WK180c or T97 FTU

RobbieLaidlaw

RobbieLaidlaw

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Howdy friends, i am seeking expert advice on budget 'Black rifles'.
I have been reading forum posts for days on both of these rifles. It seems their reputations are quite similar.

It seems there exist duds of either platform. Both rifles seem to achieve similar accuracy and lame trigger systems. The reliability also seems to be about the same, however i've read about some issues regarding the charging handle of the WK180's. I know the T97 has flaws as well, however they seem to be more ergonomic rather than functional.

What i'm really after here is functionality and reliability. I would also rather spend my money on Canadian made products, but perhaps it is a better idea to purchase a later/upgraded model of the WK in the future?
Any advice from those who have experienced both rifles or have spent more than my 12 hours researching these firearms, is very much appreciated.

-Robbie L​
 
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Having owned both and kept the wk180 here are is my input.
Wk 180 trigger can be changed without issues normally. Sometimes box style triggers will require minor grinding to fit.
Wk180 can achieve decent accuracy with some hand loads . T97 I never got to group well.
Warranty for any dud rifle- wk stands behind their work and will make it right. T97 has to be warrantied through North Sylva and I am unsure how well this works.
T97 chews brass hard and renders it unusable. Wk does not.
T97 has hard trigger owing to nature of it being a bullpup but the one aftermarket solution (t97.ca lower) would make the rifle cost more than it's worth.i also owned the t97 lower and felt it didnt alter trigger Pull much compared to.my friends without one.
 
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Sherlock Gnomes said:
Wk180 can achieve decent accuracy with some hand loads . T97 I never got to group well.
T97 has hard trigger owing to ature of it being a bullpup but the one aftermarket solution (t97.ca lower) would make the rifle cost more than it's worth.
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Gotta disagree with these two points. I've gotten my T97 to group very well with M193 ball of all manufactures. It also likes Aguila 62gr. I get a consistent 2.5MOA with both, sometimes better. I've gotten 1MOA with Federal gold medal match, but the POI shifted so much it was off the paper.
The T97 trigger is light and smooth - but it has no warning before the trigger breaks. You just pull and it eventually goes off. It's kinda like a revolver trigger in double-action.

The main issue with the T97 is it is very picky about magazines. To get anything other than metal STANAGs to fit, you have to either modify the magazine or (very carefully) modify the magwell.
 
Jarvy said:
Gotta disagree with these two points. I've gotten my T97 to group very well with M193 ball of all manufactures. It also likes Aguila 62gr. I get a consistent 2.5MOA with both, sometimes better. I've gotten 1MOA with Federal gold medal match, but the POI shifted so much it was off the paper.
The T97 trigger is light and smooth - but it has no warning before the trigger breaks. You just pull and it eventually goes off. It's kinda like a revolver trigger in double-action.

The main issue with the T97 is it is very picky about magazines. To get anything other than metal STANAGs to fit, you have to either modify the magazine or (very carefully) modify the magwell.
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I agree on the mags. Can be picky. I didn't spend a bunch of time and ammo with my t97 to be honest as I disliked so many things about it.
 
Kodiak in Windsor Ontario is unbeatable for customer support and replacement parts availability. T97, well...
The Geissele G2S trigger is just phenomenal in the Whiskey Kilo and not too expensive.
Winchester white box .223 45 grain Hollow Point are awesome at 100 yards in the WK180C. Cold shots, I once got a 1.1 inch 5 round group with 3 of them in a cloverleaf.
THIS is your coyote critter gitter! :)
 
I really believe you will get more Millage out of a T97. I think the metal is far superior to the 180. I have put tons of rounds through my T97 and its showing zero wear. There are lots of posts on the 180 about inferior metals & premature wear.
 
I purchased a Tavor (bullpup) for coyote hunting years back and didn't like it at all. The gun was just too short and couldn't get them on shooting sticks very well. T97 (bullpup) will be the same. I have a WK180 and Mini 14 and both work well with a bipod or off shooting sticks. Bullpups are fun to shoot and plink but aren't really designed for hunting IMHO.

Cheers!!
 
If you can find someone with a t97 to see how well it fits. I had one better made then I though it was going to be. But didn’t like how it felt shooting.
 
Id ONLY recommend the T97 over the WK180 IF you really saw a need for the bullpup configuration. A good friend of mine hunts with his FTU T97, its bullpup configuration proves VERY handy in situations where one is getting in and out of vehicles, or if one is trekking thru thick bush. Bullpup is also handy for storing in vehicles, laying on the back seat, it only takes up half the seat, or when mounted on a off road vehicle it doesnt stick out the sides so easily.

Outside those needs, i feel the wk180 has the edge in every other aspect.
 
Murray 3-D said:
Id ONLY recommend the T97 over the WK180 IF you really saw a need for the bullpup configuration. A good friend of mine hunts with his FTU T97, its bullpup configuration proves VERY handy in situations where one is getting in and out of vehicles, or if one is trekking thru thick bush. Bullpup is also handy for storing in vehicles, laying on the back seat, it only takes up half the seat, or when mounted on a off road vehicle it doesnt stick out the sides so easily.

Outside those needs, i feel the wk180 has the edge in every other aspect.
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For a cost, you can off can reduce the length of WK. It doesn't need the buffer tube, so RWA made an adapter so you can hook an ACR folding stock to it:

You can also get folding buffer tube adapters, or buffer tube to Pic rail adapter for an MCX folding stock. Someone even adapted a VZ foldings stock.

Wolverine and Kodiak apparently found a good solution at Shot Show 2019 that they want to implement going forward in production, though we haven't seen it out yet.
 
Folders are a good solution for storage, but when ur stalking thru the bush your not going to have ur gun folded. And when ur bailing out of a truck to shoot a running coyote, most wont have time to unfold their stock haha
 
Murray 3-D said:
Folders are a good solution for storage, but when ur stalking thru the bush your not going to have ur gun folded. And when ur bailing out of a truck to shoot a running coyote, most wont have time to unfold their stock haha
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Point taken :)
 
It seems to me that the Kodiak's new rifle is being found to be exceedingly 'unreliable'.

I use that term loosely because there are not many reports of FTF or FTE's. Rather, problems include; the bolts are eating away at the receivers, the bolts are becoming jammed if not inserted carefully, buttons are becoming jammed, screws are becoming loose.

After visiting the 'WK180-c technical questions' thread, i have become very weary of purchase. Perhaps we will see some of these used rifles up for sale very soon. I dont believe the Type 97's have any issues this bad, though i may be wrong about that.

Do any WK owners know if the 'new' threaded bolt is a guaranteed fix to the receiver damage? Thanks in advance.

-Robbie L
 
It’s more than 2 rifles it’s happening to. It’s not the fact that it’s happening, it’s the fact that when I sent pictures to them asking for the replacement bolt handle and bolt they said as long as the rifle still cycled it’s not a problem. Fact is, it’s wearing out the receiver. They have redesigned the bolt for a reason...why not send the replacement to anyone that asks with the old one...especially if there’s pictures to people it’s happening. I sent these pictures Andre 200 rounds and they said it’s cosmeti!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5wlqdco8mi15zgd/Wk wear 8225.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a99tw4u9a4dyfft/IMG_8247.JPG?dl=0

I never would have bought it if I knew they would do this so I’m warning you now. Here’s a pic of another guy who has had his bolt break apart in his gun.

https://i.imgur.com/7d22w7e.jpg

Here’s the link to another thread on technical questions to show how many people are pissed off about this if you go back a few pages

https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...C-technical-questions-amp-answers-only/page27
 
Both my WC180 with the treaded bolt handle pass their test with no problems except the bad trigger, i did order 2X Timney triggers 3 pounds small pins for upgrade.
 
I think a lot of people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to rifles like the BCL102, STAG10 amd WK180-C, since in general the more an item is manufactured the greater the possibility that they will have worked out the design and manufacturing issues. To not expect issues to come up with items that have been recently developed is quite unrealistic, especially if the manufacturer is not a large enterprise, even if it is a large enterprise there are no guaranties i.e Boeing with the 737 Max 8 comes to mind!. I think Kodiak Defense and Wolverine are to be congratulated on developing the WK180-C at the price point that they are offering the rifle to the market and what issues that have occurred are quite normal for a product at its current stage of development.
 
lone ranger said:
I really believe you will get more Millage out of a T97. I think the metal is far superior to the 180. I have put tons of rounds through my T97 and its showing zero wear. There are lots of posts on the 180 about inferior metals & premature wear.
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Totally agreed. The wk180 uses some sort of cheap material on key parts.
 
rhino62 said:
I think a lot of people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to rifles like the BCL102, STAG10 amd WK180-C, since in general the more an item is manufactured the greater the possibility that they will have worked out the design and manufacturing issues. To not expect issues to come up with items that have been recently developed is quite unrealistic, especially if the manufacturer is not a large enterprise, even if it is a large enterprise there are no guaranties i.e Boeing with the 737 Max 8 comes to mind!. I think Kodiak Defense and Wolverine are to be congratulated on developing the WK180-C at the price point that they are offering the rifle to the market and what issues that have occurred are quite normal for a product at its current stage of development.
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I agree with you 100%. The problem that we are having is that they are not taking responsibility and offering to fix to those of us that already have them. They just change the design because there is a problem with them and expecting us to already have them to pay for the new parts. I had the first generation of Versamax and when Remington made changes all I had to do was call them and they sent me all the new parts no questions asked.
 
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