Designed for three-gun shooting competitions, this rifle

Designed for three-gun
shooting competitions,
this rifle can be easily and
inexpensively modified for
patrol and tactical operations.
Stag Arms made its name producing a
true left-handed AR-style rifle. If you are
not a lefty, you may just shrug your shoulders thinking, what's the big deal?
Well imagine shooting a backward rifle, and you'll understand. All ofyour controls would be reversed, and spent casings
would eject from the rifle in the wrong
position. That means you would stand a
chance of getting hit with hot brass, even
with the brass deflector. This can be a inajar issue for southpaws, and by building a
lefty AR, Stag Arms built a loyal following.
of left-handed shooters.
But simply filling a niche market was
not going to keep Stag Arms in business.
So the company's management decided
to start manufacturing traditional righthanded ARs as well. The company then
built a reputation for making quality firearms at an affordable price. Stag's ARs
have sold at an average of $50 to $~OOless
than some other popular brands.
Over the years I have heard more and
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POLICE
AUGUST 2012
more folks whose opinions I trust talk
about Stag's ARs and how they shoot really well for a great price. This piqued my
interest in Stag's ARs and started me looking for a chance to review and shoot one.
Recently Stag introduced the 3G, a rifle
developed for use in the rapidly growing three-gun competition market. After
reading over the specifications of the 3G, I
realized this AR could be excellent for law
enforcement operations. I contacted Stag
Arms, and a few weeks later, a test and
evaluation model of the 3G arrived.
STAG ARMS· 3G RIFLE
CALIBER: .223 Remington/5.56mm
NATO
OPERATION: Gas operated semi-automatic
MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 30 Rounds
BARREL: 18 inches fluted, 1-in-8 twist
OVERALL LENGTH:
Collapsed,36inches
Extended, 39.25 inches
RIFLING: 1:8 twist
PRICE: $1,459
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www.policemag.com/freeinfo/19316
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FIRST IMPRESSIONS
After taking the 3G out of the box, I gave
it a thorough inspection. I was impressed.
It was solidly built, and the fit and finish
were excellent.
The Stag 3G has a heavy, fluted 18inch barrel with a one-in-eight twist. It
also sports a Samson Evolution forearm,
which is free floated. The trigger is a Geissele Super 3 Gun (S3G) model; the stock .
is a Magpul ACS;and the muzzle brake is
Stag's 3G Camp.
Some AR enthusiasts will question
why Stag is not using a one- in-seven twist
barrel. After all, the military is moving to
this rifling to help stabilize 77-grain bullets. I didn't have a good answer, so I did
a bit of research. The reason is that the
one-in-eight twist stabilizes the wide variety of bullet weights used in three-gun
competition.
My range testing verified the 3G will
shoot sub minute of angle with bullet
weights from 55 grains to 77 grains at 100
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STAG,ARMS 3G AR RIFLE
yards. One reason for this rifle shooting as
well as it does is the 18-inch Shaw stainless steel barrel. Shaw barrels are noted
for their accuracy and performance, and
the custombarrel in the 3G carries on that
tradition.
Stag uses Samson's Evolution free-flo atI ed rail to ensure you have a solid grip. The
forearm does not flex and touch the barAll groups fired from a bench rest, five shots, slow fire .
. rel, which would interfere with the barrel's
1. Iron sights 2. Meopta 1-4X22KD optic
harmonics to adversely affect accuracy. ,
The Evolution forearm has a solid top rail of the brake drive the rifle back into the precision optic. One of the best features of
to attach any number of items, and you shooter. When combined with the Stag the KD is the lighted reticle. This optic ofcan install small accessory rails to attach
3G's slightly muzzle-heavy barrel, the fers the operator variable intensities, and
slings, lights, bipods, and other items.
Competition Brake lets you make shots the light shuts off between each setting.
Another reason the Stag 3G is so accu- just as fast as you can obtain a sight pic- This increases the battery life and does
rate is the Geissele Super 3G Trigger. This ture and squeeze the trigger.
not require you to go from no light to your
is a single-stage trigger that breaks cleanchosen setting, saving time when you
ly at approximately three pounds. When
turn on the reticle.
MOUNTING ACCESSORIES
I say breaks cleanly, there is hardly any To get the most performance out of the
Since the 3G was designed to serve as
take-up. When you think about making
3G, a quality optic was needed. I chose a multiple use carbine, I mounted two acthe 3G go bang, it does. Reset is quick and
Meopta's 1-4X22KD.The Meopta KD is a cessory rails at two o'clock, so that I could
crisp, making it easy to achieve accurate
add backup sights from Command Arms.
highly regarded low-variable power optic.
The optics are clear, the adjustments posi- These are polymer sights that lock toward
follow-up shots.
In addition, Stag uses a rifle-length gas tive, and the lighted, modified German II the rear of the receiver and pop up with a
system. 'Ihis system has several benefits.
crosshair works well as a CQB dot sight or .push of the locking button, To access the
sights, simply roll the AR and you have a
It allows the rifle to run with a lower recoil
clear sight picture. This position is fast,
pulse and to burn powder more efficiently, and the 18-inch barrel gives increased
solid, and accurate. Byplacing the backup
sights in this position you can rapidly ac- :
velocity over a 16-inch M4 barrel.
cess them without removing your optic,
Stag keeps this fine assembly of parts
should your optic fail.
on target with the Competition Brake. I
I installed two other accessory rails
found there was little if any muzzle flip.
The nine ports on top of the brake retard
at the front and rear of the forearm at the
nine o'clock position. On the front rail I
muzzle flip, while the three in the front
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POLICE
AUGUST 2012
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mounted Surefire's Scout light, ana on" the rear, a remo:vable quick
release for a sling attachment, These items are needed for'duty,
training, and inostother
.,
applications.
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R'ANGE l'IME
Once the rifle was equipped
with optics, sights, and a sling, it was
time tQtakeit.tq the range. J ehosp a variety of ammunition.from
different make~s fot a fair representation
of bullet weights and
types used for both training anddury:
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,I feund the 3G to show no real preference-for bullet weight,
manufacture, or bullet design. Ithink much of this can be attrib-
I
uted te ~.he.one<iil-·eight twist-ofthe Shaw barrel. With its 1.8-inth
length the bullet makes more.than-two
complete-twists
before'
leaving-she barrel. This rate stabilizes
long-range shots.
, The combination
produced
"
to
I
elfthe 3G and the Meopta scope consistently,
sub half-inch
groups at 50 yards; atllOQ'yards,
[ It is v{,orth noting
that the 3G was still
,sh'ootlng these tight
'"'gro'up's wHen the
l;bC\rrel was iQtfhot
to touch. The rifle
, . was also doing
this without being
'1,
' cleaned.
i
, 1"
the' bullets for moderate
'''!
, ,
,
three-
quarters of an inch; and at -200
'yards, 'about
twa, inches, ,rAIl '
~f these' five-shot
firedJi.'om a rest,
• j
groups' were
,
I think one ofnhe reasons
",
the
3'&and Meopta combo shot two.
lMOa at 200 yards-was due to the,
• 'maximum magnification
of the
Optic. That made lit difficult to
t
consistently hold theisame sighte
picture,
"0ccruded
as the target became»
by the crosshairs. I
have no-doubt that this rifle can shoot MOA at 200'yards!
When I switched
'to close-range,
dtstancesrwith
ithe. baekup
I
sights the <3G'wlls capable of laying bullet on top of bullet. This.
resNirgwas done shooting, off hand, fitir{g conttolled pairs. 'The,
3G's Camp muzzle.brake.ensured
there was hardly any shot-to-
shotreeoveryttrne.
'I
;>
f"
)
It is worth noting that the 3@ was still shooting these tight
groups·atrclose-quarter
and long-range distances when the Darrel was too. hot to touch, The'nfle was also doing this without being cleaned. The first rounds
andjhe
last of nearly 300 rounds
were MOA at 100 yards when the barrel was hot and crusty. This
is the sign of a well-made sifle.
Other than the-additions ohhe light; backup sights, and sling
from'Spec 0ps brand I made three'other:changes
to the standard
3G. First,)I swapped out the MOE pistol grip for a Command Arms
I
G16.with interchangeable
forehear
grlp:'inserts.
Next, I installed
Magpul's MOE 'Froigger Guard, in place o~ the factory one. Last I
installed'1he quicki,reiease stud from Magpul instead of the fac'telTo/~(j}S'stock. I wau:ldUke tQ see Stag have this feature installed
at the faetOfY b'ecause a rifle without a slinK is like a handgun
wi!houfa hliJlster.
1-'
Thesf! minor mo.ciificatrioFls' made the SG a very versatile duty
gun. For all' all around duty or personal use rifle! would consider
a,Stag 3G; you will getaJot of bang for the buck.:$-!t,
'
Sceit Smith is aformerfederal police,aJjicer for the Departt;n,ef!t9f
v.e~eran's 'J1jfair.s whfJ currently serves (J<S a reserve officer.
PoliceMag'co(T1
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