Crusader arms backland
- Thread starter Deathrawt
- Start date
Another update ….
Today was another 230 rounds. 150 of full power handloads worked 100%. Tried out the medium power loads again to see if the extra “break in” had helped and to my surprise it did! I had a few failures with them but was much less often.
I have never liked the M4 twist out stocks so that’s an annoyance but yeah, I’m warming up to the gun.
Today was another 230 rounds. 150 of full power handloads worked 100%. Tried out the medium power loads again to see if the extra “break in” had helped and to my surprise it did! I had a few failures with them but was much less often.
I have never liked the M4 twist out stocks so that’s an annoyance but yeah, I’m warming up to the gun.
Sorry guys.. Set up the Garmin to chrono but the battery was dead!
Only 30 rounds today. no failures. My new Backland Hunter is languishing at the PO so I'll pick it up Monday and see how it does before attacking with the file.
Only 30 rounds today. no failures. My new Backland Hunter is languishing at the PO so I'll pick it up Monday and see how it does before attacking with the file.
Been reading this thread with interest, as well as checking various YT videos and reddit posts.
I will say, I am impressed with many end users' tenacity and resilience to try to get the Backland Hunter working properly. Maybe it's the Canadian Pride setting in, people willing to want to get this domestic product working properly or it is a sunk cost fallacy after dropping two large (hopefully it wasn't borrowed)
I appreciate Canadian Youtubers like Redneck Preppy who had not one, but two videos on this (the second video was very recent, when CA returned the original gun), and he was very much unbiased, to the point and detailed. On the other hand, I see some other Canadian Youtubers (Code of Arms) sing this gun's praises with no criticism - I swear, they are on the take or have a vested interest in CA.
I have gone to at least two brick and mortar retailers who steered me clear of this gun as I was considering it and they redirected me to the cheaper Turkish Alcor (which I ended up buying and has been amazingly excellent).
I do applaud Crusader Arms for releasing a new semi auto model, particularly in this perilous environment. Or maybe they wanted to get rid of parts, who knows (hard to understand how that bolt grinding/machining looks like some of what I have seen
But at the same time, I am leery at what seems to be consistent QC issues with this gun, even with the now "Gen2" version.
I will say, I am impressed with many end users' tenacity and resilience to try to get the Backland Hunter working properly. Maybe it's the Canadian Pride setting in, people willing to want to get this domestic product working properly or it is a sunk cost fallacy after dropping two large (hopefully it wasn't borrowed)
I appreciate Canadian Youtubers like Redneck Preppy who had not one, but two videos on this (the second video was very recent, when CA returned the original gun), and he was very much unbiased, to the point and detailed. On the other hand, I see some other Canadian Youtubers (Code of Arms) sing this gun's praises with no criticism - I swear, they are on the take or have a vested interest in CA.
I have gone to at least two brick and mortar retailers who steered me clear of this gun as I was considering it and they redirected me to the cheaper Turkish Alcor (which I ended up buying and has been amazingly excellent).
I do applaud Crusader Arms for releasing a new semi auto model, particularly in this perilous environment. Or maybe they wanted to get rid of parts, who knows (hard to understand how that bolt grinding/machining looks like some of what I have seen
But at the same time, I am leery at what seems to be consistent QC issues with this gun, even with the now "Gen2" version.
Last edited:
brokenaxle
CGN Regular
- Location
- Calgary AB
Just took my Bronze Backland out to the indoor range today. 300 rounds, all factory loads. Had 3 FTF in the first 60 rounds, two failures to pick up, the failures were always on the flip side of the mag. Reloading the next 60 rounds I found a few spots peeling poly on the ramps, cleaned those up and gave the mags a good seating tap. Did not have a single failure after that for the next 240 rounds. The only other issue I started to have was the wooden stock was starting to get loose on the last 80 rounds. This rifle is very light so i was surprised by the "kick" for a 223, still running the A2 style flash hider. Next is to clean it up, the bronze really shows the carbon, put on a Vortex scope and see how it groups at 100 yards.
The issue with these is because of our hostile govt Crusader tried mending an ar type operating system with a m4 type operating system and they really aren’t compatible with each other
Yes they do work but it’s not the most reliable
It might work better if they used a gas piston for cycling the action as opposed to the DI system
Then they could use the heavier recoil springs and it would still work even if you used weaker ammo, especially if they made the gas system adjustable
The backland is the best looking option we have and I trust the bolt/ barrel locking mechanism on it more then I do on the other Turkish made gun
I ended up getting the tactical AD500 Turkish made 308 and I’m still undecided on how much I like or trust it yet
It’s too bad our crap govt has made it so we have these problems
If they would have left us the heck alone we would still be using our better made guns and not have to worry or deal with all this other crap plus be money ahead at the same time because we didn’t have to replace a gun that worked perfectly fine with something that doesn’t
Yes they do work but it’s not the most reliable
It might work better if they used a gas piston for cycling the action as opposed to the DI system
Then they could use the heavier recoil springs and it would still work even if you used weaker ammo, especially if they made the gas system adjustable
The backland is the best looking option we have and I trust the bolt/ barrel locking mechanism on it more then I do on the other Turkish made gun
I ended up getting the tactical AD500 Turkish made 308 and I’m still undecided on how much I like or trust it yet
It’s too bad our crap govt has made it so we have these problems
If they would have left us the heck alone we would still be using our better made guns and not have to worry or deal with all this other crap plus be money ahead at the same time because we didn’t have to replace a gun that worked perfectly fine with something that doesn’t
I have so far (since break in at least) really enjoyed mine. So much so I added it to my Form 6 this year…Will do some local multigun matches first but planning on some proper 3 Gun down south in the late Summer and Fall so that will be the real test.
Other test might be getting it back across the border…Not sure how CBSA will react with no FRT.
Other test might be getting it back across the border…Not sure how CBSA will react with no FRT.
I don't think you'll be able to put it on your Form 6NIA since it doesn't have an FRT but I could be wrong.
It has already been approved on my form 6. ATF clearly doesn’t care…CBSA may very much care though.
Cool, I thought there was something about not being able to put a firearm that didn't have an FRT on a Form6, glad to hear that's not the case. I think I heard it in regards to the Crypto. Anyways, you aren't wrong in that CBSA might be a problem on the way back, seeing as they like to invent the rules as they go around anyways.
My second Backland Hunter Elite arrived today. I picked it up and went straight to the range with my fully charged Garmin 
This rifle was pretty crunchy. I could see it had a bit of oil on it but first thing I did was introduce it to a bunch of Slip2000. The first one I had just given a shot of G96 but I figured it a bit more lube couldn't hurt.
Right off the bat this one was night and day to the original one. I tried a few handloads but no factory ammo. The mid range loads I had trouble with before were not 100% but I would say 90% for sure. The rest of the ammo was 100%. Here is some velocities
BL-C(2) powder. 55gr Campro
Load #0-Mid range ammo, not 100% satisfactory, brass ejected 330/4 o'clock
26 gr
2817 FPS
Load #1 -reliable, no problems, brass ejected to 3 o'clock
27gr
2950 FPS
Load #2- reliable function but brass ejected 1-2 o'clock.
27.5gr
2980FPS
Load #3 -50gr Hornady Nosler Ballistic Tip from a bolt action load -too much of a good thing, brass ejected 1 o'clock.
28.5 gr
3160FPS
*** Don't use this, it worked fine in a Rem 700 but brass looked sus and obviously overgassed in this gun.
Load #1 makes the most sense. PMC factory ammo runs about 2900 FPS in most 18.5" barrels so this is right in the same ballpark.
Anyway, this rifle didn't really need much "break in" except working the action back and forth to distribute the lube. I'm not sure if I mentioned before but the Elite model also comes with a "standard" stock if you don't want collapsible/ pistol grip. I'm not sure I will ever use them though
The rifles come with a 6 pack of the 5 round combo magazines so you could load up 60 rounds in magazines at a time. I only used one or two of them and they seemed to work better than most people said but I'll probably just sell them anyway as I have a dozen of them now but stacks of standard mags.
trigger is pretty meh but so are most AR15 triggers out of the box. I'm sure they will wear in and smooth out a little bit but it's not a premier trigger. If I see my trigger scale around I'll test it out.
Well that's it. Both these rifles are going to get a workout over the summer. If something breaks I don't know how to get in touch with Crusader because the rifles don't come with manuals or QR code or even a label with an email address.
This rifle was pretty crunchy. I could see it had a bit of oil on it but first thing I did was introduce it to a bunch of Slip2000. The first one I had just given a shot of G96 but I figured it a bit more lube couldn't hurt.
Right off the bat this one was night and day to the original one. I tried a few handloads but no factory ammo. The mid range loads I had trouble with before were not 100% but I would say 90% for sure. The rest of the ammo was 100%. Here is some velocities
BL-C(2) powder. 55gr Campro
Load #0-Mid range ammo, not 100% satisfactory, brass ejected 330/4 o'clock
26 gr
2817 FPS
Load #1 -reliable, no problems, brass ejected to 3 o'clock
27gr
2950 FPS
Load #2- reliable function but brass ejected 1-2 o'clock.
27.5gr
2980FPS
Load #3 -50gr Hornady Nosler Ballistic Tip from a bolt action load -too much of a good thing, brass ejected 1 o'clock.
28.5 gr
3160FPS
*** Don't use this, it worked fine in a Rem 700 but brass looked sus and obviously overgassed in this gun.
Load #1 makes the most sense. PMC factory ammo runs about 2900 FPS in most 18.5" barrels so this is right in the same ballpark.
Anyway, this rifle didn't really need much "break in" except working the action back and forth to distribute the lube. I'm not sure if I mentioned before but the Elite model also comes with a "standard" stock if you don't want collapsible/ pistol grip. I'm not sure I will ever use them though
The rifles come with a 6 pack of the 5 round combo magazines so you could load up 60 rounds in magazines at a time. I only used one or two of them and they seemed to work better than most people said but I'll probably just sell them anyway as I have a dozen of them now but stacks of standard mags.
trigger is pretty meh but so are most AR15 triggers out of the box. I'm sure they will wear in and smooth out a little bit but it's not a premier trigger. If I see my trigger scale around I'll test it out.
Well that's it. Both these rifles are going to get a workout over the summer. If something breaks I don't know how to get in touch with Crusader because the rifles don't come with manuals or QR code or even a label with an email address.
Someone posted earlier in this thread (or maybe one of the other threads) on the backland the info to use to contact Crusader if you need warranty work
Ya there should be some sort of contact info in the box with the rifles
A manual would be nice too
Ya there should be some sort of contact info in the box with the rifles
A manual would be nice too
HunterKillerV
CGN Regular
- Location
- Central Kootenays, BC
Following this thread out of interest in a future purchase!
To those speaking on how poorly it works for how much money, that's fair. However, firearms, and machine development generally, is always a ####-show of failures and reiterations until it works on the Nth iteration. The AR-15, the epitomy of modern small arms, was forced to work via this process.
As long as a company doesn't just leave ya hanging with a busted product and shows interest in improving with the testing of their customers, it's kinda just a normal part of making something new. The big difference is military arms have the benefit of virtually unlimited funding to make them work, where a private company has to foot the bill for a while until the thing takes off.
We'll see, as long as we can keep buyin' em.
To those speaking on how poorly it works for how much money, that's fair. However, firearms, and machine development generally, is always a ####-show of failures and reiterations until it works on the Nth iteration. The AR-15, the epitomy of modern small arms, was forced to work via this process.
As long as a company doesn't just leave ya hanging with a busted product and shows interest in improving with the testing of their customers, it's kinda just a normal part of making something new. The big difference is military arms have the benefit of virtually unlimited funding to make them work, where a private company has to foot the bill for a while until the thing takes off.
We'll see, as long as we can keep buyin' em.
