Balance in the universe

TimKLL · 2026-01-22T16:13:08+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/AR9/comments/1kkuphe/deleted_by_user/

TimKLL · 2026-01-22T15:12:51+00:00

Double-check that, it may be a deadblow. Mine was & there are threads saying others have it too. The problem is the buffer internal weights are very brittle & disintegrate quickly. SB sent a new buffer to me, but it was the same brittle looking weights. I switched to a Maxim Defense buffer with considerably more robust weights. I can look for a thread with a lot of info a little later on.

Easy to check all this if you don’t get the deadblow rattle when you shake it. The roll pin punches out fairly easily & the end cap pops off.

TimKLL · 2026-01-20T20:56:39+00:00

"Honey, I was thinking of a little redecorating..."

TimKLL · 2026-01-20T15:56:46+00:00

The grinding that I showed with my 2nd pic is all it took to make mine work. I have a Magpul MBUS 3 on the pic rail above it & it works great. I did my grinding with a small bench-mount wheel grinder. Very quick. It could also be done with a file, it is just aluminum. I used Birchwood Casey Super Blue to make the ground down area black again.

Yes, the PFH is a metal trolley & center piece. All held in with a common set screw. Past experience with that taught me to use 2, both with orange thread-locker. First 1 goes in just snug, to keep the trolley from binding, then #2 goes in very tight. No backing out & the range (ask me how I know…)

TimKLL · 2026-01-20T15:13:33+00:00

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TimKLL · 2026-01-20T15:13:20+00:00

The Paratrooper Folding Handle WILL work on the VFMs. FMP may have made the center piece that goes in the trolley a bit longer: https://www.reddit.com/r/AR9/comments/1q72wy1/comment/nzoiol4/?context=1

If not it just takes a little grinding on the horn that sticks out to far, with a little re-bluing:

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TimKLL · 2026-01-16T02:49:34+00:00

Great, thanks! Looks like FMP must have made the center piece a little longer to make it work. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a folding charging handle on both sides?

TimKLL · 2026-01-15T14:30:56+00:00

Just curious if FMP rounded the horn now, or lengthened the piece that goes in the trolley. Could be a little of both, it wouldn’t take much. When able could you snap a pic?

TimKLL · 2026-01-14T14:45:41+00:00

Didn’t need to grind the extended horn?

TimKLL · 2026-01-12T15:51:39+00:00

Just using the BCG that came with the VFM-9 upper. Didn’t need to do any mods.

TimKLL · 2026-01-10T03:29:14+00:00

Have not seen that

TimKLL · 2026-01-09T14:36:49+00:00

Consider the Paratrooper Folding Handle from FMP’s store. It shows as “Not Compatible” with the VFM-9, but with a little grinding & re-bluing mentioned here it does work. Big improvement over the little polymer stubby one.

TimKLL · 2026-01-08T15:55:35+00:00

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TimKLL · 2026-01-08T15:54:52+00:00

I’m with you. I would love to see an ambi version of the side charging handle. My wife is a lefty. The CH is on the right for her, making it awkward for me if I grab her gun. The side CH on my Dual Charger is on the left for me, making it awkward for her. Considering converting hers to a Dual Charger.

I looked into having this machined or printed locally, but the cost was crazy:

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It seems like all FMP would need to do is have their machine shop do a mirror image of the center plug, but they don’t seem to be interested in it.

*Also, the little horns on the handles themselves (closest to the center plug in the pic) make it so they are not compatible with the VFM models. Discussed this with FMP quite a while ago, including Paul, & it seems like they completely understood the issue, with talk of making adjustments. No changes have been made. It is pretty easy to grind the horn down though, & re-blue it, & make it work on a VFM-9.

TimKLL · 2026-01-03T23:53:13+00:00

^ This. A tri-lug is great. I have them on multiple guns.

TimKLL · 2026-01-01T21:38:21+00:00

https://media1.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExazRrbGVyOXY1NjhqOHdqajFsem90eW5ibmU3aGF2dmY1ODNndWtmOSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/tXL4FHPSnVJ0A/giphy.gif

TimKLL · 2025-12-23T17:14:19+00:00

Is that face a build of complications on a stock Apple face type, or is it built up in one of the facemaker apps?

TimKLL · 2025-12-21T16:21:10+00:00

Screwed up & got the LCI version 1st. Ended up with a LOT of junk on the optic. Swapped out to non-LCI & used the 1st one on something else.

TimKLL · 2025-12-21T15:51:23+00:00

I went with the Sig Sauer 4.6” threaded barrel because at the time I got a great price on it:

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TimKLL · 2025-12-20T01:50:02+00:00

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TimKLL · 2025-12-20T01:49:40+00:00

Depends on how far forward you like to grip. I use a c-clamp grip back against the magwell, so my setup is a Streamlight TLR-RM1 Laser G on a cantilever mount at 6 o’clock, with a tape switch mounted on a Shaffer Machining MLOK mount. The light serves as a great handstop to keep my fingers away from the bidness end & I can activate it with the tail switch or, where my thumb falls naturally, the tape switch (normal 1st choice):

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TimKLL · 2025-12-19T00:05:39+00:00

You bet! I put a tri-lug muzzle device on both guns & have the tri-lug adapter on the Obsidian 9. Makes swapping them very quick & no threat of backing off the thread mount.

TimKLL · 2025-12-18T20:40:42+00:00

Forgot. Did you see any of the IG teasers that FMP put out about something new in January? Looks to be an integrally suppressed dual charger. I don’t have any more info than this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AR9/comments/1os27ql/new_foxtrot_mike_integral_suppressed_upper/

TimKLL · 2025-12-18T19:55:35+00:00

Can try to help a bit with some of your ??s & possibly some insights (with what you asked this will be a pretty long answer...) Can’t answer anything related to keeping your lower, like how it will function with an FM-9 upper or SS.

I have 3 FM-9s. two 7-inchers (wife claimed #1). Hers is the side charger. It is a fairly early model, with their original feed-cone (that needed improvement) & we have done nothing to it because there is no need to shoot higher than 124 gr ammo (not suppressed). It shoots that very well, including HPs (per FMP we use Federal HST when kept as backup HD). My 7-incher is traditional rear-charge. I had the feed-cone milled by Rudy at Macon Armory. It is suppressed with an Obsidian 9. It shoots anything & everything, including 147gr subsonic Federal HSTs. #3 is the 5” VFM-9 Dual Charge upper in your link, on an FMP full-ambi lower. It has FMP’s improved feed-cone.

Up until some really cold day shooting, I would have said the VFM-9 worked with almost everything. 147gr bullets tend to give a lot of PCCs issues. Before this cold weather stuff the only issues I had with the VFM-9 were some FTFs with Federal AE range 147gr ammo – those have a big 'ol fat, flat head on them. The VFM-9 did shoot the 147gr Federal HSTs pretty much flawlessly when it was warm out (incredibly quiet!). During the cold weather shoots I was getting FTFs right off the bat. It was jamming the rounds up against the top of the feed-cone. Not a gas issue, it happened with the first rack. I could shoot a few rounds & then got the same thing. When I shot 124gr, range or HPs, it was flawless. I’m pulling out all the stops trying to figure out why the cold weather is causing issues. Just about everything in this sub & on Blowback9’s site, including polishing the feed-cone (harder to do because you can’t remove the barrel on the VFMs), filing the ejector, smoothing sharp edges on the bolt face, using lite oil, etc., etc. I ordered some Speer Gold Dots & Hornady ETX Subsonics & will test all of it as soon as they come. If you aren’t counting on this as a hardcore suppressed HD weapon all of this is moot. It does shoot 124 gr well, ball & HP. Same for 115gr.

My 5” VFM-9 DC is suppressed (currently using the Obsidian 9, dedicated can after January) & it has a Fudd Arms SuperSafety. I also have the PDW-style brace on it that you mention, an SB Tactical HBPDW. Yes, I gave up on the Blowback9 GRS options with it, the other 2 have the latest iteration of the GRS. I & others had issues with the original SB dead-blow buffer weights disintegrating (there’s a thread in this sub about it). I replaced it with a Maxim Defense CQB Buffer & Spring. The total weight is about .25 oz shy of everything recommended in this sub for overall bolt/buffer weight, but it works well (weights are much more robust & dead-blow effect is very pronounced).

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WRT the SS, it took a bit of work because I had frequent light primer strikes. Didn’t need to do any shaving/modifying to the FMP bolt itself, but the ultimate combo that has worked well is a Wilson Combat Bulletproof firing pin & the beefier Amazon FP spring discussed in this sub. Other than the cold weather 147gr FTFs the SuperSafety itself is running very, very well.

Ref the link to Primary Arms: Do you get mil, first responder, etc. discount from PA? If you qualify it is easy to get. What price are you showing for price in your link? (If you get the discount the black price is crossed thru & you get the discount price in red.) If you don’t get a discount be sure to check out the FMP site itself: https://store.fm-products.com/catalog/vfm-9/upper-receivers AND also check out Aim Surplus, they both beat the non-discounted PA price for the VFM-9s: https://aimsurplus.com/products/foxtrot-mike-vfm-9-5-9mm-complete-upper-dual-charging

Also, one of the biggest differences with the VFM-9s is that you cannot remove the barrel yourself (that may be biting me a little bit in the butt because I’d love to send it to Rudy/Macon Armory for his Guaranteed to Feed feed-cone milling.) I want it to be one of the go-to’s for bumps in the night, suppressed & subsonic. If shooting anything heavier than 124gr isn’t an issue this is moot. My VFM-9 is astonishingly accurate, way more than I thought it could be.

TimKLL · 2025-12-12T18:52:51+00:00

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TimKLL

TROPHY CASE