Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles MRC X3 Dissapointment

Unfortunately, I've owned two. Should have quit after the first one....

jorge out...

I was referring to the PH whose article you posted. Sorry...didn’t mean to across as a jerk

This would be a good place to tell your story.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Montana+Rifle+Company&rlz=1CATTSD_enUS697US699&oq=Montana+Rifle+Company&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60l3j35i39j0.7288j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#lrd=0x53664fa23e36d665:0x9fef90ed895b9b66,1,,,

You are not sir. If anything, it's me. cheers,

I received a call stating my rifle is done and heading back to me. I was told it was a headspace issue that has been resolved according to them. I asked about the bolt body hanging up mid cycle and was told it has been taken care of. When I get it in my hands ill make what will hopefully be my last post on the thread.

I'll be looking forward to seeing how it turns out for you BCJR.

I received the rifle today. MRC did not repair all of the issues requiring attention . They did re headspace the rifle, however, bolt cycling is still not possible if there is any amount of upward pressure on the bolt as it contacts the receiver and locks up. I immediately called my gunsmith and he said will repair it , he also said that my MRC rifle is not the first one he has had to fix. There are a myriad of things wrong with them , his words.
To summarize this is a total fail on the manufacturing as well as the customer service end.I will not be a return customer, and based on MY experience I could not reccomend them in good conscious.

Have been hearing this for years. If it were me I'd never feel good about that rifle again and move to something else.

Thanks for the update. I at one time used to drool over the Montana rifles. Nice looking guns for the most part, but too many stories out there like yours.

So far, even with new management, they seem to be shooting themselves in the foot. I have an ASR that is very accurate and nicely finished. I had to send it back a year or so ago to have the magazine box changed since it was just wide enough to let two cartridges slip down beside one another, thus allowing the bolt to slide over the topmost one without picking it up. I sent it back to MRC and they changed the follower and magazine box. To their credit they paid shipping both ways, but it was a four month turnaround. When it came back it worked like a charm; however, my trigger had gone from a 2.5 pound crisp pull to over 3.5 with a mile of creep. I don't have a clue why the trigger would need to be fooled with to change a magazine box and follower, but there it is. I sent the rifle to Redneck and he took care of trigger, pronto.

I really like the looks and feel of these rifles, but the hit-and-miss QC is a big disappointment, especially for a rifle that has been touted as "factory semi-custom." I certainly hope they can get it together because I'd hate to see another of our home-grown rifle manufactures disappear. Whatever happened to "Proudly Made in the USA" when that actually meant something? As has been said many times before, time will tell, but it's hard to overcome a soured reputation in these days of the internet and social media.

Just my $.02.

Understood that the bolt doesn't cycle worth a chit.

I am still interested to hear how accurate it shoots.

Any updates on how your tussle with MRC is going? Did they rebarrel the gun for you?

Yes, I received it back and it now lives as a .260 Rem (I paid them to rebarrel it). With Talley lightweights and a Zeiss Conquest MC 3.5-10 x 44 it has great balance. I just swapped the bottom metal to PTG aluminum to shave another few ounces and I like it better still. I wouldn't want it any lighter as it balances and points very well. My first (only) range session was with Hornady Superformance ammo to get it zeroed. It cycled perfectly. Infact the range officer remarked at how smooth it cycled (I was saving the brass, so I was working the bolt slow to grab the spent rounds). I even worked it fast and it cycled perfectly.


I just received my .260 dies from Midway, so I'll start handloading for it this weekend. Going to try Barnes 120 gr and their long range bullet.


As I've said before, on my next rifle, I'll probably just buy a MRC action and have my own gunsmith build me exactly what I want.

What is the price of a I999 action these days?

I had an X2 that had feeding issues. MRC blamed it on the ammo, yet all ammo did it.

My X3 was shipped back today. Waiting to see how the repairs are.

That all ammo wouldn't feed is proof that it is the ammo's fault. Right? :-)

RevMike
I have an X2 in .280 Rem. that has that same issue...the bolt not picking the topmost round. I'm not wanting to send it back for reasons many have stated on here so I hope I can get MRC to just send me a new box and follower. We'll see how they respond to that.
Rookie

Here's what I did: Got in touch with Dean at MRC and explained the situation. I sent him a cellphone video of what was happening, he sent a mailing label, and off it went. Other than the time it came back as promised, and now functions flawlessly. In order to diagnose the problem, before I shot the video, I put a couple of strips of duct tape on either side of the magazine, thereby decreasing the width. That kept the cartridges from sliding down beside one another and confirmed that the box was a little two wide. With the tape modification, the top cartridge fed without a hitch.

So here are some options off the top of my head:

1. If you have other rifles to use and you really want to keep this one (but working, obviously), contact MRC about the issue about sending it back. As I said, they'll fix it but it might take some time. One note: mine went back before the management change, so I can't speak to the current turnaround time.

2. Buy a magazine box from MRC (you might not need a follower: I only know they changed mine because it didn't show the marks that the original one had on it) and install it yourself. Bear in mind that they probably won't send you one gratis since they won't be able to confirm what needs to be done. Nor could you be sure that they'll send the right one. Before they returned my rifle, Dean sent me a video showing all cartridges feeding without a hitch, so I knew the problem was fixed.

3. Do a modification to the current box. You can probably trim and shim the sides using very thin metal - a carefully trimmed beer/soft drink can perhaps? - and epoxy it to the magazine walls. I would, though, experiment with the duct tape to make sure that the fix will work. That would also give you some idea of the thickness needed. If it it works out, great. If not, you can always fall back on option one or two above. If you go this route, bear in mind that MRC might not want to fix a rifle under warranty after modifications have been made.

There is a lot to like about this rifle. It's just a shame that QC wasn't up to par before they were sent out the door. I read an article a long time ago, when the ASR was first offered, that said MRC was trying to provide a factory rifle that already had the things that a lot of folks do in the aftermarket: lapped barrels, "blueprinted" actions, etc. It's a great plan for a product, and if my rifle is any indication, I think they got it mostly right. Be that as it may, as I said, too bad the hit-and-miss overall QC didn't allow the company to quite live up to that plan.

Again, just my $.02

RM

I don’t know what it it about this price point but it really seems a struggle. Montana, Forbes, LAW etc all seemed to have qc issues. It’s a shame as they are or at least were in theory nice rifles