The mailman brought me a nice little present today. This is a Promag Archangel kit, provided by Mysticplayer right here on CGN. I have to start off by thanking Mysticplayer for importing these stocks and providing such great customer service. The kit I purchased was the standard kit. You can get the Premium kit that comes with AR style sights, but I didn't bother because I was planning on scoping it anyways.
Ok, so here it is. I couldn't find my camera so these pics were all taken with my cell phone, so I do apologize.
This is all the pieces out of the box.
The first step is to remove the iron sights from the barrel. If you are planning on using an aftermarket barrel, you can skip this step.
With the sights removed, I removed the barreled action from the wood stock and replaced the mag release with the aluminum extended mag release included in the kit. Simply press out the pin the holds the mag release and the bolt stop in place and pull out the mag release. This step was very easy and only took about two minutes.
The next step is to slide the forend onto the barrel. This is important because the next step is installing the front sight mount and once that mount is on, you would have to remove the barrel from the action to install the forend.
I installed the action into the new stock to check the fit. I waited to install the front sight mount until I had the receiver mounted in the stock. You can see that the forend does not line up very well. When tightening the front capscrews it will start pulling the front down. I later fixed this by tightening the top rail to the receiver first, then the forend to the top rail. If you wanted you could shim up the front. I may do this later once I see how everything is after putting several hundred rounds though it.
You can see in these pictures that most of the forend drop has been resolved. I think I will make up an aluminum shim to prop it back up.
This is the final product. I installed a Tasco 3-9x30 scope and a foregrip that has an integrated bipod. The foregrip is just a chinese knockoff from ebay. But it only cost $12 including shipping so I'm not about to complain. The bayonet is included in the kit, but it's just made out of the same plastic as the stock. Looks cool though.
The install would normally take about an hour or so, depending on your skills. It is fairly straight forward so I think a novice could do this, just read the instructions first. Seasoned gunsmiths would have this done in no time.
Overall, I would rate the fit and finish of this kit a 7.5 out of ten. I had to clean up a few little bits of leftover plastic from the injection molding process. And there are a couple small gaps between the top rail and the receiver case. Other than that, it's a pretty solid kit. It's well made and the plastic feels like it should be pretty durable. I have heard reports about the magwell being tight and mags not dropping free. Mine does not have this issue. Factory Ruger mags drop right out into my hand when I hit the release. I have a 30 round Eagle magazine that has a little switch at the top of it that normally would depress the factory mag release, but it no longer works with the extended mag release. I will have to modify the mag to make it work. Other mags will work fine like the good old Butler Creek ones.
Everything feels solid and tight when completed. The plastic has some good weight to it so and balances very well. This is a good solid kit, that feels comfortable and has fits both myself (6'3" tall) and my wife (5'7" tall). If you are looking for a good kit for a decent price, this would be a good choice.
I hope this review helps with anyone trying to decide on what stock to buy. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna go put a few hundred rounds through it.
Ok, so here it is. I couldn't find my camera so these pics were all taken with my cell phone, so I do apologize.
This is all the pieces out of the box.
The first step is to remove the iron sights from the barrel. If you are planning on using an aftermarket barrel, you can skip this step.
With the sights removed, I removed the barreled action from the wood stock and replaced the mag release with the aluminum extended mag release included in the kit. Simply press out the pin the holds the mag release and the bolt stop in place and pull out the mag release. This step was very easy and only took about two minutes.
The next step is to slide the forend onto the barrel. This is important because the next step is installing the front sight mount and once that mount is on, you would have to remove the barrel from the action to install the forend.
I installed the action into the new stock to check the fit. I waited to install the front sight mount until I had the receiver mounted in the stock. You can see that the forend does not line up very well. When tightening the front capscrews it will start pulling the front down. I later fixed this by tightening the top rail to the receiver first, then the forend to the top rail. If you wanted you could shim up the front. I may do this later once I see how everything is after putting several hundred rounds though it.
You can see in these pictures that most of the forend drop has been resolved. I think I will make up an aluminum shim to prop it back up.
This is the final product. I installed a Tasco 3-9x30 scope and a foregrip that has an integrated bipod. The foregrip is just a chinese knockoff from ebay. But it only cost $12 including shipping so I'm not about to complain. The bayonet is included in the kit, but it's just made out of the same plastic as the stock. Looks cool though.
The install would normally take about an hour or so, depending on your skills. It is fairly straight forward so I think a novice could do this, just read the instructions first. Seasoned gunsmiths would have this done in no time.
Overall, I would rate the fit and finish of this kit a 7.5 out of ten. I had to clean up a few little bits of leftover plastic from the injection molding process. And there are a couple small gaps between the top rail and the receiver case. Other than that, it's a pretty solid kit. It's well made and the plastic feels like it should be pretty durable. I have heard reports about the magwell being tight and mags not dropping free. Mine does not have this issue. Factory Ruger mags drop right out into my hand when I hit the release. I have a 30 round Eagle magazine that has a little switch at the top of it that normally would depress the factory mag release, but it no longer works with the extended mag release. I will have to modify the mag to make it work. Other mags will work fine like the good old Butler Creek ones.
Everything feels solid and tight when completed. The plastic has some good weight to it so and balances very well. This is a good solid kit, that feels comfortable and has fits both myself (6'3" tall) and my wife (5'7" tall). If you are looking for a good kit for a decent price, this would be a good choice.
I hope this review helps with anyone trying to decide on what stock to buy. Now if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna go put a few hundred rounds through it.
