Ok, I'm not sure this belongs in this thread. Mods, feel free to move it.
I just picked up an ATRS Modern Varminter. I was number 8 in line for this initial build. The wait was long; just over 10 months. This is ATRS's famous sequel to their Modern Hunter. This one's chambered in .223 Wylde. Great for both the .223 and 5.56 selection of ammo.
This one has a 1:8 Lilja match medium contour stainless barrel finished at 18-1/2". It's topped off with an ATRS brake. The hand guard is a Fortis Switch 14". The grip is an Ergo Sure Grip and the butt is a CTR. The barrel was cerakoted my favorite color...black.
My additions were a VLT0R sling attachment just behind the receiver. A Nightforce NXS 1-4x24 with the FC-3G reticle with illumination. And the mount is a Burris P.E.P.R..
Here's the captured buffer (partially removed).
So I got a chance to take it out today for the first time. Of course this ritual was first on my list...
So the break-in for the barrel, full function testing, and trying all of the polymer magazines were first. Then, I got to have a little fun. I should mention that I was using Black Hills 77gr SMK match ammo. And I had to seat all of the rounds a little deeper so I could feel comfortable magazine feeding the beast. It turned out to be around .020" deeper seating. No issues at all. This rifle cycles beautifully!
Now, this is not meant to be a precision rifle. In a perfect world, it's my new 3 gun rig and mild cqb plinker. But being a precision kind of guy, I just had to see what I could do at 100 yards. This was my only 5 shot "group"....
Four of the five shots were under 3/4 of an inch.
Then, I tried a couple of quick firing mag dumps. (The polymer mags are 10 rounders.) What a hoot! Almost reminded me of my old C7a1 in the military. The only hang up I had was on the first mag, the third round was hitting the front of the mag and didn't chamber. I think this was vibration causing the round to move forward and it got hung on the front of the mag.
Other than that, boy did I have a smile on my face! Not really because of the performance (well, it might have been), but because this is non-restricted! Everytime I finished a 10 round magazine, I had a big non-restricted smile on my face. Sorry.
So all in all, the rifle cycled beautifully. The felt recoil was almost non-existent because of the captured buffer system. Fit and finish are impeccable. I broke the upper and lower apart 5 times for the cleaning cycles, and it is such a breeze to do. The polymer magazines showed a few plastic shards from just being new. Easily cleaned up and I expect that a little bit of wear is what they need. The ejector was flaking the base and throwing small slivers of brass. I noticed this when I was breaking in the barrel and cleaning after every second shot. The patch would pick up the pieces of brass. They were very small and I don't think they would have ended up interfering with anything. I just noticed them and looked at the brass between cycles. Again, I figure that any sharp edges will smooth out with some wear.
So to Rick and all the gang at ATRS, you have again out done yourselves. I think this rifle is more fun (so far) than my Modern Hunter in .308. Probably because the weight is much less. This Varminter weighs in at an even 10 pounds (empty mag). Also, the recoil is like shooting a .22 magnum. I've just started with this rifle, but it is a hoot
....
I just picked up an ATRS Modern Varminter. I was number 8 in line for this initial build. The wait was long; just over 10 months. This is ATRS's famous sequel to their Modern Hunter. This one's chambered in .223 Wylde. Great for both the .223 and 5.56 selection of ammo.
This one has a 1:8 Lilja match medium contour stainless barrel finished at 18-1/2". It's topped off with an ATRS brake. The hand guard is a Fortis Switch 14". The grip is an Ergo Sure Grip and the butt is a CTR. The barrel was cerakoted my favorite color...black.
My additions were a VLT0R sling attachment just behind the receiver. A Nightforce NXS 1-4x24 with the FC-3G reticle with illumination. And the mount is a Burris P.E.P.R..
Here's the captured buffer (partially removed).
So I got a chance to take it out today for the first time. Of course this ritual was first on my list...
So the break-in for the barrel, full function testing, and trying all of the polymer magazines were first. Then, I got to have a little fun. I should mention that I was using Black Hills 77gr SMK match ammo. And I had to seat all of the rounds a little deeper so I could feel comfortable magazine feeding the beast. It turned out to be around .020" deeper seating. No issues at all. This rifle cycles beautifully!
Now, this is not meant to be a precision rifle. In a perfect world, it's my new 3 gun rig and mild cqb plinker. But being a precision kind of guy, I just had to see what I could do at 100 yards. This was my only 5 shot "group"....
Four of the five shots were under 3/4 of an inch.
Then, I tried a couple of quick firing mag dumps. (The polymer mags are 10 rounders.) What a hoot! Almost reminded me of my old C7a1 in the military. The only hang up I had was on the first mag, the third round was hitting the front of the mag and didn't chamber. I think this was vibration causing the round to move forward and it got hung on the front of the mag.
Other than that, boy did I have a smile on my face! Not really because of the performance (well, it might have been), but because this is non-restricted! Everytime I finished a 10 round magazine, I had a big non-restricted smile on my face. Sorry.
So all in all, the rifle cycled beautifully. The felt recoil was almost non-existent because of the captured buffer system. Fit and finish are impeccable. I broke the upper and lower apart 5 times for the cleaning cycles, and it is such a breeze to do. The polymer magazines showed a few plastic shards from just being new. Easily cleaned up and I expect that a little bit of wear is what they need. The ejector was flaking the base and throwing small slivers of brass. I noticed this when I was breaking in the barrel and cleaning after every second shot. The patch would pick up the pieces of brass. They were very small and I don't think they would have ended up interfering with anything. I just noticed them and looked at the brass between cycles. Again, I figure that any sharp edges will smooth out with some wear.
So to Rick and all the gang at ATRS, you have again out done yourselves. I think this rifle is more fun (so far) than my Modern Hunter in .308. Probably because the weight is much less. This Varminter weighs in at an even 10 pounds (empty mag). Also, the recoil is like shooting a .22 magnum. I've just started with this rifle, but it is a hoot
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