When considering buying a firearm from a company, I usually only look at the merits and demerits of the firearm in question and disregard anything the company or owner has done, but I'm not gonna lie, the things that the owner of SOLGW has done, combined with the tacky logos and non-CL barrels, makes me prefer to deal with other companies. Guy's been arrested several times, beat his own mother and stated to the police he wanted the devil to kill her, among other things. I've had customers fail a 4473 for far less, I'm not sure how he's legally able to own a firearm, let alone a company making them.
My ARs are heavily biased towards scoped/precision ARs. I think those fall into a different category and have accordingly different use-cases.
For those I have been extremely satisfied with my White Oak SPR upper. I have also been pleasantly surprised by my RRA Predator Pursuit which is probably the best value I have ever gotten out of an AR-15 upper.
$350 for a complete 20" Wilson barreled upper that shot like a dream but was a little less modern in features (target crown, free float tube). Paid another $550 total (parts included) to have it chopped to 18" gas port opened up, geissele Mk8 rail, superlative AGB and a YHM phantom muzzle device installed. For about the cost of a 6920, easily the most accurate upper I own.
Also quite pleased with my Midwest Industries Nightfighter upper - came with a Criterion Core 11.5" barrel. Very accurate and priced very reasonably. Makes a good Mini Recce.
for my nitrided/chrome lined rifles I am happy with my Sionics and Midwest Industries. I'd get another rifle from either company for sure. I have some cheaper uppers (DSG, Aero) that continue to work great, the latter functioning as a superb Wolf hose. Will eventually replace with a Colt 11.5, like many years from now eventually.
Last edited by Nephrology; 11-05-2022 at 11:49 AM.
Apologies for the late reply.
My friend's Super Duty had a gas leak issue, either at the gas block or the carrier key. I can't remember which at the moment. It was fixed by G and he sold it.
For the Super 42, yes, it was short stroking, probably due to what you pointed out. The AR15 carbine's parts are designed to work together for the weapon to work reliably in all environments. When you go changing it up, you can "enhance" the rifle into not working.
“There is no growth in the comfort zone.”--Jocko Willink
"You can never have too many knives." --Joe Ambercrombie
All true but also all alcohol related. Guy had a serious drinking problem, on the wagon for several years now. All that came to light because he got it in his head to become involved in politics and a particular small city police chief who is not exactly a model of virtue himself leaked the info.
Note the guy you’re talking about is only one of the owners - not “the” owner. He’s also the one who handles the technical/ engineering side of things.
Where as LaRue has at least mild mental illness and a history of over reacting and holding a grudge over petty and illogical issues.
Hypothetically, in a a movie….
Imagine your company has a lucrative contract to supply equipment to a law enforcement agency due to a personal relationship with the elected official who oversees said agency. You promote this customers adoption of your equipment as evidence of the quality of your products. Then one of your secretaries gets a traffic ticket from an officer with this agency. You contact the head of the agency and ask them to “fix” the ticket and make it go away. Agency head advises that is illegal and they cannot do so. You then threaten to take it up with their boss, the elected official. Elected official backs the agency head because such behavior is, in fact illegal. So you cease honoring your contract to supply equipment or support to the LE Agency.
Larue makes quality products and early in the GWOT he went out of his way to support the .MIL sniper command but that was then. Sometimes we benefit from his issues such as developing the MBT AR trigger and selling thousands of them at what is essentially cost simply to spite Bill Geissele when Geissele started competing directly against LaRue by making optics mounts.
Here’s the worst part. Neither of these guys are the worst people in the industry including at least one owner I can think of who is actually prohibited. Their issues barely scratch the surface, hence my earlier comment about not wanting to go there.
PS- we already discussed the tacky logos up thread but remember- gun companies exist to make money, not guns, and there are “outlaw / stick it to the man” parts of the market that love SOLGW and LaRue precisely because of the same things you and I find objectionable.
As bad as that seems there are even people who intentionally want to clone the guns used in mass shootings…
Last edited by HCM; 11-05-2022 at 12:37 PM.
Can confirm about the huge gas ports. My brother has an 18" Stealth barrel and at the default state, it was so overgassed that the bolt would often outrun the magazine and close on an empty chamber.
Knowing this, when I built my 20" SPR, I started with an adjustable gas block from the get go. Accurate enough barrels (when on sale for $200ish), but massive gas ports.
Fair points, to be sure.
And yeah, I'm aware there is a market for the bearded tattooed stick it to the man type. I don't find it appealing, but to each their own. On a more tangible level, I don't want anything on my gun that could be construed to make me out to be some kind of violent person or extremist, seeing as we are in an age where even things that shouldn't be used to consider whether a self defense shooting was justified, are indeed considered.