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Products and equipment

Springfield Armory Saint AR15

July 20, 2023Product review, Shooting hardwarear15, saint, springfield armorycoldboremiracle

The firearms market is littered with countless AR-15 revisions and designs, so when a company like Springfield Armory joined the vast AR market they must have had something to offer. Today we will be looking at one of the Springfield Saint AR-15 models, to see what Springfield has to offer in this flooded market of rifles.

Gun Specs

CALIBER: 5.56x45mm NATO (.223 REM)
COLOR: Black
BARREL: 16″ CMV, Melonite®, 1:8
UPPER RECEIVER: Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum, Type III Hardcoat Anodized, Forward Assist, M4 Feed Ramps
LOWER RECEIVER: Forged 7075 T6 Aluminum, Type III Hardcoat Anodized, Accu-Tite™ Tension System
BOLT CARRIER GROUP: M16 w/ Carpenter 158 Steel Bolt, HPT/MPI, Melonite®
GAS SYSTEM: Direct Impingement Mid-Length, Picatinny Pinned Gas Block
HANDGUARD: Victor M-Lok Handguard
STOCK: BCMGUNFIGHTER™ Mod 0
TRIGGER: Nickel Boron Coated GI
MUZZLE DEVICE: A2 Flash Hider
BUFFER ASSEMBLY: Carbine “H” Heavy Tungsten Buffer
CHARGING HANDLE: GI Style
SAFETY SWITCH: Single Side
TRIGGER GUARD: BCMGUNFIGHTER™
GRIP: BCMGUNFIGHTER™ Mod 3
MAGAZINES: (1) 30-Round Magpul PMAG Gen M3
WEIGHT: 6 lbs 11 oz
LENGTH: 32.25″ – 35.5″
MSRP: $1,023

Gun Background

Springfield Armory has been well known for decades for making great firearms. The Saint series of rifles is Springfield’s venture into the AR-15 or Modern Sporting Rifles (MSR) market. The Saint rifles claim all the best features that come with an MSR, the question I plan to answer today is whether the Saint is an exceptional rifle as far as MSR’s go or if it is just another AR.
Springfield has put extensive work into broadening the Saint rifle lineup, with a model of the rifle in near any desirable configuration, including dedicated marksman type rifles, compliant models, and SBR and pistol variants.

Features

BCM Gunfighter furniture- Buttstock and pistol grip come from the popular BCM Manufacturing
M-Lok compatible handguard- Allows for easy addition of accessories
Nickel Boron coated internals- Trigger parts and BCG parts treated for better wear and durability
Forged upper and lower receivers- for strength and hard anodized for durability

Models

The **YHM Turbo suppressor** was a great companion

The Saint comes in a black anodized color, with other color options in Cerakote like OD Green and FDE. The variants of the rifles can get quite extensive, there are both 5.56 and .308 caliber versions of the rifle. Most of the general options can be had in a low capacity or compliant configuration. There are both sixteen and twenty inch barrel options, and even an SBR 11.5 inch version of the rifle.

On the Range

My first impression of the Saint came as I lifted it from the box, it seemed light enough for its size. And most everything about it seemed exactly as I expected. The M-Lok handguard looked bare with nothing on it, I would change that soon enough. The BCM buttstock was easy to collapse and extend to alter the rifle’s length, there are a couple sling-mounting cups in the back of it to attach a carry sling. The matching BCM pistol grip was a comfortable fit, and textured to give better purchase.
I ran the charging handle a couple times to check the rifle for safety, the smooth melonited bolt carrier slapped back and forth with the familiar boing of the buffer spring. That familiar smell of freshly anodized aluminum sliding against itself reminded me of every other new AR that’s graced my shoulder. Springfield also nitrides their trigger assembly, I expected it would make it smoother than a standard mil-spec trigger. After giving the trigger a few presses, I’d say its a bit better than average, but nothing spectacular. It does have a nice firm and audible reset though.

the Saint with a **Yankee Hill Machine muzzle brake**

Rifles like this are typically setup for short to medium range, with that in mind I decided to go with a simple Vortex red dot sight. With that taken care of, I added a couple other things to the rifle. A Magpul MS4 sling, and a small down-grip up front. I like using these as a place to grip and pull with my support hand. The Saint comes with a pretty standard bird-cage flash hider, but I was surely going to swap that out for one of my own. I intended on running my Yankee Hill Machine Turbo on the rifle, so I mounted up a compatible muzzle brake as well.

With nothing left to do but get treat this Saint to heat of hell’s fire, I grabbed some American Eagle ammo and headed up to my shooting spot. With a stack of GI and Pmags loaded, I set to zero my red dot. The rifle was easy enough to get zeroed which allowed me to spend more time shooting instead of goofing around with the turrets. The light weight of this rifle makes it very easy to throw around, recoil is very modest particularly when suppressed.
Accuracy of the Saint was pretty standard, I had no problems hitting most things that I aimed at within a reasonable distance. Hitting milk jug sized targets at nearly three-hundred yards was pretty repeatable, and close stuff like fifty yards was obviously no challenge at all.
The rifle felt just like it should, easily integrated into my shooting style. The ergonomics of the AR 15 have been perfected over the decades, and the Saint is no different, it fit me well allowing me to shoot it like we were old friends. I hammered through a couple hundred rounds which went all too fast, I’ll happily report that during this short duration I experienced zero malfunctions.
The several hours of range time with the Springfield Saint were great, and I think that for the $1100 or so dollars it goes for on the street are probably worth it. I’m sure there are countless similar rifles that go for much more, and others that go for far less. I prefer to pay enough to know that I got something worth having around.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Compatible- The Saint meets the needs of most modifications or accessories most shooters want
Reliable- No malfunctions were experienced, and it appears Springfield Armory has taken the extra steps to ensure reliability
Accurate- Accuracy was more than adequate for a rifle of this type
Many Options- Plenty of colors and models to choose from

Cons

Plane Jane- There wasn’t anything about this gun that made it stand out from any other to me

Report Card

Shootability (A) the gun was a blast to shoot, easily manipulated and adapted to various shooting positions
Reliability (A) No malfunctions of any kind were experienced
Ergonomics (B+) The Saint was a great fit, I would have loved to see something like extra bolt-catch or ambi mag release
Accuracy (B+) Accuracy was pretty typical, shooting 55 fmj’s typically rendered 1.5 MOA
Value (B+) I think the Saint is a safe buy if you are looking for an AR rifle of this type

Ammo

I shot mostly American Eagle ammunition through the rifle, though I also shot some PMC bronze 55 grain as well. Both ran flawlessly through the rifle and performed well downrange.

Best Upgrades

I think a good recoil reducing brake makes this rifle even easier to shoot well, I used the YHM Phantom Micro brake. It worked great and had the added benefit of allowing me to quick mount my suppressor to the rifle.
A good sling is a must, the Magpul MS4 was a good choice, but anything comparable to it would likely serve you well.
I enjoyed using a red dot sight on the Saint, the Vortex Strikefire worked great for me. But I also would recommend the Sig Romeo as well, as it is a little more compact.
The Magpul downgrip was also convenient for better handling the rifle, anything comparable or that better fits your grip would be a good choice.

-CBM

More info about the Saint here

Christensen Arms MPR 6.5 Creedmoor

June 26, 2023Product review, Shooting hardware6.5 creedmoor, carbon fiber, Christensen Arms, modern precision rifle, MPRcoldboremiracle

Introduction

I am not new to Christensen Arms rifles, I’ve been lucky to play with several of them over the last couple years. But today we are looking at a new to me rifle; the Christensen Arms MPR 6.5 Creedmoor.

The Modern Precision Rifle (MPR) is Christensen’s version of a light-weight sharp-shooting rifle. Whether it’s used for competition shooting or as a sniper rifle, the MPR brings some very modern touches to the precision rifle market. But are those features worthy of praise?

The MPR

Christensen’s MPR is based around their stainless steel action, a two-lug action very similar to the very popular Remington 700 like many other modern actions. The rifle tested here is chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, using a short action bolt. Like most Christensen rifles, the MPR is heavily reliant on carbon fiber.

Its carbon-wrapped match-grade barrel is largely responsible for the rifle’s lightweight, as are other parts of the chassis. At the end of the barrel it is threaded 5/8-24 and is fit with a matching muzzle brake for additional recoil reduction.

At the heart of the chassis is an aluminum block where the action is mounted. And the handguard is bolted on to the front and is made from a carbon fiber shaped tube. The MPR uses the very popular AICS pattern magazines and they feed nicely into the magwell of the rifle. Inspecting the grip looks to be a basic AR-15 type pistol grip, this is a nice feature as you can install whichever one suits your fancy.

The folding stock hinges just behind the tang of the action, I really like the way they designed the hinge mechanism. It’s quite tight and locks up as if there was no hinge at all. Just be careful to keep skin away from the area while folding or you may bleed a bit.

Fortunately the butt stock of the MPR is completely adjustable, which makes it very nice to adapt to each individual shooter. The whole thing is pretty handsome and put together very nicely.

Shop this and other Christensen Arms products

Rifle Setup

Surely I was going to need a good scope and at least a bipod to shoot this rifle well. I installed a Primary Arms ACSS Apollo 6-30X56 riflescope in a ZRO Delta Mount . To simplify I went with a Harris 6-9 bipod attached to the pic-rail on the bottom of the MPR handguard. For ammunition I brought along a few boxes of Hornady 140 grain match ammo. With everything put together, leveled and balanced I adjusted the rifle to fit me, and headed out for the range.

First Impressions

The Christensen Arms MPR 6.5 Creedmoor was plenty comfortable to shoot. It weighed so little compared to other similar rifles I have. As I sat behind it on a bench I ran the bolt a few times and felt the break of the trigger just to familiarize myself with it. Its bolt was easy to lift and snap shut, and the Trigger Tech trigger as usual felt outstanding.

I loaded the magazine and closed the bolt. As I broke the trigger everything felt right, the recoil was quite modest and running the bolt for round two sent the empty case flying. The M16 style extractor of the MPR does a great job getting brass out of the way for the next round.

I fired a few more shots and adjusted my scope to get a proper zero. At that point I tried to settle down as best I could and shoot a few good groups using both the Hornady and some Federal 130 grain match. I felt quite good about my shooting but I was not super excited about the grouping downrange, the first three groups of five-shots measured right around an inch. I tried again with my other ammo selection and got very similar results, my only hope is that perhaps this rifle doesn’t like what I feed it. And maybe there is something out there it will shoot better.

Into the snow

We decided to take the rifle for a hiking trip into the snow-covered Rocky Mountains, and I brought another type of Hornady ammunition to see if perhaps it faired better. With all my gear stowed on my back, my son and I headed into the cold.

The open country where we live makes an excellent place to hunt and shoot. Here in these breezy canyons I wanted to see how the MPR shot. Mainly to see how it would perform at longer distances and real-world shooting scenarios.

Normally this time of year I shoot at tiny snow patches in the dirt. But due to winter part 2, I was instead shooting at little dirt patches in the snow. The first target was about a three-inch muddy spot surrounded by white snow. I figured it would be easy to spot the impact and judge the shot.

After loading the rifle I steadied it and focused on my point of aim nearly four hundred yards away. I pressed the trigger and the suppressed gust of pressure echoed across the canyon. I’d added my Yankee Hill Machine R9 suppressor just to see if it helped the performance of the rifle.

The contrast of dark splattered dirt across the snow, and my hit was close enough to call it good in my opinion. So I continued my search for additional targets. We repeated the process until I had exhausted my curiosity and ammunition supply.

christensen arms MPR 6.5 Creedmoor — We also shot the MPR suppressed with the **YHM R9 suppressor**

Pros and Cons

I’ll be honest up front, I wasn’t exactly sold on the aesthetics of this rifle when I first saw it. I couldn’t exactly say what I didn’t like about it. But it has certainly grown on me a bit over the last few weeks. Everybody else thought it looked great so I’ll assume its just my weird taste.

I was really hoping this rifle would shoot better than it did. To be fair it is not a new rifle so its possible that it has been rode hard and put away wet too many times. But a rifle like this should shoot half-MOA groups all day. I just couldn’t get it to reliably do that.

On the plus side, I really appreciated many of the rifles other qualities. The light weight is always appreciated. And its comfortable and adjustable chassis made shooting it very pleasant. Little features like the folding mechanism, great trigger, awesome cycling and threaded barrel made adapting the rifle to my purposes easy. And of course improved my shooting experience.

Click here to see more about the MPR

Conclusion

I must say that I liked this rifle more than I expected to. And yet I’m torn because I am simply uninterested in rifles that won’t shoot reliably sub MOA. I’m lucky to have rifles ranging from discount economy models under four hundred dollars up to production sniper rifles that cost seven thousand dollars. And even the cheap ones I can typically get to shoot consistently sub MOA and often 1/2 MOA.

The Christensen Arms MPR 6.5 Creedmoor surely could be an outstanding rifle, I’ve heard of others that shoot outstanding and accurately. If this one did, I think I’d be hard pressed to let it go. But with a street price just under twenty-four hundred dollars, I’d need more convincing.

If you like this carbon fiber rifle, check out this custom one the 257 Blackjack

MAVEN BUILT RS.3 5-30X50 RIFLE SCOPE

June 24, 2023Optics, Product reviewlong range, maven, maven built, riflescopecoldboremiracle

INTRODUCTION

As so many new optics companies flood the market with rifle scopes, it’s a great time for shooting nerds like me to get their hands full of options.

One of the more recent companies to arrive on the scene is Maven Optics, and today I will be inspecting one of their long-range riflescopes, the Maven RS.3 is a 5-30X50mm rifle scope. It promises to deliver high-quality images combined with the ballistic tools needed to give hunters and shooters an elite performance at any range.

I’ve been like a tick on the ass of the precision rifle community for a couple of decades now, and it has been incredible to see the changes achieved in this space. I remember when I first got into precision rifle shooting, and the options were very limited.

It was a different landscape than what we have today, where there are incredibly high-functioning options that are surprisingly inexpensive. This is no doubt attributable to imported products from all over, but mainly Asia.

The Maven RS.3 is made from Japanese components, which in my experience, has proven to be both affordable and optically sound. I’ve been able to use and test a great many of the options on the market today, so I look forward to sharing what I’ve found with today’s subject.

After a concise introduction to the scope, I already have a pretty good feeling about it.

MAVEN BUILT RS.3 5-30X50 RIFLE SCOPE REVIEW

The RS.3 is Maven’s premium option, and it comes full of features that shooters once dreamed about. It’s quality optics and desirable features come at a price that would surprise some of the other old-timers like myself.

The sport of precision rifle shooting has grown exponentially over the last twenty years, and growing right alongside it has been long-range hunting.

Both practices rely heavily on the ability to hit an often small target at ranges that, until recently, were quite inconceivable. After a short overindulgence in Maven’s marketing material, I get the feeling that they wish to supply both of these types of shooters.

Not that your traditional hunter/shooter wouldn’t benefit from such a rifle scope, but it may be more money than you need to spend if you are the type of shooter who rarely reaches beyond conventional distances.

Long-range rifle scopes like the RS.3 are optimized for tactical-style shooting and long-range hunting. These activities require correction for varying ballistic performances of the cartridges they are mated to.

So with that in mind, it’s important to consider the rifle and cartridge and the intended purpose to ensure you get the best tool for the job.

maven RS.3 5-30X50 mounted on tikka t3 long range test — The Maven Scope performed well on my **Tikka 25 Creedmoor**

SPECIFICATIONS

Magnification	5x to 30x
Tube Diameter	30mm
Objective Lens	50mm
Weight	26.9 ounces
Focal Plane	First
Length	13.03 inches
Turret Values	1/10 MRAD
Reticle	SHR-MIL
Warranty	Lifetime

PROS & CONS

PROS

High quality optical performance
Front focal plane
Compact size
Milling reticle
Smooth controls
Zero-stop

CONS

Six MRAD turrets
Loses brightness at 30x

TESTING IN THE FIELD

As I lifted the Maven from its curious egg-carton-like box my curiosity had peaked. I had seen Maven scopes for years, on other’s rifles and in countless pictures.

I hadn’t really formed an opinion yet, but based on what I had vaguely seen and heard, people were happy with them. I inspected the RS.3, and gave the controls a cursory twist to see that everything had arrived intact.

From there, I went outside to have a look at the world around me, as presented by Maven. The image I saw was actually better than I might have expected. Very little aberration around the edges and a pleasantly bright picture that felt great to my eyes. I played with the focus a bit to see how clear I could get the picture at these neighborhood ranges.

Like a true reticle geek, I was immediately enticed by the many subtensions that adorned the posts. There were half MIL and whole MIL marks, out to five, where it turned to more course measurements. The open center housed a tiny dot that, even at 30X, seemed quite fine, and would work great for very precise shot placement.

But it was time to get this little scope ringed up and on a rifle. I mounted it in a 20 MOA canted AADland Engineering cantilever mount, with the plan to mount the scope to one of my favorite rifles, a Tikka T3 chambered in 25 Creedmoor.

I was a bit worried about how it would all line up, but as it turns out, everything was a pretty close fit.

As I set the rifle up to boresight the combination, I noticed a condition that would perhaps aid in shooting with the scope further than anticipated. I’d forgotten that the Tikka already had a 20MOA scope base installed, so the total cant on the scope was 40MOA.

I was worried I wouldn’t be able to zero it at my desired range, but as it happens, it worked out perfectly zeroed near the bottom of the scopes erector travel. This would allow me to use the full elevation capabilities of the RS.3. So, with plans to get way out there, I headed up into the Rocky Mountains to test this scope in the very country it was designed for.

It only took a few shots to get into a groove with the Maven. I really liked the bright image in the morning sun.

Using the tiny point at the center of the crosshair, I was able to adjust my zero till it was as good as it was going to get. The various holdover and windage points would come in very handy for holding wind and measuring corrections.

Many folks use the reticle sub tensions for various purposes, but for me, the main purpose is measuring where I hit compared to where I aimed. This allows for rapid corrections, which are very necessary in the field, particularly when hunting.

Shop all Maven Rifle Scopes Here

maven RS.3 5-30X50 mounted on tikka t3 long range test jeff wood — My **Cole-TAC suppressor cover** kept mirage down

With the sun shining, I shot several targets across a great spectrum of distances from one-hundred-fifty yards all the way out to one-thousand yards.

This is where I confirmed one of my suspicions that I’ve seen plenty of times before. Every scope I have ever used has a reduced image quality at maximum power. The disparity is often more obvious with optics that are lower priced. This is why you get what you pay for is even more true with glass.

I’ve found that at the highest 5-10% of magnification, most scopes become dark, and details become less obvious. The Maven was certainly not immune to this phenomenon; I found that at its highest ranges of power, it was darker and harder to make out the finer details.

But as I mentioned, I have seen this with nearly every scope out there, and the Maven was no worse than most scopes I’ve used before. In fact, being a 5-30 magnification scope means that at 25x it looks outstanding, whereas comparable 5-25 scopes will likely not look as good when viewed at 25x.

The six-MIL turrets are certainly serviceable, though I am a bigger fan of ten or higher MIL per revolution of the turret. This becomes more of an issue the further you shoot; if the distance you are shooting requires multiple revolutions of the turret to get the corrective elevation, the likelihood of losing track of which turn you are on increases.

maven rs.3 hunting — The rifle and scope combination made an excellent choice for my favorite hunt

It is for this purpose that some use indicators to show which revolution you are on, or another alternative is a zero-stop.

The folks at Maven chose to go the zero-stop route, which is not a bad idea as it is probably the simpler and more affordable way to go. The zero-stop allows you to set a hard zero for your elevation turret. This is very handy as you don’t even have to look while you turn the elevation turret down until it stops. And once there, you know the scope is back at its zero range setting.

There are many different ways to put a zero-stop on an elevation turret, and the design Maven uses isn’t a bad option. It allowed me to have a hard zero that is easily changed using only a small screwdriver tool included with the scope.

The parallax/side focus of the RS.3 was very functional, and I was surprised at how close it would function. What I mean by that is most precision rifle scopes tend to keep their range in the fifty-yard range out to infinity.

The Maven RS.3 can be focused as near as twenty yards, and removing parallax on targets that close would make it a good choice for those fancy new air rifles.

This combination would be an excellent long range Rocky Mountain hunting rifle

RELIABILITY

During the course of testing out the Maven RS.3, I experienced no issues with its functions. All the controls are easy to operate and with just the right amount of resistance. While I suppose I could have given it a beating with a larger caliber rifle, I have no reason to expect it would have any problems doing so.

As we have become accustomed to the modern optics market, Maven offers a lifetime warranty. So it is good to know that should you experience an issue, they promise to stand behind it.

PRECISION

I was quite happy with the performance of the RS.3 as far as precision is concerned. The measurements input on the turrets were accurate and commensurate to the values in the reticle.

Being a 6X zoom, I was a little worried that the reticle would become too thick at maximum power, but it was still fine enough for accurate use.

OVERALL FEEL

The Maven felt great in both my hands and on my rifle. Comparably priced scopes and including the RS.3 can often have a cheap feel, by which I mean you feel like it could be broken by using too much force on the controls and such.

I certainly don’t recommend abusing your rifle scope in such a way, but I do have and have had scopes that I never felt like I could damage by forcing the controls. And even dropping a fifteen-pound rifle on concrete didn’t ruin the turrets.

That said, I do not expect the Maven or comparably priced scope to endure such torture. Such a performance is more appropriate for scopes costing two and three times what the RS.3 costs.

For the asking price of the RS.3, I think the scope feels great. There are few things more that I could ask of it without adding significantly to its market cost.

FEATURES

RETICLE

The SHR-MIL front focal plane reticle was a good combination of adequate subtentions without getting too busy.

I like that they numbered many of the reticle points, as it can often get confusing when you are shooting quickly. I suppose there are some folks in the PRS community that may find the reticle a little simplistic for their purpose, which is certainly subjective.

For me, it was fine, and for my favorite activity which is hunting I find it to be ideal.

This is the first scope of its kind that I have reviewed that didn’t feature an illuminated reticle. Some may find this to be a downside. In my opinion, it’s not a big deal. I can count on my hand the times I needed an illuminated reticle over the last twenty years.

ZERO-STOP

The zero-stop, as I mentioned above, is a very handy feature to ensure you know when your scope is set at its original zero POI. The zero-stop functions by having a lockable ring threaded below the turret.

Once the rifle is zeroed, you turn the ring up to the bottom of the turret as a hard stop. The ring can be secured using a screw to tighten it down to prevent movement.

The typical set screws that secure the turret to the erector screw underneath have been cunningly replaced by using a toolless cap on the turrets. You can’t even see it, but the top of each turret’s textured grip area is the caps that can be removed by gripping the turret and loosening the top of it (lefty loosey), once removed you can lift the turret off and set it where you want it before resecuring it with the thumb-screw at the top of the turret.

30MM TUBE

The 30mm tube has become pretty standard among long-range scopes and is quickly being replaced by the 34mm tube.

The 30mm tube used in the Maven RS.3 allows for greater internal travel than the traditional one-inch tubes your Dad used. This gives the Maven RS.3 a 23MRAD total travel, which is pretty good.

SCORE CARD

RELIABILITY (8/10)

I had no problems with the Maven RS.3 while shooting with it. All the controls worked great. The only thing I would have preferred would have been 10MIL turrets and perhaps a tiny bit more resistance on the turrets. During a hike, the rifle slung over my pack caused my windage to move a couple of clicks.

ERGONOMICS (9/10)

Ergos were great with this scope, easily gripped surfaces, and intuitive operation was great.

CUSTOMIZATION (9/10)

Maven does offer custom options for the scope, which is pretty cool. You can add custom colors to various controls as well as custom engraving.

APPEARANCE (9/10)

It is a great-looking little scope! The finish and quality are great for the price.

VALUE (9/10)

The RS.3 offers just about everything an aspiring long-range shooter needs. And with an MSRP of $1200, it is hard to beat. I remember twenty years ago. I would save up that much money to buy a scope with lesser features.

Click here for more information, comparisons and accessories

CONCLUSION

The steady flooding of the optics market has raised many brands to notoriety. Honestly, I wasn’t surprised that the Maven RS.3 fit right into my collection.

I have seen and heard about them for years. The shooting public has been spoiled with so many good options. This scope is a great buy, and its features are ideal for someone looking to get in on long-range hunting or shooting on a tight budget. Sure, there are higher-quality scopes out there, and if you have the money to get one, I would suggest spending what you can afford.

But if you are looking at scopes in this price range, I think you would do fine using the Maven RS.3. I won’t be selling off any of my high-end scopes to buy more of these, but I certainly don’t feel inadequately outfitted with the Maven on my rifle.

-CBM

FN FS2000 Bullpup Review

June 15, 2023Product review, Shooting hardwarebullpup, fh herstal, fn, fs2000coldboremiracle

The world of bullpups is a unique one, and pretty much everybody knows each other there. There are several popular bullpups available on the market, and today we are reviewing one of the popular bullpups from the recent past. The FN Herstal FS2000 bullpup was produced for almost twenty years, and it has seen service by various military services across the world. If you don’t know what a bullpup is, lets get that out of the way first.

A bullpup firearm is one where the action is located behind the trigger versus in front of. The idea is to reduce the overall footprint of the weapon, but they are often looked down upon due to inherent designs that typically complicate some basic functions.

The FS2000

The FS2000 is a 5.56 NATO carbine designed for military and police use. The rifle utilizes a 17.5 barrel that is tucked deep into its bullpup chassis to shorten the platform. The gun utilizes Stanag pattern magazines but as far as I can tell only works with the metal GI type. The action uses a short-stroke gas piston, a rotating bolt and an interesting forward ejecting system to overcome the ambidextrousness of a bullpup, with the action being next to the face it would be very unpleasant to have brass ejecting out the side into your face should you be left-handed.

The FS2000 has a very unique look, and one that has earned it several nicknames such as the ‘tactical tuna’. Similar to the other FN bullpup the P90, the FS2000 borrowed a similar safety that is also ambidextrous. A small disc located at the bottom of the trigger-guard can be rotated from either side with the trigger finger to engage or disengage the safety. The trigger itself like many other bullpup designs is a little more mushy than most would care for. The other controls include the magazine release located just in front of the magazine itself, the magazine release can be pressed with the upper side of your hand while stripping the mag from the rifle. The charging handle is located on the front-left side of the rifle, and uses a claw detent to keep it in place. The bolt does not lock-back on the last round, so there isn’t a bolt-release.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of the rifle is at the breech. Since the chamber end of the barrel is deeply covered inside the rifle, there is a spring loaded trap door just in front of the cheek-rest that the operator can open to see the breech and clear any malfunctions.

The rifle features a great deal of sealing designs to prevent the ingress of debris into the rifle. All points of ingress have their own way of closing off, such as gaskets in the magwell, and a closed ejection port. The rifle weighs in just shy of eight pounds at seven-point-nine pounds, and the overall length of the rifle is twenty-nine and a quarter inches. The compact size of the rifle promises to give the user more maneuverability and mobility in action.

Lets see it!

When I opened the box containing the FS2000, I was surprised to find that it had been shipped with both the original foregrip panels, as well as a picatinny railed foregrip to utilize other accessories. The downgrip gave better purchase for me than the traditional smooth forearm panels, so I left it installed for the purposes of the review.

The gun seemed lighter than I expected, but I think thats because it appears bigger and bulkier than it should be. It felt lighter than expected because there seems to be a lot of empty space inside. As I lifted the gun to my shoulder, I was surprised by two things; first, I didn’t dislike the feel of the rifle as I expected I would based on my experience with the FN PS90. And second; it felt rather bulky compared to similar firearms whether bullpup or conventionally configured.

The FS2000 compared to the **Springfield Armory Hellion**

I ran the charging handle a few times to get a feel for the rifle, while it may offend some of the older crowd I have grown to like the feel of metal and polymers functioning in unison. The FS2000 felt smooth and locked up tight, I gave the trigger a few squeezes to see how it felt. I’ve felt a few bullpup triggers in my day, and this one was not too shabby to be fair. There are certainly better triggers but this one was certainly serviceable.

I gave the remaining controls a once over, I didn’t care for the safety much which again was no surprise. The mag release is another curious design, its a button just in front of the magazine well that you can depress with the edge of your hand while gripping the magazine. It is actually quite pleasant to use if you are stripping the mag with intent to retain it, but if you are reloading a fresh magazine it will definitely slow you down. It requires you to strip the mag with your support hand, then grabbing a fresh mag to insert.

Note mag release in front of magazine well

The muzzle of the 17.5 inch barrel is pinned (eye roll) with a muzzle brake, something I don’t care for. The gas block has two settings which I would have loved to tried with a suppressor, but I guess that’ll only happen in my dreams.

It was time to install a red dot, and get this thing to the range. Once upon a time the FS2000 was available with a 1.6X sight attached, the pictures alone made me shudder so I’m glad I had my own. I dropped a simple little Vortex red dot onto the rifle, and after gathering up some ammunition I was on my way to the range.

It had been a minute since I’d loaded some old metal GI mags, but it felt nostalgic. I loaded the magazines with some PMC Bronze 55 grain ammo, and began firing my first magazine. A handful of rounds in, the rifle stopped. That old familiar feeling of the bolt not going into battery told me something was up. The cunning mechanical device that grabs the spent case and pushes it into the long ejection chute had jammed. The spent case managed to get turned around inside the receiver and bound up, causing quite a disturbance in my shooting. After clearing the case, I finished out the mag and loaded another.

While shooting the rifle I actually enjoyed the feeling of it. I had no trouble hitting an IPSC target with every round in the magazine at two hundred yards, something every battle rifle should be able to do.

Keeping rapid shots on target at 200 yards seemed easy

Through the rest of my range time that day, the gun ran almost flawlessly. I had one more malfunction as a round got bit going into the chamber, though I’m not sure if I could blame that one on the gun. I must admit that I enjoyed the gun much more than I expected too, and I’m even a bullpup fan.

Pros and Cons

One of my biggest gripes with so many gun owners is when they discount certain firearms or types of firearms based solely on negligent testing and arbitrary opinions. It’s easy to throw smoke at bullpups, they already get shamed for their looks so if they aren’t 100% perfect in their function they are quickly discarded.

As a bullpup fan, even I found myself quick to dismiss the FS2000. But I was quickly turned around by its smooth impulses and pleasant shooting. Though despite my positive experience with the rifle I must be fair to its critics. There are several awkward things about this gun, the bulk and controls seems to be the most of it for me. I didn’t care for the safety, mag release process, magazine compatibility, failure to lock back on empty and such.

In its favor, the rifle was accurate enough to be useful, completely ambidextrous for those lefties out there, and despite the awkward controls I still enjoyed the rifle quite a bit.

Conclusion

Yes I enjoyed the FS200, and though I’m already a bullpup fan I found something new by playing with the FS200. I’ve heard many people of the opinion that military service is some kind of indicator of a firearms suitability for severe duty, and the FN FS2000 certainly has seen much service across the world. And yet I felt a smidge let down because I’ve gotten to experience better suited rifles that those same people would call insufficient for service.

The FS2000 is a fun rifle, but I don’t think I could see myself paying the money for one with so many other good options available today.

-CBM

Tristar LR94 Lever Action Shotgun

June 8, 2023Product review, Shooting hardware.410, lr94, shotgun, tristarcoldboremiracle

INTRODUCTION

Like many of you, I grew up watching cowboy movies and loved the appeal of the old lever-gun-wielding hero. I always wanted to have a few lever-guns of my own, and have recently been adding them here and there to my collection. I was surprised to see the latest member of the group though, and despite my initial concerns it has turned out to be every bit as appealing. The Tristar LR94 lever action shotgun has every feature a lever-gun connoisseur would looks for, and maybe a few they wouldn’t have. My first thoughts about a lever-action .410 wandered into why a person would want or use such a firearm.

But after thinking about it for a bit, I figured it would be better to revisit that internal debate after I’d already proven the gun worthy.

Tristar is advertised as something of a more affordable brand, and I was worried that meant they would be cheap and come with comparable performance. The LR94 appears to offer a classy-looking shotgun with all the familiar function of a lever gun.

This brings a modest .410 shotgun performance, with mild recoil and a light load of shot for whatever you might point it at.

tristar lr94 lever action shotgun review test in mountains

TRISTAR LR94 SHOTGUN REVIEW

I was surprised when I opened the box containing the gun, as I was expecting a more traditional blued shotgun with a walnut stock.

As it turns out, mine was a Nickel plated model. They are also available in a matte black finish and a case-hardened color. As I lifted the handsome little shotgun from the box, I was impressed with the finish and quality look of the gun. Beautiful wood with a fine finish all around, and the nickel-plated metal had a bead-blasted look to it.

While it is sorta shiny, it also doesn’t have a hard flashy reflection like a blued shotgun would. Like anyone who ever watched a Western, I jacked open the action to see inside. The lever of the rifle was covered with a handsome little leather-stitched wrap. This was a welcome discovery as it added comfort to the back of your loading hand.

The LR94 features a two-and-a-half-inch only chamber, which makes ammo selection a little easier. The gun comes with a tubular magazine plug installed. This limits the capacity to three rounds only.

Check out the whole Tristar line of firearms here

This is typically done to accommodate many hunting regulations that require no more than three-round capacity. The plug can be removed to increase capacity to five rounds.

Like most lever-guns the Tristar LR94 uses a “squeeze-type” grip safety to allow the trigger to be pulled, which drops the hammer and ignites the chambered round.

In addition to that, the gun has a safety built into the top of the bolt. The safety is twisted clockwise or counter to engage or disengage the safety. The magazine is loaded through a side-gate like most other lever guns.

The muzzle of the rifle uses a Benelli Mobil style choke system and only came with one installed in the rifle. Also, at the muzzle is a clean front sight with a brass bead, easily indexed with the rear adjustable sight. It can be adjusted for both elevation and windage.

After my initial inspection, I was beginning to wonder if this shotgun was indeed going to be as inexpensive as Tristar’s “value experts” motto would suggest. It certainly didn’t appear to be a cheaply built or finished firearm.

tristar lr94 lever action shotgun review test young kid