Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 5.56: Hard-Use Reliability

There’s never been a better time to buy an AR than right now. For the last several years, manufacturers have raced to the bottom to provide consumers with the cheapest AR’s ever available. Competition is not a bad thing and generally lowers the price for consumers. But, like most things, you usually get what you pay for. However, it looks like Springfield Armory took a different approach with its SAINT Victor 5.56 Pistol.

The Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 5.56 Pistol

If you just want a gun for the range or an outing at the dump, budget-priced ARs are probably fine. If things go wrong, it is usually just a matter of replacing a part to get the gun running again. But, if you’re a more serious shooter and don’t want to go through the exercise of debugging a new gun, these bargain basement blasters should be eschewed.

Suppose you intend to use your new AR to protect your home and family. Or maybe you want to take a formal class where high volumes of rounds are fired in a short time. In that case, you’ll want a quality gun backed by an established company with a long history of customer service.

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Springfield Armory has just introduced the new line of SAINT Victor ARs. They are designed to satisfy the most demanding customers by providing professional-grade reliability, using top-quality components, and eliminating some mechanical pitfalls of the AR-15.

Case in point is the gun’s gas block. Springfield Armory uses a tapered barrel along with a tapered gas block, which is pinned in place. Industry-standard gas blocks use set screws, which can back out and allow movement, rendering the gun useless. However, the SAINT® Victor design keeps the gas block mechanically aligned.

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That’s just one of many innovations that make the AR suitable for serious work.

Inside the SAINT Victor

I received a sample of the new Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 5.56 pistol with an 11.5-inch barrel. It is outfitted with a 5-position SB Tactical SBA3 pistol brace. After spending several days shooting this little mighty-mite, I came away impressed!

The SAINT Victor pistol measures just 27.5 inches, with the pistol brace completely collapsed. So, it makes perfect sense for home or vehicle defense, where its shorter length makes it easier to maneuver.

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Looking through the new pistol, I found many innovations, but the one thing I couldn’t spot was a shortcut. Springfield Armory machines their upper and lower receivers from 7075-T6 aluminum forgings and then hardcoat-anodizes the parts.

The company takes the extra step to install its patented Accu-Tite™ Tension System. This involves drilling and tapping the lower receiver for a set screw that bears on the rear lug of the upper receiver to remove any play between the upper and lower receivers.

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The bolt carrier group (BCG) is an enhanced M16-style with a 9310 steel bolt. It has been Magnetic Particle Inspected (MPI) and given a Melonite finish. The Melonite finish is usually an expensive upgrade, and I like it because it makes cleaning the part so easy. The gas key has been staked for reliability.

I’ve already mentioned Springfield Armory uses a tapered barrel on the SAINT Victor pistol. It’s 11.5 inches in length and possesses a 1:7” twist. Correspondingly, the muzzle is threaded at ½ x 28 and has an excellent 4-prong flash hider that comes standard on this model. Its Nitride finish makes it corrosion-resistant and also easier to clean.

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A free-floating aluminum handguard is rigidly attached and is completely wobble-free. It features a full-length Picatinny top rail, has M-LOK cuts and QD cups for sling mounts on both sides of the handguard.

Running the 5.56 Pistol

Springfield Armory outfits the SAINT Victor with a Radian Raptor-LT™ ambidextrous charging handle to make charging the chamber easier. The lower receiver is equipped with bi-lateral safety/selectors, which possess a 45-degree throw. If you do a lot of range work or you’re going to take a class, these selectors will make a great deal of difference-believe me!

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One of the best tactical triggers I’ve pulled is the one that comes standard on the SAINT Victor. Springfield boron coats the hammer, disconnector, and trigger, giving the parts a smooth 3-pound one-ounce pull. This slippery finish also makes the parts corrosion-resistant.

The trigger is flat-faced with a small lip at its bottom. I feel this gives the shooter more control, especially when firing rapidly.

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Hitting the Range

To test the gun for accuracy, I set my targets out at 50 yards. I used a DOA Tactical shooting bench for support and fired all groups from a seated rest. Likewise, I utilized a Caldwell Tack-Driver sand-filled bag to rest the SAINT Victor’s handguard on.

Springfield Armory ships the SAINT Victor with folding iron sights. However, I chose to use a Trijicon RMR HD red dot to test the gun for accuracy. I loaded five rounds in the magazine and fired my first group. 

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As soon as I walked downrange, I knew I’d made a mistake by not bringing a 4X scope with me. The SAINT Victor placed 5 Winchester 55-grain FMJ rounds into a neat cluster that measured just 0.75 inch! This pistol obviously possesses rifle-like accuracy. I’m guessing that had I brought a scope, the groups would have been closer to 0.5 inch at 50 yards.

Even with the 1-MOA red-dot aiming point, I was able to achieve an aggregate group size of 0.75 inches across the six different loads tested. Federal’s 64-grain Soft Point and Hornady’s 73-grain ELD Match rounds tied for best accuracy, producing a 0.65-inch group. Black Hills 77-grain Tipped Matchkings recorded the most energy, churning up over 1100-foot-pounds of energy.

Manufacturers typically over-gas their AR pistols for complete reliability with all sorts of ammunition. This was decidedly not the case with the SAINT Victor. My brass ejected into a neat pile about 7 feet to my right, between 3 and 4 o’clock.

Reliability was 100% with the loads tried. Even when I loaded the mags with a mix-match of manufacturers and bullet weights, the little AR ticked right along. In total, I fired over 300 rounds during my evaluation, and I’m happy to report there were no stoppages of any type.

The SAINT Victor 5.56 Pistol Exudes Quality

Springfield Armory’s new SAINT Victor 5.56 pistol exudes quality! Their selection of premium components, manufacture of top-quality parts, and expert assembly have resulted in a personal defense weapon that offers an unusual degree of accuracy and unerring reliability.

Whether your needs include defending your home and family or you simply want to enjoy owning the very best AR pistol available, your search should include the SAINT Victor 5.56 pistol.

Springfield Armory SAINT Victor 5.56 Specs

Performance

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