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HS2
29 November 2009, 16:44
I took the E4 out to the range today to sight it in.

As a bit of background, I'm a recreational shooter and I've been shooting ARs for almost 20 years but this is my first experience with a bullpup. I only have one EoTech so I did not do a side by side shooting comparison today.

Weather today was less than ideal... about 40 degrees, heavy overcast and light rain.

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First impressions

The E4 is heavier than an AR but the weight is further back and closer to the body. The E4 (minus the EoTech) weighs in at 7lbs 14oz... the Bushmaster carbine (HBar) weighs 6lbs 11oz.

http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/HS2/IMG_0862b.jpg

The E4 is pretty well balanced and feels comfortable in spite of the additional weight.

As Stick pointed out in the other thread, operation of the charging handle is problematic with the EoTech and I had to move the sight all the way to the back of the rail. An angled charging handle would be a welcome improvement.

The collapsible VFG is perfectly functional but it is mounted on a single pivot and does not have the solid feel of a rail mounted grip.

The trigger is heavy and has a long travel. I have 4lb single stage triggers on my ARs so it took a while to get used to the E4 trigger but it seemed to work well once I got accustomed to it.

MSAR mags, PMags and vintage surplus AR mags all functioned properly. I have seen Steyr videos where the mags drop free, but on the E4 the mags do not drop free.

The stock is tall and provides good support on the shoulder. Although it is not adjustable it is very comfortable.

The E4 seems to have less recoil than my ARs, however, I had two sweaters under my jacket today so I'll reserve judgement until I get a chance to shoot them side by side.


Operation

I started off with PRVI M193. I had one FTF in the first 100 rounds. The round ejected normally and fired properly when reloaded. This was on the first round of a fresh mag.

I then switched to PRVI 62 grn (blue box). The first round FTF, and would not eject. Although the round was chambered, it appeared that the bolt did not capture the the round or fully close. I could not get the round out of the chamber... I pulled the barrel and the round dropped free.

The second round of PRVI 62 did exactly the same thing and I had to pull the barrel again so I switched back to PRVI 55. I didn't try to diagnose the problem.

Fired another 100 rounds of PRVI M193 with one FTF that ejected normally.

I wasn't shooting for accuracy today. However, I'd say that the E4 shoots better than my 14.5 Bushmaster and is comparable to my 16" middy.

This was the last day the range will be open this year so it will be a few months before I get a chance to do a side by side comparison.

Stickman
29 November 2009, 17:19
Good observations.

EMAGs tend to work pretty well in them, but drop free is something I don't see happening with any of the mags I tried.