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My New SRC
3/19/2012 12:05:42 AM
I'm new to ar15.com and I've never owned an AR15 before, but I've wanted one a long time.
I've seen a few, shot a few, tried out an M16. I've been shopping around for lowers and parts for months, reading how-to's on this site and elsewhere, but haven't pulled the proverbial trigger. On March 8th, I was walking through my local Walmart and saw a couple of AR15's on display. There was a Colt, a Sig Sauer, and one from Windham Weaponry. I'd never heard of the latter, but since I live in Maine, I started to suspect something because a former well-known AR15 manufacturer used to operate out of Windham, Maine; and I thought it couldn't be a mere coincidence. So I went home, did some research, found some good reviews, and went back later that day to buy the firearm, which turned out to be the standard WWI SRC, at $799. I sold a Taylor guitar for $800 earlier that day, so it was an easy swap and my wife couldn't complain too much. Incidentally, the Walmart sporting goods guy told me there are five or six people who had been waiting for this gun to arrive on the shelf. I just happened to come in on the day it got drop shipped to the store. He says these rifles never last more than a day or two in the store before someone grabs it, so I guess I was lucky to show up that day.
Seeing how it's still snow-covered terrain this time of year, instead of doing anything with the SRC, I went to Aruba the very next day for my annual timeshare week to get away from the snow. What's odd about staying at a resort in Aruba during March is that half the people there are from the northeast. You can go to any resort or restaurant and meet people from New England. I have yet to go down there for a week without meeting someone new from Maine, and it turned out to be the case this time as well, since I happened to chat with a guy staying at my resort who is a Windham Weaponry exec. (It's a small world, but I'm not going to mention any names because I have some compromising pix of us both singing karaoke). It took about five minutes of talking with this guy to realize what a good purchase I had made. I'm really happy to see these folks re-employed in the industry. Dozens of folks with ten or twenty years of experience under a big name in the industry are back to doing what they do best, and I'm happy to have contributed my small part to their future success. As a lifelong Mainer, I'm proud to see these good people producing quality stuff in my state, and I encourage you to buy from Windham Weaponry. I'm expecting to see a slew of new accessories, adds-on, and features to come along in the very near future; and you can't go wrong with the warranty. I love seeing people get back to the basics: a quality product and stellar customer service that was once a hallmark of the former brand that has now, unfortunately, become somewhat lost in the behemoth of Cerberus Capital Management.
As for the rifle itself, I'm currently holding it on my lap on my first day back from Aruba. It's a work of art and I just love to hold it in my hands. Fit and finish are superior, the rifle feels very sturdy, and the upper and lower are quite snug without excessive rattle I've noticed in some lesser brands. I have yet to fire it. I've still got to buy optics, wait for the snow to finish melting, and will get a range report posted as soon as I can.
Happy shooting!
I've seen a few, shot a few, tried out an M16. I've been shopping around for lowers and parts for months, reading how-to's on this site and elsewhere, but haven't pulled the proverbial trigger. On March 8th, I was walking through my local Walmart and saw a couple of AR15's on display. There was a Colt, a Sig Sauer, and one from Windham Weaponry. I'd never heard of the latter, but since I live in Maine, I started to suspect something because a former well-known AR15 manufacturer used to operate out of Windham, Maine; and I thought it couldn't be a mere coincidence. So I went home, did some research, found some good reviews, and went back later that day to buy the firearm, which turned out to be the standard WWI SRC, at $799. I sold a Taylor guitar for $800 earlier that day, so it was an easy swap and my wife couldn't complain too much. Incidentally, the Walmart sporting goods guy told me there are five or six people who had been waiting for this gun to arrive on the shelf. I just happened to come in on the day it got drop shipped to the store. He says these rifles never last more than a day or two in the store before someone grabs it, so I guess I was lucky to show up that day.
Seeing how it's still snow-covered terrain this time of year, instead of doing anything with the SRC, I went to Aruba the very next day for my annual timeshare week to get away from the snow. What's odd about staying at a resort in Aruba during March is that half the people there are from the northeast. You can go to any resort or restaurant and meet people from New England. I have yet to go down there for a week without meeting someone new from Maine, and it turned out to be the case this time as well, since I happened to chat with a guy staying at my resort who is a Windham Weaponry exec. (It's a small world, but I'm not going to mention any names because I have some compromising pix of us both singing karaoke). It took about five minutes of talking with this guy to realize what a good purchase I had made. I'm really happy to see these folks re-employed in the industry. Dozens of folks with ten or twenty years of experience under a big name in the industry are back to doing what they do best, and I'm happy to have contributed my small part to their future success. As a lifelong Mainer, I'm proud to see these good people producing quality stuff in my state, and I encourage you to buy from Windham Weaponry. I'm expecting to see a slew of new accessories, adds-on, and features to come along in the very near future; and you can't go wrong with the warranty. I love seeing people get back to the basics: a quality product and stellar customer service that was once a hallmark of the former brand that has now, unfortunately, become somewhat lost in the behemoth of Cerberus Capital Management.
As for the rifle itself, I'm currently holding it on my lap on my first day back from Aruba. It's a work of art and I just love to hold it in my hands. Fit and finish are superior, the rifle feels very sturdy, and the upper and lower are quite snug without excessive rattle I've noticed in some lesser brands. I have yet to fire it. I've still got to buy optics, wait for the snow to finish melting, and will get a range report posted as soon as I can.
Happy shooting!
3/19/2012 12:29:06 AM
Welcome to the board, Windhams, and the AR15 in general. You'll be tickled pink, trust me :D
You did well picking up the SRC, and your impression of the company echoes my own. Look forward to your reports.
-Owen
You did well picking up the SRC, and your impression of the company echoes my own. Look forward to your reports.
-Owen
3/20/2012 7:33:04 AM
I know who you met 
3/20/2012 9:06:41 PM
Great story
3/21/2012 7:51:34 AM
Sounds like Aruba was a blast...
Perseus, the boss wanted to know how many drinks he had to buy you for the great review
Seriously thanks for the kind words!
Perseus, the boss wanted to know how many drinks he had to buy you for the great review
Seriously thanks for the kind words!
3/24/2012 2:28:40 PM
First and foremost, there were no drinks required in order to obtain the review, but that doesn't mean there were no drinks shared. You'll have to ask a certain Windham person about his collection of wigs used during a Billy Joel tune to get more information.
As for the rifle. I've just mounted a picatinny riser on it and added a Weaver scope that I had on hand (one of those very fine crosshair types––robbed it from my Savage 112 in 7mm mag with the heavy fluted barrel). Added a laser yesterday and waiting on a flashlight and some offset mounts. Will place those on the picatinny gas block (great feature!). I'll probably replace the Weaver with a more compact .223 compensated scope at some point in the future when my wife isn't looking, but it'll work for now. I fired exactly one round with it in my 9-acre backyard, just so I could say I've fired it. It feels good so far.
For Christmas, my 15-year-old was asking for his first firearm, so I took an old Marlin heavy barrel 25N bolt action in .22LR put a Boyd's stock and a BSA Sweet 22 on it. We'll be taking it and this Windham out in the coming weeks. Will post an update when we get a chance. My son claims he'll shoot tighter groups with both firearms. We'll see :)
Perseus
