Sterling R18 PRE ORDER !

Back from the range, with the new upper I'm not getting crazy wide groups anymore, having said that with 8x at 100 yards, bipod up front, bag in the back and a brutally tight cheek weld the best I was able to wring out of it was about 2.5 MOA with federal gold medal sierra matchking and nosler match.

worst groups were about 4MOA, maybe a little over.

So while I wouldn't say it's particularly impressive(especially given the THICC barrel profile), it's probably on par with or better than the tavor for around the same money(with the benefit of standard ergos and more upgrade options). I'd say it's acceptable for what it is so long as you go in to it with tempered expectations.

The machining is lovely, it's solid in the hands and I had zero stoppages.
 
Back from the range, with the new upper I'm not getting crazy wide groups anymore, having said that with 8x at 100 yards, bipod up front, bag in the back and a brutally tight cheek weld the best I was able to wring out of it was about 2.5 MOA with federal gold medal sierra matchking and nosler match.

worst groups were about 4MOA, maybe a little over.

So while I wouldn't say it's particularly impressive(especially given the THICC barrel profile), it's probably on par with or better than the tavor for around the same money(with the benefit of standard ergos and more upgrade options). I'd say it's acceptable for what it is so long as you go in to it with tempered expectations.

The machining is lovely, it's solid in the hands and I had zero stoppages.



My god.. if that’s the report it’s not worth the money.
Half that into my ATRS and it prints moa with no effort.
 
My god.. if that’s the report it’s not worth the money.
Half that into my ATRS and it prints moa with no effort.

I’m actually disappointed as well; I tested 16 of the barrels and averaged 1.5-2.5 moa, so 4 is not what I was expecting.

I’m curious what others are going to get.

JR
 
I’m actually disappointed as well; I tested 16 of the barrels and averaged 1.5-2.5 moa, so 4 is not what I was expecting.

I’m curious what others are going to get.

JR

Different kinds of ammo? I ran with bulk 55gr FMJ which did better than last time (probably 2.5-3MOA), green tips, barnaul 55 and 62, hornady black 75 in 556 and 223, federal gold medal match and nosler match.

How many shots in the group?

Really hoping I didn't just get myself stuck with the lemon of the lot
 
Would fluting those current "heavy" Barrels between the Chamber Root and the Gas Block help to reduce the front-heavy weight any? Just a thought.....
 
Different kinds of ammo? I ran with bulk 55gr FMJ which did better than last time (probably 2.5-3MOA), green tips, barnaul 55 and 62, hornady black 75 in 556 and 223, federal gold medal match and nosler match.

How many shots in the group?

Really hoping I didn't just get myself stuck with the lemon of the lot

I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing a lot more groups posted soon as we shipped over 100 uppers in the past week.

One more data is in, decisions can be made. :)

JR
 
I’m pretty sure we’ll be seeing a lot more groups posted soon as we shipped over 100 uppers in the past week.

One more data is in, decisions can be made. :)

JR

I'm gon a spend some more time behind it as well and see if there's anything i can do to tighte things up
 
Remember, the Sterling R18 is the only 180 variant that comes out of the box with an adjustable gas block. I don't know if dialing the gas up and down would affect accuracy, but it might be worth looking into. Also, triggers are being used? Important to know for comparison. Good luck to everyone!
 
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i installed a hiperfire enhanced duty. has a very decent break.

i don't think the gas system should make a difference especially at rifle length (bullet is only going to be in the barrel for a tiny amount of time while the piston is moving)

worth a shot though.
 
Any plans to sell just complete uppers? Would it be compatible on a Spectre Ballistics Lynx 180B lower?

Unfortunately our upper is not compatible.

No plans right now to sell either the upper or lower separately until we have other calibres available.
 
Got mine, Fit and finish are excellent!

Upper felt very heavy being shipping on its own! All assembled with a scope, and Midwest folding adapter It balanced right in front of the mag well.

My rail needed to be tightened otherwise it would easily flex and touch the barrel with very little pressure on it. Even with the rail tightened I can get the gas block to contact the rail easily, but it at least doesn't do it under its own weight on a Bipod. Also tough to get a Mlok rail at the very end for a Bipod without touching the gas block. I went with a Magpul AFG Mlok rail that is a little longer to avoid it. Just a couple of easy fixes to check if you are getting accuracy issues.

I Switched the trigger to an ALG, and I think this is the best upgrade you can do right away- I would suggest TSE looks into having at least some small upgrade to the trigger done. The first time you pull the gritty/heavy stock trigger it takes away from the Match quality feel that everything else on this rifle has.

All mags seem to have no problems, but my PMAGS are very tight. I have to really work to insert them and strip them out. We will see if this gets easier with break-in.

I will update with accuracy results when I get a chance to shoot it.
 
Perhaps a competition package could be added that includes a nice Triggertech trigger? They are used on another 180 competitor, and recently had the win of being the default trigger for the Canadian verboten CMMG Dissent; might as well support another Canadian company if you want to give people the option of a nice out if the box trigger.

Regarding the Dissent, could TSR/Sterling see licensing the DI/180 hybrid action for use with a DI R18? It could give people their choice of handguard and pencil barrels. Of course, that would be a long way and dependent on the worst not happening...
 
Perhaps a competition package could be added that includes a nice Triggertech trigger? They are used on another 180 competitor, and recently had the win of being the default trigger for the Canadian verboten CMMG Dissent; might as well support another Canadian company if you want to give people the option of a nice out if the box trigger.

Regarding the Dissent, could TSR/Sterling see licensing the DI/180 hybrid action for use with a DI R18? It could give people their choice of handguard and pencil barrels. Of course, that would be a long way and dependent on the worst not happening...

We're actually sending a rifle down to Trigger Tech as they are going to test the rifle with a bunch of their triggers to see what is the best "bang for the buck".

We've toyed with the idea of increasing the price and simply adding a TT as the rest of the rifle is premium, but the USGI trigger leaves a bit to the imagination...

JR
 
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