Having acquired PRECIHOLE’S ‘ORION’ 22 cal AR, I was strongly tempted to compare its performance with my old trusted SAMURAI 3G - my Super Tuned IHP 35 (Ref. earlier post)
There were glitches initially with my ORION such as:
•The lynch pin in the Rear Sight worked loose & dropped after 10 to 15 shots
•The Trigger was jerky & the 2nd stage did not function smoothly
•The Butt Pad used to come off unexpectedly every few shots.
•However after taking care of these hiccups, I haven’t faced any problems worth the mention till date – BTW I acquired my ORION in September 2012.
•ORION with its synthetic stock is approx. 1.5lbs lighter than SAMURAI 3G with its wooden stock, but once you get used to its hold & trigger function - it shoots smooth & accurate all the way.
•The cocking of the ORION is smooth - approx: 33lbs / Samurai is also approx. 33lbs
•The auto safety goes on when cocked in the Orion, which is a nice add-on that’s reassuring.
•In the 2stage trigger pull the 2nd stage is around 2 lbs which is quite light & crisp for sports shooting – while in Samurai it’s around 3 lbs.
•Adding a MUZZLE BRAKE has reduced the cocking effort in both the ARs, improved the barrel harmonics and renders a nice balance during the hold.
* Velocity checked with 'hand held chrono' was:
> Orion - 650fps
> Samurai - 620fps
•The tests were done with open sights, at a range of 30ft using 14gr Master Shot (Export) Wad Cutters & RWS 0.22cal HP pellets.
•Hold throughout was hand held & knee rested.
•Since the ORION comes with an injection molded synthetic stock – the butt & fore-end are hollow which resonate a kind of “Drum Beat‘’ sound when fired - unlike the wooden stock of the Samurai which absorbs the sound.
•Filling these spaces with wads of 3/8” thick heavy duty foam cut to size, helped to mute the resonating sound considerably.
•I’ve subsequently mounted a 2-7 x 32 Center Point AR rated Variable Scope using a UTG single piece mount on the ORION. The Mil-Dot reticules + facility to illuminate the reticules in this scope are an advantage while shooting in poor light conditions.
•The SAMURAI is fitted with a 4 x 32 AR rated scope on UTG single piece mount.
•Both the scopes have adjustable objectives which help in getting a clear vision of the target.
•I have put through over 1500 shots till date with the ORION & over 5000 shots with the SAMURAI and the scopes have held on as also the zeroing.
•It’s truly a satisfying experience when the ARs complement each other nicely – goes to show that proper maintenance & tuning goes a long way to ensure accuracy and smoothness while target shooting or plinking.
•Finally I’ll let the images of the tests speak for themselves as far as the performances & accuracy of Orion & Samurai are concerned
Briha
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