Range report! The results are...a mixed bag.
Parts list in case anyone is wondering:
- JARD J180 builder kit
- Faxom SOCOM profile 20" 5.56 NATO barrel
- BCM MCMR 13" handguard
- Some fancy low profile gas block
- Basic bítch A2 flash hidder
- BCM carbine buffer tube
- Magpul MOE carbine stock
- Magpul MOE 0.5" cheek riser
- AimPoint PRO
- Meprolight MX3 x3 magnifier
The gun did not run out of the box reliably. Many many many issues out of the box:
- Failure to feed
- Failure to fire
- Failure to eject
- Failure to lock open on empty mag
Gun had gotten as much of the packing oil/grease/gunk wiped off before assembling and was shot mostly dry without any gun oil (I don't throw oil in a gun unless necessary).
Ammo used was a combination of 55 gr FMJ Chinese 5.56 surplus and PMC .223. There seemed to be better reliability with the PMC ammo but it is hard to say.
The first 100 rounds or so were pretty disappointing, but as more rounds were shot the gun seemed to function better and better. On the 120th round the action actually locked open on an empty mag!
At the end of a 220 round shooting session, the FTFeed/FTFire/FTE/FTLO issued diminished or went away mostly. I can report the gun functions with the following magazines:
- Magpul 30/5 round Pmag (not sure which generation)
- Cross Mag 10 round for LAR-15
- Thermold PLR16 10 round mag for LAR-15
Hera H3 mags did not work, they could not be inserted in far enough to engage the mag catch.
Speaking about mag insertions, take a look at this:
The red arrows are pointing to 2 screws that are set onto the side of the receiver, which jut out into the inside of the receiver. Care to guess what they're for? Mag overinsertion stops. Yes. Those screws stop mags from being overinserted. No, I am not BSing you. If you insert a mag and give in it a smack to make sure it is seated all the way, these lovely little screws proceed to gouge the top of the mag body near the feed lips. At least they don't actually damage the feed lips. The screws are very small hex heads and are very tight/thread locked, making removal difficult so I only tried it once before destroying a hex bit and giving up. I don't know if they are critical to the function of the rifle, as I suspect the mag catch and the stops on the mags themselves would keep the mags from being overinserted.
Another interesting bit about the rifle is what brass bounces off when ejected.
Did you guess the charging handle? Cuz I didn't, not till I got home and noticed there were no brass marks on the receiver (I'm talking about you, WK-180!). However the charging handle is nice and bronzed now, it is made of steel so it doesn't look like there is damage on it just a snazzy brass coating. Brass ejects roughly in the 2 o'clock direction with a very soft recoil impulse. Not sure if more breaking in is needed or if the charging handle/brass deflector just sends brass in that direction.
How about performance? How does it shoot? After it was done breaking in, it did shoot both the Norinco 5.56 surplus and PMC .223 well. Keep in mind I was using the AimPoint PRO, a 3-4 MOA dot, along with a x3 magnifier which did cause the dot to bloom slightly. Rifle was shot from a bench with a front rest and rear bag. Here are some 3.25 and 4 MOA groups at 100 m:
Here is a 6.5" (3.25 MOA) group at 200 m:
One caveat regarding takedown for cleaning is if you have a cheek riser on the stock, the guiderods and springs cannot be removed as the riser is in the way. Removing the stock lets your take the gun apart for cleaning easily.
Overall, I'm surprised the gun needed breaking in. Frankly I always assumed "breaking in" a gun was fuddlore and never bothered with any gun that didn't run out of the box reliably. At 220 rounds the gun is working far better than initially, not sure if it was in need of "breaking in" or if I should have added some oil here and there. Next is adding a proper scope with some magnification to get a better sense of accuracy.
Thank you for reading my range reports!