Quickie ACR impressions

General Firearms Other Semi-Automatic Rifles
1

I got to shoot the ACR today. Not my gun. Here is what I think of it

Pros:
Super tight build quality and presentation. Everything fit together perfect. Fit and finish were flawless. Nothing squeaked, rattled or made even the slight sound to suggest play or slop between parts

Plastics have a great feel to the touch, better than the SCAR (duh, magpul)

Trigger is quite good. Not as light as the XCR, but the break was clean, very little over travel, nice soft reset. Much better than the SCAR

Recoil control was great. Feels like and XCR on gas setting 2

Cheek piece adjustsments and lock up was top notch

Cons:

MBUS sights are bullshit for $2250 (what was paid)

Weight. It’s nose heavy because of the barrel profile. It needs a light barrel like the XCR and SCAR. Anyone that thinks the XCR is heavy is in for a real workout with the ACR, and it doesnt come close to have the exquisite balance of the SCAR. The SCAR and XCR are the same weight FYI

Fixed stock…for $2250. That’s crap. Think of other weapons in this price point and how they are equipped. KAC SR16, LWRC M6A2/A3, SCAR 16S, Noveske Recon 5.56mm W/VIS. The ACR basic is the worst equipped gun at its price point, period.

No quad rail? Again, at $2250. That’s pathetic. I can however live without it as long as I can get some bolt on rails, which will keep the weight down

Bolt release is a touch stiff compared to the XCR.

Feels really big in the hands

Less than impressive ejection strength

The charging handle feels flimsy as hell. Its just a thin sheet of metal. If the gun got jammed up good, I would feel uncomfortable beating the charging handle with a mallet.

Accuracy:

2.5 MOA or so in my hands at 100 yards, give or take with English Radway milspec ammo. This is typically how I shoot, so…

All in all, the ACR is solid. There isnt much negative to say about it at this time other than its way too expensive, and it is missing some features one would expect at its price point. The weight sucks too.

I personally wont be getting an ACR till SBR barrels and the enhanced model are available

2

I haven’t handled one so thanks for the physical review. I completely agree with the features you pointed out are missing. Like always I am going to wait for the Gen II when its cheaper and they make some improvements.

Do you think it would be Superior to the XCR is the price was right and it had a light barrel?

3

I dont know. The ACR is still super new, and no one knows what the kinks are…yet

Once BM gets all the configs and caliber conversions out, and the price down a few hundred, the ACR will be quite the formidable product that all competitors will have to take seriously

4

Less than impressive ejection strength

Compared to what…fixed ejectors or other spring loaded ejector rifles like the ar15?

5

There is only one standard as far as I am concerned.

6

Complete agreement here.

The MBUS sights need to go and be replaced by Troys or have no sights at all and let the end user choose.

Another thing about the sights is the Remington version is apparently coming with Troy sights which is also another bullshit move.

When is the ACR version coming out that experienced gun people will want to buy? At the rate this is going, its going to be 2015 before I have the ACR that I would want.

I’m not getting one until the whole Remington vs. Bushmaster stuff gets sorted out because I think I will be screwed if I buy the Bushmaster version. This issue of one brand having a higher end status whether this is true, not true, or perceived is what is impeding the sales of this gun.

Even if the Remington and Bushmaster version are identical in every way, savvy gun people will buy the Remington version.

7

Thanks for the post. I’m really hoping to build a rifle later this year, but I’m having a hard time determining which platform to go with. I like what I’ve seen so far of the ACR, except for the price of course. I also like what I’ve seen of the new Ruger SR556. I got to hold both in a gun store about a week ago, but I don’t have the experience with other platforms to make any kind of comparison. As far as how they compare to each other, the Ruger was more front heavy, but it didn’t have a plastic forend, so it was understandable IMO. I do like that it has a quad rail setup though. I’ll be looking into some of the other platforms listed in comparison to the ACR earlier in this thread, and am open to any and all advice.

8

just need to wait and see what the price settles on the Enhanced, the one that most people want. If the basics are falling to 2000-2100 then the Enhanced should fall to 2300-2500 due to the $300 difference in dealer pricing after the initial buying cools down.

9

Im still pissed that the barrel is basically the M4 barrel and the piston “guide” looks like a huge after thought…

10

I want one pretty badly, but the price is turning me off. At that level, I am looking SR15.

I love Magpul, dislike Bushmaster, maybe I can wait long enough to pick one up used that someone needs to part with for a good price. :cool:

11

While I was unable to shoot one, I got to handle/observe one of the “basic” models recently.

I liked the overall ergonomics and balance. Though I am not left-handed, the ambi- controls that operate exactly the same either way was a nice feature, as I believe in being able to shoot acceptably both sides (with identically well either right or left handed being the end goal).

I also actually liked the foregrip as it was, without rails (realizing of course, this will mark me as “strange” in many circles). Yes, the option should exist for those who need them, but for me, all I really need is the top rail, which is abundant.

I did not like the safety or the fixed stock. While there’s nothing exactly wrong with the safety, it seems a bit “small” to me. Like something I might fumble with or otherwise have issue with.

The fixed stock was just too small for me in its standard configuration. Perhaps it would feel right with body armor on, but I would have preferred a longer stock if I was going for a fixed stock.

I’m also not really a fan of the 1/9" barrel. I don’t know enough about the new finish to accurately judge, and I believe I’ve read elsewhere on here that a 1/7" barrel is coming in the future.

The Magupul BUIS do not bother me much, as they were just tossed in as a thought and are easily removed in favor of better sights. Should nicer sights be included at that price? Perhaps, but I’ve seen plenty of rifles sold without sights at all, and I think that may be the better route for Bushmaster to go with the ACR; letting the buyers decide what sights they want instead.

Would I buy it at $2100-2200? No. When the price comes down? Possibly.

12

an owner shot 69gr and 75gr in his ACR at 300 yards, groupings looked fine to me. The pics are floating around in a nearby ACR thread

I listened to the AR15.com radio show and a Bushy rep and Drake from Magpul answered a lot of questions about it. Said they planned to have 1:7 barrels out sometime in summer.

13

I picked up my M&P this morning and my dealer had an ACR in the shop so sure, I handled it.

From a very brief inspection I liked the overall fit and finish of the gun. It was a basic version. The balance was very forward, trigger had too much takeup, mushy and heavy. The selector is too small and I didn’t feel a real positive detent/engagement. Price was in the $2300 range. The M4 profile just needs to die off already, at least in the civi market. Some of the features, mainly the barrel, seems that it was rushed to the market.

I’ll wait this one out.

14

I’m exactly the same way. They need to do a few things first:

  • WEIGHT WEIGHT WEIGHT - get a better barrel profile (w/ 1/7 twist) or get a lighter piston system. With rails it’s probably even heavier

  • at this price point, they should offer Troy sights at the very minimum, although if it had a lower price point I think the Magpul ones would be acceptable

  • the safety selector needs to be metal of some sort, just like the rest of the LPK

  • the collapsible stock needs to be standard w/ the fixed stock available for extra

  • how about being able to swap out the grip, too? I saw one that was manufactured that way, and I think that’s the right way to go

Right now, the KAC SR-15 is a much better buy than this.

15

I do like the ACR but even dealer cost is to high for me. When the get their own barrel (not M4) and when delaer prices come down I may jump on one.

16

I didn’t get the chance to shoot one, but finally handled one a local shop yesterday.

The first thing I noticed was the weight. My Colt is still lighter than the bare boned ACR. Second was the grip, for an Adaptive Combat Rifle one would hope that the grip would at the least have interchangeable front and back straps like the MIAD to accommodate varous hand sizes. It was priced at $2399 and the two FDE SCARs and the one target indicator black SCAR were tagged for $2199. If I was in the market for another 5.56x45mm carbine for $200 less I would get a lighter rifle that passed Crane/SOCOM requirements, possess a folding and telescoping stock, has a 1/7 twist barrel, and comes with a real BUIS set. To each their own…

17

honestly I really don’t see how anyone expects a piston gun, with full ambi controls, and other features to weigh less than some bare bones AR. Modularity costs weight.

18

Honestly, if your comment was in response to mine…when did I ever say my Colt was bare bones?

The SCAR weighs just fine and I find it to be more modular than the ACR…

19

wasnt trying to be mean, sorry if I came off as that, but no piston gun is going to be lighter than a comparable DI. I dont see why people try to compare the weight of the DI and a piston gun, then dont like it when the piston weighs more. However it would be nice if they came out with a pencil/lightweight barrel (which it looks like a SCAR already has), that would greatly improve the balance.

20

Didn’t think you were, I was merely adding my $0.02 to an impression /observation thread. IMO, the ACR is geared toward the 5.56 carbine market and for what they are asking for it I fail to see how any individual, agency, and or military is supposed to transition from the AR platform to the ACR platform.