I stopped by the PX on Fort Knox last Wednesday, and came across this (sans Primary Arms micro):
It felt good when I handled it, but it was still priced just a bit too high at just under $700. Then they told me all 9mms were 10% off. What the hell; nothing ventured, nothing gained. $622.80 later, I walk out the door with it (actually, they escort you out the door--like you're going to buy a gun and turn around and rob the place).
*After* I bought the thing I started reading reviews and started to wonder if I'd screwed up. It seems the early models had significant problems, but other reviewers stated those problems had been resolved with changes to the barrel/chamber, bolt assembly, and ejector.
The Primary Arms micro pictured above sat too low for a good cheek weld, so I installed a cheap Pro-Mag riser and took it for a drive today. I loaded a box of Speer Lawman 115gr into magazines, went out to my 25 meter backyard range, and took up a seated position to sight in the optic. I fired a three-shot group to see where I was hitting (the two at the top right plus one off the paper), made adjustments, fired one shot (the one to the upper right of the silhouette), adjusted again, fired one more shot (the one to the left), and made one more adjustment, which I thought should be sufficient. I fired a five shot group to confirm and declared good enough. The vertical stringing is all me--I suck from the sitting position under the best of circumstances, and I was in too much of a hurry to get my breathing under control, so I was getting significant vertical "wobble". For those who are unfamiliar with M4 zero targets, the squares are 1cm (0.4 inches) across.
I expended the rest of the ammo ringing steel plates in rapid-fire mode--with the guns's negligible recoil it was almost like cheating. I don't have a chronograph, so I don't know how much of a velocity boost the 16" barrel was giving me, but the rounds hit with much more authority than from a pistol. I experienced no issues whatsoever.
While it's much too early to determine how this little rifle is going to fare long-term, my initial impressions are very positive. I feel sure it will fulfill its intended purpose, and I can see how someone could go through a *LOT* of ammo with this thing. I might need a few more "happy sticks."
