Gary B.

To any potential customer

For roughly the past 6 months I have been looking into the .17 HMR caliber to add to my collection as a varmint eradicator. I chose the caliber after seeing just what kind of devastation this little round could do. With that being said, my search then turned to what rifle or platform. After much searching, (with semi auto primarily in mind), I came upon the Alexander Arms dedicated .17 HMR upper and or complete rifle package. Being a big fan of the AR15/M16 platform and owning several dedicated uppers in a variety of calibers, including the .50 Beowulf, I chose to give the Alexander Arms .17 upper a try. After placing a phone call to Alexander Arms and speaking with both Susan of customer service and Melissa the manager, all of my questions regarding the build, the adaptation of their upper to one of my lowers and proper trigger set up were answered to my 100% complete satisfaction. There was no rush, no brush off, no taking lightly, no fast talking sales pitch, no treating me like I was just a small customer. I was completely enamored with their honesty and their level of understanding about their product. Their goal was to ensure and assure that I was making a good decision, and that I was confident in my decision. So at the end of our conversation I purchased one of the .17 upper units.

When the unit arrived I open the box, admired the quality of the unit, read the instructions and began the process of retrofitting one of my lowers, thereby dedicating it as the mate to the Alexander Arms .17 upper. I then began roughly 20 minutes of work which entailed temporary removal of the hammer and bolt catch, permanent removal of the buffer assembly and substituting it with a supplied buffer assembly cassette, then reinstallation of the original hammer and bolt catch. Finally after installing the supplied magazine well block with its included dedicated magazine catch, the lower was ready. It sounds a lot harder than it really was, truly a 20 minute job if you are comfortable working on your AR, if you are a bit nervous it could take you 45 minutes, but very easily accomplished. If you can operate a simple punch and an Allen wrench you are good to go.

After joining the two halves together for the first time, I allowed for them to get acquainted with each other by working the charging handle and changing magazines several times, looking for smoothness. It was then time to visit the range. I went to the range naturally prepared for some kind of issues or minor adjustments or fine tuning however, I did nothing but shoot and shoot.

From the very first shot this unit was solid. It performed flawlessly! In 150 rounds of testing, I had absolutely no issues to contend with, even with a suppressor! It shot as smooth as if it had been shooting for years. I was limited to a 100 yard range and a low end to mid-level 14x optics however, I was able to keep 3-4 shot groupings to the size of a dime. What a phenomenal little unit. Right out of the box this unit is solid and typical Alexander Arms quality, true perfection!

This unit was, in all honesty a blast to shoot. I received quite a few looks and inquiries about the unit particularly after they witnessed it simply shoot shot after shot without a single malfunction. Quite frankly, I spent more time showing the unit and allowing others to shoot then I shot. This unit is highly addictive; my only complaint is that it only comes with 2 magazines, I could have used 10! I am truly very pleased with both my purchase and the 100% customer/product commitment and satisfaction. I know that in the future I will always keep Alexander Arms on my list of recommendations.

Simply impressed!

December 12, 2011
Gary B., Firearms Instructor
New Britain, CT