So? Surely you can wait a few weeks to get your order.....
Initial Review - Sterling Arms International (SAI) R9 Mk1, 9mm PCC
- Thread starter Bartok5
- Start date
So? Surely you can wait a few weeks to get your order.....
So, regarding the rather excessive stock 8lb 5oz Trigger Pull, by swapping out the Hammer and Trigger Springs I was able to get the R9's pull down to 5lbs 8 oz, or 5 1/2 lbs. The revised Trigger Pull weight is quite acceptable to me and much better for rapid, competition-style shooting. New owners may be able to order up a Wolf Reduced Pressure AR15 Trigger Spring Kit to achieve similar results.....
- Location
- Alberta, North America
Mines already ordered Mark lol another store
After my first outing I stripped the carbine down and gave it a good cleaning.
The firing pin and firing pin channel in the bolt had quite a bit of gunk and a bit of rust in it. No big deal with liberal use of Ballistol, a 5.56 bore brush a pipe cleaner and a bit of elbow grease, it all came out clean.
I put it all back together and did some polishing of the stock trigger and remedied the oversize hammer pin hole (.157") with a KNS anti-walk kit (thanks RDSC!).
I then spent a bit of time once all together admiring my work and did a bit of dryfire.
Being a lefty, I'm canting the rifle to the left and reaching under the gun to the charging handle (a reverse AK operation if you can imagine).
So I'm doing this a bunch of times and then my bolt locks up about an inch out of battery, whereby I can't charge it.
Turns out the firing pin retaining pin which is a straight pin relies solely on the friction of the firing pin spring to retain it in the bolt, was walking out under use.
Walking out of the bolt to the left of the receiver, it was binding up on the Firing Pin Safety Screw, preventing the bolt from being charged or brought back out of the receiver.
I though at first to replace it with a roll pin, but decided to slightly peen the firing pin retaining pin hole on the left side of the bolt.
I emailed Sterling on the issue, but others should be aware if this happens to them.
R9 Bolt with Firing Pin Retaining Pin by M J, on Flickr
R9 Bolt with walking out Retaining Pin2 by M J, on Flickr
R9 Upper Receiver Firing Pin Safety by M J, on Flickr
The firing pin and firing pin channel in the bolt had quite a bit of gunk and a bit of rust in it. No big deal with liberal use of Ballistol, a 5.56 bore brush a pipe cleaner and a bit of elbow grease, it all came out clean.
I put it all back together and did some polishing of the stock trigger and remedied the oversize hammer pin hole (.157") with a KNS anti-walk kit (thanks RDSC!).
I then spent a bit of time once all together admiring my work and did a bit of dryfire.
Being a lefty, I'm canting the rifle to the left and reaching under the gun to the charging handle (a reverse AK operation if you can imagine).
So I'm doing this a bunch of times and then my bolt locks up about an inch out of battery, whereby I can't charge it.
Turns out the firing pin retaining pin which is a straight pin relies solely on the friction of the firing pin spring to retain it in the bolt, was walking out under use.
Walking out of the bolt to the left of the receiver, it was binding up on the Firing Pin Safety Screw, preventing the bolt from being charged or brought back out of the receiver.
I though at first to replace it with a roll pin, but decided to slightly peen the firing pin retaining pin hole on the left side of the bolt.
I emailed Sterling on the issue, but others should be aware if this happens to them.
R9 Bolt with Firing Pin Retaining Pin by M J, on FlickrR9 Bolt with walking out Retaining Pin2 by M J, on FlickrR9 Upper Receiver Firing Pin Safety by M J, on Flickr
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Also a lefty. I find the under gun manipulation of the action to be very weird. I cant the gun 90 deg to the right and reach over the top to manipulate the action. I find this an easier movement to make.
I just went and played with the gun trying both my over the top method and your under the gun method. Interestingly, the muscular mechanics of both methods is pretty different. I find the under the gun movement to be strange and not consistent with how my arm wants to move. Also, you can't see the charge handle so it would be easy to miss it. You should give the over the gun method a try and see what you think.
Sometimes I do charge it the way you describe, and sometimes I use strong side charging with the left hand while the rifle is in the shoulder and my right hand is supporting the rifle with the right hand.
I suspect that me doing repeated bolt manipulation with the rifle canted to the left was contributing to the pin walking out, but the point is that the pin shouldn't be walking out at all.
Not sure if a firing pin spring with a higher rate of tension alone would be the fix, but something needs correction.
Edit to add: Fired 400 rounds of RUAG Sintox factory ammo and the peening of bolt did the trick.
Ran like a top.
I suspect that me doing repeated bolt manipulation with the rifle canted to the left was contributing to the pin walking out, but the point is that the pin shouldn't be walking out at all.
Not sure if a firing pin spring with a higher rate of tension alone would be the fix, but something needs correction.
Edit to add: Fired 400 rounds of RUAG Sintox factory ammo and the peening of bolt did the trick.
Ran like a top.
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AlphaCharlieDelta
Member
- Location
- The Wet Coast
Wondering if a little polishing and a competition spring kit would drop it down a bit more. Five and a half lb trigger is ok, but I'd love to see if it can get down under 4... Maybe 3.5lb or so. Quick splits are the sh!t!
Anything lighter that doesn't result in light strikes or otherwise compromise reliability would be a very good thing. I was just messing around with spare "take-off" springs that I had laying about and was able to shave 3 lbs off the stock trigger pull, so not bad. But I agree that better ought to be possible if you secure a competition spring kit and apply a little elbow-grease to polishing the contact surfaces. Go for it and report back with your results. Enquiring minds want to know.....
I just want to thank the OP for making this review/post. I'm new to PCC and that was my introduction to this new SAI offering. I ended up putting a deposit on one last week and I'm excited to give it a shot. I've never fired a PCC so I have nothing to compared it with which has advantages and inconveniences I guess. I'll keep looking at this post for info since you guys are so knowledgeable. Cheers
You are very welcome. That is EXACTLY why I put in the effort that I do with my occasional reviews. I am happy to hear that it was of use to you!
Interesting. I don't know how to account for the significant difference in Trigger pulls between your R9 and mine. So far as I know, both carbines were randomly selected from the initial production run.....
Thank you, I'm glad! I can imagine the effort and the time you put in. I really enjoyed the professional review you've done and as a result, I bought one. Most of you guys know your stuff but I don't so I rely on guys like you to help guide me. Thanks again!
Got mine today and took it out without cleaning but checked for barrel obstructions.
Only fired 20 rounds.
I had one FTE, but it was -22 outside, that was on my second last round. Sucks to end a session with a malf.
Broke it down when I got inside. Man this thing is easy to clean.
Maybe the oil got thick? Seemed to have a lot of it when I wiped down the bolt.
Only fired 20 rounds.
I had one FTE, but it was -22 outside, that was on my second last round. Sucks to end a session with a malf.
Broke it down when I got inside. Man this thing is easy to clean.
Maybe the oil got thick? Seemed to have a lot of it when I wiped down the bolt.
If the Hammer from the BCM Kit fits into the Firing Pin Channel on rear of the Bolt, AND if the Hammer doesn't bind against the bottom of the Bolt during recoil, then you ought to be fine. Those are awfully big "ifs" however, and I wouldn't want to buy a new Trigger/Hammer set without knowing for certain that it will fit and function correctly in the SAI R9. My experimentation with other Triggers/Hammer sets in the R9 has been failure after failure, so my hopes are not particularly high for the BCM Lower Parts Kit (LPK). The R9 does not seem to like AR15 LPKs without some degree of modification.
Sterling Arms International are still working on potential Trigger/Hammer solutions to bring the Trigger Pull weight down. JR and his staff are working the issue for those who find the standard trigger heavy, so there is hope yet for a factory solution. Patience is a virtue, I reckon....
questionnaire
Member
- Location
- Ottawa, Ontario
they could make it as thin as they want as long as it doesn't rupture. as long as the cut outs are present right where it thins out it gives plenty of space for that pressure to go. legally the barrel just has to be one solid piece and its perfectly fine.
Once you have an opportunity to handle and inspect the R9, I think you will agree that the non-rifled 6.5" of "Barrel" is optimized for light weight while maintaining durability. Basically, the walls of the "Barrel" forward of the actual rifled portion are about the same thickness of steel as a shotgun barrel. Add the "Flash-Hider" cut-outs and that final 6.5" of "Barrel" is quite lightweight. This is what lends the R9 is excellent balance at the Magazine Well. The point of balance would be much further forwards on the firearm if it wore a conventional, full-length rifled 18.5" Barrel.
In the event more NR rifle calibre firearms returned to common use, but the NR barrel length rule applied, would a ported .223 barrel beyond 14.5 inches or a ported 300 or 8.6 Blackout with an even shorter rifled portion be useful, presumably with a permanently mounted flash hider be useful for a well-balanced firearm, or would the lack of the ability to change muzzle device be too big a negative?
