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Windham Armory AR10 Full Review (SRC 308)

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Another by request Patreon review video, we take the Windham Armory AR10 out on several outings for testing.

Nikon ProStaff 7 scopes, check out that 2-7x $143 one:

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49 COMMENTS

  3. I keep coming back to this video. I have wanted an AR-10 format for a while.

    So, my handgun is M&P M2.0 in 9 mm with 17 rd mag.

    My first semi-auto was the Windham Weaponry M4A3 Dissipator (.223 Rem or 5.56 x 45 mm NATO) with iron sights in the carrying handle and gas block. Chromed 4150 barrel and M16 BCG. Crosshair accurate at 25 yards, from the factory, a combat zero.

    So, when it came to an AR-10, even though I am a Windham fan boy and I will pause another minute while others may assume I seek purchase confirmation or confirmation bias, I did look around, including this channel. I have long enjoyed both the thinking behind and the production of these reviews. And, to my knowledge, all the other reviews of this line of rifles are at paid and controlled public ranges or home built ranges that are actually quite good at limiting conditions. This is the one review where someone got into the wind with it, literally. Not exactly a run and gun. But valuable, nevertheless.

    I think it is not mentioned often enough and others might have thought it self-serving if the authors of this channel brought it up but it costs money to do these reviews. Time that could be spent earning money doing anything else like working at Walmart or working a farm is spent in time by gathering parts and stuff, time in driving to the awesome vista, money on gas, ammo, water, snacks (advantage of an MOE stock is that you can stow Skittles. You are not any kind of sniper without Skittles.) So, there may not always be a way to do both paid and closed range testing and the wide open windy high desert of Utah testing on all guns. I think it is a matter of budget. There is only so much money. Going to a regular range is an expense. Or one can go to the BLM areas and shoot video on a handful of rifles and create the most footage possible. Later, hack those up into the final production that includes the table top and target review.

    Long story longer, I had narrowed down, for my budget between the M&P 10 and the WW R16 SFST 308. And the M&P received strong consideration because I have always liked S&W firearms (back in the early 80s I owned a S&W .38 Special and on duty I carried a S&W Model 19 K Frame .357 Mag with nickel plating and oversized ivory grips) and the review here of the M&P 10. And I would say that it received a better thumbs up than the Windham. Primarily on price point. When this video was posted in Feb 2019, it was a year before the World War Z virus came along. Everything was plentiful. Retailers could afford to lower profit margin and move profit.

    In context, I am now commenting in April 2021. Two weeks to flatten the curve became over a year. The price of all firearms has risen, especially if you want them this calendar year. The cost of the M&P 10 is still lower than the Windham but not by a lot and certainly not by half. I found a site that had rifles avaiable, selling or not quite $100 over MSRP. Ron, why would you pay that?

    It is business. I am a manager of a business and a grateful student of my employers, the owners of the company, two of the smartest people I have ever met and they had originally turned me on to Windham Weaponry.

    I am unrepentantly a capitalist. If you would like to know my understanding of economics, it is best addressed in the Basic Economics book by Thomas Sowell in all formats including e-readers. Costs of the manufacturers have gone up. Materials costs. Transportation costs thanks to the genius who shut down the Keystone project. Employees have to eat. Also, is the matter of scarcity. You can find web sites that will sell you the M&P 10 at $1200. And you may get transfer of it in 2023. The retailers cannot afford to sell at the low price. But it can be had at a premium price. In our business, costs are reflected in fees that are increased.

    I chose the Windham. I already know of their accuracy. The tightness of tolerances is an engineering coup d'etat. And it was already mostly set up the way that I wanted it with the full length MLOK handguard (thanks to a mid-length gas block, hence the shaved front sight part of the model name) with QD hole in the handguard and one in the upper, just in front of the castle nut. The one thing I did change was the stock. I took off the telescoping stock and carbine tube and changed to a Magpul PRS Gen III and for that, I put on a Luth AR rifle stock kit of tube, spring, and rifle length buffer. (Keystone Kops story for another time, I did have to make that rifle buffer heavier to cycle correctly. I accidentally over gassed myself.) 7.65 lbs empty. After scope and stock change, 9 pounds 14 ounces, calculated.

    I find that the accuracy was comparable. M&P had paper from 10, 25, and 100 yards. 25 yards was touching holes. So did mine at 25 yards.

    At 100 yards, there was an 1 inch or so spread on heavy grain ammo. Same with mine, which matches up to my Google "research." "What is the best ammo for 1:10 twist rate?" 165 grain and up is best. Some people will not shoot less than 175 grain.

    In these reviews, I did not see a 10 and 25 yard paper for the Windham. I did not see paper for the M&P 10 at 707 yards. There is a run and gun for the M&P and not one for the Windham. The primary downfall of the Windham was the price. 

    Some complaints such as the A2 flash hider I do not put too much weight on. I have priced other SAPRs that cost literally twice as much as my Windham and they also come from the factory with the A2 "bird cage." It is a good business move. Because so many customers have their own preferred high dollar brake / compensator and it is easy enough to change if not pinned and welded. In fact, I would rather the company shave money with an A2 and spend their energy and money building an MOA or sub MOA rifle.

    For example, the M&P 10 barrel is coated in Armornite, inside and out. The Windham has a chrome-lined 4150 barrel, which I have really learned to appreciate.

    A company cannot afford to do anything for free. Money has to be collected from somewhere, period, paragraph, end of book, forever, amen. So, if you like a particular brake and want the factory to put it on, be prepared for some things. First, the wait time. It can take away to get those. And then get ready for tax and mark-up It will add to the price tag of the rifle. More than it would cost if you just bought the device and wrenched it on yourself.

    If I had bought the M&P 10, I would have spent more money changing the handguard to an MLOK. By the time I have done that, how much have I saved. That being said, we all know that we are going to mod our rifles, regardless. But the less you have to do, the better.

    And so, in the end, I think I made a good purchase and I still value this and other reviews. And, again, it is expensive and probably not a realistic goal to have the exact same conditions and review scenarios with all guns. And it is okay to have a personal preference. That is what I like about Paul Harrell's list of 5 rifles for hunting. He says right up front that his list is not the list of must haves or best. It is just the list of the rifles he owns and has used successfully.

    So, I think this review and all others are valuable and well done and thanks to the Lt Col for his indefatiguable efforts. It really is expensive in travel, ammo, getting people together on the high and scrubby dusty plains to get any of it.

  8. New subscriber here, I don't know if you ever did this but I would like to see a review on the top 7 AR15 platforms between the price range of 1,300 to 1,700. Then I would enjoy seeing how they stack up to the top 4 or 5 of 1,800 to 2,400 dollar range. I wanna know if it's worth buying a Barrett Rec7, or one of that price range. Features are #1. Reliability, #2. Accuracy, #3. Functionality, how does it feel in your hands, controls, does it feel like an extension of your body. #4 top 3 in the 1,300 to 1,400 range a top 2 or 3 in the 1,800 to 2,400 range out of the test. Accuracy 100, 300, 500, and 700 yard. I would really get excited to see this in the AR15 AND AR10 platform.

  10. Just about every top 15 ar10 manufacturers make 308win ar15’s that work just fine with little to no problems. The CNC milling and program process is pretty much a fail safe to what works and what doesn’t.
    Some manufacturers just overprice their products because of their name or a big contract they have with a government agency which is BS.
    I had M14 during the Gulf war for squad support and the weight was no problem for me, I just had 3 mags and the rest of my 308 ammo was loose on a pouch.

  11. Had a very bad experience with WW. Their customer service was piss poor and when they finally sent back my rifles one of them was missing the buffer and spring. Wouldn’t trust those people to build me a bird house!

  40. I wanted to know if you shot any Military Surplus Ammo through this riffle ?? I have a   Windham Weaponry “R20FFTM-308” They say it will shoot 762/51 Nato Ammo . However mine scrapes brass off cartridge and after 50 rounds the brass chips  make the rifle  not eject or load properly ! Anyone have this problem with Windham AR10 308 Rifle ?? Please let me know if anyone knows a fix for this problem . Thank You .

  41. Heck ya i want more rifles and not just rifle videos, but your videos. Your one of they only dudes who can see past thier own ego and take a rifle and look at cost vs results. Weight vs reliability. I have bought several guns after watching your reviews and deciding what rifle fits y needs. NPAP Ak, Mossberg 500 sp and mosin negant. All of them have been spot on to what your reviews said about them.

  44. I've had a windham .308 hunter for a few years, and I really like it. I'm not one of those guys that has to try a million things, and find the best of the best of the best, but I found something that worked really well for my needs, and I shoot pretty well with it.

  47. In my opinion, windham skimps on the stuff users are likely to swap out and spends the bucks building there guns on receivers, barrels, bcg, gas block, fit and finish for the parts above. I have a 20 inch government 556 from windham and it's the best rifle I have ever owned, shoots like a laser, has never had a hiccup. You get less features but you get a better set of core parts. I don't know what was up with the accuracy you had, maybe you got a lemon 😳. I have a windham 308 16 inch model on the way right now and I'll gladly report back when it gets here. If it turns out crap I'll eat my words 🤷‍♂️ y'all have a good one

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