It’s been a long time coming, but the rifle set is here at last! So I figured that I might as well give a review of it. More specifically the E version that was offered as an exclusive for a certain store which shall remain nameless. The last sniper related item I preordered was the rather milquetoast Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, so here’s hoping this one is better. Apologies in advance for the poor lighting.
Here we have the box, as it came. On the side you have the the sticker signifying the variant, in this case Black/grey. On the front you have two visuals of the front of the rifle from both sides, while the back has one of the entire rifle, fully configured save the suppressor cover. Looks nice, but I don’t care much for “unboxing” content. Now let’s move onto the goodies inside.
Upon sliding the box out of its cover, you will be met by a placard and a foam layer. Could work as a nice bookmark, but otherwise unremarkable.
Next is the rifle itself, encased in a plastic wrap, along with its associated accessories.
After that is about everything that doesn’t go on the rifle. Cleverly, the backpack itself resides in this layer while the rifle layer has a large hole to accommodate it. No manual to explain assembly, but I guess it wouldn’t be hard to figure out myself.
An overall view of everything included in the first tray
The rifle itself. Apart from the color, MLOK slots, and some thing on the bottom of the stock it appears to be identical to the previous MRADs made by E&S, including the barrel meant for what I presume to be .300 Norma. It’s a shame that they didn’t give it a longer one meant for 338 Norma, but I suppose one could get it 3d printed. As it is the barrel wobbles quite a bit, but is otherwise fine.
The scope, which judging by the markings is an S&B 3-20x50 pm II. I’m not well versed on scopes, but it would have been nice to see something like the NF 12-42x46, S&B 5-45x26, or even the NF ATACR 7-35x56 that SOCOM is apparently using on theirs, or at least the ones that come with the rifles.
The ATAK phone. The camera section is silver as opposed to black like on those seen hitherto, and the hinge is quite loose.
An offset aimpoint T1. Not sure how suitable how suitable it would be on a long range sniper rifle, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra one.
A Kestrel Elite Ballistic weather meter, for calculating firing solutions based on environmental data. Not the first one I’ve had, but certainly the only one that actually opens up.
A B. E. Meyers IZLID 1000p, IR Laser, which is used for marking targets at long ranges.
Onto the peripheral accessories. As you can see I have already put the Crye compact assault Ghille on my CAG sniper figure (still wip), and assembled the spotting scope.The little bag contained more rail sections, however I’ve already put some of them on the assembled rifle. The patch is the London Bridge Trading logo, and is my first 1/6 scale patch. Close by is a pair of binoculars with perhaps a range finder, though I’m not sure of the make and model. You also have the the LBT slick 3 day assault pack and the Boonie Hat, both in Multicam Black.
The Crye Compact Assault Ghillie, one of if not the main attaction(s) of these sets.
On the back there are some hidden buckles for removing the cape and allowing for the wearing of backpacks. As with normal ghillie suits you could try attaching vegetation (natural or otherwise) to it, though the suit looks perfect as is. The hood is large, more than like enough to accommodate a fully kitted out helmet. The whole suit can be folded up for storage.
The LBT slick 3 day assault pack. Fairly standard for a 1/6 scale backpack, featuring a front compartment and a main compartment, along with a waist strap. Clumps of paper help fill out these compartments, and can of course be removed entirely. Everything else included with the set can likely fit in the backpack, while the rifle can be stored using the side straps.
The Leupold 12-40x60 spotting scope, combined with some sort of thermal or NV optic in front and a PEQ 15 on the bottom. The legs cannot extend, and on the top is a female picatinny section on which to put the male picatinny section, upon which itself go the optics and PEQ. In order to fold the setup for storage, one must line the front up with the notch pictured above, then turn the ball joint 90 degrees foward.
Here is the completed rifle. The rear ring of the scope broke apart when I slid it onto the rifle, which is fine since I plan to replace it with the black mount from one of the other sets, but caution is advised. The suppressor required a little finagling to click into place, but there were no issues otherwise. Also pictured is a picatinny sling mount, though there isn’t another one to slot into the holes on the stock. I considered having the IZLID on the side of the rifle, but it just looked too large and unsightly that way. It might instead be advised to either swap it with the PEQ on the spotting scope or use it as a handheld tool. The cheekpeice and buttpad can be adjusted as well.
Here’s the ASR compared to my custom MRAD. I made it by combining the body of the ZERT Blackjack rifle with the barrel and cheek piece of a MSE MRAD. The scope is what I believed to be an NF 12-42x56 based on every site calling it as such, but is in actually the same 5.5-22x56 that came with the MSE rifle based on recent observation with a different paintjob and mount. Though I am considering getting another of those in black so that I can give it the mount from one of these 3-20s. That aside the ASR is more of a dark grey instead of a black, though a decent paint job should fix that If so desired
In conclusion this set is stellar, though the rifle itself shares some of the problems seen with E&S’s most recent rifles, such as the wobbly barrel and possibly a loose suppressor. To say nothing of the scope rings, though that may have been my fault. None of those issues however are bad enough for my to give it anything less then a 10/10, though I would understand why some may dock the score lightly once they get their own sets in hand. Anyways, I hope that this is helpful, and please give advice as to what I should do in terms of the scope.
