Springfield Saint Victor: Updated Version Explored

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Springfield Armory recently announced the latest version of its popular Saint Victor line of ARs. I had the chance to spend some time wringing out one of the renewed Victors, and it’s impressive.

Initial chamberings include 5.56 NATO and 7.62x51 NATO, and they’re fitted with a variety of barrel lengths; my 5.56 sample had a 16-inch barrel with a 1:7 twist rate. The new enhanced versions of the Saint Victor rifle include short-barreled rifles, folding variants, AR-15s with pinned and welded barrels, California versions, and low-capacity versions.

The original Saint Victor ARs were already superlative firearms. They were among the best on the market, combining quality with reasonable cost. When attending various media events around the country, I’d find myself subconsciously comparing other brands’ new offerings to the Saint Victor, and usually they either came up short in quality or were much higher priced for comparable quality.

With this refresh, Springfield has made several small but significant refinements that improve accuracy, ergonomics and durability. For starters, the Melonite-coated barrel, which is made of proven 4150 chrome-moly vanadium, is machined with a proprietary midweight taper that shifts weight rearward. This improves the balance and responsiveness of AR-15 carbines.

Good Changes

It also adds rigidity that benefits accuracy, and the extra mass around the chamber front helps manage heat—another accuracy advantage. My test carbine shot spectacularly well, as you can see in the accompanying accuracy chart.

One other change is applied to the new Victor’s barrel, and that is the use of a sleek four-prong flash hider rather than a muzzle brake. I’m a fan. No AR-15 in 5.56 NATO recoils hard enough to need a brake unless you’re competing in speed-shooting disciplines. I find the blast of a brake much more disruptive than the kick of a mild cartridge.

Springfield also upgraded the handguard on the new Saint Victor. It’s got a full-length, T-marked Picatinny rail at 12 o’clock, rather than the interrupted rail on the earlier Victor. The handguard has limited-rotation QD sling attachment sockets, and steel locking plates at the rear add durability where it secures to the barrel and the front of the upper receiver. The cross-section of the handguard is octagonal, and M-Lok slots run the length of the handguard on all seven flats except on top.

Saint Victor rifles ship with backup iron sights, and the ones on the new version have a lower profile than previous versions, making them more compatible with optics. This is a big deal to me. I’ve had scopes go south in the field, and it sure is nice to be able to pull the optic and get right back in the game.

Egonomic and Functional Upgrades

Springfield chose to upgrade the buffer tube to a mil-spec version made—and this is key—of 7075-T6 aluminum. This is the strongest of all aluminum alloys commonly used for firearm parts. Most AR buffer tubes, aka receiver extensions, are made of 6061-T6 aluminum, which is serviceable enough and less expensive, but not as strong.

A few other small ergonomic advancements are incorporated into the new Saint Victor. The charging handle is a nice Radian Raptor LT that works slick as grease on glass. Safety levers are now ambidextrous and feature a 45-degree throw, which may not sound like much but is really nice. Plus the new receiver end plate features a QD socket where you can attach your sling.

Last but definitely not least, as Springfield put it, the new Saint Victor has “enhanced tolerance and fitting attention throughout.” These are the small, invisible elements that set a firearm apart.

There’s no accuracy-robbing play between receiver and stock. The collapsible stock slides smoothly but fits snugly. The muzzle end of the barrel is perfectly centered in the handguard, which is not as common as you’d think.

Trigger Creep?

There’s just one characteristic of the Saint Victor I found slightly disappointing, and that’s the trigger. It’s got a nice flat-faced shoe, it’s reliable, and it releases at just two pounds, 12 ounces. Those are all good things. However, it’s got quite a lot of creep, and rather than releasing crisply it has a sort of roll-off feel.

It’s advertised as nickel-boron coated, which is great, and claims a grit-free pull, which is reasonably correct. However, it’s not a trigger I found easy to master. If I send Springfield a check rather than return this test rifle, I’ll probably drop in a replacement match-grade trigger.

It’s worth addressing several other crucial features of the Saint Victor, even though they’re not new to the line. The bolt is a premium component that’s high-pressure tested and magnetic-particle inspected to ensure durability. The bolt carrier is a proper M16 type, with adequate mass to ensure smooth, reliable function and forever durability. The gas key is properly staked to prevent loosening.

Likewise, the castle nut that secures the buffer tube to the rear of the receiver is deeply staked, ensuring it won’t come loose. The buttstock installed on its mil-spec buffer tube is the excellent five-position B5 Systems Enhanced SOPMOD, in Coyote Brown, which matches the Cerakote finish on the receivers and handguard perfectly.

Refined Finish

One interesting note on the finish. Springfield’s Mike Humphries told RifleShooter that the Cerakote finish is applied over the anodizing rather than over raw aluminum, and this extra step increases the finish’s durability.

The stock has battery storage compartments, QD sling attachment points as well as sling strap slots, and a good rubbery buttpad that’ll keep your carbine from sliding down and crashing to the kitchen floor when it’s leaned in a corner.

The grip is also by B5, and it’s the no-nonsense, clean-lines P-Grip 23. It’s got a near-vertical angle and a non-slip texture, and it just feels athletic in the hand. The polymer trigger guard is a good solid winter guard that’s large enough for use with gloves.

Inside the receivers and accessible by removing the grip is Springfield’s Accu-Tite tension system, which is a Teflon-tipped screw that may be adjusted to remove any play between the upper and lower receivers. It’s a small detail with big accuracy benefits. Gas systems on the 16-inch barrels feature mid-length tubes, which are less abrupt in function and result in a softer, smoother recoil impulse than shorter, more aggressively vented carbine-length gas systems. Low-profile gas blocks sit discreetly inside the 15-inch free-floating handguards. Buffers are the super-nice “H” heavy tungsten-filled versions. These are a significant extra cost for Springfield but provide profoundly smoother operation and added reliability.

Accuracy

To evaluate the accuracy of the new Saint Victor, I mounted an old but excellent Leupold 3.5-14x50mm scope. This scope lives in a quick-detach cantilever mount of appropriate height for AR-type rifles, and has been my go-to for accuracy testing such firearms for nearly 20 years.

Mounting a Spartan Valhalla bipod to the M-Lok slots in the handguard and tossing a small sandbag for rear support into my range bag, I sallied forth to the local range. Right from the start the Saint Victor exhibited outstanding accuracy. The first load I tested was the 60-grain Black Hills offering with Hornady V-Max bullets. It averaged 0.65-inch 100-yard groups over a series of three consecutive three-shot groups—without allowing the barrel to cool.

Impressed, I allowed the rifle to cool completely and carried on. Four more hunting and match loads all averaged less than one m.o.a. As you can see, Winchester’s Match ammo loaded with 69-grain Sierra MatchKing bullets edged out the others for top accuracy honors. The only load that didn’t shoot sub-m.o.a. was the American Eagle.

I experienced just one malfunction while accuracy testing. It occurred during my first magazine through the rifle, and it was a bolt override where the cartridge hung halfway into the chamber and the bolt lugs jammed up against the body of the cartridge. I’m not sure if the bolt lugs jumped the rim or if the bolt did not retract far enough to engage the rim.

Working Out The Kinks

However, the rifle never malfunctioned again, so I’m guessing it just needed a little break-in. Plus, the malfunction was with .223 Rem. ammo rather than 5.56, and could have been a simple short stroke caused by the lower gas pressure driving the bolt carrier.

With accuracy testing completed, I swapped out the heavy, high-magnification scope for one more suited for all-around use with the Saint Victor: a sleek 1-6X Sightmark Presidio. It’s a whole lot of scope for the $360 price, featuring an excellent holdover reticle with shoulder-width ranging/reference hash marks, red illumination and quite good glass quality. It’s dust- and fogproof, shock resistant and waterproof.

Running the Sightmark on the lowest power provides a near-true 1X view, enabling me to shoot two-eyes-open Bindon style, and I put the Saint Victor rifle through several informal drills—shooting rapid-fire and working on transitions. It’s a terrific combination. Throughout this practical testing, the rifle functioned flawlessly.

No AR-15 will ever handle like a British side-by-side shotgun, but as it’s now set up the Saint Victor carries well, with a nice between-the-hands feel. It shoulders comfortably and responsively, points naturally and balances well.

Value

Cost of the updated Saint Victor will run $1,099 to $1,689 depending on the specific model. Although it’s a bit of a bump, I think that’s a fair increase considering the enhanced features now standard to the model.

Based on the accuracy of this 5.56 version, I’d wager you’ll be very hard pressed to find another AR-15 that outshoots it.

I don’t even have to contemplate whether or not this rifle is worth owning. Without question the new Saint Victor by Springfield Armory is one of the best—if not the best—AR-15s on the market, regardless of cost.

Updated Saint Victor Specs

• Type: midlength gas-impingement AR-15
• Caliber: 5.56 NATO (tested), 7.62x51 NATO
• Capacity: 30-round magazine included
• Barrel: 16 in. (as tested) Melonite-finished chrome-moly vanadium; 1:7 twist; 4-prong flash hider
• Overall Length: 32.25–35.5 in.
• Weight: 6 lb., 9 oz.
• Stock: 5-position B5 Systems Enhanced SOPMOD
• Finish: Coyote Brown anodizing and Cerakote
• Trigger: nickel boron-coated flat GI single stage; 2 lb., 12 oz. pull (measured)
• Safety: 2-position ambidextrous, 45-degree throw
• Sights: folding, low-profile flip-up irons; optics rail
• Price: $1,279
• Manufacturer: Springfield, springfield-armory.com

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