Most of the changes center on the Midwest Industries quad rail forend, which replaced the plastic Tapco version, which I learned never fit properly in the first place. This aluminum version is solid and precise, and allowed me to hang more things on it, although I resisted the urge to hang everything including the kitchen sink on it.
This view shows the new "baby" Magpul angled fore grip, Noveske K9 barricade grabber, and covers for the unused (for now) lengths of rail.
The K9 frees up the supporting hand by allowing you to jam the front of the weapon into a barricade or hook over a window sill. The Magpul Angled Fore Grip 2 is a smaller, narrower version of the popular (especially with me) AFG. It can be used in more places without having to grind away parts of the grip to make things fit properly.
I originally replaced the AKM slant muzzle brake with a similar American-made one. I had never fired it indoors, but read that the original-style muzzle brake produced a tremendous blast and fireball that was rough on the shooter and anyone alongside him. The last thing I wanted was a "loudener" on my rifle.
I considered a Noveske "flaming pig" compensator, but went with a PWS multi-flute brake/flash hider. I have a shorter version on my AR57 which works vey well, so I expect no surprises with this one.
The red line is a high-temperature rubber O-ring, designed to stop the device from rattling on the threads. A nice touch. I also did some tuning on the American fire-control parts, which I swapped in for 922r compliance, and got a nice, crisp 5lb trigger pull out of it.
That's about all I did to this rifle to upgrade and add extra compliance parts. The cherry on top is the Aimpoint Comp M4, which is worth more than the rest of the weapon. It was surplus from another rifle upgrade project, and adds a bit of high tech to a rather proletarian rifle.
For the upcoming week, I'll probably do some minor handgun tinkering, and reviewing some new products. Then hope that my renewed enthusiasm to write continues.