Cox Arms USA Guardian 556 Rifle
There are several ways to get an AR outfitted with quality, high-performance aftermarket parts. You can assemble one from the ground up utilizing bits and pieces that you source yourself. Another method is to buy a complete AR just to break it down and swap out parts as desired. Or you can choose the option that Cox Arms USA presents to you in the form of the Guardian 556 Rifle.
We know what you’re thinking, and before we got a chance to manhandle one for ourselves, we thought the same thing. What makes this AR different from the litany of others hanging on your local gun shop’s wall? Lucky for us, we had the chance to take a look at the Guardian up close and find out. What we noticed outright were the many aftermarket accessories that come standard on this AR.
The Cox Arms Guardian is a billet receiver based AR-15 that comes with many of the aftermarket parts that we’d be swapping out generic factory parts for anyway, only on this rifle they come standard. Before we move on to the parts that come on the rifle, let’s talk about its proprietary billet receivers for a moment. Cox Arms mills its lower with features such as a double-beveled magwell as well as a textured indexing pad forward of the trigger guard, which gives the shooter a tactile resting point for his or her trigger finger and is found on both sides of the receiver.
Those who like to tinker with their receivers will like hearing that the bolt catch is kept in via a set screw, allowing bolt catch maintenance or further modification to be made as easy as can be. The lower also features recessing around its extended mag release button for easier positive engagement, even with a gloved finger. The lower receiver also comes with an upper receiver tension screw that can keep any upper receiver it hosts mounted tightly and free of any irritating wobbles.
Speaking of the upper receiver, we noted that this 5.56 NATO caliber, mid-length gas system Cox rifle comes with a 16-inch 4150 chrome-moly vanadium steel barrel that’s finished with a 1:7 twist rate. The barrel is tipped with a VG6 Gamma muzzle brake, what VG6 calls a muzzle brake/compensator hybrid. VG6 claims that the hybrid device virtually eliminates recoil and minimizes muzzle movement.
The upper also includes chamfered takedown pin holes for effortless upper and lower receiver mating, as well as a stylized housing for the forward assist. Inside the upper you’ll find a complete enhanced bolt carrier group, and an ambidextrous charging handle comes standard. The upper also includes a 15-inch m-lok compatible free-float handguard.
Unlike other factory stock AR-15s, you won’t get the usual USGI trigger, nor do you get a cheaply made A2 grip and M4 buttstock with this rifle. Instead, the Guardian comes with Elftmann Tactical’s socom-rated and combat-tested field-adjustable trigger, complete with anti-walk pins, and a Mission First Tactical 15-degree pistol grip, as well as MFT’s ever-popular minimalist stock. Sitting in the six position buffer tube is an H2 buffer and Sprinco buffer spring. These are definitely parts that we’d consider installing if we were decking out a plain-jane AR.
As you can probably tell, we were pretty excited that an off-the-shelf AR-15 comes with so many upgrades right out of the box, but it was the build quality that really got our attention. The fit and finish of the rifle was nice and tight and the way the action felt from trigger pull to bolt carrier charging felt ball-bearing smooth. We’d have to admit that even some ARs we’ve built ourselves have had some graininess to them. Not this rifle. It simply feels well-put-together and oh-so-silky to operate.
We were able to get some limited range time with the Guardian and can report that the AR handles and shoots as smooth as it looks. We ran a few shooting drills with it and found it to be very flat-shooting and surprisingly lightweight. Without the EOTech optic and Inforce weaponlight that we added, this 16-inch-barreled rifle weighs a scant 6 pounds, 13 ounces. You could say that we were quite pleased with its performance. This seems like a good time to bring up the fact that Cox Arms offers a lifetime warranty for the Guardian. That’s right—Guardian, complete with its sought-after upgrade parts, is covered by a lifetime warranty. That’s something that’s hard to come by.
The Guardian also comes in your choice of eight custom finishes. We chose ours in a very H&K-esque desert-yellow RAL-8000 Cerakote color. It’s a unique color that Cox offers right off their website. If you’re not as adventurous, Guardian is also offered in SOCOM Blue, Midnight Bronze, black, FDE, OD green, gray, and a very custom three-color camo pattern. The seven solid colors do not carry any additional charges but the three-color camo carries a premium of $300—not bad, considering how much custom Cerakote jobs cost for complete rifles.
At just under two grand, Cox Arms’ Guardian isn’t the cheapest of the pre-built pack, but in terms of value, it can be hard to beat. We tried calculating how much this rifle would cost to build ourselves, buying the parts individually, and didn’t come close to Cox Arms’ asking price. Considering that you’re getting an expertly built, custom-Cerakoted, fully upgraded AR-15 with a lifetime warranty, it’s clear that Cox Arms USA has broken into the crowded AR-15 market with a package that’s teeming with value and performance. Images by Jay Canter
Cox Arms USA
Guardian 556 Rifle
P/N: SI-AR-CMS-MP
MSRP: From $1,900
URL: coxarmsusa.com
