Are Armalite and/or Sig Sauer rifles up to P&S standards?

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
I've been doing research for my next purchase (following Modcast 61 "One Gun" recommendations; 1. Pistol, 2. Rifle, 3. Redundant pistol, and 4. BUG) and a few options have caught my eye, but I want to make sure I'm getting a quality, dependable product.

Of the rifles that I've looked over so far, I'm leaning toward either a Sig M400 or one of Armalite's M15 variants. There's also still something about the Sig MCX 9" 300BLK that I just...Want. I've seen a lot of positive reviews of each, but want to get the expert opinions of the members here before investing a not-insignificant amount of money into a firearm.

I will want this to be a general-purpose, "do-all" rifle; range toy, home defense, SHTF, etc. One benefit of the 300BLK platform is that it adds the ability to take the rifle hunting to the "do-all" mix. Whatever rifle I end up purchasing, I know I will be putting a LPVO on it, as I appreciate that it facilitates better use of the full potential range of the platform.

So, are Armalite and/or Sig ARs (and/or the MCX) up to the task? If not, what other manufacturers should I be looking at?
 

RustyM92

Amateur
No "expert" by any means nor do I have experience with Armalite ARs, but I would shy away from SIG ARs. SIG in general has had a lot of QC/QA problems as of late, and I've haven't heard much positive about them. One of the MODCASTs on ARs made mention of them briefly, and I believe the word used was "junk".
Having fired the MCX Virtus (16", not the 9"), I found it clunky and cumbersome. The buttstock is pretty poorly designed IMO, and overall I didn't find the platform to be a better tradeoff to an AR. The MCX being mostly proprietary, you'd be giving up a lot of aftermarket support and interchangeability that you could have by going the AR route. If you're interested in something similar, I'd suggest looking into the Q Honey Badger. It's designed by the same guy that did the MCX, but is the latest evolution of his design:
https://liveqordie.com/products/honey-badger-by-q?variant=7696050978844
If you're interested in ARs, .300BLK or otherwise, FN and BCM offer both options with company track records that are both proven and trusted. Hope that helps.
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
No "expert" by any means nor do I have experience with Armalite ARs, but I would shy away from SIG ARs. SIG in general has had a lot of QC/QA problems as of late, and I've haven't heard much positive about them. One of the MODCASTs on ARs made mention of them briefly, and I believe the word used was "junk".
Having fired the MCX Virtus (16", not the 9"), I found it clunky and cumbersome. The buttstock is pretty poorly designed IMO, and overall I didn't find the platform to be a better tradeoff to an AR. The MCX being mostly proprietary, you'd be giving up a lot of aftermarket support and interchangeability that you could have by going the AR route. If you're interested in something similar, I'd suggest looking into the Q Honey Badger. It's designed by the same guy that did the MCX, but is the latest evolution of his design:
https://liveqordie.com/products/honey-badger-by-q?variant=7696050978844
If you're interested in ARs, .300BLK or otherwise, FN and BCM offer both options with company track records that are both proven and trusted. Hope that helps.

I think that tells me about all I needed to know on Sig and Armalite, much appreciated.

I'm certainly familiar with the Honey Badger, I followed Kevin Brittingham's evolution through designing the 1.0 at AAC, then joining Sig to produce the MCX and of course finally branching out on his own to introduce the HB2.0 and The Fix rifles. I think my hang-up on the 300BLK MCX was a bit of vestigial interest in an ultra-compact PDW type rifle that stemmed from watching the HB1.0/2.0 and MCX development.

I had taken a look at BCM's offerings and a few of them did look nice. Hadn't really done a deep-dive into FN's samples but I'll definitely take a look.

Perhaps a better way to phrase this question would be this; considering I want a "do-all" general purpose rifle, to be used for range target practice, home defense, SHTF, etc, that will ultimately receive a LPVO (1-6x, maybe 1-8x), what qualities should I be looking for? Does 5.56 or 300BLK make more sense for that type of goal? Barrel length - 16", 14.5", more, less?
 

RustyM92

Amateur
Perhaps a better way to phrase this question would be this; considering I want a "do-all" general purpose rifle, to be used for range target practice, home defense, SHTF, etc, that will ultimately receive a LPVO (1-6x, maybe 1-8x), what qualities should I be looking for? Does 5.56 or 300BLK make more sense for that type of goal? Barrel length - 16", 14.5", more, less?

So, here's the issue when you start getting in to the "one rifle to rule them all" realm: with everything you're going to have trade-offs. It comes down to your task & purpose, your individual preference, the situations you're most likely to face, the situations you least expect but want to be prepared for, and the things you're willing to compromise on.
5.56 and .300BLK are good options for most of your intents. 5.56 is going to drop less than .300BLK at distance. Depending on what your longest range you intend on shooting at, this may be a non-issue. I've personally found 14.5" and 16" to be adequate at most applications (with the caveat of hunting). From what I've researched, 12.5" is also an excellent all-around barrel length for most applications between 0-400yds, but then you get in to the whole NFA/pistol territory.
Now, for hunting: this depends on what game you're pursuing and your state laws. The legality of certain cartridges are going to be determined by your state, so be sure you check into that. For example, my state (Michigan) restricts the use of .22 caliber bullets for deer, so that eliminates .223/5.56/.224 Valkyrie for my hunting use. If you're primary use is going to be hunting with everything else secondary, then you may want to look in to 6.8SPC and 6.5 Grendel. There are 16" carbines in those calibers which are competent in all the uses you mentioned, but then you'll have to deal with high ammo prices and availability issues. Also which game species are you going for, and what distances are you most likely to take a shot from? If you're longest shot is 200-300yds across a corn field, then 5.56 or .300BLK is just fine. If you're elk hunting in the Rockies, now you're looking at .308/6.5 Creed.
Then of course, you can always have multiple uppers. A 16" 5.56 for range days, a 16" .300BLK for hunting, and an 18" for long range, etc, but that's again getting outside the realm of your intent. The choice again really comes down to what you're familiar with, what you prefer, and what you're most likely to use the rifle for. Once again, I hope that helps and answers your question.
 

RustyM92

Amateur
For example, my state (Michigan) restricts the use of .22 caliber bullets for deer, so that eliminates .223/5.56/.224 Valkyrie for my hunting use.
Disregard this line here. It was brought to my attention by another member that the statute only restricts .22 rimfire. My apologies to the board for providing incorrect information and gratitude to that member for pointing that out.
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
To be honest the primary role of the rifle will be range, training, and home defense. The ability to use it to hunt would be a bonus, but not necessarily a requirement.

I'd like to stick to either 5.56 or 300BLK, as those are relatively commonly available at my local stores - Much more so than 6.8/6.5.

A 14.5 in 300BLK sounds like a good compromise between compact and capable. Any recommended manufacturers for such a setup?
 

Dpvaz56

Member
5.56 is more plentiful and cheaper with more choices in terms of bullet options. 300BLK is great and would certainly be a superior round for the 200m and in range if all things were equal... but they’re not

I’d go with 5.56 first and if you ever want a niche gun then go SBR or pistol with a 8.5”-10.5” 300BLK.

I’m speaking as a former 300BLK owner. Great round, just no where near the support you have that you get with 5.56
 

MrMurphy

Regular Member
5.56, 16 or 14.7 pinned. Aimpoint for indoor festivities and general use, LPVO as you learn more, long distance or hunting. 5.56 is fine for some hunting depends on where and what, ie coyotes, hogs, even smaller deer.

Unless youre suppressed full time, not a .300 guy. A seperate 6.5 or .224 Valkyrie upper would also be useful.
 

rudukai13

Pro Internet User
Not really looking to get into NFA territory just yet, I'm wanting to just get back into the AR game for now. It's certainly a possibility at some point in the future. Sounds like a 14.5 or 16 inch in 5.56 is the way to go though
 

jBravo3

Regular Member
I certainly don't/can't speak for what is and isn't "up to P&S standards," but I think Armalite makes a pretty decent rifle. I bought an "M15" outside base in Yuma, AZ in 2004 and have beat the heck out of the thing for 14 years. Hunting, plinking, classes, and it was even my approved/qualified duty/patrol rifle for about 5 or 6 years, the thing just keeps running. Basically, I couldn't reasonably expect much more out of it. Not one single problem with it, thousands and thousands of rounds, has maintained accuracy, etc. Sure, there's better stuff out there (I love my BCMs and wish I could find/afford a Hodge), but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Armalite as a respectable option, based on my experience of owning a sample of one, handling/shooting dozens of others, and talking with other satisfied owners that trust their lives to them.
 

TNVC_Augee

Newbie
Vendor
To say that Kevin Brittingham was the sole driver/developer of the MCX at Sig is a somewhat incomplete picture. Obviously he was integral to the suppressor work, and the suppressor is/was integral to the original intent of the MCX when it was being built to a requirement versus the general purpose modular carbine it's being advertised as now, but there were a lot of talented folks who helped build that rifle--I say that not to take away from Brittingham, but to recognize that others contributed to it, and the 300BLK carbines are currently in service.

I don't own one yet, but I've enjoyed the MCXs that I've shot and had a chance to handle, and will probably be picking one up in the near future as a sub-compact 300BLK SBR. Whether or not it's "one gun to rule them all" is a different matter entirely, for better or for worse--the MCX is already in a "Gen. 2" configuration officially (Virtus), and that's without counting some of the changes and upgrades that have been made since the "Legacy" MCX originally entered production/was released for commercial sales.

~Augee
 
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