A couple of things before I jump into the meat of this review:
1 - No, this isn't my real name. Why? Because nobody needs to know my business. I am, however, a real customer who made an actual purchase.
2 - I am reviewing MY experience, not anyone else's.
On July 16, I ordered an AR kit (AR-15 5.56/.223 16" M4 classic quad tactical rifle kit / AR15CLSK16KIT) from Moriarti. The website itself stated, if memory serves, 10-12 days processing time before shipping, but the order confirmation email stated up to 18 business days. All things considered, not a problem.
I watched my order, as I'm sure we all do, and after nearly a couple of weeks of no activity, I started to get nervous. I came here to the Moriarti facebook page, read the reviews and came away fully prepared for my order to go bad. So much so, in fact, that I ordered another AR kit from one of Moriarti's larger competitors in the meantime.
Fast-forward another ten days or so. Saturday August 8th I emailed Moriarti, mentioned that Monday the 10th would be 18 business days, and how was my order coming? I received an email response back -that- -day- stating that the order was on track to ship either Monday or Tuesday. Sure enough, Tuesday afternoon 8/11 I receive tracking info, and by Saturday 8/15 my kit had arrived. The Saturday UPS ground delivery was a nice, no-added-cost touch.
The kit itself? Not bad. The barrel was not the government profile spec'd on the website but rather a .223 wylde pencil-style, diamond fluted w/1:8 twist. Although the website didn't mention the possibility of receiving anything other than a government profile barrel, it did and does allude to the possibility of barrel spec variation dependent upon availability. Again, all things considered, not a problem. If I had to guess, I'd say the manufacturer of this particular barrel is most likely BCA. The diamond fluting is cool.
The rest of the kit was quite nice, particularly considering the price point. Everything was there and all the small parts were well-organized in their own sealed bags. The Moriarti-branded M-lok hand guard is particularly nice - very stout, with three clamping bolts securing it to the barrel nut. Another cool thing was that the stock, unlike some others at this price point, has almost zero play between the tube. I know some people aren't bothered by some movement here, but it drives me absolutely nuts.
Overall, despite the fact that I let the negative reviews get the better of me (as a result, I now own 1 more rifle than I need or want) I'm quite satisfied.
I used the phrase 'all things considered' twice in my review, and what I mean by that is, this Covid response fraud that's being jammed down our throats is tough on everyone, without exception. Those of us who have been buying ammo/firearms/parts online know that even the big boys have been having trouble keeping up; I can't even begin to imagine the chaos a smaller shop like Moriarti must be experiencing. That doesn't mean I'm giving them a pass though, because, really, would it have killed someone from their organization to, at the very least, post general customer service updates to this page rather than covid-bot pics? That one simple act could - and still can - eliminate a lot of unnecessary stress. (hey Moriarti people, it's never too late to start...)
Anyway, if these were 'normal' times, in which we still had the luxury of being able to nitpick the living shit out of everyone and everything, I might have rated my experience with Moriarti a '3". However, these times are far from normal; that Moriarti were able to deliver their product to my door at this price point in the middle of all this manufactured insanity and within reasonable range of the promised ship-by date brings them to a 4+, and the handwritten 'thank you' on my packing list - yes, little things are important to an old-schooler like me - puts them over the top for a solid 5. read more