CORE 15 Rifle Review

S

slydwys

Member
EE Expired
Location
Lethbridge, Alberta
So, I got my new rifle today :evil:. Couldn't sleep last night from the excitement, which is normal for me when I purchase a new firearm usually. This is my first AR15 rifle, and I've spent the last several months looking at different brands and styles etc. In particular, I narrowed it down to 3 different rifles. The M&P15, NEA, and CORE15.

The M&P15 was a nice rifle, I ordered one in at Wholesale Sports, but wasn't a fan of the lack of a flash hider/brake, and when I opened it, there were metal shavings lining the inside, probably from the machining process. Also, only a 2 year waranty and was manufactured by STAG ARMS for S&W, not necessarly a bad thing, but I wanted something with a lifetime waranty, so S&W is out!

The NEA rifle. I had the oportunity to handle the NEA rifle that "The Edge" had for their range rifle. Keep in mind, this was a pre production model and had it's issues, but all things aside, was a realy nice rifle. Nicer than I expected, actually. Was not a fan of the trigger pull, and right now, I'm a fan of the ability to remove the trigger guard and swap it out with whatever I'm in the mood for at that particular time. I also, didn't really want something with a railed forend. The forend on the NEA rifle was loose, but felt fairly slim with no sharp edges to snag anything on. Keep in mind, this was a pre production model and I believe that problem was addressed. I also didn't like how the forend was only clamped on by 4 tiny hex screws. Probably why the forend came loose. I'm also not that attracted to the finish that they use on their products, looks a little greyish, and wasn't for me, but that's just my opinion. Otherwise, it's actually a really nice piece of hardware, especially for the price.

Now for the CORE15 M4. This thing, I fell in love with the moment I was handed the rifle on a visit to Wanstalls while I was out visiting my bro in POCO. This thing is sweet! From the chevrons on the front of the mag well, to the 7075 aluminum that they make it out of, it's very attractive. I had initially thought that I would just get the base gas model, but when I had initially saw this thing, I was a fan of the Magpul furniture, so I upgraded. Money well spent in my opinion. I'd be perfectly content with just hanging it on the wall as a display, if I didn't like shooting as much as I do.
The trigger does feel a tad heavy, but has no creep and feels very solid and crisp. I'll probably keep it at least for the time being, as I do like it.
I weighed this rifle with an empty 5/30 round magpul mag and just the flip up rear sight and it tipped the scale at only 6.6 pounds. I haven't really decided on a particular sight yet, but for the time being, have a small red/green dot 1X20 sight that I'll throw on just to have some fun with. Even with the dot sight, it still only weighs 6.8 lbs, though I need something a little taller as for mounting it on the rail.
The Magpul furniture speaks for itself. I'm a fan of the quality and looks of this stuff and in tan, it really makes the rifle pop.
Fit and finish on this rifle is anything but cheap. There are no machining marks, and it looks very clean. It does have indentations for the lettering for the name on the sides, which I don't mind at all, but realize others may like the debaged look. There are chevrons machined in the front of the magwell, which I had forgotten about and was a nice surprise. The trigger guard is sloted for that nice dressed up aftermarket look, and I like it. It's also enlarged slightly for those that wear gloves.

I could go on about all the build details, but I would just be repeating what is already posted on the CORE15 website. The gas model, however, does come with a 1:7 twist barrel, which should help to stabelize those heavier bullets.

I have about 9 different types and weights of cartriges that I will shoot through the rifle tomorrow at the range for group testing. I will post the particulars at that time and will be shooting 5 shot groups and 3-4 groups of each cartrige.

If you guys have any questions, or any suggestions as to what I should focus on, or try for ammo, etc, let me know and I'll do my best to accomidate. As a guy that's had the chance to see and compare the CORE15 rifle to that of NEA, I feel privileged to share my experience with those that are also struggling with making the decision as to "what I should get as a first rifle" and to share pics and details about the rifle.

Thanks again to Gary at Wanstalls for the great service, and helping me out in my purchase and decision to go with CORE15. I'm very happy thus far and can't wait to get to the range.

I apologize as I can not post attachments and pics, but you can find pics here http://s845.photobucket.com/albums/ab14/slydwys/
 
Heres a few

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The rifle got good reviews in GWLE, I run the same AA piston system, which performed up to spec. Enjoy. :)
 
slydwys said:
JAYPH, thanks for posting those for me. It says may not post attachments under my posting rules for some reason.
Click to expand...

You don't add an attachment. You just move your cursor over the picture in the photobucket page and get the IMG code. Copy that link and just copy it in your post.
 
Hey, i'm kind of new when it comes to AR's and i was wondering what the difference is between barrel twists? I'm contemplating getting the same one you did but i noticed some AR's from different companies have different barrel twists.
 
just checking out your pictures that u linked at the top, I dunno if its the way your picture turned out but your gas tube inside your upper is bent that's not good.
 
I noticed that. Easy fix. I'll probably fix it before I go to the range, if the city hasn't shut it down yet. Just found out our mayors a douche and wants it shut down for public safety. I'll find out in the morning.
Twist rates are 1 twist in every X amount of inches. Eg. 1:7. A faster twist rate can usually stabilize heavier bullets, but each gun is different.
 
:eek:No, don't touch your tube, just shoot. in order to get from the gas block through to your forend it will take a jog upward. this is how the system works and is normal.
 
So, the range got shut down late last night. Apparantly there was another stray bullet that left the range just before christmas, and the city is conserned with public safety, so it may not be opened again. So, I spent the day trying to find another range close by and found one about 45mins away. Got my range membership and will head out tomorrow for a range report.

I added a couple things to the rifle. First was a Spikes Tactical ejector port cover. These are prety cool in my opinion, and very easy to install. Plus, it says "Zombie Killer" on it. Second was a Night Force 2.5-10X24 Scope that I borrowed for testing purposes. I have a no-name brand red dot that I'll install later for plinking and 3-gun matches. This scope and riser I installed bumped overall weight of the rifle up to 8.4 lbs. Still managable, but a little heavy for my liking.

I've got 9 different brands and bullet weights of ammo to try out. future plans will include trying out even more cartridge options, so if you don't see anything you like, let me know and I'll try to get it so I can try it out as funds and supply allow. After all, that just means I get to shoot more.

AMMO: Heres a list of what I got.
Winchester 55gr. FMJ $10.99/box of 20
American Eagle 55gr. FMJ boat tail $12.99/box of 20
Remington 45gr. JHP $15.99/box of 20
Federal 55gr. Soft Point $19.99/box of 20
Hornady 55gr. Zombie Max $20.99/box of 20
Federal Fusion 62gr. $21.99/box of 20
Remingron Express rifle 55gr. psp $22.99/box of 20
Winchester 64gr power point $28.99/box of 20
Federal Premium Gold 69gr Siera Match King BTHP $30.99/box of 20

I sorted these in order of price and will continue to test and post in the same order. All ammo was purchased at Wholesale Sports, as that's my closest ammo supplyer. Most of what I have is 55gr, as it's more common for high volume bulk buyers/shooters, but I also want to see what some of the heavier rounds do in terms of accuracy. There will be more to come. Stay tuned.

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I want to upgrade the buttstock, I am not sure the buffer tube is milspec or comercial?

Did your castle nut come loose?
 
I ordered the CORE15 M4 TAC Rifle (Piston). I cannot wait to receive it. Buying all the little things it needs, optics, fore grip, ammo, mags, almost as fun as buying the rifle. Congratz on a beautiful rifle.
 
There are railed attachments for the MOE front ends, as well as a specific vert grip that mounts to the MOE for ends. Just on my way to the range. I'll let you guys know how it goes a little later.
 
Ok, so I got out to the range yesterday and was able to shoot the rifle. I shot a few rounds through while sighting in and then, to my surprise, it jammed. I cleared the jam and tried a different mag. It jammed as well. I tried a couple different mags, mostly magpul P-mags and a steel mag of unknown brand, and they all jammed. In all, I shot about 80-90 rounds with about 15 or so of those being jamms. I kept shooting, thinking that things might just be a little stiff and need to "seat in" so to speak, but it didn't look good, so I took the bolt out, pulled it apart and set it back in the reciever to see if there was any sort of binding. Some of you mentioned that the gas tube going into the reciever was a bit crooked left to right, and as a result it was causing some binding with the bolt. This may or may not have everything to do with my failure to feeds.

So, I called Gary at Wanstalls. I explained to him the problem and that I believed there was a simple solution. In all, it was a good conversation and my experience with Wanstalls remains to be a good one. I've been very happy with the service and how fast things have been dealt with. This does have a happy result as well.

After I called Gary, about an hour or so later I get a call from a guy from CORE15. Immagine my amazement and surprise when he tells me his name. It's Izzy! Izzy Anzaldua. The president of sales and business development for CORE15. For those that don't know, Izzy spent 22 years with Bushmaster prior to him working at CORE15. What a cool guy. I explained my problem I was having to him thinking that maybe there is something I could do to fix the problem. He was quick to tell me that he would rather just replace the rifle. Again, I was surprised. Most of the time when I deal with some sort of a waranty claim with a manufacturer, they want to expend all possibilities before they do a product replacement. All too many of us have been in this same situation. I'd have to say though, the guys at CORE15 and Wanstalls have gone above and beyond just your average customer relations experience.

Then I get another call from Wanstalls. These rifles are so popular, they don't have another one in stock to replace mine with, but they do have a piston upper they are willing to send me in the meantime. Im told to try it out and see what I think. In the meantime, I've sent my upper back to Wanstalls. They will attempt a repair on the upper and try it out. If everything looks good, they will send that one back to me so that I may do a side by side comparison of the gas upper and the piston upper.

All in all, I think this is the best route, as it would be a month and a half wait for a new rifle, when I'm sure it's just a minor problem with the upper. For those that are haters out there, all I can say is that this is the first problem Wanstalls has heard of with the CORE15 products. As far as I know, there hasn't been any other issues with the rifles at all, and that every manufacturer has their problems. As much that can be done to ensure a 0% failure rate, there may be the odd one that slips through. It happens, and I'm satisfied with the course of action that's been taken.

I'm looking forward to recieving the piston upper and trying that out and will now include in my review both the piston and gas upper assemblies on a side by side review. If anyone has any questions or concerns, let me know, and I'd be happy to address those.

Thanks guys, and stay tuned for more to come.
 
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