I ordered a MP221 SXS 45-70 last Thursday and picked it up at my FFL a few minutes ago. $750 out the door.
I was pleasantly surprised at the overall appearance, fit and finish. The stock fits me perfectly in every aspect rendering a solid cheek weld when the sights are properly aligned. It has a 14 1/4" length of pull. It has a pretty stiff ventilated recoil pad on it. I forsee a Limbsaver pad on the horizon.
Metal to metal fit is as tight as an out of the box Citori. Very nice and uniform crowns on both muzzles. Mirror bright bore. The matte blue job is as good as you will find on any mass produced Rem, Ruger or Winchester. The action is VERY tight as many have noted and needs some serious breaking in. To me that is far better than a rattle trap. The sights are nice! I'm a big fan of the square notch and round post anyway... The front post bead looks identical to and will probably interchage with an AK.
On the down side, the triggers really suck. They break at about 8-9 pounds. But I'm spoiled to a Ray Perry 3.5 pound trigger job. Looks like it will take a trip to Ray so he can waive his $50 magic wand over it.
The furniture is very plain, but well shaped with what appears to be an oil finish. Wood fits the metal tight everywhere it should. Wood to metal fit is comparable to my Ruger #1.
I still need to shoot it, but at this point I have NO complaints whatsoever. It will undoubtably replace my beloved model 94 as my go-to walkabout rifle.
A new set of dies, 100 Barnes 350gr TSX's and 100 new Rem nickel cases should be waiting on my door steps when I get home. According to the book 60 grains of Varget should yield app. 28,000 psi and 1900fps.
Mick
