AR vs. Masada? (read, please)

I don't think that I would ever trade my AR for anything, I would just save up and buy the masada seperatley, assuming its worth-while.

Never even heard of it, any links?
Is this like the XCR? or is it a direct gas system?

I'd probably buy one for legal reasons if it was not an AR-varient.

I read the article about them...Id love to have one...but the article said something about an ar version and an ak version but they look the same.

Made in Colorado by Magpul. Modular meaning caliber swap from .223 (AR) to 7.62x39(AK) The article in tactical Handgunner magazine made it out to be a sweet system although is won't be free! It does have alot of polymer on it if you are one of those polymer cripple gun bigots. It is a piston gas system like the Robinson XCR if you are familiar with that model at all. I have AR builds in four calibers and at least two more planned so I don't think I will be abandoning the AR platform for the MASADA.

I wouldn't trade an AR for one if I only had 1 gun to trade. It looks like an interesting rifle and I'd love to get my hands on one, but my AR is a proven commodity, and one that I shoot extremely well. I have a hard time finding fault with any of mine.

cool. looks like a FAL

I have a trustworthy,good ak clone, and just bought a Bushmaster M4 A3 (which I havent fired yet due to work, rain, and waiting for my ammo to arrive), so, as neat as the Massada seems, I'm not really sure what role it would fill for me I dont have covered already.

I have a couple AR's that work very well; a 16" carbine w/ fluted barrel and a 24" heavy barrel set up as a varmint gun. I have two AK's that work very well; a fixed stock Polish and a Yugo underfolder. The modularity of this unproven plastic gun has little appeal to me. The presence of a piston is also not enough to convince me that I need it.

I don't presently own an AR. I have owned them. That says something.

The Masada is on my "must have list." The features of that firearm make it extremely attractive to me. The ease of barrel change to accommodate a number of different short cartridges put it in the must have category, and the variety of different barrels one can get for it, including "sniper" barrels, shorter general purpose carbine barrels, clinched the deal for me.

That one can use the standard AK magazines with that cartridge rather than a purpose built, or modified AR15 mag just makes sense.

The products which I have purchased from MagPul have exceeded my expectations for quality and usefulness so far. I expect that this rifle will be much the same.

I know that guys really like their ARs, and there is nothing at all wrong with that rifle. It just doesn't work for me. The Masada WILL reside at my house at some point in the future. I may have to sell some others to make room for this one.

I have AK's and AR's and love them, but I'm pretty sure I could give one of those a home also. Would I give up what I have for one??? Probably not, but I do want one. What's the estimated price??

Link? Never heard of a Masada, other than the fortress.

I fell in love with the Masada the 1st time I saw it on Magpul's site about 2 months ago. I would definetly go for the 7.62 x 39 version. As for trading in my AR or AK...probably not. But if the price is right I will buy one in 7.62 x 39 to add to my collection.

Considering that the AR is an established, battle tested weapon and that the Masada hasn't even started production yet, I'd go with the AR. Maybe the Masada will turn out to be fantastic, (the reviews on the XCR have been so far), but I'll wait a little while to make sure it's not a lemon first.

Magpul is a fine company, but I don't like the following stuff about the Masada:

-Magpul's first try at building a firearm, and no major military testing on top of that, as far as I know. I have a *strong* suspicion there will be problems at first.

-Upper is the serialized part. I'd rather have a less-stress component (lower) be serialized.

-Judgement call, but I'd rather have a dedicated AR style magazine even for 7.62x39. I think trying to change the operation between calibers, especially on the same rifle, would be more confusing than it needs to be.

Right now I like the feature set of the XCR better, which is why I have one on order.

I can't make a judgment. I've never handled a Masada, let alone shot one.

That said, the guys at MagPul strike me as being exceptionally forward thinking engineers.

AR vs. Masada?

I didn't know that Masada Ayooba had a beef with AR..

Oy, veh, Massada isn't in Syria.

who would trade their AR for a Masada, since you have a rifle that's just as modular

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The AR still has one advantage: I can buy a few parts each month (you can buy AR parts everywhere) and put the rifle together over time without even denting the monthly budget, even with top shelf parts.

I suspect the Masada will be pricy.

That said, there could be a place for an additional hungry mouth in my gunsafe.

Justin said:

I can't make a judgment. I've never handled a Masada, let alone shot one. That said, the guys at MagPul strike me as being exceptionally forward thinking engineers.

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I am with Justin. It looks like a really nice gun with some cool features but without shooting one I think I would have to stay with my reliable AR. I'm sure there will be a lot of guinea pigs trying it out for me when it is released.

Here are a couple videos on YouTube:

Test Fire

FullAuto

The question is; Who would swap their AK for a Masada??

Could very well cure the ills of failure to function in adverse conditions.
A system that is piston driven rather than puke the gases back into the
action could be a boon to reliability. Haven't seen anything from Mag
Pul that I didn't like. A few offer including Bushmaster offer the piston
system at a greater cost and so far have not heard negatives on the
change over.

Trade? Probably not. The Masada is not proven.

That said, assuming the Masada works well and becomes proven as a combat rifle, and if the price were right, I would probably buy one (or two).

I will wait and see how it turns out.

Well if it's anything like HKs AR improvement, I'd rather buy two ARs... For me it would have to be "priced right" to win me over (like $1000 or under, none of this $1600 for a fancy AR crap).