ATI Omni MAXX Hybrid AR-15, the true budget-minded AR for shooters?

Yes, I do own an AR-15.  To be specific, its not the best AR, nor the most reliable (at first), but it is the cheapest AR-15 around.  For all you CBS types, I'll try to detail out if it is worth it or not.

There it is, right out of the box.  It comes with some nice features, like the 12 inch quad free floating rail for lots of attachable goodies, and a decent SuperStoc.  Other than that its pretty much a standard AR the rest of the way.  This is a flat top M4 style AR, so I had to purchase a set of sights for it, which I did.  Oh, it also came with a single magazine, an Amend2 30rnd.  The barrel configuration is a 1:7 twist chambered for 5.56 or 223 rounds, and is the skinny pencil kind, keeps the weight down.  this is carbine length at 16' and uses the typical gas system, not piston.  Tucked inside the quad rail is a low profile gas block and lastly has a decent flash hider on the end.

So this began last year when I went to the FL gun Show in Orlando.  I had a mission: to find an AR that was cheap and buy it.  The show was fun; you get to ogle at a TON of weapons, talk to all kinds of people and get your fill of everything that goes 'bang'.  However like any tradeshow, there are reputable and shady dealers alike.  I walked around *every* booth (much to my wife's dismay) and wanted to see/hold/caress every weapon I could.  She wanted to leave after about an hour, but I reminded her about the last time she dragged me to the mall to go shoe shopping and she ended up quietly sticking with it :)

Well I thought I had it nailed, a really nice Bushmaster was calling me at $649 and I was about to tip and buy it, when suddenly I came across the Shoot Straight booths.  There was a sign saying 'ATI AR-15 5.56  $429'   I thought for a moment there was actually a heavenly beam of light shining down centered on this rifle with a chorus of singers making 'ah-ha' noises.  I went, looked, picked it up, shook it, tested its actions.  Strange there was not a lot of other people also doing the same.  Lots of folks passed by, glancing at the sign, but not stopping.  Hmmmm...

Well I talked to the Shoot Straight employee as best I could, asking him some questions about it.  In retrospect that was a waste of time.  Not like he was going to tell me anything that would dissuade me from making a purchase.  I made the purchase.  While I was waiting for them to run my name thru the FBI database, I went over to another vendor to find a set of sights.  I ended up buying a set of front and rear flip up sights (plastic) and a 20mm red dot sight.  Sometimes a bargain is too much a bargain.  Such was the case with these sights.  The red dot turned out to be too small, and needed a riser to really work well, and it had a bad habit of shutting off every time you shot the gun.  Was just a cheap Hong Kong made unit.  The plastic sights fared no better, as I could never get them adjusted to the point of any accuracy.

So I went home with my new purchases, and started to do something I should have done BEFORE the show:  Research AR-15's, specifically this ATI model.  Now I'll be honest, there's a lot I simply do not know about guns I have not seen before.  I spent the good part of three days researching and learning everything AR.  In hindsight, I may have been better off with the Bushmaster, but that would not be living up to my true CBS nature, now would it? 

The ATI AR is made of plastic.  Literally!  Now that's a very simplistic statement, as its actually a really tough polymer that is incredibly strong, but its still plastic...  The Lower part is cast of this polymer as well as the main case of the upper.  The rear of the lower however where the buttstock tube connects, is actually reinforced with metal as well as some key areas of the upper.  (seems that early models were 100% plastic and the stock would end up cracking and breaking due to the repeated firing stresses.)  I spent the first day taking the entire thing apart, cleaning it, and putting it back together, just to make sure I could do it.

Off to the range!  At that time I was still going to the Orlando Gun Club, so there is where I went.  Purchase a few boxes of 223, some paper bad guys to kill and in I went.  I had practiced at home every aspect of loading, charging, an operation of the AR, so I felt confident that I would come off as an established AR owner to the other people there.  Yeah. Did not happen.  First thing I did was load my mag with 20 rounds, and popped it into the mag well.  I thought it was locked in place, but found out it was NOT when I turned the gun into shooting position and the damn mag fell out, knocked on the bench rest and clattered on to the floor INSIDE the shooting alley.  You know, the place your not allowed to go into during range time. 

I was mortified, figured my inner noob was showing.  I ducked below the rest, hoping I could just reach the mag, but could not.  Then another patron poked me with the shell shovel, indicating I should take it to retrieve the mag, which I did.  I swear when I looked at him his eyes said to me 'Been there, done that'  Anyhow once I re situated, I again popped in my mag, this time giving it a little pull to make sure it is truly locked in, and it was.

Sight. Aim. Breathe.  Fire.  I had a blast, shot every darn Round and shredded the bad guy into bits.  It was every bit as glorious as I figured it would be. I was quite reluctant to leave, but hey, when your out of rounds, its time to go.  The second trip to the range a week later I was sporting a lot of reload rounds.  I had obtained a set of dies for my LEE press and just made a TON of 223 ammo.  Hey, its the only way you can be CBS with an AR, right?

Well now the issues started.  The rifle started to short stroke and misfeed, (ftf)  the bullets would either not eject or get caught between the BC and star chamber.  I thought it was my reloads, made wrong, or too light.  Went and bought a box of factory ammo but had the same issues with it.  I wondered if I broke my new rifle with my reloads...  Turns out I did not.  On closer inspection at home, I Discovered that the roll pin that secures the gas tube into the gas block was never installed.  The tube was slightly moving outward from the block each time I made a shot, until the holes were mis aligned to the point of not providing enough gas.  I took the rifle to the Shoot Straight Armorer who promptly fixed the tube and tapped a pin into it, fixing the issue.  I will note that I did Call ATI support and they sent me out a new tube and pin for this at no charge, with hefty apologies for the factory oversight.

Should be then end of this story, but NO! There's more...   I went back to the range a couple more times, each time with reloads or factory ammo.  The short stroking problem never came back, but I was still getting about 2 FTF;s out of every 20 shots fired.

I was getting very frustrated with this rifle by now, and after repeated conversations with ATI, decided to just send in the rifle for them to fix.  I did that, had to wait about a month for it to come back.  The end result was the gunsmith stoned a burr off the chamber fingers, and replaced the entire Mag Catch, indicating it was faulty.   The magazines were not locking in at the right angle which was causing the bullets to cant slightly during feeding.

THATS RIGHT! THE ENTIRE MAG CATCH WAS BAD!  It was totally not my fault now that first mag fell out and embarrassed me that day, it was ATI's fault!  Ok, Ok, so moment of happy revelation aside, I took my refurbished rifle to the range again, with hundreds of reloads (hey, I had a month to do nothing but make em)  and blew up every single one of them.  No FTF's, no Jam's, just a perfect system of shooting.  Now, its been many more range trips since then, and I am happy to report still no new issues have occurred and I am quite happy with the rifle now.

My final thoughts on this Rifle:  It is a bargain, buy one.  It shoots just as well as a $2000 rifle does, and is a hell of a lot lighter.  ATI has a lifetime warranty and they DO honor it with no hassles, I feel very satisfied with my purchase.  I am looking forward to my next trip to the range :)

I was where? Doing what? Not sure I enjoyed it....

Yeah, I know, its been a while since I posted anything.  It has been quite hectic, so I'll sum up the bits that relate to shooting :)  Sold off both of my Sig Mosquito's and obtained a S&W SD9VE and a EAA SAR B6P.  (I absolutely love the SAR, but that's for another post)  That was quite an adventure, selling off those pistols.  One went to a private sale, the other to Gander Mtn as a trade in.  Then my AR was tied up for nearly a month at American tactical for warranty work, had good results with that.

Then we changed ranges we go to and had to find a new one.  We did that (sorta) and finally I applied for and obtained my CCL from Florida.  I have also been taken up with the entire presidential race, and how it could effect MY gun ownership rights, and following things from the NRA as well a current news.

I have been busy, but about the only thing I have NOT done lately is actually pulling the trigger on some paper bad guys.  I really have to make the time to do my favourite hobby, shooting.

So many things I want to say here.  In time....

The first Bullet ever made

Its really nerve-wracking, that moment at the range when you just slapped in a magazine full of bullets, and your sighting down the alley at a paper bad guy, about to shred him to pieces.  You know that the bullets in your gun are the very first ones you made yesterday on your reloader, you think and wonder if you did all the right procedures, followed every step and obeyed all the rules.  Your finger sweeps across the trigger, hesitating as you recall the vivid pictures of failed reloads and what they did to the gun and the shooter.  Am I about to blow up?  Should I take a last look at my fingers?  I really want to keep them….

Flash back 2 weeks, I just got that UPS delivery, a really huge box from Dillon Precision.  Unpacking it yields all the items necessary to reload 9mm ammo, well, except gunpowder.  And no primers either, or brass casings or actual bullets.  But I had the machine and all the tools now to do it!  I am a typical guy, I love mechanical things, love to fix (and break) objects just to figure out how they work.  All these items are amazing and wondrous to behold, a virtual world of levers, gears and rotating things.

I am a MAN, I don’t need no instruction book!  I can set this up just by looking at it….  

5 hours later, after consulting the instructions many times, I finally have the Dillon Square Deal B reloader attached to the bench and set up, scale calibrated, tumbler filled with walnut, separator put together, and I’m kicking back reading the reloading manual.  I think I have a good handle on the process now so it’s off to find the components!

First stop is Shoot Straight in Apopka.  I knew they had reloading supplies, but never paid them much attention before.  I manage to get everything I need, a can of Alligent Green Dot powder, Small pistol primers, 250 lead bullets, but cannot find any brass.  I ask the guy at the counter if they sell any brass and he tells me no, they don’t.  So I head into the range area to scavenge brass, which there is not a lot of at this time.  I manage to gather about 100 or so shells and on my way out the guy at the counter comes over with a HUGE bag of 9mm brass.  He mentions he ‘found’ this in the back room and if I wanted it I could have it for $20.  Yeah, I bought it all.

I take it all home, and get setup to make some rounds.  Dump the powder in the hopper, pick up the primers in the pickup tube and dump a good amount of brass into the tumbler.  Clean, polish, separate.  Takes a lot longer than I expect, but I am patient.  Finally, with my brass prepped, I am ready to start loading.  I have consulted the load data in the book, and have my powder measure calibrated to put out 4.5 grains of the powder.  In goes the first shell, pull the handle.  Then the next shell, and so forth. By the 5^th pull I am starting to spit out a completed round.  I make as many rounds as I have components for.

Really, I’m very surprised looking back 20 years ago that I did NOT blow up.  My knowledge of reloading is far superior to what I thought I knew then.  I never really inspected the brass, cleaned primer pockets, cleared all the cleaning media, or even knew what OAL was all about.  I really should have never loaded what I did with such poor instruction.

I squint at the target, line up the sights and steeling myself pull the trigger on my very first reloaded round.  A loud bang, cloud of smoke, and I look to see what happened.  I missed the target.

You never forget your first gun....

I like to think back, 30 years ago, to my first gun purchase.  I had no idea what I was doing, or what I was buying.  All I knew is that I wanted to own a gun so I could shoot at the range without having to constantly rent a gun.   I was shooting down at Shoot Straight, (way back when there was only one Apopka store) and I knew I would not be able to buy there, but I had a friend at the local drug store (Walgreens I think, not positive) who told me to look there for a gun.  Yes, the local drug store back then sold aspirin, ace bandages, housewares and firearms.  Go figure….

Well I looked and fell in love with a gun there, was only $300 and was used, looked like a 1911 clone.  I bought it (honestly don’t think there was even a background check then either) and took it straight to the range to kill some paper.  That’s when I found out it was a 38 Super and how it worked.  Hey, it was my first gun and I was completely a noob.  Bought some rounds, and loved every minute of it.

After the novelty wore off, I realized that there was no way I could afford to keep up with my hobby as much as I wanted to.  $15 an hour at the range + $12 a box of rounds (x4) was pushing me over my budget every week, so I was faced with cutting back or trimming the expenses.  Shooting less rounds at a time was not an option, nor was shooting once a month.  So I began to look into reloading my own bullets.

After much research I found out that my beloved 38Super was actually rather expensive to buy ammo for and was not as cheap to reload for either.  What was cheap was reloading for 9mm.  So time to move to another gun.  I could not afford to actually own two guns, so I sold my 38Super at a $100 loss, and bought the only 9mm I could afford from Shoot Straight, a 9mm LORCIN.

WORST GUN EVER.  This thing was heavy, had no hammer (not sure it was striker fire either) and looked like it should be on sale at Toys-R-Us.  But it only cost $225 so I could actually own a 9mm for only $25 more than I sold the 38Super for.  That’s the only reason I bought it, price.  I truly regretted it after the first time I shot it.  It worked just fine, but accuracy was something this gun did not have.  Fixed sights and could not make a group at 7 yards to save my life.  I never took it back to the range a second time.

Months later, after saving and scrimping, I took this LORCIN back to shoot straight, traded it in and picked up a CZ-101 9mm.  Yeah, I only got $75 for that trade, and the CZ cost me $499.  I was not happy about that. 

But I was ecstatic about this new 9mm!  This had a great feel and shot really really nice.  It was fairly accurate in my hands and the more I shot it, the better I got using it.  By this time I was still feeling the pinch of the cost of shooting, so it was time to move into my next plan:  Reloading my own bullets.

This was about the time I had moved to using an IBM PC, and stopped using my AMIGA 3000 computer.  I had one great salvation; the AMIGA was still popular and I managed to sell my entire AMIGA system for $750.  I had already done my research and knew exactly what I was going to get: A Dillon Precision Square Deal B kit. (Only $712 !!)  So I bit the bullet and spent the cash on it.

Well, that’s all I care to contribute to this wall of text for now, Starting to reload as a beginner is a whole nother topic :P

Hey, look! It's a new blogger writing about guns!

Ahhh…. Smell that?  That’s right, the scent of a brand new BLOG being opened, nothing quite like it in the world.  So now you’re here, prolly drawn in by the name of the Blog, Casual Bargain Shooter.  Well that’s exactly what I intend to talk about, the great sport of shooting guns at a bargain price. 

Face it, not everyone that like to shoot has unlimited funds to buy all the things that you need to enjoy this sport.  I know I simply do not have a thousand dollars just to spend on a weapon, or the ability to load up on 1000 rounds of Federal ammo.  If I had a blank check, I most certainly would go nuts, spending about $8,000 in 20 minutes at a gun shop, but I don’t.  So now you get to read all about my trials and adventures in attempting to gain a foothold in my newest favorite sport: Shooting!

If your new to this Blog (You have to be, the blog is only 22 minutes old…)  I’ll spell it out for you:  This is about shooting guns, collecting weapons, reloading ammo, and the love of Firearms in general.  If you do not like the subject matter, then may I suggest you try http://hellokitty.blogspot.com as an alternative that you might like.

I love to shoot, its fun, exciting and I want to do it a lot.  I wish I could, however my funds are not unlimited, so finding ways to do this are harder to manage.  I will try to detail as much as possible over the next few posts, so bear with me, I can only do so much at one time J