Hello!
I thought I'll write my first post here about my new 13" MR308 A3. I already have a 16,5" and a 20" MR308, so the platform isn't that new to me, but this is the first really short barrel .308 that I have or have even tried. It's very precisely fitted, as are my two other MR308s, and to be honest, I didn't expect it to be any different. I bet that most of you are familiar with the differences when compared to the older models; ambidextrous controls, chrome barrel etc., so I'm not going to bore you with those. Everything seems to be in place, is ergonomic and the new handguard is much slimmer than the quadrail. The butt stock of the rifle, however, isn't as comfortable when shooting prone, as it doesn't provide the same "support" for your cheek and you can't lock it to be solid, like you can with the old one. Maybe this isn't too important for many of the buyers, especially so if one is getting this model with the short barrel...
I bought it a few weeks ago and finally got to shoot it for the first time; actually twice this week. The recoil is about the same as with the 16,5", as there's only about a 200gr less weight. The report for the shooter sounds about the same (I was shooting it on an open range; no walls, no structures around me), but the person standing next to me said that he could feel/hear the difference. During my first range trip the new rifle was a bit dry and it didn't like to lock back with some of the softer rounds and a few times it didn't pick up a new round from the magazine, though it ejected the spent casing. My 16,5" hasn't had any malfunctions of any sort (the 20" has been an unfired safe queen, as I've been trying to decide/save on a proper scope for it) and I've tried all the same ammo and more in it. On the second trip today, after adding some lubricant, the shorter rifle didn't have any failures to feed with any ammo and only once it failed to lock back on an empty mag. This one may require some breaking in, but I'm confident that it'll work as reliably as other one after some more rounds down range. Although in the beginning it got me wondering about the specs of the gas port; is it the same as with the longer barrels and does it have something to do with the malfunctions...? It's at the same point as with the longer models. Do any of you have specific info about this; are there differencies with gas ports; bigger holes or ...?
I was able to shoot about 1 MOA 3 shot groups @ 150m with a variety of ammunition. I was using a Meopta 4-16 Tactic, which made for a pretty funny looking package:biggrin: I can do a bit better with my 16,5"; the best 5 shot groups have been under 0,5 MOA @ 150m, but it's trigger is a bit cleaner.
I shot 7 different factory loadings (from 123grains to 190 grains) through both the 13" and the 16,5" models today and the shorter one consistently shot about 50 meters per second slower. For example some old Lapua ammo 185gr AV with the 16,5" was 715 m/s and with the 13" it was 667 m/s. This was about what I anticipated.
All in all, I like beast! It's quite handy; though a bit on the heavy side. It's fitted and finished very well (for example, the upper and lower with is extremely tight, as it's with my earlier MRs) and it's definitely one of the coolest guns I've ever had. I've read numerous opinions about a .308 this short of being ridicilous and I was studying the info about SBR .308 ballistics and thinking hard about this, but I couldn't help myself when I got to handle it... I had to take it home! And now I'm wanting to get a MR223 11" also...
I thought I'll write my first post here about my new 13" MR308 A3. I already have a 16,5" and a 20" MR308, so the platform isn't that new to me, but this is the first really short barrel .308 that I have or have even tried. It's very precisely fitted, as are my two other MR308s, and to be honest, I didn't expect it to be any different. I bet that most of you are familiar with the differences when compared to the older models; ambidextrous controls, chrome barrel etc., so I'm not going to bore you with those. Everything seems to be in place, is ergonomic and the new handguard is much slimmer than the quadrail. The butt stock of the rifle, however, isn't as comfortable when shooting prone, as it doesn't provide the same "support" for your cheek and you can't lock it to be solid, like you can with the old one. Maybe this isn't too important for many of the buyers, especially so if one is getting this model with the short barrel...
I bought it a few weeks ago and finally got to shoot it for the first time; actually twice this week. The recoil is about the same as with the 16,5", as there's only about a 200gr less weight. The report for the shooter sounds about the same (I was shooting it on an open range; no walls, no structures around me), but the person standing next to me said that he could feel/hear the difference. During my first range trip the new rifle was a bit dry and it didn't like to lock back with some of the softer rounds and a few times it didn't pick up a new round from the magazine, though it ejected the spent casing. My 16,5" hasn't had any malfunctions of any sort (the 20" has been an unfired safe queen, as I've been trying to decide/save on a proper scope for it) and I've tried all the same ammo and more in it. On the second trip today, after adding some lubricant, the shorter rifle didn't have any failures to feed with any ammo and only once it failed to lock back on an empty mag. This one may require some breaking in, but I'm confident that it'll work as reliably as other one after some more rounds down range. Although in the beginning it got me wondering about the specs of the gas port; is it the same as with the longer barrels and does it have something to do with the malfunctions...? It's at the same point as with the longer models. Do any of you have specific info about this; are there differencies with gas ports; bigger holes or ...?
I was able to shoot about 1 MOA 3 shot groups @ 150m with a variety of ammunition. I was using a Meopta 4-16 Tactic, which made for a pretty funny looking package:biggrin: I can do a bit better with my 16,5"; the best 5 shot groups have been under 0,5 MOA @ 150m, but it's trigger is a bit cleaner.
I shot 7 different factory loadings (from 123grains to 190 grains) through both the 13" and the 16,5" models today and the shorter one consistently shot about 50 meters per second slower. For example some old Lapua ammo 185gr AV with the 16,5" was 715 m/s and with the 13" it was 667 m/s. This was about what I anticipated.
All in all, I like beast! It's quite handy; though a bit on the heavy side. It's fitted and finished very well (for example, the upper and lower with is extremely tight, as it's with my earlier MRs) and it's definitely one of the coolest guns I've ever had. I've read numerous opinions about a .308 this short of being ridicilous and I was studying the info about SBR .308 ballistics and thinking hard about this, but I couldn't help myself when I got to handle it... I had to take it home! And now I'm wanting to get a MR223 11" also...
