MSAR STG-556

[Goldfinger]

I picked one of these up and fondled it a few days ago at one of my local fun stores. I immediately fell in love with it. It shouldered very naturally for me, seemed solidly built, it was light and felt perfectly balanced. Obviously very compact as well. I do see where mag changes would be a bit more cumbersome, but otherwise I loved the ergo. It was a very good price and came with several mags. I seriously considering it. I've read about them on a couple message boards and it definitely looks like they had some problems with the earlier models, but I've also read where several people are very happy with it. Anyone have experience with them or have an educated opinion?

[REO 54]

Thanks for the pic. No I have no experience with such,but would like to test drive one. Looks like a bull pup configureation?

[Goldfinger]

Thanks for the pic. No I have no experience with such,but would like to test drive one. Looks like a bull pup configureation?

Yes, its a bull pup, a copy of the Steyr AUG actually. Very compact. Has a full 16" barrell, but shorter than many SBR's, so no paper work / tax stamp needed.

[REO 54]

How does the trigger pull feel?

[Goldfinger]

I only dry fired it once. It was a bit stiff. While I certainly didn't think it was great, it didn't feel too bad to me either. Of course, for all I know, it could have had the trigger job too.

[tulsamal]

I don't come by here very often so I didn't see this thread when it was current... don't know if you still want information... but you didn't get much when you asked.

MSAR quit making rifles quite a while ago. I'll take the middle ground here and "have no opinion" on what happened or who was to blame. What matters is you can't buy new ones or expect to call the company for support or parts. They really weren't much help the last year or so they were in business anyway. You can buy parts and even get some repairs done from Ratworx.

http://www.ratworxusa.com/pagHome.aspx

There were different "generations" of STG-556's. The last made were the 4th generation ones. If you look at the push bolt that holds the action in the stock, it will be square in a 4th generation gun. Most of them were good. I own one that I've never had a problem with.

After the STG-556, they started making the E4. The big difference with the E4 is that is uses AR mags. The STG-556 uses Steyr AUG type mags. They are good mags but of course AR mags are far easier to find. Problem is.... the E4's had various issues of their own. Sometimes the mags got stuck in the mag wells. Sometimes the MSAR made AR mags were junk. (Of course you could just switch to some other high quality AR mag.)

Anyway... would I buy an MSAR5-556 if I found one in a gun store? If would depend on condition and price. I paid right at a thousand for my green 20" model with factory optic NIB right after they were discontinued and the E4's were introduced. I liked the AUG mags and wasn't willing to pay $500 more for a model that used AR mags. So I was happy to pay a lot less for the 4th gen earlier model. And I was lucky that mine ran without any major problems and never had to be worked on.

But if I found a used one... I've had experience with MSAR rifles and Steyr rifles. I would want to take it apart and really look at it. And I would know what I was looking at. I would be looking for evidence of how much the rifle has been fired and whether there was any unusual wear indicating a possible problem rifle. Obviously I would keep an eye out for any broken small parts or springs. The little scopes had all kinds of issues like canted reticles so look for that as well.

IMO... knowing what I know... I would only buy one if it was a major good deal. You can buy mags and parts. You can buy parts to improve the trigger. You can replace the little scope with something better. They CAN be nice little rifles. It is an advanced design. MSAR just did everything they could to run the company like a hobby instead of a business. Thank god for Ratworx.

Gregg

You can read a lot of the history of the rifle and the company at the usual place for such stuff...

http://www.ar15.com/forums/f_6/43_.html