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Top to bottom: magazine release, ejection port dust cover, empty case deflector, forward assist.

Free-float aluminum handguard.

Six-position Magpul buttstock.

Vertical foregrip.

Safety lever (top), bolt latch / release (bottom).

Today, we are blessed with a seemingly endless list of builders of modern semi-automatic firearms; particularly the venerable AR-15 design. For decades, there were many who made it a point to hate the AR-15, but today, those folks are getting harder to find, as the features and performance of the design has seen a steady improvement since its inception. Good AR-15 rifles can be found today for well under a thousand dollars, but many shooters seek out rifles that are a cut above the standard, and for those, a premium rifle from a top-tier AR  builder is what they desire. MILTAC Industries makes premium rifles, and their Alpha model is the subject of this review.

Just as is the case with high-end 1911 pistols, a premium rifle is desired by shooters who either have a serious need for an AR that will not fail, no matter what, or just because they have a desire to own a rifle that is not "just another AR".

MILTAC builds their rifles using only premium components from makers such as Magpul and Troy, and assembles their rifles to the highest standards. The Alpha Series rifle featured here has the upper and lower receiver halves milled from solid billet 7075-T6 aluminum, perfectly matched, and finished in a hard Cerakote, along with the rest of the rifle. The magazine well is flared, to aid in a quick mag change. The Alpha employs an excellent set of Troy folding battle sights, which can serve as primary sights or as backup sights to an optical sight. There is plenty of Picatinny rail atop the Alpha for mounting of most any practical weapons sight.

Specifications for the MILTAC Alpha carbine are listed in the chart below. Linear measurements are listed in inches. Trigger pull is listed as pounds of resistance, as measured on my Lyman digital scale. Weight is actual weight as measured on my digital scale.

I fired the MILTAC Alpha carbine using every type of 5.56x45mm and .223 Remington ammo that I had available for function testing, and also used several of the better quality brands for accuracy testing. I mounted a Leupold Mark 4 8.5 to 25 power riflescope for accuracy testing using an ArmaLite 30mm mount. All accuracy testing was done from a solid bench using a Target Shooting, Inc. Model 500 rifle rest. Range conditions were cool, with a slight breeze and an air temperature around the thirty-three degree Fahrenheit mark, with forty percent humidity, at an elevation of approximately 541 feet above sea level. Accuracy and velocity results are listed in the chart below. Velocities are listed in feet-per-second (fps). Group sizes are the averages for three-shot groups at 100 yards.  Bullet weights are listed in grains. FMJ is a full metal jacket bullet. HP is a match hollowpoint bullet. SS109 is military ball (FMJ) ammunition. V-Max is a Hornady polymer-tipped bullet. TSX is a Barnes homogenous copper hollowpoint bullet.

Accuracy was excellent with most every type of ammunition tested. Pictured are the best and the worst groups fired from the MILTAC rifle, with superb accuracy exhibited by the Buffalo Bore 69 grain Sniper ammunition. The 77 grain load did almost as well from the Alpha carbine. Black Hills 69 grain was also very accurate, as was the Wolf Gold.

Reliability of the MILTAC Alpha carbine was one hundred percent. Every round fed, fired, and ejected perfectly. The trigger pull released crisply at just a bit over four pounds, which contributed to the rifle's excellent accuracy. The Alpha carbine balances well, handles well, looks great, and runs flawlessly. It is built right, and built in the USA. You can buy an AR-15 carbine for a lot less money, but you will be hard-pressed to find a better AR, at any price.

For more information on this and other MILTAC weapons, go to www.miltacindustries.com.

Jeff Quinn

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