I got mine unboxed and installed last night. Here are my initial thoughts.
Pros-
- The vertical adjustment is great. It actually has more adjustment available then is necessary to get proper cheek weld on the OBR. Even with the RISR I had on there before, I had to build up the cheek area in order to get a proper cheek weld. Not the case with the SAPR.
-It gives more adjustment options then a CTR/RISR combo. The height of the cheek piece, height of the but-pad attachment and the cant of the but-pad attachment can all be adjusted independently. It adds more options on the adjustment and is going to take some time for me to play with to see what I like.
-The charging handle easily clears the cheek piece. One of my complaints with the RISR was the added spring pressure it adds when one is manipulating the charging handle. A 7.62 rifle adds a longer pull with the charging handle then a 5.56 rifle already and the added resistance from the RISR is manageable, but annoying when cycling it while in position behind the rifle. The SAPR eliminates this.
-Sturdy. When I was looking at this, I talked to some guys with much more operational time behind a precision rifle then I have and one of the concerns was whether there would be flex in the cheek piece when you get down on it. The cheek piece is very sturdy when you are in position and I did not feel any flex when behind the rifle. Other then one issue (see below), this entire piece of equipment is very solid and nicely milled. Once everything is in placed and torqued down, it does not feel like it is going anywhere.
Concerns-
-As stated before, a more matte finish would be nice. I will be painting the rifle once I have it setup the way I want, so this is not a concern, but for those that cannot due to policy, or who do not want to paint their rifles, this may be a concern to them. A flat matte anodizing, or other matte finish would be preferred on the setup.
-When not under load, the cheek piece rattles. I am not a designer or engineer, but it seems to me that if the locking lug and notch were more V shaped and stronger springs were used, this would not be an issue. When the cheek is on the gun, this is not an issue and the cheek piece is solid. When no load is on it though, the cheek piece moves and rattles around a bit. Being just enough "old Army" that one of the PCC/PCI's that I do it put on my gear and jump/move around a bit to see if anything is clanking or making noise, this cheek piece is easily the loudest part of my rifle. I am unsure at this point if it is a HUGE deal for the intended role of the rifle (LE DM), but I will be shimming the cheek piece in place. This is not a HUGE deal, but paying what I feel is a premium ($200 for a part of a stock) I do not think it should be something the customer should have to fix.
-It adds a bit to the length of pull of the stock. Maybe an inch or so. This is not an issue for me as it fits perfectly when fully collapsed (in addition to the CTR/SAPR combo, I have one of the enhanced Magpul but-pads on the stock) when I am wearing armor and one click out without armor. It may be an issue for someone with a smaller stature though.
Overall thoughts-
I am very happy with this setup. For MY needs, I would prefer a model that the cheek piece does not rotate over out of the way. It provides nothing for MY needs and only serves to complicate the stock, increase manufacturer cost that gets passed on to the customer and by eliminating this it would eliminate the biggest complaint I have about the stock (the wiggle and rattle the cheek-piece has when no pressure is being applied to it). The cheek piece is a big improvement over the RISR and the adjust ability is a big improvement over every other collapsible stock out there that I know of. MY preference would be for a model that does not flip-to-the-side to get a more solid/cheaper/lighter option (heck, I would actually pay more for that), but others may see value I do not in those features. Some may be squeamish about the cost. $200 for a sub-assembly of a stock is up there, but when going on a rifle that is north of $5000 to start with (including optics and accessories), to me it is worth it and is something I would purchase again if I bought another OBR.
More information to follow after I shoot it a bit.