Looking for opinions on A-Square rifles.
Thanks,
Jason

Crude workmanship and ugly.

Gentlemen



Overrated



/ JOHAN

As musch as I like the current owner Mike Smith, I must say that the A-Square rifles I saw in the past (before Mr. Smith's involvement with the company) were:

1. Ugly. The wood was the same grade as a Marlin 30-30. The stocks were gigantic and not graceful at all.

2. Lousy sights. The iron sights were as bad as what we see on new Rem 700's.

But the rifles were cheap, retailing for $3K or so. Used ones have brought as little as $1K, but most asking prices for used ones are in the $2500 to 3K range, but I think they actually sell for $1500 to $2K used.

That is the main reason I ask about them. They certainly aren't the most attractive rifles, but they seem to offer serious stopping power at a lower price than a lot of the customs I have seen. Just curious.
I guess a better question is are they decent for the money?
Jason

What is the story there, anyway? Had my eye on them for a while, then they just vanished. Heard they went out of business. Looks like new management now, they actually have something of a website.
On paper, their guns sound good. That's why I inquire about them here, looking for first hand experience.
Thanks,
Jason

The one that I have seen looked and handled like a club. The previous owner of A- Square had a lot of financial difficulties and problems with BATF so they closed for awhile leaving some orders unfilled and some monies unrefunded. I am unaware of any functional problems the rifles had/have. They seem a bit risky to me and as Chic says, "life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun!"

I like a finely-built rifle that is well-balanced, and handles quickly. And on these counts, A-Square flunks-out with me.

AD

I'm with the majority here. Of the 5 or 6 A Square rifles I've seen, I've yet to see or handle one that was even close to svelte or sophisticated looking. Most of them look like they came right off a crude stock duplicator and they slapped some finish on them. The metal work wasn't much better, IMHO.

For the money quoted above ($2,500-3000), if you're patient you can sometimes find a used Dakota at around the same numbers. Then you'd have soemthing with some class and a much better resale value.- Sheister

Jason,

I have owned one.

Some years back before A-Square and then-owner Art Alphin got into trouble I had them build a rifle for me. This rifle was their Hannibal model in .450 Ackley. The wood and metal finish were excellent, I chose the matte finish and had them put a gold-filled post front sight and an aperture rear. I suppose the nicest thing to say is the rifle was hell for stout, which was how they designed the rifle to allow the shooter to manage recoil. I got what I expected, and in those days I think the price was just under $3K. The action was a much-modified Enfield, and I don't think I ever knew who built the barrel. Weight was 10.5 pounds unloaded.

I trained at Gunsite under Jeff Cooper, and I follow one of Jeff's practice regimes: sit in front of your TV with rifle across lap. Whenever a letter "Oh" or numeral "Zero" appears on the screen, you bring the rifle to shoulder and dry fire, then run the bolt. I got a lot of exercise with the rifle, but I never "bonded" with it if I may be permitted a bit of fancy. I later donated it to our SCI Chapter for a fund-raiser.

My opinion is the best product A-Square produced was their reloading manual, and Art did a lot of good making ammunition you could not get anywhere else.

jim dodd

Jim, your praise of A-Square's manual is well-founded. It is indeed one of the most useful and thorough reloading references ever assembled, and every reloader needs a copy of his own.

AD

Allen Day, ditto! Well said. "D"

I don't know what the old ones (pre new owner) but the new one's are slick. I shot a .458 lott...the recoil was non-existant. My ruger in the .338 kicks way harder. Fit and finish was excellent. My opinion is on the new stuff only. Great book too.

So here is the question for those that have actually FIRED rifles with A-Square's stock design, does it really work? I am looking to set up a long range rifle in one of the Ultramag calibers and don't want a brake. I could care less about the ability to snap shoot as this rifle will have a 6, 8, or 10 X fixed scope and be fired in the prone or from a rest. Will the A-Square stock design work for what I am doing? MPI offers a fibreglass version of the Hannibal stock that I am thinking about. Thanks in advance.
Jason

i bought my 416 Rigby from Art Alphin in 1987 and now am shooting a custom 416 rigby. Full power loads are less noticeable in the A-sguare. The balance is good and the weight is more. The stock is bulky, about 2x-3x the wood thickness along the barrel and the butt is wider and somewhat taller. Do not know if any added extra weight

To me, the "design" is nothing more than extra weight and larger surface area in the butt.

steve