Maccabee

davide montini

davide montini

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People I need some help here
I can across a Maccabee ar...non restricted....upper and lower ......I’d like to know if these are junk or any good ....pros....cons...
I got suckered not once but twice ...before .....so some help is appreciated
Help as in .....any problems with upper and lower for building ..
I seen some posts about holes for the role pins ......play between upper and lower........bolt charging handle..missing a hole for the claw or hook to latch on .....
Any thoughts people or help is great appreciated
It’s either this or a Alberta tactical non restricted build
Davide
 
I have a early Maccabee. Mine was missing the charging handle latch cutout, it was exchanged. The magazines wouldn't fit, it went to Maccabee to have the upper milled to a bigger dimension. The bolt catch pin hole was super tight. I built it up with a original M16a1 parts kit at first, it worked just fine. I rebuilt it for hunting season to 6.5 Grendel, it also worked fine.

They were a new company that didn't know much, their machining was amateur at best, I heard they have addressed most issues. But in my opinion their design is still crap.

I'll be selling my Maccabee set as soon as my Modern Sporter upper becomes available.
 
Mine went together pretty good. Bolt catch is tight on assembly, and my gi mags need a good smack to seat(pmags, lancers and imi go in slick like butter), i only zeroed my optic so far. Once I have some serious rounds down range i can give a more fair opinion. Initial impressions so far is it's good to go.

As for the atrs i have zero experiemce with it so I can't give a fair answer to its status but last I checked you can only get the lowers right now?
 
I guess it depends what they are asking for it and what the serial is. If it’s 300+ and $1100 or less I’d say go for it. They aren’t as proven as an AR... but they shoot just as good with minimal maintenance.
 
I like mine. No doubt the atrs model will be better but you will be waiting a while for one. If you get a deal better than the pre-sale I would say go for it.
 
Sometimes waiting a little is of huge benefit. I too purchased a CRAPABEE and sold it instantly at a loss after having the deficiancies corrected.
I now have a Modern Sporter. Got it within the timeframe promised, something CRAPABEE could not do, it was easily 7 months longer than was promised. The Sporter went together without any problems, takes more variety of parts and has a FAR more professional fit and finish. No tool marks, no ugly spots in the anodizing and most importantly no poorly installed helicoil and screw to hold the upper and lower together. AND less money!!
 
I’ve built 2 without issue. Both are still running strong. I plan to get a modern sporter set eventually too but I am by no means unhappy with my macabee. For the record I had no problems with roll pins at all. I used a long punch and hit them square and they went in like any other roll pin I’ve ever put in. If it was a choice between the 2 I’d take the ATRS, but my limited patience and the Maccabee being available I am glad I jumped on a couple. Lot of fun to build, and even more fun to hunt with.
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First kill with the Maccabee
 

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Excellent, I hope to get my Macabee out after predators this year, too.

I also built two without much problem at all. Both work great and are very accurate. I am also very happy and have no reservations about recommending one to someone.

I might get an ATRS in the future as well, but I am just as likely to get another Macabee. I see them as being different from each other, not necessarily one better than the other- at least for my purposes. But I'm not scared of using a bolt to hold an upper and lower together, it works on my ATRS 50 BMG lower and it works on my MDI too. My decision might come down to accuracy reports of the ATRS rifles, the weight difference between the two (if any) and if some people just have to have pins instead of a bolt, so start selling their MDI receivers at a big discount. :)
 
I'm happy with mine, serial number just under 400. I built it up in 458 Socom, my other receiver should be here soon and all the parts are on the shelf for 223 on that one.
 
Gatehouse said:
But I'm not scared of using a bolt to hold an upper and lower together, it works on my ATRS 50 BMG lower and it works on my MDI too. My decision might come down to accuracy reports of the ATRS rifles, the weight difference between the two (if any)
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For clarity though the ATRS lower that was purpose built for the Canada Ammo DA50 upper you have has a 3/8" steel bolt, that engages a STEEL block that was welded to your DA50 upper. NOT a poorly installed cheapest HeliCoil solution possible. The problem I see with the Crapabee is not so much the use of a bolt to hold the upper to the lower, more the fact that the bolt is not always retained so can get lost despite the supposed retainer screw that was put in and the fact that a cheesy Helicoil was used and poorly installed at that. IFWyatt had done it right they would have made a steel insert that was treaded into the upper and thread locked in place. Yes it would have cost an extra couple of dollars, but at least then would have been done right and would help justify his pricing. At it sits now it is a simple chicken manure way of attachment that could be done right. The other complaint is the overly complex trigger box design that just did not need to be there in the first place.
Many complain about the ATRS initial offerings only using a Timney trigger, which at least is a decent trigger thankfully, but being as they were the ones who started the whole NR semi auto thing for Canadians and there is no guidelines as to how close to an AR can you come and still be NR I understand why they did this. With Crapabee though they had 4 years of knowing that the trigger was NOT part of the equation as we see with BCL and Stag, so why over complicate things?


Accuracy and weight are wholey determined by the parts used to put the reciever sets regardless of manufacturer together. Use a crap grade barrel and accuracy will be poor, use a match grade barrel and accuracy is normally very good. Same with weight, a bull barrel and PRS stock will make it weigh a ton. The reciever sets should not make any difference in accuracy and although I never weighed my Crapabee if it was more or less than a couple of ounces different from the Sporter I would be stunned.
 
no-one special said:
For clarity though the ATRS lower that was purpose built for the Canada Ammo DA50 upper you have has a 3/8" steel bolt, that engages a STEEL block that was welded to your DA50 upper. NOT a poorly installed cheapest HeliCoil solution possible. The problem I see with the Crapabee is not so much the use of a bolt to hold the upper to the lower, more the fact that the bolt is not always retained so can get lost despite the supposed retainer screw that was put in and the fact that a cheesy Helicoil was used and poorly installed at that. IFWyatt had done it right they would have made a steel insert that was treaded into the upper and thread locked in place. Yes it would have cost an extra couple of dollars, but at least then would have been done right and would help justify his pricing. At it sits now it is a simple chicken manure way of attachment that could be done right. The other complaint is the overly complex trigger box design that just did not need to be there in the first place.
Many complain about the ATRS initial offerings only using a Timney trigger, which at least is a decent trigger thankfully, but being as they were the ones who started the whole NR semi auto thing for Canadians and there is no guidelines as to how close to an AR can you come and still be NR I understand why they did this. With Crapabee though they had 4 years of knowing that the trigger was NOT part of the equation as we see with BCL and Stag, so why over complicate things?


Accuracy and weight are wholey determined by the parts used to put the reciever sets regardless of manufacturer together. Use a crap grade barrel and accuracy will be poor, use a match grade barrel and accuracy is normally very good. Same with weight, a bull barrel and PRS stock will make it weigh a ton. The reciever sets should not make any difference in accuracy and although I never weighed my Crapabee if it was more or less than a couple of ounces different from the Sporter I would be stunned.
Click to expand...

Did these posters with positive remarks want to read your negative one!

My lord!
 
I wonder how long before one of us gets brave enough to drill a front pin bore through that bolt block. More than once I’ve sat with pins in hand staring at my receiver. I don’t really see why it wouldn’t work. Just don’t want to destroy my coyote gun which for the record has never come loose (nordlock). Wish I had a spare receiver to muck around with.
 
Uisge said:
I wonder how long before one of us gets brave enough to drill a front pin bore through that bolt block. More than once I’ve sat with pins in hand staring at my receiver. I don’t really see why it wouldn’t work. Just don’t want to destroy my coyote gun which for the record has never come loose (nordlock). Wish I had a spare receiver to muck around with.
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You are not alone. I've contemplated doing this more than a few times. There is enough material on the lower to drill it out for the pin plus the material along the side of the receiver is thick enough to drill out for the detent pin and spring.

The only thing that keeps holding me back is the thought of how week the lug on the upper might become once that second hole is drilled cross ways through it.

If there was a way to fill the hole in the upper lug for the original bolt permanently prior to drilling the new hole cross ways it would be better but no matter how you do it I still think the strength would be compromised.

But just like your receiver, mine is also holding great with a nord-lock. The bolt takedown is just more of an inconvenience than it is a real problem.

Maybe once all my MS receivers arrive I will get brave and turn my SLR into a test dummy.
 
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