The product in question is an "Ruger Mini-14/Mini-30 Strikeforce Six Position Side Folding Stock with Scorpion Buttpad and Recoil Pistol Grip" by ATI Gunstocks.
As noted at the linked site, its MSRP is $129.99
I paid roughly $100 for it as part of a larger purchase "deal" with the vendor.
I've got to give credit where it is due -- this is an awesome piece of kit. Having previously experienced the "side-folder" offering for an SKS of another well-known vendor, the difference in quality and craftsmanship between the two was both obvious and striking. This truly is a high-quality, and high-value item.
To cut to the chase, for those not interested in details, I thought it best to rank them on a scale of 1 to 5 - with "5" being the best possible score - in several categories:
Scoring:
- Price? 5 of 5 - $100 for an item of this quality is an excellent price IMHO.
- Quality? 5 of 5 - details in full review
- Durability? 5 of 5 - at least based on my impressions so far!
- Value? 5 of 5 - though ~$30 more than Tapco's offering, there's just no comparison in terms of quality. Further, buying all the extras from Tapco which are included with this kit would likely make the total prices the same!
- Accessories? 5 of 5 - As noted, there's really nothing else to buy!
- Customer-service? 5 of 5 - Though it would have been nice to get through to support without a call-back, it's not realistic, and would be impossible for them to have that much staff with the sort of in-depth knowledge demonstrated by Walt.
Detailed review:
The kit itself was 100% complete. In addition to the basic stock, the kit also included:
- The aforementioned rubber recoil pad - which is not really needed for .223 but would no doubt be great with heavier-recoiling rifles!
- A half-dozen sling-mounting bolts and the nuts necessary to mount them - giving entirely too many options for sling configurations
- Picatinny Rails - (3) short and (1) long, giving a "quad-rail" configuration on the front-end of the stock -- short ones on the sides and bottom, long one on top of the forearm-cover.
- Blanking-panels to cover the mounting-points for any of the rail-sections you may not choose to mount.
- A "6-degree drop-tube adapter" - which angles the side-folding stock down a bit, thus raising the action and making it easier to get a proper sight-alignment, etc for those who need it.
- A "removable, adjustable cheek-rest" which can be attached as needed or desired.
- All the necessary screws, nuts, etc needed to attach and mount all the various bits mentioned above.
- An Allen-wrench which fit the aforementioned fasteners - the only other tool I actually needed was a Phillips screwdriver - though I also made use of an Exacto "hobby" knife.
- Good, clear but concise instructions, obviously written by someone whose native language was English!
The stock itself is molded of a polymer, which is exceptionally stiff and strong. The instruction-sheet references "nylon", but the linked site (above) says it's made of "DuPont® Extreme Temperature Glass Reinforced Polymer". Whatever it is, this stuff is rock-solid, and I have no worries about its durability.
The quality of workmanship is outstanding, with obvious attention to detail. The typical "mold lines" common to plastic items - where the plastic squeezed out between the mold-halves, and which oh-so-often require careful shaving - were non-existent on this stock.
The similar little round spots - which I believe are caused by air-holes in the mold during forming - were also far cleaner than typical, though my perfectionist did cause me to shave a couple of them off. They were all in places that wouldn't be visible when the rifle and stock are assembled, but I still took the little bit of time needed to remove the little "tags" of plastic. They wouldn't have presented any problem - I only mention them in the interest of full-disclosure, and the fact that it's as close to a negative as I can come!
All flat surfaces were flat and smooth, all corners sharp where they should be for a very solid, tight "bedding" of the rifle.
That this is a high-precision item was immediately obvious when I went to insert the barreled action into the stock. Unlike similar products from other vendors, the fit was absolutely perfect -- SO perfect in fact that at first I had some problems getting the two to mate, and thought I'd have to hand-fit it to get it to assemble.
I soon figured out that my problem was ultimately one of perception - the bedding was so perfect on this stock, compared to the factory stock, that it seemed to tight at first. With a little perseverance, and a little effort, I figured out that the parts mated perfectly - so perfectly that I honestly don't think any standard bedding procedure (like "glass-bedding") would provide any benefit at all!
The side-folding mechanism locks up tightly and positively, without any "slop" at all in either the open or closed position.
The "telescoping" or "collapsible" M4-style butt-stock is also surprisingly "tight" and free of slop, though it adjusts easily it also locks positively into any one of its six (6) positions. Wobble - once it's locked into the chosen detent - is VERY minimal - I can't honestly see how any more could be eliminated without making it too tight to adjust easily.
The ONLY point which I can see where improvement would be possible in either materials or workmanship relates to the rail-sections. They seem to be made of the same polymer/plastic material as the rest of the stock, which certainly seems sturdy enough, especially for the shorter side- and bottom-sections.
The longer top-rail however seems to have a bit of flex to it - which makes me question its long-term durability and suitability for mounting optics -- the only real reason for such a rail to exist.
Frankly, I'm just not confident in its ability to "return to zero", though I will definitely be testing this when I finally make it to the range and will update this review with my findings.
Ultimately, it seems to me that the costs involved in providing these rails - or at least the longer top-section - in aluminum would be negligible, and I'd strongly recommend they consider doing so. Unfortunately, as the top-cover slopes a bit toward the muzzle, this rail is a custom-fit piece, so replacing it with some generic rail-section is not really an option.
Alternatively, it could be offered as an add-on piece for those who - like me - are concerned with such things. I'd happily pay another $10 or $15 for an aluminum replacement!
The final bit I'd like to cover is Customer Service. We've all had experiences which prove that this is the point which can make or break our experience with any product.
When I finished assembling my rifle into the stock, my initial function-testing showed a rather perplexing problem. When I pulled the bolt to the rear, it would get stuck about 3/4 of an inch from the rear. If I smacked it with the heel of my hand it would release and go forward, but nothing I tried would allow it full rearward travel.
I spent a fair amount of time troubleshooting this. I found that when I removed the trigger-assembly, it would again travel over its full range with no apparent problem -- which perplexed me even more!
Further troubleshooting showed that I could re-insert the trigger group, and close the trigger-guard/latch most of the way before the problem would re-appear, yet for all my searching I just couldn't find any evidence of what could be causing this.
Finally I broke down and called the 800-number listed on the various instruction-sheets. My first try led to a "all staff are busy assisting other customers" recording, which left me the option to leave a message if I chose. Instead, I decided I'd rather wait and call back a bit later.
When I called the second time, a very polite and helpful Lady answered the phone. I explained briefly that I needed some tech-support. She told me that I needed to talk to "Walt" - and explained the possibility that he could be in the process of helping someone else. She suggested that - if I reached HIS voice-mail - I should leave a message, and he'd get back to me ASAP.
I left the requested message, and received a call-back from Walt within the hour. I'd barely begun describing what was happening, when Walt told me that he knew what had caused it and what I needed to do to fix it.
To be honest I was a bit concerned -- one too many "tech-support" experiences in my life where the operator gave me bad advice based on incomplete information made me wary of a repeat here. For this reason - after listening to his suggested fix - I made a point to ask him to let me finish explaining what I'd seen. He - very politely and patiently - heard me out, then reiterated that he knew the fix he'd suggested would solve the problem.
I must admit being a little skeptical. His suggestion was to apply a few "shims" - made of business-card-stock, between the tail-end of the trigger group and the stock on which it rests. I could not see how this could stop the bolt from moving - but I was willing to play along, so I tried it.
Sure enough - problem solved! Apparently - per Walt's explanation - there are some variances in the thickness of the trigger-groups, and the thinner ones, if allowed to sit too low - will interfere with the bolt's need to drop down slightly at the rearmost part of its travel.
In my case, (4) little bits cut from a matchbook-cover solved the problem! In the interest of a more permanent fix, I intend to drill, tap and counter-sink a fine-threaded, flat-head screw there, so as to give me the ability to fine-tune it as well by turning the screw to raise or lower the head - and thus increase or decrease the "thickness" of the "shimming" it provides.
I mention this for two reasons -- one to point out the obvious knowledge and experience of their main tech-support contact, and also to point out the effort that was involved in learning the cause of and solution to this obscure, rare problem.
During our conversation, Walt told me that this is very rare, but happens occasionally. He told me how he'd also struggled with it, even to the point of "buying back" a number of stocks and cutting them up, trying to figure out if there was some defect in their manufacturing process or any other cause that they could rectify. When he was finally able to examine both the stock and the rifle that was having the problem, he could measure and see that its dimensions were the same as all the others -- ergo the "problem-cases" had to be due to variations in the rifle and not the stock. Clearly, ATI is an outfit which is determined to ensure satisfaction for ALL its customers - otherwise they'd have taken the easier route and just refunded the money to the odd "problem-case" such as I had turned out to be.
To summarize, this is a fantastic product, made of excellent material, to exacting standards. It comes complete with every possible feature - all of which other vendors charge for as "options" or "add-ons." Best of all, it's backed by knowledgeable, personable people who appear genuinely happy to help if you need it!
They've definitely earned themselves a repeat customer -- I spent time tonight looking at their various other models and will definitely be adding their stocks to some of my other rifles!
I'd absolutely recommend their products to anyone who has a need or desire for anything they offer!
Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions, or just post them here -- I'll do my best to answer!
DD
PS: Please excuse any spelling/grammar mistakes -- I'm exhausted at the moment but wanted to get this posted before calling it a night. I'll try to edit and post some pics tomorrow!
