I
was recently sent a gun from a company that I had previously only
purchased ammunition from, which was interesting. The good people at
Freedom Munitions
had formed a partnership with their neighbors, Seekins Precision, in
Lewiston, Idaho. Seekins has a great reputation as a quality boutique
manufacturer of AR parts and complete rifles. The cool product of this
partnership is that Freedom Munitions is now stocking what they call the
G.I. Rifle,
which has all the best options that Seekins offers for around a grand!
The exciting part is that they have this rifle in stock now, ready to
ship to your FFL.
What makes the G.I. rifle so unique is the fact
that Seekins Precision rifles are usually not “price point” products.
Seekins has a great reputation for quality, and prices their rifles at
reasonable ranges for the quality you are receiving. But, these prices
often range from above $1,500 (with some around $1,250 at the lowest).
So, the sub-$1,000 ballpark price of the G.I. is notable. Sure, $949.50
is still a lot of money, but you get a lot for that money with this
rifle that makes it a real value, in my opinion. Read on to find out
more.
The rifle was equipped with the optional 60-degree ambidextrous safety lever, which the author liked.
Unboxing
The
GI Rifle came in a plastic hard case precut outlined in the Mil-spec
high-density 2.2-lb. polyethylene to match the rifle and all the
accessories. Also included were three Freedom Munitions-branded AMEND2
30-round magazines (one comes standard with the rifle). These magazines
were black polymer with a textured grip, anti-tilt follower and
stainless steel spring. The magazines can be painted with Cerakote.
The
rifle has a 16-inch barrel with a twist rate of 1:8, is chambered in
.223 Wylde (which means that it can shoot both 5.56x45mm and .223
Remington) and has an ArmorBlak coating. From what I can tell, ArmorBlak
is a durable coating that, unlike Melonite, will not affect the heat
treatment of the metal. The barrel was capped off with a A2X Flashhider,
threaded at 1/2x 28. Covering the barrel was the beautiful 12-inch
Seekins Precision
MCSR
M-LOK Free Float Handguard. This is a traditional gas-operated gun,
featuring an M16 bolt carrier group and an M4 feed ramp. The upper
receiver has a Mil-Spec 1913 Picatinny rail feeding into the matching
rail on top of handguard.
The buttstock on the G.I. is a Mission First Tactical Battlelink Minimalist MilSpec unit.
The buttstock on the rifle is the
Battlelink Minimalist MilSpec adjustable stock from Mission First
Tactical. The stock is made from military-grade reinforced, super-tough
polyamide. This makes for a very strong yet incredibility light stock.
The pistol grip, also from Mission First Tactical, feels good in the
hand and has storage in the grip for kit of your choice.
Housed
within the lower receiver is a milspec standard trigger. The selector
switch is fully ambidextrous and offers you the choice between a
90-degree standard throw lever and a 60-degree short throw lever. My
sample rifle was set up with the 60-degree option. The selector has a
diamond texture added that aids in maintaining contact with the lever,
and it has the added benefit of looking great. The trigger guard is
oversized and uniquely-shaped to add to the appearance and facilitate
the use of gloves. The bolt catch is the Seekins oversized catch with an
aggressive diamond texture for positive operation. Locking the bolt
back is facilitated by the bottom portion of the catch, which is also
oversized and diamond textured for this reason. Even the mag release
button, billet CNC machined from a solid piece of aluminum, is diamond
textured to match the other controls.
So, it should be clear by
now that while the G.I. rifle has an introductory-level price point, it
is very well-appointed on enhancements and feature upgrades. This is not
a bone-stock M4-style carbine, but a nicely appointed little rifle.
Let’s Be Clear
The
following is a clarification to avoid confusion, not necessarily a
point of criticism. The G.I. Rifle’s upper and lower receiver are CNC
made from 7075–T6 aluminum forgings. This is not a complaint, but I want
to clarify this, as Seekins is best-known for their very
creatively-machined billet receivers. Both the selector switch and bolt
catch are manufactured using metal injected molding (MIM). They claim
that this allows for the selection of a proprietary material that is
considerably stronger than billet or factory milspec.
A 12-inch Seekins Precision MCSR M-LOK Free Float Handguard comes standard on the G.I.
Now,
for my opinion: All of the AR-15 style guns that I currently own are
manufactured using an aluminum forging. I have never had an issue with
this material. I do believe that the billet is a stronger, more durable
base to build the gun from. However, on this platform I believe that its
advantage is primarily to allow for a higher, more detailed level of
artistic customization. I have had some less-than-spectacular results
with MIM parts, and as a rule I generally try to avoid them. That being
said, I am not in the manufacturing business, nor am I any class of an
engineer. I will defer to others who’ve told me that it is quite
probable that the claims made about the process and materials are
completely accurate in regards to producing a better part using MIM over
machining from billet.
The G.I. has all the features you want from an AR and none that you do not, and all at a great price.
SPECS
- Chambering: .223 Wylde
- Barrel: 16 inches
- OA Length: 30-34 inches
- Weight: 7.3 pounds
- Stock: Battlelink Minimalist
- Sights: None (Picatinny rail)
- Action: Direct gas impingement
- Finish: Matte black
- Capacity: 30+1
- MSRP: $949.50
Range Prep
The
GI Rifle did not come with optic or sights installed, and I wanted to
choose an optic that reflected the potential of this gun. To that end I
mounted up the
MeOpta Meostar 1-6X24 RD
with a 30mm main tube. I selected this optic due to its impressive
113-foot field-of-view at 100 yards. It also came with windage and
elevation turrets that offered easy adjustments. The illuminated red dot
in the center had eight levels of intensity to choose from. Each of
these eight settings are followed by an intermediate off position, so
that the dot can be turned off and back on without having to cycle
through all of the options to return to your preferred level of
brightness. Nice! I found that it had plenty of power for daylight use,
and the adjustment allowed for use in the faintest amount of ambient
light.
The rifle comes with one 30-round polymer magazine branded with the Freedom Munitions logo.
The
reticle in this scope is the K-Dot 2, which features a dot in the
center framed by horizontal and vertical guidelines. I found that this
setup allowed me to bring my eye quickly to the center of the scope.
With the magnification set at 1X, this essentially functioned as a red
dot optic, allowing me to shoot with both eyes open. The magnification
can be dialed up to a power of 6X as needed for performance at longer
ranges.
The Meostar 1-6X24 RD was just an incredible scope on all
levels. I intend on using this optic as a hunting scope, for
self-defense and even for competition shooting. With the clear glass and
excellent light-gathering ability, this is a remarkable optic.
Since I had received this rifle from Freedom Munitions, I thought it would only be appropriate to shoot some of their
remanufactured .223 55 grain FMJ through the gun. I also grabbed some
Black Hills 5.56 77 grain Open Tip Match (OTP) as well as some
Aguila 62-gr. FMJBT ammo.
On the Range
Upon
arriving at the range, I wanted to zero the scope on the rifle. I had
done a bore sighting, so I knew that I would at least be on paper to
begin with. To start off, I was using the Freedom Munitions 55-grain
FMJ. As usual, the first few rounds were major adjustments, with the
subsequent rounds and adjustments becoming progressively smaller.
However, I couldn’t quite reach the point where I felt like the rifle
was really fine-tuned and dialed in. It seemed as if there was some kind
of wandering zero, or perhaps that the scope wasn’t securely mounted to
the rifle. I was just about ready to pack the rifle up and head home
when I decided to try one more variable, and that was the ammunition.
The
author ran both some remanufactured Freedom Munitions 55-grain ammo as
well as some Black Hills 77-grain match ammo through the rifle.
I
switched to the 77-grain Black Hills and instantly the rifle began to
reveal its true potential. At 100 yards my next three shots, although
they did not impact the center of the target, were less than an inch
apart and there were only two holes for the three shots! I began to
realize that I had cracked the code, and it was apparent to me that the
Freedom Munitions loads were simply not capable of producing the
accuracy that the rifle could. I went back and analyzed my previous work
with the Freedom Munitions rounds and discovered that I was getting
about a 3-inch group at 100 yards. But, bear in mind that this is not
designed to match ammunition, but rather good remanufactured range and
practice loads.
Now that I had the rifle well and truly zeroed, I
set about determining the overall functionality of the gun. As I’ve said
many times before, a gun that truly works well is more than just the
sum of its parts. First and foremost, I noticed the 60° short throw
selector was a pleasure to run, although I do believe that this is going
to be one of those love it or hate it features. To me, it was faster
and provided a better sense of control than I typically experience with a
90° selector. I plan on installing this on some of my other rifles
soon. The other two controls were certainly an improvement over the
standard fare, but not quite as pronounced as the selector. The magazine
release was an extended version with their diamond texturing, and I
found it easy to manipulate without inadvertently dumping a magazine on
the ground. The bolt catch/release lever was easy to operate, and
provided a superior feel and function as well.
The
magazines that came with the gun ran without a single malfunction, and
appeared to be sufficiently durable. They don’t particularly have any
defining features that set them apart from most of the other
high-quality polymer magazines on the market today. I also ran a variety
of metal and polymer magazines through the gun, and none of them had
any issues.
I took this gun to the range several times, and each
time the gun performed at 100%. Mind you, there was no cleaning or
maintenance done between trips. When I finally took the gun apart for
photography, it was obvious that this gun was not some sensitive Sally;
it was built for serious purposes.
The
G.I. rifle, despite its low price, comes with several
upgrades/enhancements such as an enlarged trigger guard and specially
textured bolt catch lever.
For those on a budget (like an LE officer buying his own weapon), the G.I. offers a lot of bang for the buck.
Final Thoughts
As
they say, you get what you pay for—or at least you should. There are
probably a few people out there who are going to tell me what all
this-and-that they could get for $949.50, and how this gun is not a good
value, etc. Well I’m putting my money where my mouth is on this one: I
sent the folks at Freedom Munitions a check for this particular gun.
This G.I. Rifle is light, reliable, and accurate, and it has some
innovative controls. Make no mistake, there are certainly cheaper guns
out there, and I own a few. There are more expensive guns out there,
too, and I own a few of those. Nevertheless, I’m hard-pressed to find a
better value in this price range on the market today.
Hand
guards of reduced or minimal length like this one seem to be gaining in
popularity. Most shooters have no need to hang lasers, lights,
rangefinders, or anything other than a bi-pod off their rifles. If you
need all of those things, and or clip on NV (Night Vision), this stock
may be problematic. There is plenty of room for a light, maybe one
other device, but it will cramp your style a bit. If not, it saves quite
a bit of weight you will never use. Working barricades and around the
bench there was a tad less space for bags and the like, but not
unworkable at all. If you spend much of your time in prone or resting on
a bag it is fine.
