Recently bought a NIB MSR STG556 Black/Optics, 20 inch barrel at a local funshop.
Gen 4 and P00-9500 on the serial number

Found this forum and I am a bit taken back by all the "issues" I have been reading in regards to the weapon....
reliability, broken parts...etc

The quandry is: Keep the MSAR and have a "see what happens attitude"
or sell it outright and get my money back since if I shoot it I wont be able to sell it as NIB.

I have read that MSAR has great customer service .... but when I see photos of things like cracked bolt carriers.... - my only thought
is WTF !?! (What did I get myself into?)

So do I sell it outright and re-coup my money or try my luck? I can't see paying for shipping to MSAR - for their problems in a warranty claim

The choice is yours. There are many people who have problems with their MSARs, but there are also many who have had flawless/ near flawless performance out of their MSARs

How many ARs have had broken bolts?

How many ARs have had broken bolt carriers?

The issues with the guns are mainly two; the XM-30 magazines that were designed for the E4 (which you don't have), and a few of the guns with the optic had issues with the optic itself.  The magazine catch was an upgrade that not every E4 stock needed.  Other than that, any "issues" are the odd ones that appear to be unique to a single rifle.

Any gun can have issues.  The MSAR hate is strong here and if a stack of MSAR rifles fell and crushed the Aflac duck three years ago, I can guarantee that five years from now the haters would still dredge up the fact that those evil bastards at MSAR killed a beloved corporate mascot.

Find someone who has one, shoot it, then decide if you still want to sell.  I got hooked instantly.  Gun-Crack.

I love the rifle - I have owned/trained with Steyr AUG's in the past and I think in certain aspects the MSAR is better.
and with the MSAR costing 50% less than a Steyr (made by Sabre) the MSAR was really attractive.

I have observed the MSAR hatred .....

You got the STG-556 not the E4...........you're good to go . Just don't over compress the magazines, like when doing a tactical reload on a full magazine, and you'll be fine.


Where in TX are you???

Close to San Anotnio???

Ignore it.  It's mostly a handful of people who have nothing better to do than post here and elsewhere about issues they have had or just there general hatred for Microtech.  Quite a few of them have not even owned any of the newer guns, their issues were with Gen 1 guns.  

You bought the gun because you like the platform, don't let a couple of a-holes ruin your fun.  Go shoot it and see why the majority of MSAR owners love their guns.

Off topic:  Recently was TV shopping, if you read reviews on them eventually you will go nuts.  Seems like quite a few people in this world are impossible to make happy.

Is this a service duty life or death rifle?

Or a fun rifle to add to your collection and shoot?

I'm in DFW...
I bought mine at CTD when they had them on sale. (Paid $100 more for the optic version...)

I am going to put about 200-300 rounds of NATO stamped Lake City 55gr to break it in.

Collection gun...

The duty rifle is an LMT MRP CQB

Thanks for the replies everyone ...

I think I am gonna hold on to it and see where it goes

The only way you'll know if you got a good one is to shoot it. Mine's been fine so far. MSAR's customer service was way beyond good to me, despite not having a problem. I just wanted to trade parts and they blew me away with how they handled it.
If I were made of money, I'd rather have a TPD AXR but the STG was what I could afford and still afford the accessories and optic that I wanted.
Enjoy your rifle and good luck!

Keep it and enjoy it. I really love the STG and had nothing but great things to say about them. Yeah, I have a problem now but I think I have had a great run with it. Jenns (wife) is a Gen1 w/optic and it has been 100%. Mine is a Gen2 with a Gen3 stock. I didn't like the FA on the stocks.

Glad you decided to keep yours.

I am sure MSAR will help me out on this problem I am having.

It's your call.



However, I think if you start looking at other rifles you're going to find issues and problems with them as well.



Whatever you would get after selling the STG is going to lack some of the features you know you like.  Quick toolless barrel change, short stroke adjustable gas piston for regular and adverse conditions, bolt hold open, bolt release, ambi safety, impact resistant polymer stock, bullpup short OAL, all for a price of around $1,000.  You tell me where you can a find a rifle with all those qualities for around $1K, because I can't find one.



Rifles are being serviced.  MSAR makes every part in house really other than the receiver and barrel and they should have receivers and barrels on hand.  Customer service on rifles has always been pretty darn good. You pay for shipping there, but they usually turn around in a few days to a week and pay for shipping back to you.  You can order parts if you need parts or want to do something yourself as well.  



The above said you have to feel good about your rifle. If you're willing to give up some of the advantages to the STG to go to something in the same price point that lacks the features then that's your call.  I've had my STG556 since 2008 and with over 3K through it I haven't had any parts failure and I inspect it pretty carefully after every range trip when I clean it. I've seen the cracked bolt carrier you're talking about and he also had a broken bolt sleeve, but as far as I know it didn't impact the guns operation and was only discovered after he cleaned it.  I've seen broken bolt sleeves with AUGs and STG/E4s.  The truth is that it's probably the weakest point of the design, but I could point to other weak points with other types of rifles as well.  



You know avoid the marketing hype, because frankly there are no perfect rifles and anyone who thinks they have the Holy Grail of rifles is fooling themselves.  Everything can go down for one reason or another, which is why you learn your rifle and keep parts on hand.  Just like cars or aircraft firearms can break down.  There are things MSAR could do differently in production that would increase service life, but those things are expensive and would up the cost of the firearm to the point where few could afford it.  However, they are using time tested  production methods that should yeild a satisfactory service life on parts.  



I think you'll be hard pressed to find a rifle that can do all the things your STG can do for around the same cost.  

I have one. I like it.

Oh man, you bought the optic version? Prepare your anus.  Someone above mentioned most of the well known issues but forgot to mention that one.  Lots of people have had issues with their optics with no rectification.  You might end up buying a rail and then using your own optic. As always, YMMV.



ETA: I have an E-4 and absolutely love it!

Go shoot it, have fun.  You'll enjoy it.

Ignore the hate.

funny but we are like a family. we can yell and bitch out each other about msar as a company but we are brothers of the bullpup. we just hate outsiders who bitch about them lol.
i love my 2 stg's, great guns and everyone who shoots them likes them. shoot it and if it breaks fix it. they are stupid simple really and set a spare parts kit and you'll be gtg.

If I were in your shoes  I would put it on consignment at a local gun store. Or you could take your chances.
Also you can't compare AR problems with MSAR problems. Look at the difference in the number of Ar's manufactured by a lot of different companies. Colt broken bolts never heard of one. Not saying it has never happened.

I've heard of broken Colt bolt's. About 10 of them last year at my unit alone and that's not the rest of the .mil.  



In fact, I sent two MK18's back for repair today for the same exact problem.





 

My guess is your rifle in the 95xx serial number range will be good to go.  I would say your optic has a good chance of failing.  You can always buy a rail and run a Aimpoint.  

Silent, please call up MSAR tomorrow and inquire about ordering a barrel. If they say they don't have one to sell, you probably shouldn't tell the new guys that they are available.

DR

Good point but I was thinking AR not M16 in a military unit with no telling how many rounds.

I'm not going to call MSAR tomorrow and I didn't say "they are available" I said  "they should have receivers and barrels on hand." Unless you know for a fact they don't then that's a fair statement. Unless they're all out of rifles now at MSAR I'm sure they can scrape up a receiver or barrel.



Trying to put words in my mouth isn't a fair thing. I understand I'm now the object of hate for the anti-MSAR crowd to include now former employees, but I don't lie and really resent the implication.

Point taken and I apologize.  

DR

Look folks, if you're really worried about MSAR why not call them up and talk to them about your concerns? If you're worried they're going out of business call them up and ask them. If you're worried that you will not be able to get parts call them up and ask them yourself. Don't rest on the recommendations of anyone on the internet who you don't know.

Fair enough.  I did veer off topic in the other thread.

I have a low serial number Tan Limited Edition STG-556.  I was lucky and the optic was zeroed when I got it and I haven't had any problems with it.
The rifle had to go back for a new bolt carrier after the first trip to the range. It has been fine ever since. Other than the trigger sucks (typical Aug) it
is a fine rifle. Balance and handling is better than than any AR.  Accuracy is sub 2 inches at 100 yards. Not great but the factory trigger and optic don't help with precision shooting.
There are several  possible scenarios for your rifle.
If you sell it now you will probably do so at a loss. Bigger loss if you shoot it and then try and sell it.

If you shoot it and the optic won't zero then MSAR's solution is to send you an optic rail to replace it.
Optic railed rifles sell cheaper than the scoped rifle and you don't get a refund for the difference.
Optics failing seem to be common, so odds are at some point it will fail and there are no replacements.

If you have feeding problems with the rifle you have very good odds that MSAR will fix it in a timely manner.
Warranty work on rifles seems to be one of the few things coming out of MSAR
.
Other than the good  possibility of the optic failing the odds are the rifle will be fine.

I like mine, stays at the front of the safe where I can grab it if I have time to shoot.
No, it is not my "go" rifle.  
Larue Stealth, PS90, Custom 6.8, 16" Armalite SASS, and a Saiga 12 are my "go" guns.
Not that I don't trust the MSAR. I just have more experience and accessories for the others.
Over 100 rifles I could grab and it is in the top ten.

This is what my post was in response to.


OP, I would sell your gun before shooting it if you are able to get remotely close to what you paid for it.  Or just be prepared for extra expense with replacing the optic and return shipping costs to MSAR.  "New in box" means you will potentially avoid having to disclose the following issues in these guns that you might experience:
- Weak extraction (common)
- FTE (common)
- FTF (common)
- Magazines not loading to capacity (isolated, for me only apparently- only on 42 rounders)
- Broken bolts/extractors (common, and part of the FTF/FTE problem)
- Busted optics (common)
- Extra expense to replace factory optic with rail and aftermarket optic (common)
- Aftermarket rail loose and not sitting properly on poorly designed "bosses" (isolated)
- Broken trunnion (very isolated, but after seeing this, I sold mine)
- Broken bolt sleeve (somewhat isolated- mine didn't crack like Greg's, but it had to be replaced)
- Poor quality control (the general theme here)

On the positive side, after the repairs and extra cost, my rifle was running fine when I sold it and I really enjoyed the platform.  Your AUG clone options are extremely limited now that almost all have ceased production (and MSAR appears to be currently in that position with nothing rolling out of SC yet).  But for a $1000+ gun ($2000 at one time), the quality is extremely disappointing.  I just didn't trust where the company was headed and was worried about the ability to get future issues taken care of when they arose.

The bitterness that I express in this forum is nothing more than disappointment with something I really wanted to believe in.  The most unbiased opinion you will get is from someone who no longer has an MSAR rifle and isn't afraid to publicly say negative things about the rifles in fear of being shunned by the company when repairs are needed (is that Robinson Arms or some other company that did that?).

I wasn't specifically calling you out on the negative stuff.

I too would be disappointed and somewhat pissed off if I had bought a gun or anything for that matter that had those problems, but at the end of the day you say that after the repairs were done all was well with the gun.  So MSAR did their job and replaced what needed fixing, yet you still search out threads and dump on them whenever you get a chance.

An unbiased opinion cannot come from someone who is bitter and pissed off at the company.

"Repaired" and "reliable" are two different topics.  Kia has a 10 year, 100K mile warranty.  Even if they stand behind their cars, that doesn't mean I would trust one (nor Kia to stay in business for 10 years).

Topic is "debating dumping an MSAR".  This one is right up my alley since I just did it.

I'll give you that one.

I'm not sure I could "trust" something if I were to have to go through all that either.

Didn't say that at all.

I was responding to this:

Kia has been in business for 66 years. You seem to have taken the issues you had with your rifle very personally. I find that your emotional attachment to this issue taints your opinion.

Fine, yes, I'm biased.  I was actually referring more to the people who are afraid to say negative things in fear of NOT having future warranty issues handled out of spite, as it happened with another manufacturer, who I believe was Robinson Arms (someone correct me here).  I never said a negative thing about MSAR when I had the gun in my possession for this reason.  There are STG556/E4 owners in this forum who are in the same boat.

66 years, good to know.  I still wouldn't buy a Kia.

Kis is doing quite well actually.  You may want to rethink your anaology

The problem here is this - The vast majority of people who own and most likely love their MSARs and have little to no issues don't post up or say a word on open forums.

The handful of people who have a strong hatred for MSAR post and bitch about them constantly.

I own 2 MSARs.  I had an issue with my STG, my first one, and had it fixed.  I have about 3000 rounds through it and I shoot it when I can and at my local carbine match every month.  It's a good gun for the money and I love the AUG platform and ergoniomics.

OP - Shoot it, decide for yourself.

AMEN !  

Well after reading this thread and a few people contacting me with information regarding my inquiry...

The MSAR is listed for sale.
NIB 20 inch bbl with optic and 2 / 30 round factory mags and 3 / 42 round mags
Listed for $1100.00 (what I have into it)

I just can't take the chance of testing for performance/reliability a NIB rifle and if it chokes, I lose money since it is now used...
Too much of a gamble. I also (in good conscious) can't sell a rifle that has issues, to someone else - that I knew about and did not tell them.

Sooo - the MSAR is in the process of being dumped

IM me whenever you are down here in San Antonio. I'll let you run a few mags through mine, and if you have sold yours by then you might regret selling her.

When I shoot a carbine match I intentionally set up stages to give me an advantage when moving and shooting. Those who don't have a rifle as short as mine have difficulty moving through the stage. bwaahahahahahaha

The only downside is that since you can't "see" the barrel when shooting I have put numerous holes in barricades.

It all depends how you look at things.  If you shoot it and decide you do not like it then you will have gained experiance.  Experiance sometimes cost.  Although I question some of manufacturing processes used I have been 100% satisfied with my STG556.  Most people do not make money on guns.  It is part of the hoby.

That's a good deal.  It should sell pretty quick.

Thanks for the invite brother - San Antonio is a great city.

if you come down PM me also, I can bring mine and some other toys.

very smart choice.
mine had issues,i got it fixed.
i was happy that when i got it back it ran great.
but it never made me feel good about the gun again.
i felt like i was waiting for the other shoe to drop.
i invested alot of time and money into the platform,
and traded it off(full disclosure of its former problems)
i do not regret getting rid of it,and i doubt you will either