Brigade Mfg. Makasi MK-15 Construction and Accuracy Review

The handguard is mostly cosmetic for this sort of gun no one is doing bridging and installing thermal / NVG clip on. People can see it and make a decision. What they need to sort out as a top priority, is figuring out why these things need break ins and potentially adjusts the recoil spring rate. There is something in the system design that is alright on paper but manufacturing variance stacking up on this element generates inconsistency. This issue creates returns and warranty requests - this kills margin and gets amplified in social media.

It is like buying a car - people can see bad seams and imprefection in body panels, but what drive warranty cost are recalls and cars not running
 
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Sma the Average said:
Honestly, if Brigade Mfg. delays the shipments to correct the deficiencies with the Makasi's construction and actually test fire the rifles from the factory, Canadians would probably appreciate it much more than receiving a low quality product a few weeks earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if the mass cancellation of Canadian preorders made its way up to the manufacturer who may actually listen to the consumer once it hurts their sales.

In their latest Instagram post addressing the QC issues, it appears they made changes to the handguard to align with the upper receiver. We'll have to see if the rest of the dimensions are in-spec as developing a new aluminum extrustion die with corrected dimensions can be prohibitively expensive to manufacture quickly. It also seems the handguard crossbolts continue to be threaded directly into the handguard which will wear down over time.
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I will wait until Bridage could deliver a redesigned version to Canada instead of trusting their social media post. Unless my kid is spawned first, I would buy Makasi again
 
Sma the Average said:
Honestly, if Brigade Mfg. delays the shipments to correct the deficiencies with the Makasi's construction and actually test fire the rifles from the factory, Canadians would probably appreciate it much more than receiving a low quality product a few weeks earlier. I wouldn't be surprised if the mass cancellation of Canadian preorders made its way up to the manufacturer who may actually listen to the consumer once it hurts their sales.

In their latest Instagram post addressing the QC issues, it appears they made changes to the handguard to align with the upper receiver. We'll have to see if the rest of the dimensions are in-spec as developing a new aluminum extrustion die with corrected dimensions can be prohibitively expensive to manufacture quickly. It also seems the handguard crossbolts continue to be threaded directly into the handguard which will wear down over time.
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That would be my guess. I just got a response from Marstar saying they are still in the dark, their last update being from the beginning of August saying it will be here this month with radio silence from there. Wouldn't mind a delay personally if it fixed the overall reliability and fit and finish of the shipped rifle.
 
greentips said:
The handguard is mostly cosmetic for this sort of gun no one is doing bridging and installing thermal / NVG clip on. People can see it and make a decision. What they need to sort out as a top priority, is figuring out why these things need break ins and potentially adjusts the recoil spring rate. There is something in the system design that is alright on paper but manufacturing variance stacking up on this element generates inconsistency. This issue creates returns and warranty requests - this kills margin and gets amplified in social media.

It is like buying a car - people can see bad seams and imprefection in body panels, but what drive warranty cost are recalls and cars not running
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Downplaying this is foolish and insulting to anyone considering purchasing this firearm.

The handguard issue among all the other issues speaks volumes as to the carelessness of the entire operation from start to finish.

There should not be excessive variances in manufacturing and leaves one wondering how are they running their machinery let alone maintaining it.

Tooling deflection from over extended tooling or simply overly aggressive cutting which are suspected given what we have seen from multiple examples of these rifles, inadequate coolant during this process will only amplify these issues.

The CNC machines cutting tooling, spindle bearings, ball screws or other parts may be worn out causing backlash/chatter/ect.

Without physically going through the factory and examining all of their equipment we can only draw logical conclusions based off of what has been shipped to customers.

The fact that Brigade has been producing these for over 3 years without fixing these problems absolutely destroys any expectation of them doing better.

Combine all of the production issues with Gus's arrogance and willingness to lie on camera about his products capabilities, how big of a red flag do you need waved in front of your face?

I can only wonder who is going to be the dedicated Canadian warranty center for this crap.
 
Grove said:
Downplaying this is foolish and insulting to anyone considering purchasing this firearm.

The handguard issue among all the other issues speaks volumes as to the carelessness of the entire operation from start to finish.

There should not be excessive variances in manufacturing and leaves one wondering how are they running their machinery let alone maintaining it.

Tooling deflection from over extended tooling or simply overly aggressive cutting which are suspected given what we have seen from multiple examples of these rifles, inadequate coolant during this process will only amplify these issues.

The CNC machines cutting tooling, spindle bearings, ball screws or other parts may be worn out causing backlash/chatter/ect.

Without physically going through the factory and examining all of their equipment we can only draw logical conclusions based off of what has been shipped to customers.

The fact that Brigade has been producing these for over 3 years without fixing these problems absolutely destroys any expectation of them doing better.

Combine all of the production issues with Gus's arrogance and willingness to lie on camera about his products capabilities, how big of a red flag do you need waved in front of your face?

I can only wonder who is going to be the dedicated Canadian warranty center for this crap.
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they said that they have addressed the CQ issues. people have been buying the restricted version that have been in the us. so, those QC issues will still be out there in shops. the ones we are getting are coming straight from the factory. QC issues already solved. with more accurate thicker 18.6" barrel.
 
Thegoose said:
they said that they have addressed the CQ issues. people have been buying the restricted version that have been in the us. so, those QC issues will still be out there in shops. the ones we are getting are coming straight from the factory. QC issues already solved. with more accurate thicker 18.6" barrel.
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Brigade Mfg. posted a Youtube video going over the Makasi recently with a 18.6" barrel. Unfortunately, there have been no changes to the rifle at that time shown by the handguard being misaligned, no staking on the gas key screws, and the optics mount is not fully screwed down which may indicate the out of tolerance Picatinny rail on the upper receiver. Maybe they have made changes, but the verifiable information we have today is not consistent with their claims. No idea how you come to the conclusion that the barrel is more accurate. That medium contour, straight profile barrel is not going to be fun to maneuever with.

 
Not every firearm manufacturer stakes their gas keys, so acting like the lack of staking automatically means there’s a defect is simply wrong. Staking the screws is not some complicated gunsmithing procedure—it’s a relatively straightforward manufacturing step, and if the manufacturer chooses not to do it, that’s a design/manufacturing decision, not necessarily evidence of a defective firearm.


As for the misaligned handguard, if I had to guess, I’d say the marks on the barrel nut suggest that it may have been improperly indexed or installed. Hopefully they identify and correct that before ours are shipped, because that’s a legitimate assembly issue worth addressing.


And what exactly are you basing the claim about the optic mount being loose on? He didn’t even shoot the rifle. For all we know, he loosely assembled the mount specifically for the video and never torqued it to specification. Until the rifle is actually fired and the mount is shown to have shifted, calling it a problem is pure speculation.


The barrel argument also needs some nuance. A thicker barrel is generally more rigid and less susceptible to flexing and harmonic movement, which can contribute to better consistency and accuracy. i agree that Barrel length, does not inherently make a firearm more accurate. A longer barrel can provide additional velocity and, depending on the cartridge and twist rate, adequate stabilization, but simply adding length does not automatically improve accuracy.


If we're going to criticize the Canadian rifle, let's stick to demonstrated problems rather than turning assumptions and things we haven't actually tested into defects. There are legitimate things to scrutinize here without inventing problems that haven't been demonstrated.
 
Thegoose said:
they said that they have addressed the CQ issues. people have been buying the restricted version that have been in the us. so, those QC issues will still be out there in shops. the ones we are getting are coming straight from the factory. QC issues already solved. with more accurate thicker 18.6" barrel.
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We have proof that the firearm has defects but we do not have any proof these defects have been resolved.

A Instagram post saying "QC issues? No more. Stay tuned for posts relating to design improvements for all Makasi orders. Order your’s today!" proves nothing.

Thegoose said:
If we're going to criticize the Canadian rifle, let's stick to demonstrated problems rather than turning assumptions and things we haven't actually tested into defects. There are legitimate things to scrutinize here without inventing problems that haven't been demonstrated.
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Like you said go by what has been demonstrated and the alleged improvements have not been demonstrated.
 
Thegoose said:
Not every firearm manufacturer stakes their gas keys, so acting like the lack of staking automatically means there’s a defect is simply wrong. Staking the screws is not some complicated gunsmithing procedure—it’s a relatively straightforward manufacturing step, and if the manufacturer chooses not to do it, that’s a design/manufacturing decision, not necessarily evidence of a defective firearm.
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Yes, not every manufacturer meets basic Mil Spec. In this short stroke gas piston design, the piston strikes the "gas key" with a significantly higher energy impulse than a conventional internal piston AR15. Wouldn't you think the repeated impulses gradually loosen the gas key screws? If it weren't a big deal, then why did Brigade Mfg. bother to stake gas keys for rifles delivered to Greentips here on CGN, Military Arms Channel on Youtube, Joel A on Youtube, Squeakygun on FAL Files, etc. Out of curiosity, I just tried unscrewing my gas key screws and they came out of the BCG with literally zero resistance. There is no thread locking compound on the screws. I know I can't prove this in any way, but this is my experience.

You know how you can get a more rigid barrel that is less susceptible to flex or harmonics? A shorter barrel. In today's day and age, accuracy is much more heavily dependent on the barrel manufacturer, not the contour or length. As you claim that the barrel will be more accurate, where is that demonstrated?
 
The gas key in AR15 needs to seal gas flow so the there were all kind of things going to the interface - torque and staking to make sure gas won't leak.

Push rod guns with off set push rod / recoil spring like HK416 and 516 have to have beefy push rod striking "anvil" because the recoil spring is off the centre from the push rod like AR, and are machined directly as part of the BGC. LWRC and all those early people sheared "coverted" gas keys in the early days.

SIG MCX and now Makasi have the push rod and the recoil spring in line ( MCX dual spring on the same plane). SIG MCX extended "anvil" assemble is not mechanically restrained to the BGC by pins or screws, it is just a simple fitting .

Simple mechanics here there is no sudden spike in torque on the "anvil" like LWRC and HK416 - that introduces BGC tilt. So staking may not be necessary and some low temp locktite may give comfort. The tongue and groove are enough to hold and resist shearing. But this is about borrowing existing AR manufacturing infrastructure, hence there are many appendages like reused "gas key" programming.

this is one of those things that may not be necessary or unimportant, but if you put something there ( like the clip on the gas plug) and it is present, it will be scrutinized. Making products and actually working in general, don't do things that raise questions - if adding a bit extra to prevent questions, do it up front and save unwanted lines of inquiry later.
 
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greentips said:
Simple mechanics here there is no sudden spike in torque on the "anvil" like LWRC and HK416 - that introduces BGC tilt. So staking may not be necessary and some low temp locktite may give comfort. The tongue and groove are enough to hold and resist shearing.
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The "gas key" on the Makasi definitely doesn't experience the torque found in AR15 short stroke piston conversions, however the screws will still experience the impulse of energy from the piston striking the "gas key" through vibrations (mechanical wave propogation). There was no other means of securement for the screws other than proper torque.

Unfortunately, I no longer need to speculate over what might happen. My rifle's gas key screws were not staked and did loosen. There was no thread locking compound used just like the gas block screws which fell out of my rifle while shooting.

I don't intend on dragging Brigade Mfg. through the mud, but I will continue to share any issues found with my rifle. Canadians deserve to be informed about the quality and reliability of their $2400 investment - we deserve better than a non-functioning paperweight in this political and economic climate. If the manufacturer makes improvements to their design and internal QC processes, we will commend their efforts once it has been demonstrated.
 
There will surely be a deluge of posts showing every facet of the rifle as soon as the Non-restricted guns start to show up. I'm very interested to see if the receiver rail height issue has been addressed, but am less concerned about staking; I can do that myself. The barrel nut misalignment is equally concerning, but if it's something I can shim, similarly, I'm not too worried about it.

I agree with the sentiment that these are things that one shouldn't need to address on a new $2400 gun, and may be outside of the ability of the average customer, so I hope for everyone's sake that the guns are better than expected.

At the end of the day, my ARs sit in the safe, any other cope gun or otherwise that was purchased (ATRS MS, Raven, B&T APC) has since moved on, and I have a small pile of parts with nothing else to put them on, making the Makasi a better candidate than the Carmel. If it's generally reliable, I'm satisfied that it will do its job, which is to deplete my stockpile of 5.56 and look cool while doing it.

I'm waiting for an instagram post from Uxbridge announcing their arrival any day now...

Bradley
 
PaveHammer said:
Uxbridge has indicated "on or after" 15 Aug for their delivery of non-restricted rifles.

Bradley
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I don't know if any of the sponsor vendors have had them in. I put in a deposit with my vendor, Canfirearm, in April and she told yesterday me they are not expecting their shipment (small shipment but coming in all the same) until mid to late September. I haven't heard of the NR versions showing up at any other gun store in the area yet...
 
CanMike said:
That would be unfortunate if delayed until
Mid / late September. Maybe that’s a second batch.
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Not necessarily unfortunate if it means that the delay has been used to address the primary QC shortcomings identified to date. That is a trade-off I would happily make to know that the Handguard alignment is sorted along with the deeper Picatinny Rail depth and Thread-Locker/staking of screws. At this point, what's another month? No big deal.....
 
VvVOsirisVvV said:
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20 rounds actually visibly fired, no reloads on camera and no image of the target tells me there is a lot being left out of the video on purpose.

He's blaming front end heaviness on the "extra weight on the barrel with the gas system" and then "If its your only option than it's great".

If he can't even identify that the rifle is front heavy because of the barrel length and it's profile and not from the gas block/gas tube ............

Cope video from a clueless person to put it simply.
 
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