Wk180c and Magazine Issue. *Warranty Work and Update!*

If we've made a mistake, we'll take care of you and fix the product. If we didn't do this as a matter of course, we'd probably sell a lot fewer rifles. Plus, it's the right thing for a company to do. (And of course it means that we get to hear positive feedback from happy customers, which is always nice.)

Happy Shooting,

The Kodiak Defence Team
 
RWA just said they are making uppers for the WK180c. I'm guessing they are 7.62x39. I love the way the market is supporting this rifle. I'm glad I bought 2.

They've been making uppers for the AR-180B for a while now, is this a different model or are they just sick of dealing with IRG and trying to find more sales?
 
They've been making uppers for the AR-180B for a while now, is this a different model or are they just sick of dealing with IRG and trying to find more sales?

Thought I would pop in with a quick clarification.

We are making uppers for the WK180C as well (not just our own uppers). They will be in 7.62X39 and 300 Blackout. We have no plans right now for .223/5.56.

Please note that these uppers are not copies of the WK180C Uppers, they are a hybrid of our uppers that will fit their lowers

We are making the same calibres for the RWA 180B

As well, we are working on a Sporter model at RWA (RWA 180S). It will include Canadian made barrels (from IBI), and now that we have our BFL, Lowers by RWA. It will also feature a new lightweight stock that we are building. It will not have all the bells and whistles of the Full RWA180B, and will not be as customizable, but it will be cheaper and 99% fully Canadian made (for ex we don't make the trigger group...yet :) ).

As for IRG, we are no longer in partnership with them for the rifles. They are a dealer and have the same access that other dealers would have to our stuff. No ill feelings or anything between both companies, it simply didn't work out as we had different ideas on what to do with the rifle. They have sold some for us, and we have sold some direct as well (full rifles are now on our site).

For daily updates and more timely information, follow us on Instagram and facebook as that is where we post up pics of what is going on.

Cheers
Barry
 
So update after range trip post warranty work, still a ####ing jam o matic with any mag other than the blocky 5 round hera mags that it came with.
Sent it back to have the overly tight chamber reamed open and the feed ramps remachined to be flush with the inside of the receiver to try and fix the issue.
Essentially what would happen is the round would jam up on the bottom edge of the feed ramp or jam directly into the feed ramp and lock up. Pulling back the bolt and releasing it would still not force it up the ramp into the chamber.
It did this with every metal STANAG mag I had including the LAR15 10 rounders, 5/30 pinned NATO mag, actual Colt 5/20 mags etc etc
These mags all feed 100% perfectly in my other STANAG mag rifles including my dirty beater Norc AR.
After warranty work the problem still persists.
The only way to get it to feed is to keep constant pressure upwards on any metal mag while firing. This results in perfect function.....which tells me it sure as #### is NOT a magazine issue.
Essentially what is happening now (same as it was before) is every single mag I've tried tilts forward too much in the mag well. When the bolt rides over the mag tries to strip a round, it invariably tilts the mag forward as it tries to ram it up the feed ramp and chamber it. Before the ramps were jutting over the void under the extension the tips would jam up just under it, now they make it to the ramp but jam up on the ramp as the mags are tilting in the well (bolt pushing forward, mag tilting forward and round tip wedging on the ramp with the cart case still under the feed lips of the mags)
I bought a couple of the "better quality" snake oil plastic MFT 10 round mags. Will be trying them this weekend.#
If the problem remains then I'm asking for a new rifle or complete upper. It's starting to piss me off which blows because I really REALLY like this rifle when it works (ie only with the Hera mags it came with....)
More to follow on that for now after testing with new purchased MFT mag. I'm out 40 on shipping for warranty work which did not resolve the issue and the cost of buying mags I otherwise never would have needed to buy.........
 
So update after range trip post warranty work, still a ####ing jam o matic with any mag other than the blocky 5 round hera mags that it came with.
Sent it back to have the overly tight chamber reamed open and the feed ramps remachined to be flush with the inside of the receiver to try and fix the issue.
Essentially what would happen is the round would jam up on the bottom edge of the feed ramp or jam directly into the feed ramp and lock up. Pulling back the bolt and releasing it would still not force it up the ramp into the chamber.
It did this with every metal STANAG mag I had including the LAR15 10 rounders, 5/30 pinned NATO mag, actual Colt 5/20 mags etc etc
These mags all feed 100% perfectly in my other STANAG mag rifles including my dirty beater Norc AR.
After warranty work the problem still persists.
The only way to get it to feed is to keep constant pressure upwards on any metal mag while firing. This results in perfect function.....which tells me it sure as #### is NOT a magazine issue.
Essentially what is happening now (same as it was before) is every single mag I've tried tilts forward too much in the mag well. When the bolt rides over the mag tries to strip a round, it invariably tilts the mag forward as it tries to ram it up the feed ramp and chamber it. Before the ramps were jutting over the void under the extension the tips would jam up just under it, now they make it to the ramp but jam up on the ramp as the mags are tilting in the well (bolt pushing forward, mag tilting forward and round tip wedging on the ramp with the cart case still under the feed lips of the mags)
I bought a couple of the "better quality" snake oil plastic MFT 10 round mags. Will be trying them this weekend.#
If the problem remains then I'm asking for a new rifle or complete upper. It's starting to piss me off which blows because I really REALLY like this rifle when it works (ie only with the Hera mags it came with....)
More to follow on that for now after testing with new purchased MFT mag. I'm out 40 on shipping for warranty work which did not resolve the issue and the cost of buying mags I otherwise never would have needed to buy.........

Man that sucks.

Sounds like a bad lower. Badly machined magwell or mag release.

Kodiak has had a stellar reputation thus far.

Hopefully their next step is to ship you a new rifle and turn yours into an R&D piece or a full refund, + your shipping $ either way and let this issue stand resolved.
 
Thought I would pop in with a quick clarification.

We are making uppers for the WK180C as well (not just our own uppers). They will be in 7.62X39 and 300 Blackout. We have no plans right now for .223/5.56.

Please note that these uppers are not copies of the WK180C Uppers, they are a hybrid of our uppers that will fit their lowers

We are making the same calibres for the RWA 180B

As well, we are working on a Sporter model at RWA (RWA 180S). It will include Canadian made barrels (from IBI), and now that we have our BFL, Lowers by RWA. It will also feature a new lightweight stock that we are building. It will not have all the bells and whistles of the Full RWA180B, and will not be as customizable, but it will be cheaper and 99% fully Canadian made (for ex we don't make the trigger group...yet :) ).

As for IRG, we are no longer in partnership with them for the rifles. They are a dealer and have the same access that other dealers would have to our stuff. No ill feelings or anything between both companies, it simply didn't work out as we had different ideas on what to do with the rifle. They have sold some for us, and we have sold some direct as well (full rifles are now on our site).

For daily updates and more timely information, follow us on Instagram and facebook as that is where we post up pics of what is going on.

Cheers
Barry

Thanks for the reply Barry, I was under the impression that the 180C upper and lower could be fit to the original AR180B-2 upper/lower by removing the guide block they built into the C model, if I correctly understood what I was told by Wolverine before. Is there more to it?
I'm glad you're not dealing with IRG any more, I'm not a fan of them and don't like to deal with them at all.


So update after range trip post warranty work, still a ####ing jam o matic with any mag other than the blocky 5 round hera mags that it came with.
Sent it back to have the overly tight chamber reamed open and the feed ramps remachined to be flush with the inside of the receiver to try and fix the issue.
Essentially what would happen is the round would jam up on the bottom edge of the feed ramp or jam directly into the feed ramp and lock up. Pulling back the bolt and releasing it would still not force it up the ramp into the chamber.
It did this with every metal STANAG mag I had including the LAR15 10 rounders, 5/30 pinned NATO mag, actual Colt 5/20 mags etc etc
These mags all feed 100% perfectly in my other STANAG mag rifles including my dirty beater Norc AR.
After warranty work the problem still persists.
The only way to get it to feed is to keep constant pressure upwards on any metal mag while firing. This results in perfect function.....which tells me it sure as #### is NOT a magazine issue.
Essentially what is happening now (same as it was before) is every single mag I've tried tilts forward too much in the mag well. When the bolt rides over the mag tries to strip a round, it invariably tilts the mag forward as it tries to ram it up the feed ramp and chamber it. Before the ramps were jutting over the void under the extension the tips would jam up just under it, now they make it to the ramp but jam up on the ramp as the mags are tilting in the well (bolt pushing forward, mag tilting forward and round tip wedging on the ramp with the cart case still under the feed lips of the mags)
I bought a couple of the "better quality" snake oil plastic MFT 10 round mags. Will be trying them this weekend.#
If the problem remains then I'm asking for a new rifle or complete upper. It's starting to piss me off which blows because I really REALLY like this rifle when it works (ie only with the Hera mags it came with....)
More to follow on that for now after testing with new purchased MFT mag. I'm out 40 on shipping for warranty work which did not resolve the issue and the cost of buying mags I otherwise never would have needed to buy.........

Well that sucks.

Question to Kodiak.
Why don't you test with other magazines? It's pretty obvious that not all magazines are created equal and since most guys run PMags or USGI style metal body mags I would think it would make sense to test with those as well regardless of which mags you supply with the rifle. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with the Hera mags as I have a few myself and they work fine in my rifles but to me it would have made sense to have a bunch of different magazines kicking around the shop to test with right from day one as well.
I've never owned a 223 rifle that was picky about which magazines you used, I'm not sure I understand why these problems are showing up in newer rifles when it didn't used to be an issue. Maybe it's just all the new magazine options available.
 
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Man that sucks.

Sounds like a bad lower. Badly machined magwell or mag release.

Kodiak has had a stellar reputation thus far.

Hopefully their next step is to ship you a new rifle and turn yours into an R&D piece or a full refund, + your shipping $ either way and let this issue stand resolved.

I'm going to give the mft mags a try.
It's not ideal but I can live with using plastic MFT 10 rounders as proprietary mags even for it as long as it just works.
If not then I'll be contacting kodiak again to discuss options.

To be very clear, Kodiak did the chamber and the feed ramps open up/polish and machining the same day the rifle arrived at their shop, got it back in the mail the same damn day and threw in a free T-Shirt.
The work solved the tight chamber as evidenced from inspection of fired and extracted casings.
They have been nothing but professional but it still doesn't get my shipping costs and the costs to buy mags I shouldn't have to buy to make a "STANAG" compatible rifle shoot reliably with STANAG mags......

But it did not solve the feeding issue with anything except the Hera mags. Close inspection with calipers has shown the Hera mags are marginally thicker all around so they fill up the gap in the magwell between the mag and the receiver more than any other brand I have INCLUDING the MFT ones. I have not fired the MFT mags. I will do this tomorrow.
This is a real bummer for me.
More to follow after MFT mag test this weekend
 
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