Oh well. Mine are definitely not new production and both look to be surplus mags refurbished to a VG condition. Still have the scratches and dings that go with a mag that has seen some use. As long as they work fine I think i won't mind too much.Ya
Mine came in today. Or more accurately, i stumbled over it leaving the house as Canada Post dropped it off outside the front door either late last evening or early this morning. Tracking number shows that the Electronic Shipping information was submitted to Canada Post on the 20th of Nov but it was picked up on the 1st of Dec from Calgary (!?!). Account information on the website still shows "Deposit Received" and i did not receive any email from TI or any responses to my queries. Received the magazine shortage letter and only 2 magazines - 8 magazines short of the original order.
A few observations,
1. Rifle was well packaged - lightly oiled in a sealed plastic bag. Rifle and magazines were zip tied. Magazines were in Oil paper inside a plastic bag. Came with the spare light coloured stock insert as well.
2. Rifle looks perfect - it's perfectly straight, tight, well machined and put together. Nothing rattles or is loose. No tool marks and bluing is even throughout. The metal part of the hand guard cover is painted and has a a few minor handling marks from assembly.
2. Magazine is tight in the mag well with no slop whatsoever. Bolt looks good. Only cosmetic issue is that a magazine came with multiple rust spots on it.
3. Wood looks darker in person than pictures. Well finished and installed.
4. Rifle is VERY smooth. Racking the slide is like breaking glass(and this is without oiling or cleaning). Trigger is a two stage affair - a few mm of take-up and then breaks crisply. No slop in it.
5. Going by how it was packaged, I am pretty sure that each rifle came with 4 mags and the sling from factory (see picture of how box was when opened). Note the opened zip tie on the bottom left that would accommodate 2 magazines wrapped in Oil paper. The said magazines appear to have been removed prior to shipping as everything else looked undisturbed.
6. No cleaning kit (that I've found so far).
Overall, pleased with the rifle. It is much better than i had anticipated/ read about. Feels very slender yet substantial. Very pointable, well balanced and not unwieldily at all.
Mine came in today. Or more accurately, i stumbled over it leaving the house as Canada Post dropped it off outside the front door either late last evening or early this morning. Tracking number shows that the Electronic Shipping information was submitted to Canada Post on the 20th of Nov but it was picked up on the 1st of Dec from Calgary (!?!). Account information on the website still shows "Deposit Received" and i did not receive any email from TI or any responses to my queries. Received the magazine shortage letter and only 2 magazines - 8 magazines short of the original order.
A few observations,
1. Rifle was well packaged - lightly oiled in a sealed plastic bag. Rifle and magazines were zip tied. Magazines were in Oil paper inside a plastic bag. Came with the spare light coloured stock insert as well.
2. Rifle looks perfect - it's perfectly straight, tight, well machined and put together. Nothing rattles or is loose. No tool marks and bluing is even throughout. The metal part of the hand guard cover is painted and has a a few minor handling marks from assembly.
2. Magazine is tight in the mag well with no slop whatsoever. Bolt looks good. Only cosmetic issue is that a magazine came with multiple rust spots on it.
3. Wood looks darker in person than pictures. Well finished and installed.
4. Rifle is VERY smooth. Racking the slide is like breaking glass(and this is without oiling or cleaning). Trigger is a two stage affair - a few mm of take-up and then breaks crisply. No slop in it.
5. Going by how it was packaged, I am pretty sure that each rifle came with 4 mags and the sling from factory (see picture of how box was when opened). Note the opened zip tie on the bottom left that would accommodate 2 magazines wrapped in Oil paper. The said magazines appear to have been removed prior to shipping as everything else looked undisturbed.
6. No cleaning kit (that I've found so far).
Overall, pleased with the rifle. It is much better than i had anticipated/ read about. Feels very slender yet substantial. Very pointable, well balanced and not unwieldily at all.
Update: Took mine to a friend's farm for a shoot this evening. Quick thoughts,
- A soft shooting rifle. Very little muzzle rise and with a pleasurable recoil that feels like a "push". Does not pull in any direction.
- Solid folding stock. No wobble and easy to get a good comfortable to line up the sights.
- Sights were dead on from factory and not too bad once you get used to them. The bar on top really makes you focus in on the target. Mine was hitting POI at 100m. Thick front post but the 6 O'clock hold works well.
- The safety lever is not too bad. Can rotate it from one position to the other if I loosen my grip slightly. Needs a bigger lever to be able to apply more torque but perfectly serviceable as is.
- No nonsense magazine manipulation. Locks in with authority.
- Good military trigger. Not a precision trigger but breaks consistently and cleanly. Didn't think to measure the pull weight but it must not be a lot as didn't find it objectionable. It just did it's job without getting in the way.
- The hand guard design does do a good job of dissipating heat with semi-auto fire.
- Flawless reliability over the 260 rounds shot. I did give it a quick clean and lube before heading out.
We shot a 10" gong and a Full-size Silhouette Target at both 50m and 100m and we managed to hit them every time. Now regret not shooting groups but we were too busy having a blast to care
Overall, an unpretentious battle rifle that lives up to it's heritage. If you're a milsurp fan, this will tickle you in the right places; if not, it's cold war charm will try it's best to win you over.
PS. Thanks for the tip Re: cleaning kit. It is indeed inside the stock.
Mine is nice and straight (less that 0.030 difference from one side to the other, at the end off the barrel sleeve and only 0.004 at the last point on the barrel before the front sight/gas block).
So....., I spent a little time and gave my new T81 Folder a Face-Lift...
1) Removed wood.
2) Stripped with Circa 1850 gel stripper, light sanding.
3) Stained 3 times with Min-wax, Dark Mahogany.
4) Applied 5 coats of BC Tru-Oil ,fine steel wool rub down after each coat.
I Really like how she looks now (the camera makes the stain look lighter than in real life)
How she looks Now...
Got one of my rifles today. Except for one blob of dark stain on the buttstock it appears to be in fine shape.
The stock may have a bit of a cant to the right, but no worse than any of my other milsurps with a separate buttstock. The bolt cycles smooth and the the trigger has a decent 2 stage feel.
