Standard Manufacturing Co announced the release of a new STD rifle. The Model C of the STD-15 family follows the Model A and Model B that were announced earlier this year, and is a more affordable option when compared to both of those guns.

The new Model C has a suggested retail price of $899. What do you get for your money? Let’s take a quick look:

• semi-automatic AR-pattern rifle with direct impingement (carbine length)
• unknown caliber – presumably 5.56 NATO, but no caliber information is mentioned on the company’s website – could be .223 Rem or .223 Wylde
• unknown length barrel with an 1:8″ twist and M4 feed ramps – presumably 16″ as the overall length of the gun is listed as 35.5″, and that generally matches up with the length of other ARs with a 16″ barrel
• A2 style front sight tower, A2 style pistol grip, A2 style muzzle device (a pinned version available for customers in New Jersey)
• removable carry handle
• ambidextrous, single point sling attachment on the receiver end plate
• 30 round aluminum magazine standard; low cap 10 round model available for NJ customers

For an extra $50, you can order this as a left-handed model. On previous rifles, this was an no additional cost option.

While I am sure these are fine guns, I don’t see a compelling reason to order one of these instead of the very good ARs being offered from other companies (wanting a left handed model being the sole exception). The Ruger AR556, for example, has a suggested retail price of only $799 – a full $100 cheaper. Plus the AR556 has the backing of one of the largest gun makers in the world. I had a chance to spend some time with an AR556, and I was impressed by it.