gerritm Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 (edited) Seeing those problems with others shooting the Elfman turned me off. Her T&N trigger was very good and simple installation and has been totally reliable so I stayed with that for mine. We have a couple of thousand round on hers with almost total reliability once I sorted out the mag upgrades. I am still breaking in mine with a couple of hundred rounds thru it and then will decide if I need or want to drill the ports. Not seeing a reason to drill, yet as it has shot everything thru it from 1145 to 1500 fps variety of shells brands with no malfunctions in practice. Shooting a Dissident Arms falling steel match Saturday if the weather cooperates, with average of 30 rounds per stage & 5 or 6 stages. Will see what it does when the neuralizer goes off and I run all my mags. I have run most of them in practice and her VR and all work fine. Have a mixture of RIA 19 rounders, 24 round T&N, Firebird 18 round, and older MKA 10 rounders. gerritm Edited January 12, 2022 by gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO3Gunner Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Regarding port sizes, if it isn't broken, I don't think I would "fix" it! Seems like every gun is a little different and once you get it stable/working, best not to mess around too much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Just for info: I shot my first Dissident Falling Steel match Saturday with my new VR80. I have a couple of hundred rounds thru it in practice & testing. It was cold and very windy for the Houston metro area. High 30's to start and maybe 40's with a very cold north wind at 20 plus mph. Range is very sandy and wind picked it up and caused malfunctions in almost all guns including my son's M2. Mags constantly had sand in them if dropped for reload, which almost every stage had more than 25 rounds. The holes in the RIA mags are sand magnets, cover the mags in sandy/windy conditions. Cover your magwell and chamber also. Have extras or clean between stages. All my testing was with the stock RIA 5 & 19 round mags tuned and with all different brands & FPS rounds. My MKA mags run perfect in my granddaughters VR80 & drop free so never tested them in mine. Seems like my newer VR80 is built slightly different than hers. The gas piston looks totally different. Lesson learned. My VR80 magwell is much tighter than hers stock from the factory. None of the MKA mags would go in easily or drop that worked in hers. So used the RIA 19 rounders and even those were very tight. Check your ammo. Had some old Win AA gray hull 1300 rounds that the brass ring was corroded and had actually split so threw them away. Never saw that before. Had 1 new Fiocchi 1200 fps round split the plastic and leave the front half of the shell in the chamber. Would not allow next rounds to chamber, but came out easily. Never saw that before. Cause, maybe the cold and it was brittle? Even the Advance Tactical extended magwell had to be relieved on the back on mine where it was fine on hers. Pinched the mags back to front. Did some extra relieving on my magwell on the back side edges and on my mags so all the mags now fit and drop free. The RIA ones fit & drop much better than the MKA's. Sorry for the long post. Bottom line was even in the cold the VR80 ran fine with all ammo used. It was mag issues that caused any problems. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH1961 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 GREAT INFO. Thnx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH1961 Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I have changed out the butt stock (Magpul Fixed Carbine), and pistol grip (TAPCO AR SAW) on my little 20ga VR82. I have also added a Sightmark holographic sight. I received my (4) FREE mags, after almost 6 weeks, only to discover that I had been sent (4) VR80 12ga mags. Advanced Tactical was quick to send a prepaid return label. So I wait, again ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO3Gunner Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Thanks for the report, gerritm! Sounds like a miserable, windy day. I had a similar experience a year back at a match here in Colorado. The berms at this one gun club have silty/sandy dirt and when a thunderstorm rolls through off the mountains it kicks up the sand and it gets into everything. I cut some strips of skateboard tape to cover the slots in the VR80 magazines, which serve two purposes. First, the tape keeps the sand/grit out of the mag. Second, the rough texture provides a much better purchase on the magazines with slippery in sweaty/wet hands, when jamming a magazine into the magwell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 1 minute ago, CO3Gunner said: Thanks for the report, gerritm! Sounds like a miserable, windy day. I had a similar experience a year back at a match here in Colorado. The berms at this one gun club have silty/sandy dirt and when a thunderstorm rolls through off the mountains it kicks up the sand and it gets into everything. I cut some strips of skateboard tape to cover the slots in the VR80 magazines, which serve two purposes. First, the tape keeps the sand/grit out of the mag. Second, the rough texture provides a much better purchase on the magazines with slippery in sweaty/wet hands, when jamming a magazine into the magwell. Excellent idea, I think I still have some skateboard tape around. I am a little disappointed in the way this magwell is and having to do mods to it when hers is great as is. Kinda afraid to take too much off the magwell to affect the way they seat. Although once the mag gets past the first 1/2 to 3/4 inch they go in fine and seat. Funny thing is the 5 rounders fit perfect & drop free. I don't have any RIA 10 rounders to test. Not sure why the 19 are different. We have a 3-gun match this weekend and will see how the mods I made work. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO3Gunner Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Here is a picture of a 19-rounder with the skateboard tape for reference. The simpler solution would be to cut the strips larger, but I wanted to conserve the tape. I don't know what to say about the magwell issue, that is weird. That said, Turkish manufacturing tolerances are not as stringent as those in the U.S. or Europe. If it continues to be an issue, I would contact RIA and see if they would provide a replacement. Frustrating, for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Do you have any issues with the sand or debris collecting on the sticky part of the tape in the holes? gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO3Gunner Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 Hmmm, good point. I never thought to look before. After a quick visual inspection, however, I can see that some some small particles have stuck to the sticky side. Interestingly enough, they are inside the slot and do not protrude into the magazine or otherwise interfere with the follower. Probably because the follower rides on the indentations created by the stamping pattern. It would take ALOT of gunk to get that bad! It probably helps that I try to give each magazine a cleaning once a month and for sure after a particularly windy or dusty match. That routine entails taking the spring and follower out, then running a microfiber cloth down the magazine. I used to use one of those triangular toilet cleaning brushes, but found that a clean microfiber cloth picked-up more of the fine grit. That probably keeps the buildup to a minimum. I suppose at some point I should replace the tape, but for now there doesn't seem to be a reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwood Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 The windows on my mags are also taped up after having similar experience last year.. I used flex seal tape..never had another issue since Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 18 hours ago, Underwood said: The windows on my mags are also taped up after having similar experience last year.. I used flex seal tape..never had another issue since You know Phil it's your fault. After shooting yours I got her 1 and now mine. Just glad at least I can use my old mags. Liked the idea of the skate tape and ordered some. They can get slippery when hands are sweaty. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwood Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 24 minutes ago, gerritm said: You know Phil it's your fault. After shooting yours I got her 1 and now mine. Just glad at least I can use my old mags. Liked the idea of the skate tape and ordered some. They can get slippery when hands are sweaty. gerritm I look forward to shooting more comps with ya this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Underwood Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 29 minutes ago, Underwood said: I look forward to shooting more comps with ya this year. With Creekwood not happening anymore the Dissident Falling Steel is the best match like that around here. Thunder 3gun is also very good. We may come down to corpus for some of the matches there. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slappyjack Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 On 1/17/2022 at 6:53 AM, gerritm said: Just for info: I shot my first Dissident Falling Steel match Saturday with my new VR80. I have a couple of hundred rounds thru it in practice & testing. It was cold and very windy for the Houston metro area. High 30's to start and maybe 40's with a very cold north wind at 20 plus mph. Range is very sandy and wind picked it up and caused malfunctions in almost all guns including my son's M2. Mags constantly had sand in them if dropped for reload, which almost every stage had more than 25 rounds. The holes in the RIA mags are sand magnets, cover the mags in sandy/windy conditions. Cover your magwell and chamber also. Have extras or clean between stages. All my testing was with the stock RIA 5 & 19 round mags tuned and with all different brands & FPS rounds. My MKA mags run perfect in my granddaughters VR80 & drop free so never tested them in mine. Seems like my newer VR80 is built slightly different than hers. The gas piston looks totally different. Lesson learned. My VR80 magwell is much tighter than hers stock from the factory. None of the MKA mags would go in easily or drop that worked in hers. So used the RIA 19 rounders and even those were very tight. Check your ammo. Had some old Win AA gray hull 1300 rounds that the brass ring was corroded and had actually split so threw them away. Never saw that before. Had 1 new Fiocchi 1200 fps round split the plastic and leave the front half of the shell in the chamber. Would not allow next rounds to chamber, but came out easily. Never saw that before. Cause, maybe the cold and it was brittle? Even the Advance Tactical extended magwell had to be relieved on the back on mine where it was fine on hers. Pinched the mags back to front. Did some extra relieving on my magwell on the back side edges and on my mags so all the mags now fit and drop free. The RIA ones fit & drop much better than the MKA's. Sorry for the long post. Bottom line was even in the cold the VR80 ran fine with all ammo used. It was mag issues that caused any problems. gerritm I was at my friends outdoor range shooting some loose shells none had corrosion. Had some paper 4 mags that looked fine, but all that ejected was the base, the paper hull went up past the forceing cone and didn't have a cleaning rod so it ended my shooting for the day! I am also having fitting problems with my mags, I made a rookie mistake and assumed they would all fall free(they don't) so using these snow days to mag changing drills in the house to ID problem wear areas on mags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 18, 2022 Share Posted January 18, 2022 Mine was out of a brand new box of Fiocchi 1165FPS low brass that we have shot many times before. The plastic split about 1/2 way between the brass ring and the end. Left about 1/2" of hull. Ended my day, also. Weird thing was the way we figured it out was, not knowing it was stuck, and this was the first round fired or last one on the stage before, it loaded the next round fired it and ripped the brass just like yours. Realized something stuck & quit. Got it out with a pick very easily. I have sanded the wear areas on the RIA mags down as far as I trust. Had to take a little off the inside rear sides just inside the edge of the magwell to get the RIA mags to drop. MKA mags are still tight, but OK. 5 rounder dropped without any changes. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villageidiot Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 On 12/31/2021 at 6:38 PM, JH1961 said: I chose the (4) FREE 10-rd mags for my VR82. I placed my order on 12/02/2021. Still waiting ... It ended up taking a month and a half for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JH1961 Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Advanced Tactical ROCKS! Yesterday I received the CORRECT 10-rd magazines for my VR82! They arrived even before the wrong ones that were sent have had time to make it back to Nevada. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 I just received a new RIA 19 rounder and TF plus 3 mag extension. Checking how this mag fits and without any mods it goes in easily and drops free just like the 5 rounders. I guess the tolerances are all over the place or maybe being new they have narrowed it down to where they should be. Our other 3 RIA 19 rounders are much tighter and without relieving some spots would not drop free or insert easily. I did put skate tape on the holes and along the edges to help with gripping them. Weather cooperates we have a local 3-gun UML style match Saturday and will see how they run. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CO3Gunner Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 I envy you guys this time of year, not so much in August Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 17 hours ago, CO3Gunner said: I envy you guys this time of year, not so much in August Well don't envy us too much. It's mid 30's right now and rained the last 2 days so bays are under water and match is cancelled. Going to be in the high 20's tonight. It is supposed to warm up in the 50-60's next week and there is another 3-gun match on the 5th Saturday. Maybe get to run it again now that I have most of the mag issues sorted out. July/August does kinda suck, but we have figured out ways to deal with the heat. gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boomstick303 Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I am looking for a drum mag for the VR80, there seems to be a mix of ones used. Does anyone have a preference over the other that have used a couple of different kinds. I have seen MKA and RIA. Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gerritm Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 19 minutes ago, Boomstick303 said: I am looking for a drum mag for the VR80, there seems to be a mix of ones used. Does anyone have a preference over the other that have used a couple of different kinds. I have seen MKA and RIA. Thank you in advance. Love the Magpul drum for 223 but it is a PIA to load. Anyone have feedback on best VR80 drum and how hard are they to load the last couple of rounds. Same type of mechanism/lever as the Magpul? gerritm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robertg5322 Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 9 minutes ago, gerritm said: Love the Magpul drum for 223 but it is a PIA to load. Anyone have feedback on best VR80 drum and how hard are they to load the last couple of rounds. Same type of mechanism/lever as the Magpul? gerritm They're pretty simple to load, easier than the 19 round horse shoe, and the Pro Mag version works fine in my gun out of the box. That was a pleasant surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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