Hi all,
I just wanted to post a quick review of the Maple Ridge Armory Renegade bolt action kit.
While we're waiting for the legal challenge to reverse the idiotic OIC from this Spring (or better yet, flushing the turd and canceling the OIC) I have decided to invest in a bolt-action upper/lower receiver set. Yes, it sucks to spend $900 after tax to use my AR barrel and furniture. Many people will refuse to do this, and that's fine.
That said, there are some advantages to this gun over the AR15 (beyond the fact that it is not prohibited) - as a non-restricted firearm, you can actually take this hunting or shooting to places other than approved ranges, with no need for ATTs, etc. etc. Because it's not a semi-automatic action, it is not subject to the 18.5" minimum barrel length to remain non-restricted. It just has to be 26" overall. Even when the AR prohibition ends, I think I'll keep this rifle in this configuration and it will serve a purpose different from my range-only restricted toys.
The build itself took me about 3 hours (6 Heineken) on a Saturday night, including stripping my AR-15 for parts. The build uses many of the parts including the barrel, trigger assembly and most of the lower parts kit, the bolt (not the bolt carrier) and the furniture. The kit comes with the upper and lower receiver, the hardware specific to the Maple Ridge Armory Renegade, such as the bolt carrier assembly. My kit did not include the special charging handle required to make this work, but after an email and a call MRA shipped one to me...
The instructions are not good, little blurry photos both in the accompanying instructions and on the website (same ####ty resolution, just gets pixelated when it is blown up). A good YouTube video build, and/or some higher resolution and clearer directions and pictures would be helpful. Everything fit well except the rear pin detent spring, which I had to cut down to tuck under the pistol grip to keep it from buckling out.
I am pretty happy with the result (pending the charging handle's arrival) - it looks and feel like sweet little AR but it's in fact a modern straight pull bolt action rifle just over 28" long overall. I like the straight pull charging handle and the ergonomics of the ambidextrous set up. The receiver set seems very well made and the design feels rugged and simple. I'm looking forward to testing it at the range and taking this into the back 40 for coyote/pest control too.
My suggestion for future improvement (aside from including ALL the components in the box
and more clarity in the directions, would be a modification to accept magazines that are not compatible with ARs. As a bolt action, it is not subject to magazine capacity limits unless it uses magazines from another firearm that is subject to restrictions (i.e. AR rifles and pistols) - there's an opportunity to have regular capacity 30 round mags with this rifle, we should take it!
UPDATE: The AWOL charging handle arrived, and is now mounted.
Update to follow when I put some ammo through it.
Cheers,
John
I just wanted to post a quick review of the Maple Ridge Armory Renegade bolt action kit.
While we're waiting for the legal challenge to reverse the idiotic OIC from this Spring (or better yet, flushing the turd and canceling the OIC) I have decided to invest in a bolt-action upper/lower receiver set. Yes, it sucks to spend $900 after tax to use my AR barrel and furniture. Many people will refuse to do this, and that's fine.
That said, there are some advantages to this gun over the AR15 (beyond the fact that it is not prohibited) - as a non-restricted firearm, you can actually take this hunting or shooting to places other than approved ranges, with no need for ATTs, etc. etc. Because it's not a semi-automatic action, it is not subject to the 18.5" minimum barrel length to remain non-restricted. It just has to be 26" overall. Even when the AR prohibition ends, I think I'll keep this rifle in this configuration and it will serve a purpose different from my range-only restricted toys.
The build itself took me about 3 hours (6 Heineken) on a Saturday night, including stripping my AR-15 for parts. The build uses many of the parts including the barrel, trigger assembly and most of the lower parts kit, the bolt (not the bolt carrier) and the furniture. The kit comes with the upper and lower receiver, the hardware specific to the Maple Ridge Armory Renegade, such as the bolt carrier assembly. My kit did not include the special charging handle required to make this work, but after an email and a call MRA shipped one to me...
The instructions are not good, little blurry photos both in the accompanying instructions and on the website (same ####ty resolution, just gets pixelated when it is blown up). A good YouTube video build, and/or some higher resolution and clearer directions and pictures would be helpful. Everything fit well except the rear pin detent spring, which I had to cut down to tuck under the pistol grip to keep it from buckling out.
I am pretty happy with the result (pending the charging handle's arrival) - it looks and feel like sweet little AR but it's in fact a modern straight pull bolt action rifle just over 28" long overall. I like the straight pull charging handle and the ergonomics of the ambidextrous set up. The receiver set seems very well made and the design feels rugged and simple. I'm looking forward to testing it at the range and taking this into the back 40 for coyote/pest control too.
My suggestion for future improvement (aside from including ALL the components in the box
and more clarity in the directions, would be a modification to accept magazines that are not compatible with ARs. As a bolt action, it is not subject to magazine capacity limits unless it uses magazines from another firearm that is subject to restrictions (i.e. AR rifles and pistols) - there's an opportunity to have regular capacity 30 round mags with this rifle, we should take it!UPDATE: The AWOL charging handle arrived, and is now mounted.
Update to follow when I put some ammo through it.
Cheers,
John
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