Brigade Mfg. Makasi MK-15 Construction and Accuracy Review
- Thread starter Sma the Average
- Start date
LOL, you are quite welcome to my Maple Ridge straight-pull "Renegade" for what I paid. Sticky chamber locks up the action after a 20-round warm-up, requiring a hammer to open the action and eject the empty casing. Apparently even manual actions can be malfunctioning pieces of excrement as well!
Crapping on the Makasi is easy sport these days, however the malfunctioning Makasi rifle to which you refer was a single 16" Restricted model without any of the recent QC upgrades that turned out to be a "Lemon". It happens, but given the otherwise consistent reviews and reports of excellent reliability following break-in, one faulty rifle is hardly a reason to condemn the entire Makasi platform.
I will take my chances with a 15" Makasi when they hit the Canadian market. YMMV.....
Crapping on the Makasi is easy sport these days, however the malfunctioning Makasi rifle to which you refer was a single 16" Restricted model without any of the recent QC upgrades that turned out to be a "Lemon". It happens, but given the otherwise consistent reviews and reports of excellent reliability following break-in, one faulty rifle is hardly a reason to condemn the entire Makasi platform.
I will take my chances with a 15" Makasi when they hit the Canadian market. YMMV.....
Don't want to shift the topic here too far but curious what cartridge this was? My two 223 Renegades are just fine but the one I tried to turn into a 6ARC was a nightmare like you describe.
Numerous brands of 5.56mm and .223 cal, with Nickel-plated 62gr Law Enforcement ammo being the worst for sticking.
My 308 maverick isn’t to $hit hot either
I got the sticky extraction issue sorted by using weaker ammo but the feeding issue is still present
I have a 300 blackout renegade and it’s been ok but does have sticky extraction sometimes too
If these were semi auto guns they prob wouldn’t even run lol
These rifles aren’t exactly cheap either…
I’m confident the Makasi will be a better rifle then these straight pulls
I got the sticky extraction issue sorted by using weaker ammo but the feeding issue is still present
I have a 300 blackout renegade and it’s been ok but does have sticky extraction sometimes too
If these were semi auto guns they prob wouldn’t even run lol
These rifles aren’t exactly cheap either…
I’m confident the Makasi will be a better rifle then these straight pulls
Supposedly there’s an updated version of this rifle coming (Removed shop name, don’t want to misrepresent them or their words in case it changes, but is easy to find).
“###XX will be receiving the updated MAKASI MK-15 configuration featuring several improvements to the platform this has added to a partial delay but ultimately a better final product. The updated version includes, upgraded handguard attachment points for improved strength and stability, upgraded steel interface inside the receiver to enhance durability, lengthened handguard for improved purchase, handling, and control, updated rails manufactured to specification for improved accessory compatibility. These updates are incorporated into the upcoming Canadian shipment.”
“###XX will be receiving the updated MAKASI MK-15 configuration featuring several improvements to the platform this has added to a partial delay but ultimately a better final product. The updated version includes, upgraded handguard attachment points for improved strength and stability, upgraded steel interface inside the receiver to enhance durability, lengthened handguard for improved purchase, handling, and control, updated rails manufactured to specification for improved accessory compatibility. These updates are incorporated into the upcoming Canadian shipment.”
Same. Best Canadian made gun I own.
CRAFM just posted a video with their NR Makasi Mk-15. Notably, at about the 3:50 mark, the rifle fails to fire with a round in a chamber after chambering with a full 10/10 LAR-15 Duramag. The mag is fully inserted on a closed bolt, the bolt is charged, then *click*, no bang. The bolt is fully in battery and the hammer falls just fine so this is not a magazine issue. This occurred on two different LAR-15 magazines. If it were the case that the bolt is out of battery, the rifle is missing a forward assist to recitify the problem.
The shooter also mentions that the mags must be inserted perfectly and none of the mags are shown to drop free. Seems like Brigade Mfg. didn't fix their tight magwell dimensions. Also a failure to feed with a Crusader Arms Crypto mag, but that's most likely due to the magazine being the typical Crusader Arms garbage.
The shooter also mentions that the mags must be inserted perfectly and none of the mags are shown to drop free. Seems like Brigade Mfg. didn't fix their tight magwell dimensions. Also a failure to feed with a Crusader Arms Crypto mag, but that's most likely due to the magazine being the typical Crusader Arms garbage.
Bolt was definitely out of battery, could see the BCG shift forward when the trigger was pulled. Might be the full mags putting too much tension up on the BCG causing it to bind (common enough issue). Handguard is still not flush with the upper tho :/ Everything else looks pretty good so far
Painkillers
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On the second Duramag, the bolt is locked back and mag fully seated, still a click out of battery on a chambered round. Odd. The ejection pattern is also all over the place.
Watch the first 20sec. The guy shooting the fde gun actually lets the mag fall. The main character always grabs the mag and releases. I don't think you can conclude from this video that the magwell is tight.
F2Fs, mags for sure. The bolt got stuck from the mag spring being loaded too hard. Load'em to 9 and send it like he did!
Issue with 10/10 mags is clearly about bolt not being fully closed, as Datawraith mentioned you can see in the vid carrier moves forward on the click. Glad that gun's OOB safety works.
Can the handle be use to push the carrier, or is it disconnected already in this position?
I would say ejection pattern is inconsistent because there's no brass deflector.
HG misalisgment is not fixed, but a bit better (or is it just QC variety) than on the first Restricted imported...
Overall I'm ready and looking forward to be a guinea pig and QC tester for Brigade.
Can the handle be use to push the carrier, or is it disconnected already in this position?
I would say ejection pattern is inconsistent because there's no brass deflector.
HG misalisgment is not fixed, but a bit better (or is it just QC variety) than on the first Restricted imported...
Overall I'm ready and looking forward to be a guinea pig and QC tester for Brigade.
It was. If you look, the actual stroke is very very short. The bolt is locked back, it's probably just preference. 4:05 you can see the bolt is locked back.
It's not expected that the BCG go into battery after inserting a full mag with one in the chamber. After firing the round in the chamber, the excessive friction from (1) the magazine spring pressing the top round into the BCG and (2) the top round pressing into the magazine feedlips can slow the BCG down enough to fail to feed.
It's expected that the BCG go into battery when charging the rifle with a full mag. Item (1) above is not applicable and item (2) is negligible for factory magazines. Duramag is generally well-regarded and the 10/10 used in the video is not pinned or crimped which may exacerbate both items so the problem isn't necessarily isolated to the mag.
What would fix this problem is if the BCG had more mass (which the AR15 acheives with buffer weights) so that there is enough inertia to strip the first round in the mag. Instead, Brigade Mfg. oversprings the rifle with the dual nested recoil springs which isn't a reliable solution as we see.
The charging handle is not connected to the BCG so there is no provision to force the BCG into battery other than directly thumbing the BCG forward.
It's a Cross Industries mag which is typically undersized compared to STANAG magazines, not to mention they jam and deform with longer COAL rounds. At 3:40, the shooter mentions the mags must be inserted nearly perfectly which, at least to me, indicates a tight magwell.
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Edited for clarity and brevity.
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Not quite following.
In order to get the to the condition of 9 in the mag and 1 in the chamber and face the issue in the video (BCG is not fully closed) we have to start with 10/10 mag, and bolt behind the magazine (either by BHO or manually pulled back for charging), right? Then it's springs job to chamber the round.
For the condition of 10 in the 10/10 mag and 1 in the chamber - excessive friction is possible on BCG return after round is fired with poorly designed magazine or improper limitation. Could lead to short-cycling, but it's rarely an issue giver the force of BCG traveling back.
There's a spring tension X that decreases linearly with each round removed and there's constant friction Y of lips and follower. In the properly designed / pinned magazine.
Sometimes we see improper design or pinning when the top round stacking hits "solid height limit resistance" (fully compressed spring or follower touching the floor). This is when Y is not a constant and spikes for the first round, causing failure to feed. I.e. not the BCG dragging on the 9th round, but springs overcoming X+Y of the the top, 10th round, - that is the issue.
I bet on the mag design being the issue, not the weak springs. But everything is possible, even two factors at the same time.
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