Gun Ring Project Update.

[BFGOrdnance]

This has been a back burner project, which is why it has taken so long, but we are finally coming together. We are in the process of fabricating 3 complete gun rings for the M1161. We reverse engineered, with a few minor mods to make manufacturing easier and more functional and hope to be able to test these in the next few weeks. Once we are satisfied, I will post a price for future ones if people are interested. I plan on having a kit for the upper roll cage ring (with no provisions for the actual gun mount) as well as a complete ring with rotating arrow and machine gun mount. Sorry, I can't sell you the belt fed unless you have the proper paperwork (military or LE)

Here are a few progress pictures


Waterjet cut parts and "arrow" weldment




More parts getting fabricated


Our big stack of prints and assembly drawings.


I will send more as we make progress.

[W427]

I can't see the photos?

[BFGOrdnance]

Odd as they are up on my screen when I look at my post. How's this?

[BFGOrdnance]

Can you see the photos

[W427]

👍 Yes, I can see the new ones.

[BFGOrdnance]

More pictures of progress.

[BPinFL]

Looking good! put me on the list for one . Thanks, BP

[BFGOrdnance]

Will Do. This first one has had a lot of learning curve. We are using one of our Growlers as a "jig" but we hope that once the first one is complete, that these will just plug and play onto any M1161. We will take the completed assembly and fit it on 2 other 61's as a test. I would hope that the Growlers are almost identical in the bolt-in areas, but it was a military contract so who knows what actually happened.

Cheers.

[BFGOrdnance]

The frame is almost done welding.

[BFGOrdnance]

The nitrogen cylinder to help reduce the weight when collapsing the gun ring is working great. Here are a few more updates.

[KC3849]

Will you be offering a static rack, one without the ability to fold down? Eagerly watching and waited for a price. Looks great.

[BFGOrdnance]

We could, but it will probably be best to just have the pivot style and don't disconnect the angle braced. It can't fold down without disconnecting these. The actual gun ring and moving parts are quite expensive so our plan was to sell the frame independently and the gun ring portion to those who actually plan on mounting a gun. In the end, this is a hobby thing for us so we aren't trying to get rich, just support our hobby.

[BFGOrdnance]

Some more progress pictures. The moving part of the gun ring is HEAVY! Solid steel section 1.5" thick. Maybe overkill, but it sure helps the motion stay smooth and should help with recoil.


In case anyone is wondering, the center cross section will be cut out when finished. We kept this material in to keep the ring stable until everything has been fit up.

[Terra1936]

Awesome! Let me know when ready!

[BFGOrdnance]

Here is our progress. Primer on... Paint comes next. We had to redesign the arrow. The newer lighter weight design works much better.

[1978ford250]

Nice work! This makes me wish that I had an 1161 too!

[W427]

1978ford250 - It seems these were occasionally modified during the 10-year research period. One photo I saw way-back had a PM in the background on-patrol with a SAW on a pintle, probably welded to the front of the rear roll bar. It was small and blurry, so not much for detail, but if I find it again I'll post it up for sure.

[BPinFL]

Looks great! Thanks for keeping us updated

[BFGOrdnance]

Getting very close. We have a few more parts to finish in the machine shop but then we will be ready to mount our Belt fed!

[BFGOrdnance]

FInished! The only thing left to do is shoot!

[BigJ]

Love this project. Awesome guys!

PS: BFGOrdnance has done the 'right thing' and reached out to me to get themselves setup as a Supporting Vendor. We're working thru that process now. Thanks to the members who've steered them my way... BFGO is good to go, and its just a matter now of the paperwork, if you will. Good stuff.

[JMPogue89]

any word on pricing?