In the market for a 5.56 semiauto

Id build a MCR /180 thing.... and would avoid Kodiak Defense for the most part given all the reports ive heard.

if i wanted a bullpup, id spend a little extra $$$ and get a K&M M17s. It feels and sounds superior to the Tavor platform.... at least for Civy use.
 
If you get the WK or MCR, remember they are as overgassed to eat garbage ammo like an AK or Type 81, but without the com-bloc durability. The WK especially is known for snapping piston rods if they fall out of alignment, which can happen as the gas system shakes its fasteners loose over time with every shot. Remember to thread lock your fasteners on the gas/piston system to increase the longevity. Consider getting a True North Arms adjustable gas block (you may have to call them, the listing seems gone off the site) to help dial the gas down to the minimum required for your preferred ammo, and reduce the stress on the system. If you have a mid or rifle length barrel from a donor firearm, you can get pistons in those length from a non-forum vendor and True North Arms respectively. You may have to drill the gas port out a bit, but the result should still be less stress then the carbine length gas port.
 
Ustauk said:
If you get the WK or MCR, remember they are as overgassed to eat garbage ammo like an AK or Type 81, but without the com-bloc durability. The WK especially is known for snapping piston rods if they fall out of alignment, which can happen as the gas system shakes its fasteners loose over time with every shot. Remember to thread lock your fasteners on the gas/piston system to increase the longevity. Consider getting a True North Arms adjustable gas block (you may have to call them, the listing seems gone off the site) to help dial the gas down to the minimum required for your preferred ammo, and reduce the stress on the system. If you have a mid or rifle length barrel from a donor firearm, you can get pistons in those length from a non-forum vendor and True North Arms respectively. You may have to drill the gas port out a bit, but the result should still be less stress then the carbine length gas port.
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For those of us who have not taken the WK apart beyond taking the bolt assembly out to clean it - I haven't seen too many instruction videos on this gas block and what loosens and what to thread lock. Any chance anyone has any photos they can share?
 
randyhub said:
At around the 12 minute mark of the video he shows the gas system and the bolts. Another upgrade is the nylon bushing replaced with a brass insert by True North.
https://youtu.be/8PwamfiEi58
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Thanks! The video shows the two screws attaching the gas block nicely. Since there is nothing to index the gas block in on the outside of the barrel, I can see how that rotating out of alignment would create a torquing stress against the piston and eventually cause it to snap. I could see the same thing occurring if the barrel nut loosens, too.

If you weren't intending to replace the gas block, and didn't care about marring the barrel, would it be overkill to apply high temperature thread locker to parts of the gas block directly touching the barrel? Would using rivets instead of bolts prevent the gas block from unscrewing at all? Could you weld a small tab to the top of the barrel, and cut a matching notch in the gas block to keep it indexed at the right spot?
 
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If you want a bullpup get a T97. If you want a more AR style thingy get a WS-MCR.

Only problem I had was a broken pin. I wrote this on another thread:

I've got 3 WS-MCR's and this one has about 5000 rounds through it. In 40 rounds I got 2 light strikes where the primer didn't ignite. I was using Federal bulk box ammo and this is not entirely uncommon as the primers are pretty hard. They won't always ignite in a bolt action and I've seen them not ignite in AR15 too.

So I didn't think too much of it until it started to constantly fail to ignite.

It had 1000 rounds since it's last cleaning so took it apart and was continue to be impressed by how clean it was compared to an AR.

Firing pin had broken. I ordered some extras from TNA

Of the 3 MCR rifles I have (A 7000 rounds, B 5000 rounds -pin broke and C 2000 rounds) only problems I've had is the firing pin and C the newest one was a bit of a biatch for the first 500 rounds as it didn't want to go fully into battery for the first shot. It seems"broken in " now. C also has a different colour upper vs lower (upper looks more grey) I don't actually care about different colour schit but I thought it was worth noting.

The only other thing of note is that all of them don't have staked buffer tubes so all of them start to spin out. While this is simple to fix by either staking it yourself or some locktite or even nail polish, that should be done as the final job at the factory. A whack with a hammer and punch or a squish of loctite can't add too much to the cost
 
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The other thing that can kill a piston on the MCR is that it has a bolt that screws into the gas block. If that backs out the piston will follow it. This allows for the piston to slam back into the bolt carrier which will snap the piston. Loctite it and torque it well. You don't really need to clean it very often from what I've seen.
 
Gatehouse said:
If you want a bullpup get a T97. If you want a more AR style thingy get a WS-MCR.

I've got 3 WS-MCR's and this one has about 5000 rounds through it. In 40 rounds I got 2 light strikes where the primer didn't ignite. I was using Federal bulk box ammo and this is not entirely uncommon as the primers are pretty hard. They won't always ignite in a bolt action and I've seen them not ignite in AR15 too.

So I didn't think too much of it until it started to constantly fail to ignite.

It had 1000 rounds since it's last cleaning so took it apart and was continue to be impressed by how clean it was compared to an AR.

Firing pin had broken. I ordered some extras from TNA

Of the 3 MCR rifles I have (A 7000 rounds, B 5000 rounds -pin broke and C 2000 rounds) only problems I've had is the firing pin and C the newest one was a bit of a biatch for the first 500 rounds as it didn't want to go fully into battery for the first shot. It seems"broken in " now. C also has a different colour upper vs lower (upper looks more grey) I don't actually care about different colour schit but I thought it was worth noting.

The only other thing of note is that all of them don't have staked buffer tubes so all of them start to spin out. While this is simple to fix by either staking it yourself or some locktite or even nail polish, that should be done as the final job at the factory. A whack with a hammer and punch or a squish of loctite can't add too much to the cost
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If only we could actually get our hands on an MCR....The lack of access has me seriously considering a new WK instead.
 
JDForBrkFst said:
I personally would never own one. They are reliable, and for what it is a good deal. But jesus the safety location is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I can't even look at one without cringing.
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Getting the improved, aftermarket LHG makes all the difference. The safety is where it should be, under the thumb.

Absolutely love mine.
 
Northern Shooter said:
You must own one of the highest round count WK's out there.
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Not even close, there are a couple ranges in Ontario that rent them out and they've got massive round counts. Of course they change parts etc. as any firearm requires.

Mine is used extensively by 2 people and I have a few people that borrow is for 2 gun shoots etc. It's just stacked up more and more rounds.

I use the older magnetic cocking handle and so far it's my preferred one as the 2nd gen breaks and the 3rd gen comes loose unless red-loctited which I don't want to do as I want to disassemble and clean the gun every few thousand rounds.
 
Bratwurst said:
I use the older magnetic cocking handle and so far it's my preferred one as the 2nd gen breaks and the 3rd gen comes loose unless red-loctited which I don't want to do as I want to disassemble and clean the gun every few thousand rounds.
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I have a G2 threaded handle and it drives me bonkers - I almost wish it would break so Kodiak will send me the G3, as mine constantly comes loose - even if I put a thick bar in between the holes and just give 'er. A range trip later, the thing is loose again. I was thinking of locktiting it but just like yourself, I want to be able to clean mine.
 
thegazelle said:
I have a G2 threaded handle and it drives me bonkers - I almost wish it would break so Kodiak will send me the G3, as mine constantly comes loose - even if I put a thick bar in between the holes and just give 'er. A range trip later, the thing is loose again. I was thinking of locktiting it but just like yourself, I want to be able to clean mine.
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You can order the non threaded handle BCG from Kodiak. You may also be able to get it from True North Arms. The True North Arms upgraded upper uses a handle with an indexing dowel in concert with a screw, so it should be both readily manually removeable, but not unscrew on its own.
 
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