I’m sure KAC makes great stuff, but I just can’t imagine it being vastly superior to a Noveske. Personally I would rather have a non-proprietary bolt.
See my second post. I meant to change the title and forgot.
KAC gets plenty of love around here.
For myself, I nearly went with KAC but the proprietary bolt put me off. I am sure its wonderful and rarely/never fails, but if you want a rifle for life, the low cost of a BCM MPI spare bolt compared to a spare KAC bolt really put me more in favor of something else. For the record, I went Colt and BCM.
I think I found the weight. If this is correct, it’s 6.75 lbs. Pretty darn good!
No BCM/LMT/COLT?
How does the KAC stack up on accuracy?
From what little I have read the E3 bolt design is apparently superior in strength and longevity to Milspec. I wonder if controversy about the design will be occurring in a few years since all manufacturers may be using it or a variation. I also voted with my wallet last August when I bought an SR-15 from Scottsdale Gun Club. Before making my purchase I had the opportunity to handle in an afternoon one or more examples of product from just about every AR-15 manufacturer. Living in Scottsdale makes this very easy to do because across a sidewalk from SGC is US Autoweapons and three miles away is Bear Arms. These three dealers always have a large and diverse selection. Of all the AR-15 variants available, nothing equaled the handling and features of the SR-15. I have shot a few rounds through other peoples various ARs both DI and Piston over the years and many thousands of rounds through my own previously owned Colt AR-15A1/A2s and U.S. Army M16A1/A2s. The last three months of shooting confirmed in my mind that nothing feels as good shooting as the SR-15. Today or tomorrow I will test out my new Surefire Mini suppressor with the hope that reliability will not degrade. By the way, going the Trust route seems to be the quickest way to get the stamp as I received mine two months to the day of application.
I voted Noveske because I own one, but not the others. Wouldn’t mind adding a KAC to the collection someday, but not sure how I feel it not being 100% interchangeable with my current stable. If/when SCAR becomes more established, and prices more relatively reasonable, then maybe they go on the wish list too.
Can the KAC proprietary bolt be pulled out and replaced with a regular AR15 bolt if the user desires to (or needs to)?
I almost forgot about this. One big factor for me is compatability with PMC Bronze 55 gr. I almost excusively use this as plinking/shooting ammo. I’m sure it is recognized as a lower power/pressure ammo. I’ve heard that KAC has opened that gas port on their newer rifles to accomodate weaker ammo. However, I don’t want to be SOL if I end up getting an older rifle that does not have the gas port opened up. Thoughts?
I’ve read before on this forum that you can use a standard AR15/M16 bolt in an SR15 if you have to, but it’s not recommended to do it for extended periods. I have no firsthand experience with this.
I only own one Noveske, the rest are colts.
Noveske is really about there barrels and there QC. I have one of the few rifles I think has ever left Noveske with a QC error. even then it was minor and could be fixed myself. My next rifle will be a Noveske. primarily because of his customer service; He REALLY took care of me when he caught wind of my rifles issues.
I would argue that Noveske still stands up with Colt, LMT and BCM. At the same price point ill keep buying Noveske. Cant really compare it to the KAC fairly.
The commercial OEM parts argument can be made for several manufactures.
I agree mostly with your standpoint though.
I say “none of the above”, though I voted KAC as that’s the one I would select from those 3.
Things I don’t care for:
KAC- I don’t like the flip up front sight on the URX, I can live with the KAC trigger and bolt as parts are available, but they aren’t my favorites
Noveske- I don’t care for the rail, or the carbine gas system
SCAR- the buttstock “seems cheap”, i’d like to see it beefed up, the forend needs an extension to work for me, and parts seem to be unavailable, it also needs a “match” trigger pack
I own a KAC and is a great rifle. I’m not concerned about the proprietary parts based on the fact that they have not had a single customer owned bolt break since the sr15 hit the market. I wouldn’t be concerned about gas port size either. The liklihood of getting an older rifle with the smaller port is low if you buy one new and even if you did, in the past KAC has opened up ports for guns that had issues with lower powered ammo. I shoot lots of low powered Centurion through mine with no issues.
Now, with all that being said, if I could only have one rifle for the rest of my life, I would choose BCM or DD in a midlength configuration and a couple of spare BCM bolts. Colt would definitely be as bombproof as a AR can be, but I don’t care for the CAR gas length.
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Umm Noveske offers mid length and intermediate length gas systems. Their carbine gas system is only on the 14.5 inch and shorter barrels.
Pat
Uhmm, I was commenting on the ones he has listed. I’m well aware of Noveske offerings, I’m an owner.
You should buy the one that you like. As long as you buy KAC, Noveske, Daniel Defense, BCM, LMT, or Colt you will have a rifle that will probably outlast you. I currently own all but a Colt, and I’ve owned a few over the years. All are middies except my LMT, which is an SBR, so carbine gas. Buy the one that appeals to you the most or comes with many of the features on it that you like. They all offer something a little bit different than the others. There are things I like on all of them and things I don’t like on most of them.
How does the E3’s accuracy stack up against the Noveske Light rifle’s accuracy?
My Noveske is a SS 16" Recon so it’s not really a good comparison. What are you going to do with it? My KAC regularly shoots under 2 MOA. That’s with an Acog on it. I have gotten several sub MOA groups but don’t shoot for groups with it once I settled in and zeroed everything.