From Wilson Combat . . .
Due to an overrun of key components from a large order we have been fulfilling we’ve been able to build a few hundred carbines which are in stock and available now. The new PROTECTOR S is basically our standard PROTECTOR carbine with a glass bead finish on the barrel in place of the black Armor-Tuff we apply to the standard model.
Wilson Combat has been flooded with orders and we’ve been building guns as fast as we can without compromising quality. However, many of the guns we currently have on order require unique finishes, special barrel profiles and/or are in calibers that aren’t in full production at this time which delays delivery. Since the new PROTECTOR S utilizes components found in our highest volume and best selling models we were able to build some for immediate delivery.
At this time the PROTECTOR S is a limited run product, however we like it a lot. If it’s well received by our customers we may add it to our product line for continuing availability. If you’ve been waiting for a top-quality rifle that is in stock and available now, this could be the one for you.
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Call me unimpressed, but it’s not ambi….
*buys two ambi carbines from elsewhere, they’re just as good
*builds x3 ambi carbines that are just as good for that price.
If you can build 3 Ambi carbines right now, just as good for the same price I will buy every one of them and as many as you can make. Not kidding at all. Dan has my contact info.
GB 902926287 decent bread and butter carbine kits less stripped lower for $529.00 plus ship/tax.
Adding a lower kit, a decent drop-in trigger (nothing fancy mind you), iron sights, and a stripped lower, you have to add another $350-$400 to that price tag. Does that kit also include the charging handle and BCG?
First used:
https://www.gunengine.com/deals
&
https://ar15discounts.com/
to locate the following…
Base rifle, $520+$40 FFL transfer =$560
(you don’t even have to hunt for spare parts beyond the ambi stuff):
https://www.kygunco.com/Product/View?ItemNo=154592
and for ambi selector, $60 shipped:
https://ar15discounts.com/products/radian-talon-ambidextrous-45-90-2-lever-safety-selector/
and here for ambi-CH $80 shipped:
https://ar15discounts.com/products/radian-raptor-lt-ambidextrous-charging-handle-556-black/
I charge $150 for parts builds, assuming all parts are fully disassembled. For the above, slapping on a selector and CH, I’d charge $10 (mostly for the selector install that takes all of 2 minutes).
$710 per rifle x 3 = $2,100
I’m $50 over the cost of the Wilson after 10min of research. For three comparable rifles. My apologies.
But this isn’t bread and butter. You’re going to need to add upgraded furniture throughout, a much better barrel, and then at least a very high quality cerakote throughout.
We’ve done these comparisons over and over again at this site, and all ARs are not created equal. Far from it.
I don’t care how they perform at a thousand rounds. I care how they perform at 50,000 rounds.
The market is not now what it was a year ago. 80% lowers are selling for over $100.
I’ve been selling stock Colt ARs to gun stores for $1,800 and at that price they will take as many as I can sell them because they can turn it around for a $500 profit the day they buy them from me.
Let’s be real here, barrel? Wilson’s barrels aren’t that amazing. They’re good and serviceable and better than some bottom barrel (pun intended) brands who shall remain nameless. But Faxon, Ballistic Advantage, Rosco, etc. are all comparable in quality performance and are usually cheaper.
The stock is like 20+ year old design, overshadowed by much better, cheaper stocks on the market today (see Magpul, BCM, MFT, etc.)
Grip is solid BCM and great angle, can’t go wrong, but it’s still at $24-$30 (retail) grip.
HG is your basic, good quality M-LOK FF that has enjoyed lots of competition this last decade so prices are not as bad as they were.
What am I missing here?
Frank, you’re going to need to put on a much better barrel, upgrade all the furniture, upgrade trigger, and then cerakote the whole thing.
If you can do all that, and build three of them for under $2050, I’m serious I’ll buy every one of them.
Get on it.
Mark…Those are Bread and Butter kit rifles and I supplied the GB item number for those wanting details. You do not slap steak on bread and butter kit rifles. You purchase a stripped lower receiver for $70 to $100 and you assemble/tweak the kit as is. If you want bells and whistles you begin with stripped receivers, not a kit.
“Frank, you’re going to need to put on a much better barrel…”
Why? Wilson barrels are no Kreiger, Bartlein, X-Caliber, Criterion, etc. Wilson barrels are quite good, granted, but I as I said above, I can find an on-par/peer barrel from Ballistic Advantage, Faxon, Rosco for quite a bit cheaper. Heck, the Wilson barrel looks like its 416R in-the-white, you can get a nitride-finished barrel (lasts 3-5 times longer) from the aforementioned “peer” companies for cheaper. And let’s be real, everyone throws around the ever-nebulous term “Match Grade.” Show me the official SAAMI/CIP specifications on what certifies something as “Match Grade” and I’ll concede my whole point. Hint: no standards are defined.
“…upgrade all the furniture…”
OK:
BCM Gunfighter Grip or Magpul MOE-K2 Grip; $15 (Street)- $25
BCM Gunfighter Mod1 Stock or Magpul CTR Stock; $42 (Street) – $60
The handguard, while a bit shorter on the Anderson than the Wilson, is still black-anodized AL alloy, M-Lock and solid enough to not require replacement.
“…upgrade trigger…”
10-15 minutes using a flat stone or jeweler’s file to smooth out and clean up and (maybe) reprofile the sear shelf on any basic GI-spec trigger (or at least removing the MIM/casting seam) is stupid easy and I don’t know why everyone doesn’t do it. Use a fine-point sharpie to mark where the ‘do-no-cross’ line is on the shelf so you don’t go too far and ruin it. Measure-twice, file slowly. Don’t rush. After you do one, the rest are easy.
“…and then cerakote the whole thing.”
Why? I fail to see anywhere in the specifications that Wilson in this example is Cerakoted. It seems like a weird criticism of my quick-n-dirty build when the ‘premium’ retail rifle in your example is not Cerakoted, either.
Plus, for about $25 I can go the route of: White Gas (to strip/clean surfaces; safe on polymers) & let dry –> x2 light coats of matte enamel colors (I use earth-tones and old laundry bag netting, leaves/pine-boughs and sponges to make camo patterns) –> x3 light coats of matte acrylic clear coat. Given a full week to cure, this is tough and wears the same as everything else I’ve had Cerakoted.
For reference, I spent only 10 minutes searching on my above example and found a reasonable starting point. If I dug around for each individual part I’m sure I could find a more “peer” build to the Wilson for right around the same price as the Anderson quick-build. It’ll probably take me an hour or so, but I’m confident I could keep it within the 1/3 cost ballpark.
“If you can do all that, and build three of them for under $2050, I’m serious I’ll buy every one of them.
Get on it.”
Why? I’d be breaking even if I did that. I know you’re trying to underline the point of selling to make a profit. I get where you’re coming from. My point was more directed to the end-user that they could get x3 solid, serviceable rifles of reasonably comparable format and operability with a little extra time to tweak things, as needed.
I’m not saying the Wilson is a bad rifle. I just feel that, yes, even in the current climate, it is a bit overpriced. Then again I literally live in the statistically most heavily-armed county (# of average firearms per household) in the U.S. and we haven’t really seen the sticker-shock on ARs or components here. Maybe a little, but not much. Ammo, however, is a different story….
If someone wants to spend north of $2k on an AR, I’d recommend also looking at Daniel Defense, Barrett, LWRC, LMT, BCM, etc. At least then you’d have something you could run hard and not fire-crack the throat in the course of a weekend. Also, they tend to actually all ship with H3 or equivalent buffers and heavy duty recoil springs. Plus I feel their FF HGs tend to use a much more robust mounting systems (hell, even the Aero mid-priced M4E1 upper/FF combos are super rock solid),
Um, you can still buy three AR-15’s at that price.
Okay so what’s all that incredible price tag buying?
It’s the brand surcharge.
“Hey, we cobbled these together from our spare parts closet, and we want 2 grand for each because we’re Wilson.”
At that price, I’d want side-charging, ambi everything (safety/mag release/bolt closer), adjustable gas block, folding stock and grip, deadblow buffer, flat wire buffer spring, and bipod/optics included!
Uh…I can assemble a better “protector” carbine with an A1 length stock, a decent black barrel, clamp rail height gas block, A2 carry handle and equip it with iron night sights for much, much less, especially when their scope appears to be not included. Of course you wont find barrels on the Wilson site, been there done that. And you won’t ever see me with a gas block located beneath the handguard. Basic ingredients are good, weight is good. The end product and price ain’t working for me mainly because it is a do it for me credit card rifle.
Unless the gas block is adjustable, I don’t see why having it under the hand guard makes any difference as long as it is properly mounted.
Well mark when having to install an iron sight on a float handguard because the gas block is deep inside the handguard chances are very good the sight is not going to align and remain aligned nearly as well as a barrel mounted gas block/sight. Second if I need to remove the block I do not want to remove/disturb a float handguard to gain access to it. Third most of the low profile blocks are set screw and for me set screw blocks do not cut it. I use Diamondhead, Sadlak or BTE rail height clamp type gas blocks.
I bought a WC 9mm SBR about 5 years ago, Glock mags, for $1,100 which I felt was on the high side. However the variety available today is not what it was back then. Very nice shooting rifle with great fit and finish.
In the current market, they will still sell.
YEAH DREAM ON , I NEED MONEY TO BUY JUST 22LR, BE LUCKY TO DO THAT $$$
I dont have an AR , I’m going to get one just because. Two grand is to much though. I think I can get one for 650, one thing Iv e noticed is you dont see many AR’s sold on the streets.
Del-ton makes decent AR.
2050 huh…no sights…no optic…no light…1 mag
so because its a 2000 dollar rifle already add at least another 500 to 750 bucks for an optic some sights and a light and 4 mags
right now a thousand bucks gets you a nice ar either factory built or built by you complete with an optic and an upgraded trigger and sights and a light and a bunch of mags and a sling and a soft case and it will almost always be more accurate than the shooter shooting it
it will also get the owner out of greater than 95 percent of any jams that the wilson combat would have got him out of for less than half the cost
Haters gonna hate. An “expert” in one town is a village idiot from another town. (or something to that effect)
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