So, I recently picked up my new WFA1-L and I thought I’d share a few initial thoughts just having fired 20-30ish rounds. The TLDR is that this is an awesome rifle and worth every cent... for me. If, however, you are less eclectic in your firearms tastes, then perhaps it’s not for you. Hopefully this will help:)
Now this is only my third .223, and my fifth centrefire rifle ever. I’ve been shooting for about 10 years now so I’m by no means an expert on anything firearms related. But before I dove in a payed the rather large sum of money for the Warwick, I tried to find some information as to what they were like, and sadly came up with very little info. One or two youtube videos of the older model, but not much on forums for Facebook. So, if you’re in a similar situation now I writing this for you.
The Warwick WFA1-L
What I was looking for:
• Carriable rifle,
• faster than bolt cycling speeds,
• looks (yes, looks matter)
• hunting accuracy,
• versatility,
• reliability/functional (as always) and
• quality non-plastic garbage.
I’ll get back to these points at the end.
Calibre: .223 Wylde (Takes 223 Rem and 5.56mm) They do come in 300 Blackout if that is your cup of tea.
Barrel: Heavy profile 16 inches 1 in 8”. They offer 14, 16 and 20 inch barrel lengths for the .223 with the two shorter lengths coming in a heavy or light profile. (20 inch only in heavy) Now, don’t get me wrong, a big part of the reason I bought this rifle was “this thing looks sweet!” and a 14 inch barrel would certainly not detract from that notion! 20 inches was too much for it to carry around given that this rifle is already on the heavy side. But I crunched a few numbers and for the pills I’m running (55-62gr) 14 inches lost too much velocity/muzzle energy compared to 16 inches. Given that I plan to run this action a little faster than my CZ 527, the heavy barrel should mitigate heat build-up, and 16 inches keeps it just between light enough and useful.
Also, worth noting, the barrel is nitride inside and out. Breaking in this barrel was almost unnecessary, it cleans out so easily as it hardly fouled at all.
Weight: 3.4 kgs. It is a little heavier than I hoped, but I was warned. Now you are too. Balance wise though, it is not bad. I was worried it would be front heavy, that seems not to be the case. Even though it is a good 0.7kgs heavier than my scoped CZ, it feels like the weight is closer to the centre of the rifle, despite the light buttstock. I’m quite happy with it and carrying it around hasn’t felt like a chore yet, and for context I’m not a big guy, nor a particularly buff one.
Overall Length: 35.6 inches. Yes, I’m sorry I keep crossing form metric to imperial but that’s just how my head works. Regardless of what side of the pond you are from, this rifle is short. And if you really want to push it, there is the 14 inch barrel.
Magazine: ASC Aluminium x 10-round magazine, and it takes standard AR mags. Note: there is a restriction to 15 round magazines in Victoria for this rifle. I can’t speak for other states, but given how easy it seems to be to pick up a 30 round mag, you really want to be careful here so as not to unintentionally find yourself on the wrong side of the law.
Sights: None, but plenty of top rail and MLOK slots for all your attachment needs. I only had a red dot kicking around when I bought this so that’s what is on it as of this being written, but I’m hoping to put a more versatile optic on it. Something around the 3-12x50 area.
Reliability: Well, really, 20 rounds is not basis to make a call on this one. However, I will say this. The first 20 rounds went through flawlessly. Very good first impression, and that was straight from the factory without any cleaning or lubrication. I’ll get back to this one in 500 rounds, which may take a while at the rate I go!
Trigger: It is… good. Not ace, but good. I contacted Warwick about the trigger and they told me that it is aimed at being a scrub gun, so the trigger is a little heavy. About as heavy as my Remington 700 was when it was stock (3-5 pounds, I don’t own a pull gauge). It does break well however, A slight creep to begin with but very crisp on the break, not much over travel that I can notice.
Take down: Too easy, push in a button at the rear of the receiver, break the rifle open like a shotgun and don’t let the springs fly out. Just too easy.
To sum up, let me go back to my reasons for buying it.
Carriable rifle? Well yes, but as I said, a little heavier than I would have liked
Faster than bolt cycling speeds? From the bench, hell yes! The bolt handle is on the left side, and it ejects from the right. From the bench/spotlighting rig with a bipod or rest you can cycle, shoot and stay on target with ease. In fairness, I’m taking my experience from a shotgun that was a similar set up into account (SHS straight pull with a left hand bolt) but it is a similar gist. From standing the same applies, but as the rifle is a bit heavier for me, I find that while I can cycle it rapidly, I can’t keep on target as my supporting hand is needed to rack the bolt, causing the rifle to dip down. If you have a bight more strength than me, that might be less of an issue.
How does it look? Well, without a photo to post here (phone issues, will update later with photos) I can say it looks neat as. But that really only counts as long as I own it and I say I like it. I also bought mine in a crimson red cerakote. Why? Because that’s what I like
The beaut thing here is that they have a lot of colours you can choose from, as well as bare metal and anodised dark green. They have 3 colour camo option as well (for a bit extra) and they seem to have more camo options as of this coming shot show. If you like wood and blue steel… this might not be for you. If you have tastes as eclectic as mine, or are of the tacticool bent, this might be your dream rifle. Who knows… only you. Hunting accuracy? Well, in 20 rounds… yes. Accurate enough for my needs. I will certainly test this once I have better glass (can’t afford yet after the purchase of the rifle!) as I am a bit of a target shooter, but will it hit a fox at 100m+? I recon it will just fine based on the groups I have so far.
Versatility? Again, weight is limiting this for me a bit, but perhaps I just need to go to the gym. I intend to use this for plinking and hunting, as well as some target shooting up to 400m if I get the chance. We’ll see, but it looks good for all this so far.
Is it reliable? Don’t know yet, but I’m confident so far because…
The quality! This is the highlight. I’ve fired cheap guns and I’ve fired $20000 guns (ok just one). This gun is quality. It isn’t cheap, I paid around $3400 for mine, but it is worth every cent. The finish is excellent, not a single machining mark that I can find. Everything that is supposed to be smooth is so smooth, and the edges are well defined but not sharp or jagged. Nothing catches or snares and the action is so very smooth. If I was going to be really picky, the flash hider had its cerakote marred when they tightened it onto the barrel and it is turned ever so slightly to the left by enough degrees so as to bug my perfectionism. That is my only gripe, and one I can get over.
As for the plastic parts, all you will find is the A2 grip and the Magpul MOE buttstock and lets face it, Magpul make some quality stuff. There is not a speck of plastic anywhere I can see on the rest of the rifle, and I have taken it right down to have a good look too.
Overall, if your looking at these rifles, they are pricy, but if you like what you see here, it will be worth every cent. Feel free to ask me anything and I’ll get pictures up once my phone is behaving!
Cheers!
