Euro AR thoughts

[The_Swede]

Hi all

Rifle matches are currently poping up here in Sweden under the IPSC umbrella. Of course I wanna join the fun and I'm considering an AR15 by a German manufacturer called Oberland Arms. I'm looking at the M5 model which is their 16 inch middy. The uppers and lowers are milled and all moving internals are made by LMT. As I understand LMT is considered a quality gun/parts maker.

As I have quite long arms a longer handguard would be preferred and I'm looking at Troy TRX Extreme, JP/VTAC handguard and the MI SS-12. JP and MI would run me 310 dollars and the Troy 420 dollars. Is the Troy worth the extra money? As the Euro AR market is small it's hard to get hold of a rifle with a similiar setup to try it out. I'm unfortunately relying 90% on reviews and forum talk. There seems to be quite some knowledge on this fourm though.

Also: Does anyone know any good places in Euroland (or US shops that exports/ have retailers in Europe) for shopping AR parts? Have located some in Germany but the more the better.

Regards

[Frens]

last year I had the chance to handle two Oberlands with JP handguards at a local competition.
the handguards seemed rock solid and extremely modular.
I didnt like the feel of the OD on my hands and without handstop they were a bit too slippery. they also got hot quickly.
a pair of gloves would take care of the heat and slippery.

as for the shop, check dharkon.com in NDL and tacticalsense.com in ITA


http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/7172/p5220010.jpg

http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/6232/p5220024.jpg

[The_Swede]

Thanks for the links. They had a lot of interesting stuff!

[Frens]

Thanks for the links. They had a lot of interesting stuff!

..and interesting prices too :ph34r: :D

[The_Swede]

..and interesting prices too :ph34r: :D
Prices weren't too bad when you compare to the few swedish shops around. Living in Europe we can't be too picky I'm afraid.

Btw the OA rifles you handled, were those the regular or the Black Label version. BL is Oberlands entry line of rifles and the one I'm considering.

[Frens]

Btw the OA rifles you handled, were those the regular or the Black Label version. BL is Oberlands entry line of rifles and the one I'm considering.

they were regular OA rifles...16'' middy barrel with M203 step cut and standard 90 degree selector

[Fried Chicken Blowout]

I'm glad to see things like this are catching on in Europe. It's very exciting. Unfortunately it sounds very EXPENSIVE if you are quoting your cost in US dollars... You will get a lot of personal opinion about the hand guards so I'm not sure how you're going to filter through that without having touched them in person.

I have several Troy Extreme rails that are similar to the JP version but not has high quality as the barrel nut setup on the Troy's I have is not as good as the JP style. I have issues getting my hand guard totally lined up with the barrel when I tighten it down to the barrel nut. This causes the rear sight to be adjust to get a good zero. Not a big deal since my primary sight is a rail mounted optic on all the guns.

So if you can get the JP version I think it would be a very nice piece for you. As far as MI goes, it's about as cheap as they come here in the States. If you have the availability I would opt for a Yankee Hill Machine hand guard. The price is right in line with MI, but I think the finish is a little better and I like the designs better. But know that both the MI and YHM hand guards are larger diameter than the JP. I find the JP and Troy Extreme to be the "right" size. I like them a little smaller.

You might be able to get the YHM stuff from the European version of MidwayUSA. Not sure what they stock in that department, but they carry the YHM stuff here. So bottom line in my opinion, the Troy or JP stuff is worth the extra money over the MI, but if you can get the YHM parts for less, I would look at those.

[Eurodriver]

Are these the single shot straight pull ARs?

[Heartbreaker]

I have the MI tube, I like the handguard itself more than the Troy, but the barrel nut on the MI isn't quite as stout. The JP is somewhere in the middle. If you can get the Apex or Blackheart International handguard that would be the way to go, they use the standard barrel nut and are as solid as it gets for tube style forends.

[Frens]

Are these the single shot straight pull ARs?

semiauto ARs

[The_Swede]

I'm glad to see things like this are catching on in Europe. It's very exciting. Unfortunately it sounds very EXPENSIVE if you are quoting your cost in US dollars... You will get a lot of personal opinion about the hand guards so I'm not sure how you're going to filter through that without having touched them in person.

I have several Troy Extreme rails that are similar to the JP version but not has high quality as the barrel nut setup on the Troy's I have is not as good as the JP style. I have issues getting my hand guard totally lined up with the barrel when I tighten it down to the barrel nut. This causes the rear sight to be adjust to get a good zero. Not a big deal since my primary sight is a rail mounted optic on all the guns.

So if you can get the JP version I think it would be a very nice piece for you. As far as MI goes, it's about as cheap as they come here in the States. If you have the availability I would opt for a Yankee Hill Machine hand guard. The price is right in line with MI, but I think the finish is a little better and I like the designs better. But know that both the MI and YHM hand guards are larger diameter than the JP. I find the JP and Troy Extreme to be the "right" size. I like them a little smaller.

You might be able to get the YHM stuff from the European version of MidwayUSA. Not sure what they stock in that department, but they carry the YHM stuff here. So bottom line in my opinion, the Troy or JP stuff is worth the extra money over the MI, but if you can get the YHM parts for less, I would look at those.
MidwaySweden is around and have A LOT of stuff but at staggering prices. Prices for most things AR in Europe is very expensive as you mentioned (prices I quoted were indeed US dollars). Probably due to the market for these rifles being very small here. An entry level AR costs 2500 dollars. I thought about importing from the US first but it's a lot of paperwork and waiting for export licenses to clear and in the end I save maybe 200 - 300 dollars which I don't think is worth it.

I have a close relative who goes on buisness trips to the US fro mtime to time but I don't wanna risk him maybe getting caught in customs "exporting" a firearms part.