part you want to paint, and just quickly dust the gun in short bursts. Almost like trying to fire a full auto Mac11 in 2-3 shot bursts, if that makes sense. In the end, this gives a more "dirty, camouflaged" look without trying to use stencils or camo patterns.

If you mess up, just wipe the paint off quick and try again. With this style of painting, its almost impossible to mess up though, because its sort of a "chaos" method anyway.