About 3 weeks ago I bought a Ruger SFAR in 6.5 Creedmore to add a little horsepower compared to my Grendel for depredation hunting with my thermal. I have a lot of big fields to cover and range estimation with thermal after dark is quite difficult. The flatter trajectory of the Creedmore has already made a difference. I'm not having to hold over nearly as often.
Now the bad. I had my son pick it up for me so I didn't get to look it over before the paperwork was done or I likely would have returned it.
I removed the brake immediately. I don't like muzzle brakes. Maybe a suppressor one day but I doubt it.
The gas block was mounted crooked and making contact with the arm guard. First I did a little inletting on the hand guard so it wasn't touching anymore. Then after shooting it a few times the gas regulator seized in position 3 which had it way over gassed. So I mounted a Superlative Arms adjustable block on it which I had pretty much planned to do in the beginning. Ruger's Oem adjustable gas block is much larger than it needs to be which creates issues with it fitting under the handguard. Also, it simply doesn't have enough adjustment. Position 3 was way over gassed yet position 2 wouldn't eject the case. The Superlative Arms block is much smaller and and easy to fit under the handguard. It also has 18 positions so you can dial back to the perfect amount of gas needed to run the gun. It made a heck of a difference.
Next, the bolt lugs had a burr that I removed in order to allow the lugs to function much smoother.
Also it was pretty evident that the barrel extension and barrel were not quite square with the upper and picatinny rail. This caused the rifle to shoot approximately 12 inches to the right and 12" low. Not terrible but my builds generally shoot much closer to center than that. Maybe I'm expecting too much here at the price point but I could live with it. The chamber also seems a bit tight.
The locking nut on the buffer tube was not staked but I guess some folks may not want them staked so they can make changes.
Lastly, the charging handle reciprocates on the last shot and hits me in the lip. This is indeed a problem. Empty mag/one in the barrel is the only time it does it. I changed charging handles and mags but it made no difference. This is the main reason the gun will have to go back to Ruger for warranty work. My hope is that Ruger will replace it with a new complete upper. My fear is a new upper may not be as good as this one considering the list of QC issues.
With the new gas block and a little break in the gun runs like a sewing machine and ejects nicely at 4:00. Brass looks like it came out of a bolt gun. This is with my hand loads with 123 eldm's and imr 4895 or Varget. I only plan on running 120-123 class bullets. That weight bullet does the job very well for my intended purposes as I've killed around a dozen deer with the rifle so far. I like the lighter recoil also.
I like the weight of the rifle a lot. With a loaded 10 round mag it weighs very close to my Grendel I normally use. Recoil isn't bad at all with the new gas block in place. I have only shot the gun with the thermal on it and that's certainly not a good way to do load work up. So far the rifle will hold about 1 1/4 inches for 5 shots. It would likely do much better with a regular scope. I plan to do load workup with a regular scope when the gun comes back from Ruger and temps cool down a bit.
I bought this gun with the intention of building on it over time. In addition to the gas block I already replaced the trigger with a Geissele National Match that breaks just a hair under 3 pounds. The original 2 stage that came on the gun is not bad at all. It breaks at around 4.5 pounds. But I use Geissele NM triggers o every AR I have. The PRS Lite stock isn't bad. However, it's nowhere close to my Magpul PRS on my 308 G2. Another thing I may do in the future is try out the Veltor A5 buffer system to make the recoil impulse a bit smoother. I will also replace the charging handle with either a Seekins or Ambi Raptor. I'd also like to see them make a 22" barreled version with a rifle plus 1 gas system.
I know this is a pretty sad attempt at a review. I ramble a lot. I think the SFAR is a good system. There are quite a few proprietary parts. It has potential and is offered at a very good price point. Ruger just needs to upgrade a few parts and get it together in the QC department. I'll update this when the rifle comes back.
Now the bad. I had my son pick it up for me so I didn't get to look it over before the paperwork was done or I likely would have returned it.
I removed the brake immediately. I don't like muzzle brakes. Maybe a suppressor one day but I doubt it.
The gas block was mounted crooked and making contact with the arm guard. First I did a little inletting on the hand guard so it wasn't touching anymore. Then after shooting it a few times the gas regulator seized in position 3 which had it way over gassed. So I mounted a Superlative Arms adjustable block on it which I had pretty much planned to do in the beginning. Ruger's Oem adjustable gas block is much larger than it needs to be which creates issues with it fitting under the handguard. Also, it simply doesn't have enough adjustment. Position 3 was way over gassed yet position 2 wouldn't eject the case. The Superlative Arms block is much smaller and and easy to fit under the handguard. It also has 18 positions so you can dial back to the perfect amount of gas needed to run the gun. It made a heck of a difference.
Next, the bolt lugs had a burr that I removed in order to allow the lugs to function much smoother.
Also it was pretty evident that the barrel extension and barrel were not quite square with the upper and picatinny rail. This caused the rifle to shoot approximately 12 inches to the right and 12" low. Not terrible but my builds generally shoot much closer to center than that. Maybe I'm expecting too much here at the price point but I could live with it. The chamber also seems a bit tight.
The locking nut on the buffer tube was not staked but I guess some folks may not want them staked so they can make changes.
Lastly, the charging handle reciprocates on the last shot and hits me in the lip. This is indeed a problem. Empty mag/one in the barrel is the only time it does it. I changed charging handles and mags but it made no difference. This is the main reason the gun will have to go back to Ruger for warranty work. My hope is that Ruger will replace it with a new complete upper. My fear is a new upper may not be as good as this one considering the list of QC issues.
With the new gas block and a little break in the gun runs like a sewing machine and ejects nicely at 4:00. Brass looks like it came out of a bolt gun. This is with my hand loads with 123 eldm's and imr 4895 or Varget. I only plan on running 120-123 class bullets. That weight bullet does the job very well for my intended purposes as I've killed around a dozen deer with the rifle so far. I like the lighter recoil also.
I like the weight of the rifle a lot. With a loaded 10 round mag it weighs very close to my Grendel I normally use. Recoil isn't bad at all with the new gas block in place. I have only shot the gun with the thermal on it and that's certainly not a good way to do load work up. So far the rifle will hold about 1 1/4 inches for 5 shots. It would likely do much better with a regular scope. I plan to do load workup with a regular scope when the gun comes back from Ruger and temps cool down a bit.
I bought this gun with the intention of building on it over time. In addition to the gas block I already replaced the trigger with a Geissele National Match that breaks just a hair under 3 pounds. The original 2 stage that came on the gun is not bad at all. It breaks at around 4.5 pounds. But I use Geissele NM triggers o every AR I have. The PRS Lite stock isn't bad. However, it's nowhere close to my Magpul PRS on my 308 G2. Another thing I may do in the future is try out the Veltor A5 buffer system to make the recoil impulse a bit smoother. I will also replace the charging handle with either a Seekins or Ambi Raptor. I'd also like to see them make a 22" barreled version with a rifle plus 1 gas system.
I know this is a pretty sad attempt at a review. I ramble a lot. I think the SFAR is a good system. There are quite a few proprietary parts. It has potential and is offered at a very good price point. Ruger just needs to upgrade a few parts and get it together in the QC department. I'll update this when the rifle comes back.
