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Springfield Armory Saint

989 views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  C. Lee Nickel 
#1 · (Edited)
Never liked any AR style, AKA Black Rifle, enough to bring one home. Shot plenty of friend's rifles.

Just read the American Rifleman article on the new Springfield Saint. https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/12/14/springfield-armory-saint-marches-in/

It appears that they have incorporated many top shelf components; receiver, barrel, furniture, and some innovations like a buffer screw to take the slop and rattle out of the upper to lower. All for $899 MRSP.

Anyone have one, seen one, shot one. I might want one of these.
 
#2 ·
Tree Trunk Wood Axe Woodland
I never liked those style of guns either until I got one. I got this sks-m did a trigger job, it shoots like a dream. knight before last about midnight someone was stopped in front of my house sitting there with the motor running. I live in the woods, I felt real safe with it in my hand as I shined my stream light in there face. they went on down the road.....
 
#3 ·
The Saint seems to be a decent rifle but it is a bit overpriced for what it is.

I like that it has the midlength gas system and enhanced trigger but those are not very expensive options. The buffer screw to take out the rattle is okay but it is easy to do cheaply in other ways.

If someone is looking for a complete out of the box AR with a manufacturers warranty, I think it is a good option, but not at anywhere near $900. There are a few ways to get the same basic rifle for much less.
 
#4 ·
I have never seen one but have several AR15s. They are not my favorite gun by any stretch but have a definitive purpose and I could not imagine not owning at least one or two.

To me the price is kind of high for what you get as you are buying into the Springfield name, but if that's what it takes to get you into a superior modular platform weapon then go for it.

Just beware a black rifle is like a gateway drug into the NFA world and the next thing you know you will be looking at suppressors, short barrel rifles etc.
 
#7 ·
AR's are the LEGO system of the firearms world like 1911's. So easy to build and customize. The lower is the easy part to assemble but the upper takes a bit more work but is not bad. I have some upper end guns that don't shoot as well as parts guns I put together and some that shoot lights out. Depends on waht you want it for. Me....I hate that front fixed M4 sight!
 
#8 ·
I agree. You can get much more bang for the buck with a build. And with the quality of flip up sights I'm not much of a fan with the fixed front sight either.
 
#10 ·
Same here but you my friend have not played with the correct AR LEGO set yet is al I have to day. The M1 carbine, M1A and Garand are in the safe but the AR's get shot the most. The SP-1 has nothing in common with the AR's of today other that the receivers.
 
#11 ·
I've not been much into "Black Guns" myself. I had a Colt CAR-15 in my 20's (Circa 1984 or so), but it was stolen and never recovered, and I wasn't much interested in replacing it. If it hadn't been stolen, I'd likely still have it today. I don't sell/trade guns once I own them, and it was a good gun, but I wasn't in love with it enough to replace it.

But with the myriad of AR's out there, my changing world view, and the vast supply of cheap ammo, I'm rethinking. I have a buddy with two Springfield pistols and he swears by their quality and service. When the SAINT was introduced, his only comment was "What, no .308?" Kind of tongue-in-cheek, but his fav rifle is his AR-10, which is a .308. But he does acknowledge that if Springfield puts out an AR, it's likely a very good AR. I guess they aren't in the habit of releasing anything until it's well tested.

The initial inventory of SAINTs in my neck of the desert was sold out in days, so when I first went looking, I never found one. Finally held one in my hands last week. And I must say it's a very solid rifle. Well put together. Can't say much more than that. Best price in my area is Sportsman's Warehouse at $849, but they don't have any. The one I saw was at a local owned shop for full retail at $899. I suspect they'd probably match or beat Sportsman's, but probably not by much. What I saw next to it intrigued me more. I'm so ignorant of "black guns" I didn't know Ruger made one. And it was a couple hundred less. I dig Ruger.

A midwestern buddy of mine and I were discussing the "black gun" situation after I saw the Ruger. He's interested in the "black gun" scene. Goes to a lot of gun shows and preparedness expos and such. He suggested waiting a bit, because of the recent change in the political situation. He said, at last count, there were something like 350 outfits making/marketing AR's, and he suspects sales are going to taper off this year, and rather quickly, which could lead to some perhaps intense pricing competition. He may be on to something, because the very next day I got an email from Defender Outdoors advertising a Colt AR for $899, down from something like $1019.

He also introduced me to the "piston driven" vs. "gas impingement" argument about AR's. A new one on me. The original AR, like the Colt I had, uses "gas impingement", what we used to just call "gas operated". There's a relatively new development of piston driven AR's which some say are superior. Cleaner and cooler operating. But after I checked into it, I'll stick with gas impingement because of the simplicity and universal nature of the parts. Basically a standard gas tube that fits everything. Piston driven ARs need manufacturer-specific parts if something goes "ka-poof". Both the SAINT and the Ruger AR-556 I saw are "gas impingement".

I watched a youtube video after the SAINT was introduced, by some fellow who's apparently well respected for his reviews of military-type stuff (don't remember the name, so granted this info probably isn't very helpful), but it showed him shooting the SAINT until the barrel was practically steaming, then he set the whole rifle in a water puddle in the dirt road to cool it off, then he took it out, shook the water out, and went back to shooting it. It was still accurate and functional (he said). I don't think there was any trickery involved, and I was pretty impressed. It would be nice to have gun companies give us rifles to abuse!
 
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