By R.K. Campbell | Contributing Writer
Recent events in Israel have underscored the need for an alert and armed population in a free nation.
Our borders are even less secure than ever. We have enemies among us and those in charge are hell bent on allowing more enemies into the country while depriving as much as possible the American people of their right and means of self-protection.
If you want to continue to enjoy your right to personal defense and firearms ownership be certain to support the Second Amendment Foundation. Owning an AR 15 rifle is among the best ways to exercise your rights, and an affordable option is the Zion 15 from Israel Weapon Industries.
There are many Armalite type rifles available. I recommend choosing a good quality rifle for all around use. There are inexpensive rifles suited to recreational use and informal target practice. There are better choices for home defense and area defense. For serious use one of the best rifles I have tested is the Zion 15. The new rifle is a groundbreaking effort by IWI as it is manufactured in Pennsylvania, USA. This makes supply simple enough and also helps avoid certain import restrictions.
Everyone has a budget, and we wish to get all we can for a certain amount of money. Ammunition and accessories must be added to the total. A rifle costing about $800 is a good spot for AR 15 buyers. At this level you may obtain an excellent rifle with many good qualities.
The Zion 15 is a service grade rifle. The 16-inch barrel is a free floated design, cut with six lands and grooves on a 1:8-inch right-hand twist. It features M-Lok handguards, B5 systems grip and stock, and easy mounting of a quick detach sling. It also has a flat top receiver for mounting optics. Fit and finish are excellent. The bolt is well finished, the carrier keys are properly staked, and there is little motion between the upper and lower receiver.
IWI designs and builds good quality serviceable firearms, and their Zion 15 rifle is an impressive rifle. It is a step above the rest in the price point in a crowded field.
While the Zion 15 is well made of good material and offers good performance, IWI introduced the rifle into what may only be termed a crowded market. Just the same, it is a competent and well executed AR 15 platform that will serve well. The barrel is built from high quality chrome moly vanadium. A free floating handguard features MLOK slots for easy attachment of combat lights.
The rifle is light enough at six and one-half pounds. A single polymer PMAGm30-round magazine is included. In my experience this magazine is the single most reliable and durable AR 15 type magazine available. I used the supplied magazine and backed it up with several 20-rounders. Benchrest firing positions are a little easier to get into with a shorter magazine.
The Bravo butt stock offers a good cheek weld, while the B5 pistol grip allows a good mix of adhesion and abrasion. I considered a red dot sight for the Zion but I felt that the rifle has excellent potential at longer range so I elected to go with a modern illuminated reticle optical more suited to use well past 100 yards. The trigger action is middle-of-the-road, breaking at 6.0 pounds. The action is clean without excess grit or take up.
I did not go with a cheap optic but neither did I bend the credit card to the breaking point. Like most modern optics the Vortex Strike Eagle is both fog proof and waterproof. Elevation and windage turrets are easily adjusted without tools. Each click provides ½ -minute of angle adjustment. The turrets are stiff enough they may be counted on to keep their adjustment and the clicks are audible, and I cannot hear as well as most of you. Due to the treated glass, light transmission is superior as quality coatings will assure. The true benefit of coating is combating glare and allowing the shooter to differentiate the target from a contrasting background.
I have come to like illuminated reticles in optics intended for serious use. The BDC reticle is a good choice for most uses but not for everyone. There is a MOA center dot but no central cross hairs. You need not always use reticle illumination, the reticle works fine without illumination but better with illumination in many situations. A bright red illuminated reticle is a neat trick when you are tracking moving targets or firing for speed. A rugged and robust mount is essential in the rifle/optic interface. The Vortex is mounted to the rifle using a Burris P.E.P.R. A superior optic and rock solid mount means as much as rifle build quality in all around shooting.
Ammunition choice for testing and evaluation was simple enough. One company stands tall in not only winning military contracts for match grade ammunition but in providing superb reliability and accuracy. I laid in several types of Black Hills Ammunition 5.56mm ammunition for the test and evaluation. My primary practice ammunition is the clean burning and reliable 55 grain FMJ. A full powder burn, and good accuracy are important.
I sighted the rifle for 25, 50, and 100 yards, in increments, with a final zero of 1.5 inches high at 100 yards. With sighting in squared away I began firing off hand at targets at known and unknown distances, from paper targets to small reaction targets. The Zion 15 handles quickly and offers real speed in fast paced drills. I burned through several magazines in evaluating the rifle for handling. It is reliable and the well-designed handguard and buttstock make for a good combination in providing stability in rapid fire.
To determine accuracy potential demands the shooter control the trigger and maintain sharp focus on the optics reticle. I chose four loads for this test program, firing from a solid bench rest using the MTM Caseguard K Zone shooting rest. The range was 100 yards.
Cartridge 3-Shot Group @ 100 yds
Black Hills Ammunition 55 grain FMJ 1.4 inch
Black Hills Ammunition 60 grain JSP 1.2 inch
Black Hills Ammunition 69 grain SMK .9 inch
Black Hills Ammunition 77 grain MK262 1.0 inch
Additions
I added a Blue Force Vickers adjustable sling to the Zion 15. This sling is easily adjustable and offers an aid in firing off hand.
After firing several hundred cartridges in the Zion rifle I added a Delta V trigger. For most uses the stock Zion trigger- and that of most AR 15 rifles- is fine. For greater accuracy potential a trigger with a clean sear break is better. The Delta Z Gen-2 3MR is a smooth and effective design. The trigger action breaks clean at 4.5 pounds with the Delt V trigger installed. Delta Z claims zero initial take up and imperceptible overtravel- I cannot argue the point. The Nickel Teflon coated action parts glide smoothly. (Deltavusa.com) The enhanced firing mode makes for short, short, reset and allows brilliantly rapid semi auto fire. The trigger comes with a BATF approval letter. The trigger is a lot of fun and has some application in area defense. If you are going to make use of this trigger an adjustable gas block is a big help- and don’t heat the rifle up too much. It is easy to do when having fun!
The Zion 15 is a good rifle, perhaps a great rifle, that offers good performance at a fair price. It is well suited to front line defense, target shooting, hunting, and some forms of competition. I am enthusiastic and impressed by this rifle.
Specifications:
Rifle: Zion 15
Manufacturer: IWI.us
Caliber: 5.56 NATO
Action: Semi-auto; direct gas impingement
Magazine: One 30-round PMAG
Bbl. length : 16 inches
OAL: 33 inches (collapsed), 36.25 inches (extended)
Weight: 6 pounds, 8 ounces
Gas Length: Mid-Length
Rifling: 6 grooves; 1:8-inch RH twist
Stock: B5 adjustable
MSRP: $899
IWI.us.com
Vortexoptics.com
Black-Hills.com
Mtmcase-gard.com
Deltavusa.com
