Thinking of purchasing a 22 cal SBI C-71 or ST-22 thoughts?

nitroxace

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I am thinking of purchasing a 22 cal SBI C-71 or ST-22 complete build. I am not a competitive shooter and most of my target shooting will be between 50-100 yards.

I have been looking for reviews on how the firearm functions and if users have experienced any issues with them. Any ammo recommendations and accuracy results would be appreciated. From the SBI website and a few articles I have located it seems to be a great firearm. I always like to ask my fellow CGNrs for their real world experience's prior to purchasing a firearm that I am not to familiar with.

SBI customer service has been great supplying me with the info I requested but I am still looking for "real world experiences".

Any and all info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
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I just ordered the C71 16 inch. I was going to order the ST22 but I am not sure if that AR style handle would interfere with my scope placement or if my scope would impede trying to access the handle. The C71 seemed like a safer bet. Once I get it and take it to the range I will post a range report.
 
I've found the info out there to be pretty thin. I just ordered a ST22 with their bolt. I want to use it for a speed steel gun. Will see how it performs.

I just ordered the C71 16 inch. I was going to order the ST22 but I am not sure if that AR style handle would interfere with my scope placement or if my scope would impede trying to access the handle. The C71 seemed like a safer bet. Once I get it and take it to the range I will post a range report.

How did you find they performed? I recently picked up a C-71 receiver.
 
How did you find they performed? I recently picked up a C-71 receiver.
I've only taken it out to the range once and tried a variety of standard velocity and high velocity ammo. It worked well and I am happy with it. There was one brand of ammo that had a number of failure to fires but its more likely the ammo than the gun because no other brand had any issues. I forget which ammo it was though. Overall I have to say I am happy with my purchase.
 
I've owned 4 C-71 receivers and 1 ST-22 receiver as well as several of SBI's other products. They're solid units, I've never run into any issues with them and I've used several thousand rounds in them. The ST-22 isn't meant for a large scope because it makes it hard to reach the top charging handle and the handle seems a bit undersized. Other than that I have no complaints.
 
I've owned 4 C-71 receivers and 1 ST-22 receiver as well as several of SBI's other products. They're solid units, I've never run into any issues with them and I've used several thousand rounds in them. The ST-22 isn't meant for a large scope because it makes it hard to reach the top charging handle and the handle seems a bit undersized. Other than that I have no complaints.
That's good to know. Which bolts are you running with yours? Have you tried the SBI Gen2 bolt yet? I was having issues with the C-71 and Gen2 bolt recently, and it's with SBI getting looked at. It ran flawless until around 200 rounds, but then I started getting failure to go into battery on subsequent rounds. Switching to a factory 10/22 Ruger bolt ran fine though, and running the SBI Gen2 bolt in a factory 10/22 was fine.
 
That's good to know. Which bolts are you running with yours? Have you tried the SBI Gen2 bolt yet? I was having issues with the C-71 and Gen2 bolt recently, and it's with SBI getting looked at. It ran flawless until around 200 rounds, but then I started getting failure to go into battery on subsequent rounds. Switching to a factory 10/22 Ruger bolt ran fine though, and running the SBI Gen2 bolt in a factory 10/22 was fine.
I currently have a Kidd bolt and an SBI Gen 1 bolt, I can't comment on the Gen 2s. Both have VQ extractors.

That's a tricky issue, I'd be interested to hear what SBI comes up with.
 
I currently have a Kidd bolt and an SBI Gen 1 bolt, I can't comment on the Gen 2s. Both have VQ extractors.

That's a tricky issue, I'd be interested to hear what SBI comes up with.
So the receiver was shot. I'm confident the Dlask charging handle caused some weird wearing inside the receiver. I ended up switching to the SBI charging handle and now it's running flawlessly. No hiccups in 300 rounds. When I put the Dlask one in to inspect it, there's far more bolt slop than with the SBI one.

In any case, SBI made it right and replaced the receiver for me. Really good experience so far.
 
I just ordered the C71 16 inch. I was going to order the ST22 but I am not sure if that AR style handle would interfere with my scope placement or if my scope would impede trying to access the handle. The C71 seemed like a safer bet. Once I get it and take it to the range I will post a range report.
I received an email from SBI saying they would have more C-71's in stock in 3-4 weeks. I'll keep an eye out on the website and pick one up.
 
Iam thinking about the st 22 receiver but Iam wondering how snug the trigger pack is going into receiver also wondering how snug the barrel is going into receiver as I prefer a snug barrel to receiver fit.
 
Completed build today, all SBI except the trigger (bx) and mag. Will try to get out to the range this weekend
 

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Iam thinking about the st 22 receiver but Iam wondering how snug the trigger pack is going into receiver also wondering how snug the barrel is going into receiver as I prefer a snug barrel to receiver fit.
Not sure about the ST receiver but my Shaw barrel is pretty loose fit in my C71, much looser than expected. Actually my factory receiver was tighter fitting.
My C71 does have a barrel lock screw on top and is solid when locked down.
 
Not sure about the ST receiver but my Shaw barrel is pretty loose fit in my C71, much looser than expected. Actually my factory receiver was tighter fitting.
My C71 does have a barrel lock screw on top and is solid when locked down.
The ST-22 does have a barrel lock screw on the top. Locks up nice.
 
Not sure about the ST receiver but my Shaw barrel is pretty loose fit in my C71, much looser than expected. Actually my factory receiver was tighter fitting.
My C71 does have a barrel lock screw on top and is solid when locked down.
The c-71 receiver with the SBI barrel is a snug fit. I have the 12 inch but I would think the 16 is similar.
 
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