jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (10/10/86)
Article: 10:17 Hi! The 1987 GUN WORLD Annual arrived in the mail the other day, and in it, in a photo caption on a picture of Ruger's XG1 scaled-up Mini-14 (the one in .308 and .243), it said (paraphrased): "At press time, we just heard that Ruger has discontinued their XG1 rifle." I was wondering if anyone else had heard anything about this, or seen anything in print with any details behind such a decision? As far as I knew, the XG1 was never in actual production and distribution -- I'd seen literature from Ruger about it, and magazine articles mentioning it for many months, but I never saw it listed in Shotgun News ads among Ruger guns actually available for sale. (Though there have been a lot fewer references to Ruger in Shotgun News over the past year or so than there used to be; did they change their distribution methodology or somehow act to reduce the competitive dealer-price-level marketing of their products?) If this is true, it is sad -- the XG1 was supposed to be the most reasonably-priced .308 paramilitary-type rifle around, and I was intending to get one when they became readily available. The next issue of Soldier of Fortune was supposed to contain a review article on the XG1; I hope they leave it in and don't pull it out because of this news (or rumor). [If there were only a few preproduction XG1's made, it certainly will be one of the primo Ruger collectibles!] Speaking of .308 semi-autos, there seem to be quite a few competing models of semiauto-only-receivered M-14's being marketed these days, in addition to the original Springfield Armory commercial M1A. Anyone have any info on comparisons between these, and relative ratings of their quality? I haven't seen any writeups of these in any of the magazines yet, except for the reviews of the M1A, now some years past. I'd sure like to see the wild and crazy guys at "Pistolero" magazine do a side-by-side comparison test of these... (If you don't recognize that name, that is one of the magazines put out by Engledrum [I think] publishing -- they accept no ads from gun manufacturers, and buy all their test guns from regular dealer stock. Their reviews mre certainly fun to read! They put out various magazines containing their test results at irregular intervals. They emphasize handguns but also cover riot shotguns and assault rifles at times.) Regards, Will Martin wmartin@ALMSA-1.ARPA (on USENET try ...!seismo!wmartin@ALMSA-1.ARPA )
jkh@jade.UUCP (10/17/86)
Article: 10:31 As I understand it, the XGI was discontinued due to design and production problems. I was also interested in it, as it seemed to be the answer to the semi-auto .308 rifle void. The HK 91 remains the only game in town. Regarding the semi-auto M14s, I have seen ads by both Sherwood and Armsport. They apparently are getting their receivers from the same supplier and they both mention a waiting period of 4 to 6 weeks before shipment. The dealer price for the completely assembled gun is over $600, less if you purchase kits and build it yourself. My only opinion of these M14s is that I would not trust the Springfield Armory gun. There was a time when the gas tap hole in the barrel was too large, causing an occasional pre-mature bolt unlocking. To the unknowning, a pre-mature unlocking of the bolt in a semi-auto gun can ruin your whole day. Fortunately, the unfortunate shooters were not permanently injured. The cardinal rule about buying a new gun from any source is to wait a year and see whether it undergoes any recalls or modifications. The 180 series Ruger Mini-14 is a good example. I broke this rule when I bought the Hungarian Browning copy, but the P-35 design has been around long enough to have shown itself to be reliable. I would also put Spanish copies of the .45 ACP in this special category. As a rule of thumb, don't be the first kid on the block to buy the latest model. Chances are that you will have paid top dollar and gotten a gun subject to an overlooked defect. Jon Kaplowitz cbosgd!erc3ba!jfka