Gun Review Adams Arms Tactical Evo Rifle. The AR 1. 5 platform has indeed gotten a bit stale. Everyone and their illegitimate cousin twice removed makes a version of the gun these days, and for most manufacturers all they actually do is grab a barrel from one supplier, a receiver from another, slap their branding on it and call the thing new. And for most consumers, thats good enough. But Adams Arms has gone a few steps further. Not only have they completely re designed the gas system to use a piston instead of direct impingement, but they go to the trouble of making their own parts barrels included. While thats all very impressive, as always the proof is in how well the gun actually runs. Kilauea Mount Etna Mount Yasur Mount Nyiragongo and Nyamuragira Piton de la Fournaise Erta Ale. Search metadata Search full text of books Search TV captions Search archived web sites Advanced Search. And even on that end, the company does things, well, differently. Having reviewed few guns in my time, Im used to companies putting conditions on my ability to test their guns. You can have it, but it needs to be back in three weeks. Use only brass ammo, and dont feed it after midnight. Use only the provided lube. So I wasnt surprised when I reached out to the guys at Adams Arms about testing out one of their piston powered AR 1. But it wasnt something I was expecting. Its still kind of hard to believe the 600horsepower Subaru WRX STI tinkered on by Prodrive is built on the bones of a regularass WRX STI that I could. Heres the direct quote from their email Would you be willing to beat the crap out of our stuff and do your best to break it under real world application If so were in. I had never heard a firearms manufacturer say those words before and it was music to my ears. I was going to be given free reign to try and kill their gun, and given the design that appeared to be a pretty tall order. So I asked them to send me a SBR length upper receiver as well, since the higher pressures involved with that gas system length would do a lot of the stress testing for me. One day a few weeks later, the whole package arrived on my doorstep. So naturally, the very first thing I did was take it all apart and find out how it works. The AR 1. 5 was designed to use a gas expansion system, where a gas tube feeds directly into a piston in the bolt carrier group. Its an effective design that works great most of the time. But when the gun gets dirty, it has a tendency to malfunction. Not that it takes long to get filthy since the gas port empties directly into the chamber, the bolt carrier group can go from a shiny nickel boron coating to a grungy, gritty black in only a few minutes. Adams Arms, however, has designed their piston system to avoid that issue. They keep the gas contained within a small chamber, instead using a piston to transfer the energy needed to cycle the action to the bolt carrier group. The impact of that design is obvious the upper Ive been shooting hasnt been cleaned once, and even after thousands of rounds downrange the bolt is still clean. You might notice that theres one unclean part the chamber specifically designed to capture the gasses. Everyone and their brother makes an AR15 these days. It is without a doubt the most popular design in the United States, and for good reason its like Legos. The way the piston system works is that the operating rod has a small cup on the end into which the regulator is inserted. The system uses that cup not only to align the operating rod so it slides into the upper receiver properly, but also to contain the exhaust gasses that are bled off. The result is an immaculate gun. The concept is well established trying to mate the reliability of the AK 4. AR 1. 5. But in this case, it seems like their design got a little drunk one night and had a one night stand with an SKS instead. The Adams Arms system is a short stroke piston similar to that used in the SKS and M1 Carbine, meaning that the bolt carrier is only being acted upon for a very small period of time before physics and momentum carry the reciprocating mass the rest of the way through the reloading cycle. Its the more common format for a piston based AR 1. PWS believe that a long stroke system like that used in the AK 4. Either way, the Adams Arms system suffers from the same drawback as all of the other systems, namely that it allows the chamber to open much earlier than with gas expansion direct impingement systems. The reason is that pistons force the bolt open immediately, but gas expansion needs time to pressurize the piston before it starts unlocking the bolt. The result is more exhaust coming from the ejection port, which you can see in the video. So, the gas system works. And I have to admit, its great. Ive done everything I could think of to get it to choke, including running without any lube, burying it in the Texas dirt for a bit, and running the piston without the spring attached hey, what if you lose it. In each case the gun continued to function without any issues. So long as the regulator was set to the normal setting and not suppressed, that is. The regulator is probably my only complaint about the Adams gas system. For serious shooters, the ability to tune your gas system to where you want it is getting close to mandatory. Normal and suppressed settings are nice, but having a little more granularity wouldnt be a bad thing. Thankfully Adams Arms has fixed this with their latest gas system regulator design, which has a bunch of different settings so you can tinker to your hearts desire. Out on the range, the ergonomics of the gun were right where youd expect for a run and gun setup like this. The rifle is very light, and the handguards extend past the gas block allowing you to get a better grip on it. Due to the operating mechanism the gas block needs to be bigger than normal, but Adams decided to incorporate the top of the gas block into the picatinny rail instead of trying to make it disappear. Itll get hot when youre shooting so Magpul BUIS are right out, but a metal sight would work just fine. As is usually the case, the Evos trigger is the standard meh trigger youll get on most factory AR 1. Its a bit squishy and not really conducive to shooting tight groups. Again, thats par for the course for run and gun rifles. For most higher level shooters, the very first thing theyll want to do is slap their trigger of choice in there. So while its not really a major concern for those with more experience, we test guns in their stock configuration and the trigger is part of that. The rifle initially the 1. And that proved to be a bit of a sticking point. This isnt good. I shot this at the standard 1. I had just used to test a Ruger SR 7. I was pretty sure that I wasnt the cause of the inaccuracy. And while the horizontal variation in the bullet impacts isnt very much, thats about a 3 inch spread vertically. It looked to me like there was a problem with the gas system causing the shots to wander. Naturally my first call was to the guys at Adams Arms, letting them know about the problem, and once I shipped back the 1. As this was a new gun, I had to start from scratch. Some malfunction testing, a little light torture and a few hundred rounds later I was satisfied that the rifle performed as well as the previous one in the basic battery of tests. The only question left to answer was whether the rifle performed better than its predecessor. Using some 7. Federal Premium in this case I was able to get this roughly 2 Mo. A group out of the gun at 1. Just to test the barrel, I tried the upper on my competition lower receiver with a Geissele trigger and I was able to get right around a 1 inch group. But since that was with a different lower, it doesnt really count. So the Evos accuracy was par for the course for a gunfighter rifle, but its good to know that you can significantly improve it just by swapping out the trigger. The Adams Arms rifle is good, but it has a lot of potential being wasted in the current configuration. A more adjustable gas block, a better trigger and probably a better stock, too would put this gun into the running to be one of the better guns Ive tested recently. And what do you know SHOT Show that fixes exactly those issues. So if you want a good gun to run and gun and possibly upgrade later, this is a pretty good investment. But with the 3 Gun version right around the corner Id wait for that instead. Specifications Caliber 5. NATOBarrel Length 1. Weight 7 lbs 1. Capacity Ships with one Magpul 3. MSRP 1,6. 90 1,3. Ratings Out of Five Stars All ratings are relative compared to the other weapons in the guns category. Overall rating is not mathematically derived from the previous component ratings and encompasses all aspects of the firearm including those not discussed. Accuracy he gun is capable of much better accuracy if you swap out the trigger, but as is, its not bad. Back up Iron Sights Buyers Guide. You Dont Need Them, But You Need Them. Back up sights. For every guy who tells us they arent needed, theres somebody else who tells us about the time their brothers, girlfriends, sisters, boyfriends optic took a bullet and he was forced to use his flip up sights. Were still looking for that dude for comment. But, in the meantime, we reached out to three other guys with some verifiable down range experience and asked them their opinion on back up iron sights. J. D. Potynsky is the CEO of Northern Red, LLC and a veteran of the 3rd Special Forces Group. The man has racked up multiple combat deployments and now runs a company that disseminates what he and his teammates learned in combat. Potynsky recalled one incident when he had to shoot a vehicle speeding toward the checkpoint he was manning. Things went from boring to adrenaline dump quickly and offered Potynsky no time to prepare for the engagement. He raised his rifle to address the threat, but the battery saving feature had shut his EOTech off. With no time to push buttons or flip up the iron sights, Potynsky relied on muscle memory and shot using the window of the lifeless optic and the front sight post on his M4 to hit the vehicle. I couldnt have gotten up a back up iron sight, said Potynsky, there wasnt enough time. But, just as Potynsky explains his one chance to use BUIS was gone before he realized he needed them, hes also not ready to call them useless. Theres an immense amount of pressure to not be that guy, says Potynsky. Because if youre the guy that falls out of the truck on infill and something breaks, its irresponsible not to have irons on your gun. Professionals probably wouldnt go out without them. Frank Proctor is the founder of Way of the Gun and an 1. Army veteran with 1. Special Forces. He spent a couple years teaching the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course. Ive not seen an optic fail. And, Ive never experienced a failure that could have been fixed by back up irons, says Proctor, Its just added weight and expense, and I dont put them on my gun unless Im only shooting irons. But, he knows guys will use them no matter what he says. Whatever sights you choose for BUIS, he says make sure they dont handicap your ability to use a primary optic. Ive seen guys with ACOGs pushed forward to accommodate flip up irons, he says, but that thing should be mounted all the way to the back to be effective. On the flipside, Paul Howe, owner of Combat Training and Tactics, an Army special operations veteran, and a team leader during the 1. Battle of the Black Sea in Mogadishu, says learning to use irons is essential to competent weapon operation. Iron sights have never failed me in combat or on a flat range, says Howe. While he generally shoots a 3x magnified optic outside of the schoolhouse, he says, I shoot iron sights when teaching my classes to show students it can be done. He also expects his students to run irons and doesnt give alibi shots if a students optic fails during a qualification course of fire. I expect them to finish the course of fire with their irons, says Howe, just like I would expect them to do in a fight for their life. All three guys agree that whatever aiming systems you have on the gun, you must practice equally with all of them to be consistent and accurate. So, if you decide to add BUIS to your gun, plan on training with them as if theyre your primary system, so that youre not fumbling, physically or mentally, when the time comes to go to your back up sights. Sight Heights. A standard AR sight plane is 2. M4s front sight base. Whether rail or barrel mounted, standard height ARM4 sights line up with this sight plane. Any standard height sight should work with any other standard height sight, as well as a standard front sight base. Guns with taller rails, or lower stocks, such as HK 4. SIG 5. 56s, require shorter sights. If youve heard the term co witness used to describe sights, its likely being used to describe the height of a red dot sight mount. Absolute co witness refers to an optic mount that places the reticle in line with the standard AR sight plane. Absolute co witness irons will obscure the bottom of the optics view. Lower third co witness refers to an optic mount that places the reticle just above the standard AR sight plane. When looking through an optic mounted with a lower third sight picture, irons occupy a smaller portion of the sight picture beneath the reticle than absolute co witnessed sights. Be aware that the multitude of iron sights heights can produce high, absolute, lower third, and even no co witness with a standard height optic mount, so pay attention if youre mixing and matching irons and optic mount heights. Our advice is to keep things simple when running optics and irons on an AR. Youve got the best chance of getting what you want if you stick with standard height AR sights and choose an absolute or lower third co witness optic mount. Apertures. In general, the rear sight of an AR has a rotating aperture leaf. The smaller aperture is usually 0. The larger aperture is 0. Iron Sight Pictures. We consider the standard sights for an AR to be those found on general issue military carbines. This is the goal posted, dual aperture leaf in the rear and a sight post inside a Y up front. The most common sight variation youre likely to see in the USA is the HK style front sight, which replaces the M4 style front sight arms with rounded arms that many find easier to line up with a round rear aperture. Beyond the basics, theres a ton of options for iron sights. Ghost rings and open top sights are at home on shotguns and in cowboy movies, not ARs. Modern rear sights can have round, square, diamond shaped apertures with any number of things going on around them to help speed up sight alignment including, painted lines, barbs, and tritium inserts. Up front you can find white and colored sight posts, chevron markings, fiber optic and tritium inserts, and plenty of other useful and useless novelties. Inline or Offset. Far from the last consideration when it comes to irons, but the last one weve got room to cover, is inline or offset. Running a flattop rifle with an unmagnified red dot optic Take your pick. This combination allows the use of inline BUIS with the primary optic still in place, as long as a lens isnt smashed or fogged up. If youve got a QD optic mount, youre still in business with an obscured optic. If not, you better hope youve got a wrench, or offset irons. Offset irons are great as a back up for a magnified optic and as a second set of sights for targets too close for the primary optic. Roll the rifle so the sights are plumb to the bore and carry on. Precision guys without a Pic rail, dont feel left out weve got offsets that mount directly on your scope tube. When it comes down to it, its on you to decide if saving 4 ounces is worth the risk of being that guy. WM Tactical TUOR MKII Locking Iron Sights. Weight 2. 8. 6 oz 8. Front Height 0. 6. Front Length 2. 1. Rear Height 0. 6. Rear Length 2. 2. Sight Adjustment Front Elevation A2 front sight post tool. Rear Windage. Lock None. MSRP 1. 99. URL www. The original TUOR, the Latin word for sight, multi axis iron sight was a novel approach that economized budget and rail space by combining regular iron sights with offset irons in a single package. The Mk. II version of the sights improve on the original by adding a locking mechanism to the lateral axis. To employ the sights as standard flip up BUIS, just flick the sight arm up. If you need to see around an optic or an optic base, push the arm into the base to unlock the arm and rotate it into an offset orientation. You can use them on either side, which could be handy in some confined spaces if you have time to move the sights before the engagement begins. If you employ them after an optic failure and you can get the optic off the rail, you can rotate the offset sights back upright, should you choose. Also very neat. The caveat comes with the height of the bases. That rear sight is tall when folded down and its arm cant be rotated into the offset position with large magnified scope bells or low mounted optics that hang over the top of the TUOR. For instance, the sights worked fine with our Aimpoint Micro T 2, but the arm wouldnt clear the ocular bell of our Leupold Mark 6 3 1.
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