SCSA Taipan EVO my first inside look

[u/718_NotAGT4]

Hello, first time poster here.

\I reposted because I didn't post with images on the first one.\**

*TLDR down below.\*

*RANGE UPDATE down below\*

I will apologize in advance for a long and picture heavy post. And I'm not paid by Tenda or SCSA for posting this. This is just me giving everyone a closer look at the Evo before you make your decision. I will, to the best of my abilities answer any questions.

Anyways, been waiting for awhile since SCSA first announced the Taipan Evo, I was especially interested because of the AR trigger compatibility and the addition of the AR style bolt catch. Today I was browsing at the Renegade and TaipanX at G4C and Tenda but all of a sudden, I see the Evo listed on Tenda's site. $1439 was the price. Few hours later, here I am disassembling and cleaning while I write about it. (It was also the only one they have)

Now that we have context, I'll start from the muzzle.

The muzzle is tapped for 1/2 x 28 and has a stainless thread protector to match the barrel, same as the X.

Barrel is stainless steel and polished measuring at 16.5" with a 1:8 twist which should be good for 55 - 72gr ammo, also same as the X.

Handguard is aluminum but you can see where they welded and grinded at the connection when making them. The front end design is a little different compared to the X. It is attached to the upper receiver with two 5mm and one 2.5mm Allen socket screw. The pump aka 3 plastic covers are the same as the X, but I got a 3d printer, so I'll probably make something more comfortable and better looking.

Upper is attached to the lower via three 4mm Allen socket screws. It's similar to the X, with the changes of adding the bolt catch. So not much to write about here other than machining and finish looks good. It was coated in oil, so my advise when you buy one is to just take it apart, clean and lube it. Since it's pump, it won't get dirty like a semi, so you don't have to take it apart for a long time. (And here is where some people may find annoying, the X says to remove the AR pistol grip to remove the rear screw for disassembly, but now the Evo is a 1 piece design, so removing that is not in my books. (I'm a mechanic by trade, so it's in my blood to find shortcuts lol). My trick is using a long ball end 4mm Allen to get around the grip and that allows me to loosen the screw, saves so much time. Another way would be using a short Allen key and turning the screw little by little if you don't have a long ball end.

Now the lower is what's different for the Evo. According to SCSA, it's a glass filled nylon polymer similar to Glock frames, so it's not as fragile like what people are saying. I was playing around with it to see it's durability, a slip of a screw driver will scratch it. Impact resistant as I was also dropping the lower from ankle, knee and waist height, little dings but no cracks so it'll be fine for regular range use and maybe farm protection if that's what you're getting it for. If you were to try and force bend where the stock starts from the lower, it will snap lol. I had 3 type of mags on hand to test fitment, lar15, gen3 pmag and cross. Pmag and cross were snug and lar15 was tight. None of them will drop free when pressing the mag release. I did notice there were flash lines from the molding process, so I trimmed the excess and sanded a bit, now it's way smoother for the mags. I'm hoping it'll get better in time with more use. With the bolt closed, pmag will not lock in because of the way they pinned it, there's no room, so best to lock the bolt back before using pmags, lar and cross were fine. It does cycle through all the mags and didn't jam on me once, but will truly test tomorrow at the range. (I'll update here on the bottom of the post.) Now for my favourite part, AR style bolt catch!!! To my surprise, it feels cheap as hell. It is a steel part, and the way they incorporated it is making a recess in the lower for the catch to sit in and having the upper to lock it in place. As for the trigger, its a straight faced trigger like the X but it's using AR trigger packs so for those that want a lighter pull, you can just use your AR parts *because you lost your AR in a boating accident.* I didn't have a gauge to measure the pull weight but I would say it's about 6-8lb. The safety is not ambi and only on the left side like the X.

And last but not least, the grip/stock. I personally don't hate it, and gives it a Dragunov vibe. The grip has a fat bottom, and I got small-medium hands, feels okay to me. Stock is comfortable but length of pull being adjusted by shims feels pretty outdated. Cheek rest is adjusted by loosening two 3mm Allen screws on the right side. I'll probably change out the stock in the future either with Fox Operator parts or design my own, who knows. The rear mag holder will lock in the pmag and lar15 with ease but cross needs to be forced in, and it does have a mag release.

Near the end of the maintenance, I slapped on an exps and it still feels too low for me, so I added the unity riser (I don't like head down positions).

*TLDR: *

Overall first impressions, it's alright for what it is. I personally don't regret buying this after checking it out. As I said from the beginning, I was either getting the Taipan or the Renegade, ultimately chose the Evo because of the timing and pump action is better than side action (bite me). For people who have the X already, it's not a must have upgrade unless you want the AR style bolt catch and don't mind the dragunov stock. I feel like this is for people who never bought the X and want to get into pump action AR style 223/556 rifles. Oh speaking of pump, I didn't look at Troy PAR because it's not spring assisted and I didn't like the bolt release feature when you close the bolt and can't open right after without pressing the trigger like on a regular pump shotty. Plus it's hidden right under and behind the magwell, like why...

Going to the range tmr for a function test and break in, will report back here.

That's all for now, thanks for reading my long ass post about this new to Canada Taipan Evo. Cheers!

*RANGE UPDATE:\*

My range is Target Sports with only 25yds, so I can't really give much info about accuracy. I was able to put down a 2in group at 25yds free hand in relatively quick successions. I went through 200rds this session with no major failures and am quite satisfied. A few things to note though:

1. The stock got annoying for me, ordered the FoxOperator replacement right after the range lol.
2. Both lar mags did not lock the bolt back after the last round, pmags and cross were functional. (I'm going to take the rifle apart and see what's going on).
3. Both cross mags didn't chamber a round for 2-3 times during the session, lar and pmags were flawless. (Also will be taking a look at this issue)
4. I mentioned before, pmags can't be inserted when the bolt is closed, lar and cross is okay.

[u/MacPapRonin]

Great in-depth look! Thanks for sharing. I considered the Evo briefly, but I actually like the look of the X lower better. The AR15 style bolt hold open is great, and I'm glad you no longer have to remove the grip to separate the upper from the lower.