SL8-4 good or bad?

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Boliervac

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Just picked up a SL8-4 yesterday, probably going to take it to the range tomorrow, I've heard they run poorly, but what are your guy's experience with them?
 
Great gun, very reliable, soft recoiling (even my recoil sensitive son has taken to a liking to it). Magazines are OEM only and are expensive. It is too bad it doesn't natively run AR mags like the LAR15s. I didn't find it as front heavy as others, maybe because I am accustomed to my Ruger PCC with the aluminum handguard (which I definitely find front heavy). All that said, I am selling mine (as well as other guns) as my daughter needs braces, and I don't have a dental benefits plan. I am not desperate to sell it, but I have other semi auto 223s that take AR mags. It has been an excellent rifle, very accurate out of the box, even when mated with a cheaper red dot.

For those who have one, you may want to check the little metal loop/eyelet in the front on the handguard section - and the other side - the circular nut thing against which it tightens, and make sure you tighten it. Mine came loose from shooting the first few times and thankfully I found it on my bench rather than fall on the grass in front of it - if you lose that, the handguard comes right off.
 
I had one but sold it. It is made from a lot of plastic with a heavy bull barrel, takes proprietary magazines (limit 5 rounds), conversion to AR magazines are expensive and mostly unavailable, looks kind of ugly (modified for the US market), conversion to G36 look are expensive, rail mounting options are limited. I really tried but gave up.
 
I assess rifles based on REAL - reliable, ergonomic, accurate, lightweight.

Reliable? 100%
Ergonomic? The thumbhole stock wasn't comfortable for the size/shape of my hand. Aside from that the ergos were good.
Accurate? Excellent.
Lightweight? The heavy NR barrel made it front-heavy. Overall weight was still good though.

If you want this rifle for a DMR-type role, it's a solid choice. If you're doing more run-and-gun stuff, go with a G36... no thumbhole stock and a lighter barrel. Or Bren2, or x95, or...
 
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I got told it's reputation after I bought it, but it was actually really good! Put over a hundred rounds though it, and I had zero issues with it.
 
Boliervac said:
I got told it's reputation after I bought it, but it was actually really good! Put over a hundred rounds though it, and I had zero issues with it.
Click to expand...

It is a good rifle, just not compatible with many aftermarket options. Basically good for bench shooting.
 
Accurate, reliable.
Heavy, bad ergos, but can be remedied with a Hera stock conversion.

Once you grind the little magwell tabs off, you can use the original mags AND the G 36 mags
There are AR mag conversions availble (usually via Europe).

I wish somebody can come up with a push pin substitute for the double allen screw arrangement on tbe rear receiver. Dont know if its possible without a headache
 
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Very accurate, never had a single malfunction for me. (only shot about 600 rounds through it though, and still looks almost brand new)

After swapping to a TommyBuilt stock and adding in a Geissele HSNM trigger I've been getting outstanding accuracy out of it with 69gr FGMM, but shoots everything quite well
 
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