First and foremost, I'd like to thank Oak Grove Guns for making this rifle possible. And I mean that. In the past year I've been engaged I've been on a gun moratorium set by my fiance... Yeah, not fun but so it goes as one prepares and acts "responsible" with an upcoming wedding. And of course with Oak Grove Guns coming on as my sponsor for the Things That Rock Blog... Well, let's just say I justified it as work related accessory thus circumventing my moratorium.
On to the rifle. Spikes Tactical is an American company based in Apopka, FL. Attention to detail is their specialty and it shows in the quality of there parts for the rifle. Details via their website (spikestactical.com) are thorough and pretty much give you everything you need to know about the parts and different components to the rifle.
My setup that Oak Grove Guns got me into is a Spikes Tactical ST-15 (direct impingement) 14.5" with a pinned Spikes Tactical Dynacomp compensator (making the barrel overall 16"). It's furnished with Magpul's MOE grip and stock and has a rear Magpul MBUS sight (A2 front sight), carbine length gas system and a standard Spikes phosphate coated bolt carrier group. and a Troy Industries Drop-in Battlerail.
At The Range:
As I understand it's frowned upon to shoot steel case ammo within most of the AR community because of various reasons such as ware (steel is obviously harder than brass) and grade of steel ammo (typically Russian surplus) and etc. Of course, there's the other side of the community that says it's perfectly fine and they really haven't ever had issues with it. Albeit, I decided to take my first 40 shots with some steel cased Herter's ammo (25 cents a shell). 3 failure to feeds in two 20 round magazines was enough for me to decide not to shoot this ammo anymore. Not so much as what the general consensus would dictate but mostly that I believe that the pressures on the steel case ammunition caused cycling/timing issues hence my problems. On to the next least expensive brass ammo which was PMC made in South Korea which shot flawlessly.
As to where I shoot I can really only pace off 40 yards roughly. I managed to land a softball size group in my target shooting off hand (I am by no means claim to be a good rifle shot) which by my standard was great. I have no expectations for this carbine to be a tack driver by any means.
As I was pretty satisfied with the level of accuracy after sighting in I went to test function. A 20 round mag dump proceeded without any failures followed by a second 20 round mag dump again with no issues. As for how the Spikes Dynacomp compensator functioned it seemed to help keep my muzzle down however it was hard to tell in that .223 isn't the most recoil intense round and the only other rifle on hand at the range was my friend's AK (which is comparably more recoil intense).
Overall:
I am extremely satisfied. This rifle shoots great and is a lot of fun. Already I'm making a list of accessories I need to tack on. Optics, lasers, etc. The best part of being an AR owner is that there is NO SHORTAGE of aftermarket parts/accessories for your rifle. I of course highly suggest if you're in the market for an AR or even just your next firearm to check out Oak Grove Guns. There's no pressure into buying something that isn't quite what you want or what you're looking for... And in my experience, if you have something in particular in mind they can get you there!
