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Haven't seen this particular gun mentioned before, and I've been wondering if anyone else here owns or has shot/handled one of the variants, and if they'd mind sharing their experiences/impressions.
Basic info: Polymer body, steel barrel, bolt and other internal components made of proprietary "Chiappalloy" that (IIRC) is a mix of several different metals, blended to provide a balance between strength and weight while still being relatively low-cost. 16" barrel length, available with two or four 10 or 28-round magazines, though it's compatible with virtually any Atchisson/Ceiner (may have botched the spelling there) style mags (if there's one out there that doesn't fit, then apparently no one has found it yet). MSRP is around $350 for the upper, $500 for a complete rifle or pistol, IIRC.
The one I have is the basic M4-style upper, with a detachable UTG carry handle/rear sight (not sure if this was factory or aftermarket) and fixed front sight, currently perched on a DTI M4 lower. It's arguably one of my favorite AR-style .22s out there, because it just feels solid in my hands, and shoots pretty good to boot.
Interestingly, my only (significant/worrying) problems so far aren't even related to the upper. Friend we bought it from didn't know that he had goofed when he installed the adjustable trigger group (he said later that he had used the wrong sear pin, IIRC), causing reset failures and (mercifully rare) run-aways. Thankfully he found the factory trigger group the next day, and was only too happy to re-install it after I explained and demonstrated the issues. Since then, performance has been flawless aside from rare feed issues, exclusively caused by user error.
Where ammo "pickiness" is concerned, IME it will reliably run with pretty much anything, so long as the load has a muzzle velocity of at least 1,050 FPS. I personally haven't tried anything slower than that, though I've hard the odd report of reliable cycling with slower loads, like Aguila's 60 grain subsonic offering(s), though that may require a bit of tweaking.
Minor note here, but the manual recommends cleaning the gun (or at least wiping down the bolt) every 200 rounds or so. IME, cleaning to the point of reliable functionality takes all of about two minutes with a Rem-Oil wipe and a .22-caliber bore snake, so IMHO it's a minor inconvenience at best. I'm going to do a stress test in three weeks or so, just to find out if the manual's care instructions are bona-fide, or if whoever wrote that in was just being overly cautious. If this thread is still alive by then, I'll report back with my results.
In summary, it's a solid, well-made machine (for the price, that is), that may or may not require a greater-than-normal level of TLC depending on the user's norms. Accuracy is pretty good out of the box, and I'm sure that with decent glass (and some hi-pro mounts to clear the front sight) it would make a good squirrel-control rifle.
The only drawbacks I've seen are the fake flash hider on the muzzle, the polymer body, and the slightly rough finish on the internals.
Wouldn't recommend this for anyone who is anti-plastic or skeptical about proprietary metallurgy. If neither of those are an issue for you, then I'd recommend that you give one a try if you can. I love mine, and will probably never sell it.
Basic info: Polymer body, steel barrel, bolt and other internal components made of proprietary "Chiappalloy" that (IIRC) is a mix of several different metals, blended to provide a balance between strength and weight while still being relatively low-cost. 16" barrel length, available with two or four 10 or 28-round magazines, though it's compatible with virtually any Atchisson/Ceiner (may have botched the spelling there) style mags (if there's one out there that doesn't fit, then apparently no one has found it yet). MSRP is around $350 for the upper, $500 for a complete rifle or pistol, IIRC.
The one I have is the basic M4-style upper, with a detachable UTG carry handle/rear sight (not sure if this was factory or aftermarket) and fixed front sight, currently perched on a DTI M4 lower. It's arguably one of my favorite AR-style .22s out there, because it just feels solid in my hands, and shoots pretty good to boot.
Interestingly, my only (significant/worrying) problems so far aren't even related to the upper. Friend we bought it from didn't know that he had goofed when he installed the adjustable trigger group (he said later that he had used the wrong sear pin, IIRC), causing reset failures and (mercifully rare) run-aways. Thankfully he found the factory trigger group the next day, and was only too happy to re-install it after I explained and demonstrated the issues. Since then, performance has been flawless aside from rare feed issues, exclusively caused by user error.
Where ammo "pickiness" is concerned, IME it will reliably run with pretty much anything, so long as the load has a muzzle velocity of at least 1,050 FPS. I personally haven't tried anything slower than that, though I've hard the odd report of reliable cycling with slower loads, like Aguila's 60 grain subsonic offering(s), though that may require a bit of tweaking.
Minor note here, but the manual recommends cleaning the gun (or at least wiping down the bolt) every 200 rounds or so. IME, cleaning to the point of reliable functionality takes all of about two minutes with a Rem-Oil wipe and a .22-caliber bore snake, so IMHO it's a minor inconvenience at best. I'm going to do a stress test in three weeks or so, just to find out if the manual's care instructions are bona-fide, or if whoever wrote that in was just being overly cautious. If this thread is still alive by then, I'll report back with my results.
In summary, it's a solid, well-made machine (for the price, that is), that may or may not require a greater-than-normal level of TLC depending on the user's norms. Accuracy is pretty good out of the box, and I'm sure that with decent glass (and some hi-pro mounts to clear the front sight) it would make a good squirrel-control rifle.
The only drawbacks I've seen are the fake flash hider on the muzzle, the polymer body, and the slightly rough finish on the internals.
Wouldn't recommend this for anyone who is anti-plastic or skeptical about proprietary metallurgy. If neither of those are an issue for you, then I'd recommend that you give one a try if you can. I love mine, and will probably never sell it.
