In Part 1 of this article series, I talked a bit about the Ghost Gunner 3-S desktop CNC machine. Sold by parent company Defense Distributed, these CNC machines have steadily increased in both physical capability and in practical applications. What was once limited to finishing 80% lower receivers for AR-15’s, the Ghost Gunner series of machines can now finish lowers from “0%” blocks of aluminum, mill AR-308 lowers, 1911 frames, Polymer 80 (Glock pattern) frames and even steel AK-47 lower receivers. Furthermore, Matthew Komar’s “Ghost Writer” program allows you to perform custom engraving on your guns.
As if that wasn’t enough, Defense Distributed has released their Optics Cut Library 2.0, allowing for thousands of slide/footprint/location combinations to be milled into your handgun’s slide, enabling previously inexperienced gun owners to perform a popular modification that would often require the slide to be sent out to a company to be performed.
So now here’s me. I have no machining training. I can’t code. I have used the Ghost Gunner 2 to machine out some 80% lowers before. Defense Distributed sent out a new Ghost Gunner 3-S, along with an Optic Cut Kit. I decided to mill my old Glock 17 slide for an RMR footprint, since I happened to have a Bushnell RXM-300 optic in to review. How easy is it? Did I screw the whole thing up? Follow my harrowing journey.
As discussed in the first part of this series, in addition to the base machine you’ll need the Optics Cut Kit, which has all the jigs, bolts and mills you’ll need to complete many slides. The kit even contains a threadmill, allowing the bolt mounting holes to be threaded.
Getting Set Up
To set up the GG3S, you’ll need to plug it in to a computer. While the internet makes it easy, my shop has no phone or internet access. This isn’t a big problem, as Def Dist includes a thumbdrive with the DDCUT software. I used the same thumbdrive to run to my home PC and download the Optic Cut Library 2.0. With the computer’s DDCUT software, the machine’s firmware and the cut code software all up to date, I moved on.
Getting Started
Milling my first slide went a lot like milling my first 80% receiver, a lot of worry and a few minor missteps, before ending up with a great finished product.
First, you load up the DDCUT software and select the All-in-One optic cut code. The user is walked through the step-by-step process of assembling the jig and installing it into the machine safely. At first it all looks like random pieces. Once it’s together, it’s really easy to see the big picture forevermore.
Once the jig and all related components are assembled, you’ll bolt in your slide. Again, the DDCUT software guides you in baby steps through it. Your slide (or at least a tiny portion) needs to be conductive to allow the machine to mark the slide’s locations. A tiny bit of sanding can do the trick if needed. Glock’s Tenifer coating is said to be conductive. I checked my slide using a handy tip included in the DDCUT software, and yep..conductive. I was all set up.
The DDCUT software that powers the Ghost Gunner machine will run you through a series of questions, asking which slide you’re using, mounting depth (for co-witness), mounting location (rear of slide, or in front of rear sight) and optic footprint.
Cutting Steel
After the slow setup (as I double checked everything nervously), I finally had the mill cutting into steel. It didn’t take long for the basic RMR footprint to be cut. The DDCUT software asks you to fit the optic while the slide is still inside the machine. If it doesn’t fit, the machine will run a pass of the mill to enlarge the footprint by increments of .002 inch, taking just a few seconds. If the next fit isn’t good, it will run again until your optic fits snugly. I needed a total of .004 inch extra before my optic was happy.
The machine ordered me to switch to a much smaller mill, then asked me which thread pattern I wanted the mounting bolts to be. The machine roughed out the bolt holes. I switched the active tool again, this time to a threadmill and the machine threaded the bolt holes.
The Result?
I figured if anything was going to go wrong, the threading of the bolt holes seemed most likely. That’s a pretty delicate operation with a tiny machining tool, cutting through steel.
But…everything went according to plan. The threads are perfect. While the machining marks certainly catch the light for photography, they’re much less noticeable in person. Running my finger over the mounting surface shows it’s pretty dang smooth.
I mounted the optic and snugged up the bolts. The optic sits centered on the slide, the bolts were torqued down tight and after reinstalling the iron sights, I gave a rough co-witness to the red-dot to get me on paper to start my range day.
How did the range day go? Well, with regards to my newly mounted optic, just fine. My RDO was easy to zero and held zero. After the range trip was done, I checked for any wobble or play…and found none.
Bottom Line
Two of the knocks I see online against the Ghost Gunner CNC’s (mostly by people who admit they’ve never used one) are regarding quality and cost efficiency.
Regarding the former, folks seem to think that either these Ghost Gunner created finished products aren’t OEM factory quality or that quality doesn’t matter and an 80% hand jig is “good enough.”
To the latter, people bring up the cost of buying a cheap stripped lower versus the cost of buying an 80%, as well as the Ghost Gunner machine.
Let’s talk quality first. This is the same kind of quality I paid Jagerwerks a pretty penny for and had to ship my slide out for a while. The lowers I’ve finished are far superior to many of the hand-jigged 80% receivers and very near to OEM type quality. That’s not even touching that you can use the GG3-S to engrave whatever art/logo/optional serial numbers you want on your own lower or leave it bare. You can also use the Ghost Gunner to mill the lower to whatever specifications you prefer. There’s more than a few Type 7 FFLs making dealer samples of M4/M16 cut lowers on the Ghost Gunner.
Taking a crack at the discourse on cost, it’s true, there are some really cheap stripped lowers out there. If you’re looking at this as a strict cost analysis of ‘poverty pony’ stripped lower vs Ghost Gunner machined lower, it’s not a contest. The Ghost Gunner CNC isn’t designed to compete with the lowest cost options though, it is designed to drastically lower the bar of entry to citizens who want to build, customize and modify their own guns, parts and accessories. In that vein, it succeeds. If someone wants to finish one or two lowers, the Ghost Gunner would be an expensive proposition.
The crew at Defense Distributed however, keeps adding to the list of boxed up kits available for the machine, not to mention third-party support. The long-term value does add up quickly for someone who wants more than a fleeting hobby. More important than cost per unit though, is the ability of a free man (or woman) to enact the rights inherent to citizens, no matter what the government’s ever-changing opinion might be.
Finis
The Ghost Gunner 3-S runs $2,500. The Optic Cut Kit, $390. Check em out!
Check out more articles from Jens “Rex Nanorum” Hammer or visit him on Instagram @Rexnanorum.
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