The R18 Mk2 Review Pt 1 - Initial Details and Pre-Firing Impressions

[Ceiferiro]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I am still sceptical at this point on this Mary Shelley rifle. I think it's awesome that there will be another Non-Restricted black rifle don't get me wrong we need more in the wild, but with that asking price this thing is going to have to compare to other high end manufactured proven rifles. I am not at the take my money stage at this point.

Yeah its 100% fair. I think the hype just speaks to how dead the MSR market in Canada is. Im excited to see how it shoots and will probably skip the first batch of two to see if anything teething issues pop up.

[SouthWest Guy]

It is only fair to compare with something currently in Canadian market.
List is pretty short, and average Msrp around 3k.
R18 looks promising, at least looked better than Nea/Bcl back to the old days.
Hope it turn out to be good ones.

[AskMeAboutMyBandcamp]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I am still sceptical at this point on this Mary Shelley rifle. I think it's awesome that there will be another Non-Restricted black rifle don't get me wrong we need more in the wild, but with that asking price this thing is going to have to compare to other high end manufactured proven rifles. I am not at the take my money stage at this point.

I get this mentality, but at the same time, I think it’s important to allow ourselves something to get excited about. We’ve had a lot of blows to the community, let’s embrace something pretty okay happening for once

[Bartok5]

Maybe I am in the minority, but I am still sceptical at this point on this Mary Shelley rifle. I think it's awesome that there will be another Non-Restricted black rifle don't get me wrong we need more in the wild, but with that asking price this thing is going to have to compare to other high end manufactured proven rifles. I am not at the take my money stage at this point.

If you want new variety in your residual "Modern Sporting Rifle" stable, you are going to have to simply accept the fact that MSRs require more machine time than far simpler conventional actions and they therefore command a premium. This is particularly true of firearms manufactured in the first-world, where wages must provide for a decent quality of life. Offshore manufacture with its attendant QC risks is the only way to curtail production costs, however this approach makes rapid prototyping and development "on the fly" with rolling design changes much more difficult.

You can have your new-production MSRs manufactured cheaply offshore but they will be slow to appear and with questionable QC. Or you can pay 1st World design and production costs and receive rapid prototyping and rolling design amendments to produce a firearm with North American ISO QC. What you will NOT get in today's firearms development and marketing environment is an inexpensive firearm at 3rd World price points built on Western Tooling by a North American work-force with ISO-rated QC standards. It simply will not happen. The "new normal" retail price for something approximating the quality and performance of a mid-range AR15 is $2500 and up. And that price-point is only achievable using cost-reduction techniques which cut people and layers out of the conventional Manufacturer-Distributor-Dealer chain. As is the case with SAI selling exclusively through the Edge Group of Businesses (namely The Shooting Edge and Target Sports).

All of the above to say that thanks entirely to Government 's elimination of the ubiquitous AR15, those who still wish to own a semi-auto rifle with the many advantages and conveniences of the AR platform must now pay a premium for what was once commonplace and relatively inexpensive.

The math is pretty simple. For new, North American production, $1200-1500 gets you a WK-180 or WS MCR. $2600(ish) will net you an basic R18 Mk2 with fixed Buttstock. A little bit more can get you a new-manufacture Tavor X95 from Israel, $4000 can net you a B+T APC223, or $6000 = the B+T APC308. Aside from those current-production models, $8000 can get you a German-manufactured G36 when they occasionally appear new from parts kits. Those are pretty much the new-production choices that we have to work with thanks to the Liberals making everything more expensive and difficult to acquire. Which is why the resale market for used NR MSRs such as the FAMAE SG540 and Bushmaster ACR are also so strong (read, Expensive).

[apexanimal]

Not interested in a review of the MSRP, more interested in seeing how it shoots lol.

[Bartok5]

Not interested in a review of the MSRP, more interested in seeing how it shoots lol.

Me too, believe me. However, when you rely upon a specifically-modified vehicle to get anywhere including the range, and that vehicle is stuck in a paint repair shop that cannot meet anything near its promised completion date (5 days past due and still counting), my abiity to go shooting suffers! I am now supposed to retrieve my vehicle at the close of business today, and will attend the range following my observance of Remembrance Day in order to get the initial R18 Shooting Impressions and Accuracy Results published ASAP. In the interim, send your hateful thoughts towards "Carstars", St Albert, AB. They are the ones who keep lying about the completion date for my truck repair....

[Rarbar99]

If you want new variety in your residual "Modern Sporting Rifle" stable, you are going to have to simply accept the fact that MSRs require more machine time than far simpler conventional actions and they therefore command a premium. This is particularly true of firearms manufactured in the first-world, where wages must provide for a decent quality of life. Offshore manufacture with its attendant QC risks is the only way to curtail production costs, however this approach makes rapid prototyping and development "on the fly" with rolling design changes much more difficult.

You can have your new-production MSRs manufactured cheaply offshore but they will be slow to appear and with questionable QC. Or you can pay 1st World design and production costs and receive rapid prototyping and rolling design amendments to produce a firearm with North American ISO QC. What you will NOT get in today's firearms development and marketing environment is an inexpensive firearm at 3rd World price points built on Western Tooling by a North American work-force with ISO-rated QC standards. It simply will not happen. The "new normal" retail price for something approximating the quality and performance of a mid-range AR15 is $2500 and up. And that price-point is only achievable using cost-reduction techniques which cut people and layers out of the conventional Manufacturer-Distributor-Dealer chain. As is the case with SAI selling exclusively through the Edge Group of Businesses (namely The Shooting Edge and Target Sports).

All of the above to say that thanks entirely to Government 's elimination of the ubiquitous AR15, those who stil wish to own semi-auto rifle with the many advantages of the AR platform must now pay a premium for what was once commonplace and relatively inexpensive.

The math is pretty simple. For new, North American production, $1200-1500 gets you a WK-180 or WS MCR. $2600(ish) will net you an basic R18 Mk2 with fixed Buttstock. A little bit more can get you a new-manufacture Tavorr X95 from Israel, or $4000 can net you a B+T APC223, or $6000 = the B+T APC308. Aside from those current-production models, $8000 can get you a German-manufactured G36 when they occasionally appear new from parts kits. Those are pretty much the new-production choices today that we have to work with thanks to the Liberals making everything more expensive and difficult to acquire. Which is why the resale market for used NR MSRs such as the FAMAE SG540 an Bushmaster ACR are so strong.

I wouldn't say "North America" -- it's more of a Canada problem. You can still buy quality AR's for well below $1000 down in the US. Over here It's more of a demand cost than production, even at $2600 they will still sell out within the first day.

[Shorerider]

I wouldn't say "North America" -- it's more of a Canada problem. You can still buy quality AR's for well below $1000 down in the US. Over here It's more of a demand cost than production, even at $2600 they will still sell out within the first day.

I think everybody needs to remember that quality AR’s for around $1000 are also being manufactured with forged uppers and lowers which greatly reduce the costs. If we’re going to compare this to something equal you need to be looking at a billet AR and what those go for. And I’m not even counting in the custom work that has to be done to these to blend several different firearms into one. Want a cheap 180 buy a WK or MCR. Want a cheap AR move to the states. Want something quality that you can shoot in the bush and isn’t recorded with the horsemen it’s gonna cost. The 180 platform has its downsides and I think what SAI has tried to do with these is remove some of those downsides and blend in better pieces of other designs that we use to enjoy. Think about how much we paid for ATRS receivers and what a complete rifle was going for. There’s your actual comparison, not what does a S&W AR sell for down south.

[Taurkon]

Think about how much we paid for ATRS receivers and what a complete rifle was going for. There’s your actual comparison, not what does a S&W AR sell for down south.

This is my thought exactly. Although lighter by almost 2 lbs, I also paid about $1K more for my fully built ATRS MS. I'm not sure I'll pick up a Gen 1 R18 Mk2 but I will be owning one, that I am quite certain of.

[Bartok5]

Alll set up for Accuracy Testing later today.... Giddy-Up!!