SRV2 Siberian Reviews
- Thread starter StrictlyBusiness
- Start date
Just got my Siberian In the mail last night, just to throw my initial thoughts into the mix:
Serial number in the high 300s, the factory all-black variant. All the hardware seems to be tight and in place as it arrived. Gas block screws were loctited.
There's a tiny, tiny bit of slop in the receivers, but a little electrical tape will fix, I'm sure. Though admittedly that type of thing doesn't bother me. Safety is pretty stiff, probably just needs some reps.
One of the major concerns I had, having never seen this rifle in person before purchase, was optic height. I've seen folks say that they had to really boost the height of the optic to get comfortable behind it, I was worried I'd need a huge riser to get a good sight picture (I have a fat face). It would make sense given the comb height of the Zhukov stock relative to the pic rail. But, as it turns out, I'm pleased to report that after tossing my old SPARC II with the max 1.57 in risers, i feel like bringing the rifle up and dot to my eye is very natural. I don't really find myself searching for the dot, even prone or in awkward positions. Maybe I'm just more subconsciously used to tucking my face into rifles? Dunno, but I'm very happy on that front. I do have a FAST 2.26 riser on the way, we'll see if that is preferable, but I don't think I'd have a problem using scopes or dots at 1.5 or 1/3 cowitness height. I do think that typical absolute cowitness may be a little too low to be instantly natural. Trainable I'm sure, but not perfect.
The one thing I'm not too stoked on is the trigger guard/grip interface. Even just fooling around with the rifle around the house this morning, my middle finger is raw from an edge between the grip and the trigger guard. I have a magpul trigger guard, we'll see if that fills some of the space with edges, and i figure the stock grip may need a little dremeling on the corners just to smooth out the transition there.
Cross mags also overtravel on an open bolt, but you need to really toss the mag in there to do it. Pmags also do it, but I have to put more force/speed on the mag than i typically ever would. Certainly could be trained, it's my understanding that inserting the mag and pulling slightly as you move to the bolt release is common practice on STANAG rifles.
Other than that though, really like what I see. I'll take it out this weekend to plink and see what function looks like in practice.
Edit: knew i was forgetting something... the trigger. Terrible. Creeps for ages, gritty and just not good. It works, but I think pretty much anything will be an improvement.
Serial number in the high 300s, the factory all-black variant. All the hardware seems to be tight and in place as it arrived. Gas block screws were loctited.
There's a tiny, tiny bit of slop in the receivers, but a little electrical tape will fix, I'm sure. Though admittedly that type of thing doesn't bother me. Safety is pretty stiff, probably just needs some reps.
One of the major concerns I had, having never seen this rifle in person before purchase, was optic height. I've seen folks say that they had to really boost the height of the optic to get comfortable behind it, I was worried I'd need a huge riser to get a good sight picture (I have a fat face). It would make sense given the comb height of the Zhukov stock relative to the pic rail. But, as it turns out, I'm pleased to report that after tossing my old SPARC II with the max 1.57 in risers, i feel like bringing the rifle up and dot to my eye is very natural. I don't really find myself searching for the dot, even prone or in awkward positions. Maybe I'm just more subconsciously used to tucking my face into rifles? Dunno, but I'm very happy on that front. I do have a FAST 2.26 riser on the way, we'll see if that is preferable, but I don't think I'd have a problem using scopes or dots at 1.5 or 1/3 cowitness height. I do think that typical absolute cowitness may be a little too low to be instantly natural. Trainable I'm sure, but not perfect.
The one thing I'm not too stoked on is the trigger guard/grip interface. Even just fooling around with the rifle around the house this morning, my middle finger is raw from an edge between the grip and the trigger guard. I have a magpul trigger guard, we'll see if that fills some of the space with edges, and i figure the stock grip may need a little dremeling on the corners just to smooth out the transition there.
Cross mags also overtravel on an open bolt, but you need to really toss the mag in there to do it. Pmags also do it, but I have to put more force/speed on the mag than i typically ever would. Certainly could be trained, it's my understanding that inserting the mag and pulling slightly as you move to the bolt release is common practice on STANAG rifles.
Other than that though, really like what I see. I'll take it out this weekend to plink and see what function looks like in practice.
Edit: knew i was forgetting something... the trigger. Terrible. Creeps for ages, gritty and just not good. It works, but I think pretty much anything will be an improvement.
The grip/trigger guard gap is terrible on these guns, I didn't notice util I handled it a bit more. I had an Armaspec lower parks kit sitting around, so I threw the trigger guard from that in. It made a world of difference, nice smooth transition now. The Magpul is very similar I think.
Also didn't care for the grip and replaced it with a Hogue overmolded finger groove beavertail grip, cuz I'm obsessed with them.
The trigger is garbage, for sure. It's a fairly standard mil-spec trigger, but it's just as gross as the rest of them. But that's to be expected if an upgraded trigger isn't advertised.
The one I just got the serial number is in the mid 900s. I wasn't sure if it was an older model or not. It does have the upgraded firing pin and I got the Tan/black one
I wonder if they maybe started the serials back to zero with the black editions?
I wonder if they maybe started the serials back to zero with the black editions?
Yep, trigger guard pointiness is pretty bad! New Magpul trigger guard makes a WORLD of difference, just sticks out that little bit extra and removes that sharp edge.
I also took it upon myself to dremel the corners of the grip that i found were giving me trouble, and that also helped quite a lot. It'll work, at least for the weekend, but I think I see another MOE-K in my future. Do beavertail grips actually work on these? I wouldn't have thought so.
Pictures (hopefully) for anyone's future reference, sorry though, I forgot to take "before" pictures:
https://flic.kr/p/2oB66E9
https://flic.kr/p/2oBbkUH
I also took it upon myself to dremel the corners of the grip that i found were giving me trouble, and that also helped quite a lot. It'll work, at least for the weekend, but I think I see another MOE-K in my future. Do beavertail grips actually work on these? I wouldn't have thought so.
Pictures (hopefully) for anyone's future reference, sorry though, I forgot to take "before" pictures:
https://flic.kr/p/2oB66E9
https://flic.kr/p/2oBbkUH
I can't but wonder if the all-black is considered a different version, therefore new serials...? As deathrawt suggested
Stewart695
Member
Update (life got busy) a few hundred more rounds finally and nothing major. Gas plug came a little loose and increased felt recoil which was address with some blue lock tight and kept rolling a couple mins later. Got out to my longer distance range and stretched its legs out finally. Confirmed zero at 200 yards, crono’d loads and pushed the distance to 500 yards while shooting my 75BTHP loads. Making consistent easy hits at that distance on a 2/3 steel and head impacts on the same target at 200 yards were simple. I’m still very impressed with the rifle.
Yes, beavertail grips fit perfectly. I have a Reptilla one on mine with the Magpul trigger guard, it make all the difference in regard to the sharp edges
Attachments
i really like that. whats that on mlok ? i have seen people using paracord. Can you share the list of mods you done on ?
i have trigger upgrade in pipeline. Nothing yet is planned.
Thanks, good to know!
For what it's worth, just finished tearing the rifle down. Took it out yesterday and shot around 200 rounds. Preceding this, all i had done was strip and give a REALLY minimal lube. To be honest, I was kind of hoping induce it into some kind of failure(which I did). While I may have put my hard-earned Happy Soviet Canuckistanian Kopecks into this rifle, and I'd like to see it succeed, I have no qualms finding and reporting its failures, as I hope continued discussion about said failures will improve both the rifle, the manufacturer's ability to produce said rifle in a complete state, and Canadian rifle standards as a whole. We need to hold manufacturers accountable, and doomscrolling to find an ample opportunity to vomit out "hurr durr Brittle Carrier Labs" helps no one. Critical discussion about the rifle and how to improve it will.
I'll add that I'm in no way gentle to the rifle, I treated much like my X95: tossed in the truck, let it rattle around, rucked it for a few k, dropped it once, etc etc. I'm not babying this gun. On that thought, I could see a folding charging handle being a nice addition, but not entirely necessary; i didn't notice myself getting too beaten up by the charging handle moving around with it. If you're the type to usually wear a plate carrier or chest rig, I wouldn't see it being a problem.
Ran Federal XM, AE, PMC Bronze/XTAC, Rem UMC, Hornady Frontier, whatever i had kicking around. Ran all of it flawlessly, up until 100 or so, upon which my hammer pin walked itself out. shuffled it back in, but it kept trying to pop out, had to re-centre it every 10 rounds or so. Seems I'll need some anti-walk pins, as trigger all seems assembled correctly. Does anyone know if standard AR anti-walk pins work?
At the 150 mark, I had a really interesting failure. started cycling lazily, then seized up while in battery after firing. Couldn't get the damn thing open for the life of me (the good news: the Siberian seems to accept mortaring without complaint). On taking it apart, it was actually the charging handle that had gummed up and gotten stuck. A few taps with a rubber mallet, and a dot of lube, and I was back it until I ran out of stuff to shoot.
On the shooting front, seems really good. Feels good in hand, points naturally, and while I only had the red dot on it, I was cloverleafing targets at 40 yards standing freehand. So while i have no receipts on the accuracy front (and its anecdotal, I know), I'll tentatively say that I'm more satisfied with the Siberian than I am with my Tavor on the accuracy front.
Now, when I got home, I tore it down and looked for anything out of place. Bad news... gas block set screws and regulator had both started backing themselves out. Retightened, but it still perturbs me that threadlocker should be part of this thing's maintenace kit. Looking at it, while I'm not an engineer, I'm sure that it would be possible to have a gas block setup that could be staked, with the gas piston components removable via the front. I look forward to someone coming up with a solution for that, since to me, that seems to be the only weak point.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with the rifle, and barring a couple of modifications/ hopefully some third/first party improvements, I'm satisfied. I'm really looking forward to pushing its range a little farther with a LPVO, where I suspect it'll perform much better than my Tavor.
I have never understood the fire control group pins walking out issue. If the springs are installed correctly and the pins are appropriately indented the spring pressure should* keep them in place.
* as with anything some side to side movement will happen and I get that that can be unsightly to some, but I've never seen a pin walk to failure, but that would be an internal failure of the spring, not the pin.
* as with anything some side to side movement will happen and I get that that can be unsightly to some, but I've never seen a pin walk to failure, but that would be an internal failure of the spring, not the pin.
Welp, I think I may have figured this one out, thanks for bringing that up... It looks to me like I am missing the little j-shaped hammer pin retainer, that should be holding the hammer pin in its indent. That would explain why only the hammer-side pin has been sliding out. I'm going to get on the horn with BCL, when I have an update I'll post it. Frustrating. It's QC stuff like this that's the most frustrating form of failures.
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The wrap around the handguard is called a “hot pocket” it’s made by Lunar concepts and sold through wisemen company. Shipping from the states is fast, I’ve bought several of these over the past couple years and they show up in about 2 weeks.
Other than that, I have an ALG trigger with KNS anti walk pins (for those wondering they fit almost perfectly. Need to file very slightly where one of the ambi controls is on the lower. Can’t notice when installed). It has a hand stop from Slate Black Industries, Reptilla grip, magpul enhanced aluminum trigger guard, radian ambi safety, and steel A2. The scope is a primary arms PLx compact 1-8x in a nightforce unimount.
On the way is a new 18.6” stainless fluted barrel weighing 2lbs. Not sure how much the factory barrel is, I’m assuming more and will weight it soon. And a V7 titanium A2 flash hider (black). Rifle currently weights 9.2lbs, I’m hoping with the barrel and lighter A2 that I’ll shave 0.5+lbs.
I put up a WTB for one. The guy who sold it to me had basically what I was looking for. 18.6” 5.56, medium to light profile, mid length gas with 0.75” gas journal. The one he sold me was fluted and weighted 2lbs.
I’ve been looking for a while for such a barrel. All the NR options currently are either too heavy or carbine gas or both. Unless you’re willing to pay about $700 for one of two manufacturers in the country to make you one.
Another option that come up on the market is from Lockhart tactical. They are using what seems to be a Hanson profile barrel on their ravens. They sell them separately on the website for $450 in mid and rifle length. I asked the FB group for a weight, but still no response. I’m hoping that MRA starts making decent barrels again. They only ever have barrels available for their straight pull. If I could go back to 2019 I’d buy several of the .223 wylde barrels they were making using IBI blanks. That was the best shooting barrel I’ve ever had
Another interesting issue has cropped up as I larp around the house (I've mentioned it on Reddit, but for posterity/dissemination I'll post about it here):
My right side bolt release lever no longer closed the bolt, I had to either use the left side release or smack the side of the lower to drop the bolt. Annoying, but I've figured it out:
The right side bolt release lever has a spring loaded pin underneath that it actuates to release the left side bolt hold, therefore releasing the bolt, right?
Well, I believe what happens is the steel pin is wearing a divot into the aluminum right-side release lever, therefore making it unable to actuate as much as it needs to, I can see/feel the divot in the right-side release when removed.
What fixed this for me was taking off the left-side release lever (it's a 3/64 allen key machine screw on the inner mating surface of the lower, you'll see where the leverage point is on that lever, its down that hole). Hold the release lever down as you undo that or it'll spring away on you. put a couple tiny pieces of electrical tape or something (lecky tape worked for me) on the pressure point of the lever where the spring loaded pin contacts it. Reassemble and check, should work now.
I'm still going to say something to BCL, that left release lever should either a) be steel, or b) have a steel insert to prevent wear.
My right side bolt release lever no longer closed the bolt, I had to either use the left side release or smack the side of the lower to drop the bolt. Annoying, but I've figured it out:
The right side bolt release lever has a spring loaded pin underneath that it actuates to release the left side bolt hold, therefore releasing the bolt, right?
Well, I believe what happens is the steel pin is wearing a divot into the aluminum right-side release lever, therefore making it unable to actuate as much as it needs to, I can see/feel the divot in the right-side release when removed.
What fixed this for me was taking off the left-side release lever (it's a 3/64 allen key machine screw on the inner mating surface of the lower, you'll see where the leverage point is on that lever, its down that hole). Hold the release lever down as you undo that or it'll spring away on you. put a couple tiny pieces of electrical tape or something (lecky tape worked for me) on the pressure point of the lever where the spring loaded pin contacts it. Reassemble and check, should work now.
I'm still going to say something to BCL, that left release lever should either a) be steel, or b) have a steel insert to prevent wear.
wondering AR15 barrel (if it all i find in 18.5) will fit right ? i know its rare in states too.
