General Geoff
Member
I pre-ordered this rifle back in March of last year, had it delivered in October. Installed a Holosun red dot and Vortex micro 3x magnifier. Got it sighted in, and that's when the problems began.
~The Bad~
First few magazines, I got six failures to ignite, three failures to feed, one random bolt lock-back (with rounds still in the mag), and two unintended mag drops on recoil. Learned that the failures to ignite were a consequence of the SLT-1 trigger pack with its lighter hammer spring, so I got in touch with KE Arms and they offered to upgrade me to a Rekluse trigger (full power hammer spring) for a nominal fee, which I accepted. After putting in the Rekluse trigger, this problem went away.
Then I went about tackling the failures to feed. I was told that apparently the rifle does not like late-production (post 2020) Lancer A5LWM mags, which I had bought in abundance in anticipation of this rifle, being my first AR. Sold the Lancers and got Pmags which mostly resolved these failures to feed.
Then onto the bolt lock-backs and unintended mag drops. This is apparently caused by a hard recoil impulse, created by overgassing. Indeed, the rifle was ejecting far forward consistently (12:30 to 1:30), with both Federal XM193 and Wolf steel case 55gr .223.
First attempt to resolve the mag drop specifically was an exchange by KE arms to a new ambi mag release with a stronger spring, which did not resolve it. Second attempt was, by advice of KE Arms, replacing the steel weights in the JP Silent Capture Spring buffer with tungsten weights to slow down the bolt cycling (which should have solved the mag drops and bolt lock-backs). Even with all three weights changed to Tungsten for an H3 equivalent buffer weight, the rifle was still massively overgassed and cycling too fast and hard with malfunctions still occurring.
What finally tamed the overgas problem was installation of a Superlative Arms adjustable gas block.
After adjusting to vent much of the gas, the rifle now cycles beautifully and ejects the XM193 at ~2:30 and the Wolf steel case at ~4:00. Unintended mag drops and even the occasional misfeed have disappeared. Last 120 rounds I put through the rifle after dialing in the AGB were perfect.
So anyway, to a seasoned AR-15 armoror or DIY gunsmith, this saga probably seems melodramatic. After all, lots of guns require some minor adjustments out of the box to run smoothly. But for a $1700 complete rifle, I expected it to run damn near perfect right away. For about the same price I could have gotten a Daniel Defense AR. But now that it's working I'm satisfied.
~The Good~
The other features of the rifle are great. I love the ambi bolt catch in particular even as a right-hander, because it's much easier to lock the bolt open with my right index finger while pulling the charging handle with my left hand. Every AR should have this feature.
The monolithic polymer lower and integrated hollow buttstock is great. Made of glass-reinforced nylon, this thing is tough as nails. Very rigid and durable. Very hard to scratch or scuff. Doesn't show fingerprints. Good non-slip texture. Extremely light. Flared mag well makes for very fast & easy reloads. Has a spacious storage compartment in the buttstock too for for cleaning supplies and/or a small tool kit.
The free float carbon fiber handguard is excellent. Very rigid, very light. M-Lock accessories fit it perfectly. This combined with the polymer lower make this a very light rifle indeed. With the red dot and magnifier and loaded 30 round magazine, it weighs in at a svelte ~6.75 lbs. Remove the magnifier and it's at a featherweight 6 lbs 2oz, fully loaded & ready to rock. Rifle handles and points like a magic wand. Would be a breeze to carry around for hours, especially with sling.
Rifle is plenty accurate, I didn't notice any diminishing precision at 100 yards after rapid fire of two full mags despite the pencil barrel.
(first target, shot standing/off-hand, no sling)
~Conclusions~
Even ignoring the overgassing and light primer strikes out of the box, this AR build is not without compromises. Compatibility with standard AR parts is limited. Not all FCGs or buffer types are compatible with the polymer lower, and any rifle built on the KP-15 lower is better off with special ball detent push pins, as the lower itself lacks any detents to keep the pins in place. It's recommended to use a special hammer pin as well. In hindsight this is not an ideal "first AR" for anyone in my opinion.
Overall it's a novel design with great aspirations that, at least in my case, was hampered by a barrel with too-large of a gas port (Faxon barrels are apparently known for this). The WWSD2021 upper as offered by KE Arms has a Ballistic Advantage barrel with a standard size gas port which should prevent any severe overgas issues for future purchasers. I believe the plan is to switch to BA barrels for the complete rifle builds as well. Ah the joy of early adopter quirks. Oh well, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified professional, competitive shooter, hunter, or any other real or perceived authority on ARs or any other firearm. This is just my experience with my first AR as a long-time enthusiast and DIY tinkerer, so take this review for what it costs you to read it!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2. Let's just say the WWSD rifle now has a brother.
~The Bad~
First few magazines, I got six failures to ignite, three failures to feed, one random bolt lock-back (with rounds still in the mag), and two unintended mag drops on recoil. Learned that the failures to ignite were a consequence of the SLT-1 trigger pack with its lighter hammer spring, so I got in touch with KE Arms and they offered to upgrade me to a Rekluse trigger (full power hammer spring) for a nominal fee, which I accepted. After putting in the Rekluse trigger, this problem went away.
Then I went about tackling the failures to feed. I was told that apparently the rifle does not like late-production (post 2020) Lancer A5LWM mags, which I had bought in abundance in anticipation of this rifle, being my first AR. Sold the Lancers and got Pmags which mostly resolved these failures to feed.
Then onto the bolt lock-backs and unintended mag drops. This is apparently caused by a hard recoil impulse, created by overgassing. Indeed, the rifle was ejecting far forward consistently (12:30 to 1:30), with both Federal XM193 and Wolf steel case 55gr .223.
First attempt to resolve the mag drop specifically was an exchange by KE arms to a new ambi mag release with a stronger spring, which did not resolve it. Second attempt was, by advice of KE Arms, replacing the steel weights in the JP Silent Capture Spring buffer with tungsten weights to slow down the bolt cycling (which should have solved the mag drops and bolt lock-backs). Even with all three weights changed to Tungsten for an H3 equivalent buffer weight, the rifle was still massively overgassed and cycling too fast and hard with malfunctions still occurring.
What finally tamed the overgas problem was installation of a Superlative Arms adjustable gas block.
After adjusting to vent much of the gas, the rifle now cycles beautifully and ejects the XM193 at ~2:30 and the Wolf steel case at ~4:00. Unintended mag drops and even the occasional misfeed have disappeared. Last 120 rounds I put through the rifle after dialing in the AGB were perfect.
So anyway, to a seasoned AR-15 armoror or DIY gunsmith, this saga probably seems melodramatic. After all, lots of guns require some minor adjustments out of the box to run smoothly. But for a $1700 complete rifle, I expected it to run damn near perfect right away. For about the same price I could have gotten a Daniel Defense AR. But now that it's working I'm satisfied.
~The Good~
The other features of the rifle are great. I love the ambi bolt catch in particular even as a right-hander, because it's much easier to lock the bolt open with my right index finger while pulling the charging handle with my left hand. Every AR should have this feature.
The monolithic polymer lower and integrated hollow buttstock is great. Made of glass-reinforced nylon, this thing is tough as nails. Very rigid and durable. Very hard to scratch or scuff. Doesn't show fingerprints. Good non-slip texture. Extremely light. Flared mag well makes for very fast & easy reloads. Has a spacious storage compartment in the buttstock too for for cleaning supplies and/or a small tool kit.
The free float carbon fiber handguard is excellent. Very rigid, very light. M-Lock accessories fit it perfectly. This combined with the polymer lower make this a very light rifle indeed. With the red dot and magnifier and loaded 30 round magazine, it weighs in at a svelte ~6.75 lbs. Remove the magnifier and it's at a featherweight 6 lbs 2oz, fully loaded & ready to rock. Rifle handles and points like a magic wand. Would be a breeze to carry around for hours, especially with sling.
Rifle is plenty accurate, I didn't notice any diminishing precision at 100 yards after rapid fire of two full mags despite the pencil barrel.
(first target, shot standing/off-hand, no sling)
~Conclusions~
Even ignoring the overgassing and light primer strikes out of the box, this AR build is not without compromises. Compatibility with standard AR parts is limited. Not all FCGs or buffer types are compatible with the polymer lower, and any rifle built on the KP-15 lower is better off with special ball detent push pins, as the lower itself lacks any detents to keep the pins in place. It's recommended to use a special hammer pin as well. In hindsight this is not an ideal "first AR" for anyone in my opinion.
Overall it's a novel design with great aspirations that, at least in my case, was hampered by a barrel with too-large of a gas port (Faxon barrels are apparently known for this). The WWSD2021 upper as offered by KE Arms has a Ballistic Advantage barrel with a standard size gas port which should prevent any severe overgas issues for future purchasers. I believe the plan is to switch to BA barrels for the complete rifle builds as well. Ah the joy of early adopter quirks. Oh well, you pays your money and you takes your chances.
Disclaimer: I am not a qualified professional, competitive shooter, hunter, or any other real or perceived authority on ARs or any other firearm. This is just my experience with my first AR as a long-time enthusiast and DIY tinkerer, so take this review for what it costs you to read it!
Stay tuned for Chapter 2. Let's just say the WWSD rifle now has a brother.
