Seriously considering the SR15 E3 Carbine MOD2 for SHTF duty. Has anyone had or heard of any cycling problems with QUALITY .223 ammo ? I always plan on using nothing but the best in 5.56 (Federal and Blackhills) but for considering the SR15 as a civilian SHTF gun one must plan for the possibility that 5.56 ammo may not always be available at the given moment in a bad situation. There’s just more .223 out there.
In particular is the mid-length gas system good to go while running weaker .223 if need be. Looking at the 14.5 middy.
I really hope more people post in this thread; I’m really looking hard at the exact same gun you are talking about.
I know on “the other side” KAC reps are pretty active in posting in their industry sub forum, so I read a lot there. I remember a post about the ammo they use to test each rifle before leaving the factory from a KAC rep, I forgot who, but I’m sure he’s active here as well.
I specifically remember him saying it was PMC. He didn’t specify if it was the X-tac or not, but considering the nature of the thread it was posted in I’d assume it was just the .223 pressure PMC.
I’m sure someone will come in here with a more definite answer for you.
Ever heard of anyone breaking any of those proprietary parts? I havent.Hell ballistic radio put 21k rounds through his mod 2 without any malfunctions or problems and it still shoots moa lol.You arent breaking the bolt or gas tube so the small parts you should already have on hand for any rifle are no big deal.
I have both the mod 1 and mod2.The sr15 line of rifles is handsdown the best purchase I have ever made when it comes to an AR15.My gun cycles everything from tula up to some 77gr loads.I generally feed them nothing but wolf gold/ppu/and freedom reman and I have never had an issue with either style sr15.
I have 10 KAC rifles with another one that will be delivered Monday. They will eat everything.
Get the KAC , you’ll love it. I use them all on duty/SWAT.
Can you have a malfunction? Of course, no such thing as a rifle that will never have a malfunction. But if you shoot decent ammo you’ll be fine.
I’ll be getting a Mod2 in the next 6-8 months.
I have an original SR15, a Mod 1, and an SBR. They are all stellar performers and I have not any malfunction that was attributable to the weapon. I shoot Federal XM193 almost exclusively. I have also put these guns on full auto lowers and run them suppressed. No problems what so ever. When I bought the original SR15 I ran it for over 3,500 rounds without cleaning, through several classes. I finally cleaned it when the black goo oozing from the upper ruined a nice Under Armor shirt I was wearing. I’ve also run them so dry that when I pulled the BCG out of the upper carbon powder falls out; no lube left at all. Mine have always run despite my attempts to test their limits. I also run mine with buffers one step up from stock with no ill effects.
Wasn’t there tons of posts a couple years ago about, to the dismay of some, they started making bigger gas ports to accommodate cheap ammo? Similar to many companies
I don’t understand this argument. If you break a bolt in a mil-spec AR, what will you do? Hope to scavenge a new bolt? Is that bolt going to be in an AR on the ground or do you expect to find a stockpile of spare bolts?
Does this mean you don’t recommend any pistol besides the 1911 for SHTF because they’re all proprietary?
Does this mean absolutely no other long gun besides a mil-spec AR is suitable for SHTF?
So as I see it the only proprietary parts to worry about in an EXTREME situation are the cam pin, bolt and firing pin. That I can store in the grip. If I ever blow through those items then I would just swap in a spare upper. I’m sold.
So are you guys talking about experience with the 16 or 14.5 middy?
Our 16" Mod 1s have been boringly reliable. Accuracy probably better than average: hitting 1" dots at 100 yards with a x6 scope is not an issue.
We run H2 buffers, suppressed or not. A couple of spare parts sets will ease your worries if the Barbarians ever come knocking at your door if the $h!t ever hits the fan…
SBRs are nice, but it all depends what you expect to do with your carbine. Do not expect the same suppressed performance out of an 11.5" or 14.5", but I do not know it it is a concern to you.
If you have any questions about KAC, feel free to hit me up.
I’m on the Govvie side, but stay in touch with the commercial side products as well (as they all evolved from the Gov side anyway).
Knight’s makes pinnacle products related to their rifle evolutions. When another competitor gets close, Knight’s ups them one, and keeps that trend up. I would tend to say that they have enough info gathered that they have succeeded so far in that respect.
Early E3 SR15s ran like a dream with 5.56 ammo, those are still amazing rifles, but they suffer some issues with other ammo with other issues. Later models ran a larger gas port, with the sacrifice of some of the smoothness for a wider range of function with other than good 556 ammo. The MOD1 versions use the same port, with other advantages. Same with the MOD2 that offers even more advantages, plus the “throwback” to the older SR25 type gas block retention, among other things. Smaller gas tweaks have been made, but not by a large margin.
My early MOD2 16" came with a 3 ounce buffered system. I would expect that they would offer the better performing H2 carbine system as a standard later on 16" guns, instead of the SBR’s only, with appropriate porting in the future. Or, they could simply use a SR25 RE, with an extended length buffer with the rifle spring, that would be excellent.
Just for giggles… I want a spare BCG… How much will it cost and how long will it take to get?? Imagine the theme song from the Jeopardy Show playing in the background.
I can only do mil and LE direct. Otherwise, I’d have to direct you to boltcarrier.com or operation parts.
If you have creds, email me at jleuba@knightarmco.com.
From Tapatalk:
Jack Leuba
Knight’s Armament Company: Military/Govt Product Liaison
F2S Consulting: Director of Shooting Stuff
