I'm ordering a Rock River, any suggestions?

wheel10

New member
Hi. After much consideration, I am going to order a Rock River as my first AR. I had though about buying a kit gun, but I'd have to put it together, the trigger probably won't be that good and stripped lowers are expensive. Would rather spend a couple more bucks and get a complete rifle. I know the wait will be long, but I'm young. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I will be using it as a calling gun and have decided on the following: (unless someone can change my mind)

Rock River 16" CAR A4, Chrome-moly, Free Float Hogue Handguard, Lo Pro gas block, hogue grip, and winter trigger guard.

The one question I'm bouncing around is which barrel to get. The heavy or lightweight option. Will I be sacrificing much in accuracy with the lightweight barrel. It is attractive since it will shave some weight off the front. Let me know what you guys think.

To top it off I will most likely go with Burris Xtreme Xtra high rings and a Nikon Monarch scope. How does it all sound? Any suggestions? Thanks. Mike
 
I would go for a lightweight contour barrel for a calling rifle.

You will very seldom be shooting enough rounds to heat it up and it's much more comfortable to carry and swing if needed.

If you are planning on shooting any kind of high round count competitions or taking it out for prairie dogs then the bull barrel is the better option..
 
That all sounds like a great gun to me. My Bushmaster is pretty similar to what you've listed, 16 in. heavy barrel (not bull barrel, though), YHM free floating hand guard, collapsible stock, RRA 2 stage trigger (which is a great trigger for the money), and a Nikon Buckmasters mounted on Warne AR-15 rings (soon to be a Monarch on a Larue mount). As far as the barrel goes, I would not get a bull barrel but if the heavy barrel option is not that much heavier then I would get it. From what I've been told the difference really isn't that much, and the main difference is not how accurate the gun is but how accurate it stays during repeated shooting. I.e. if you take one shot every minute then both guns would be the same, but if you shoot a bunch out of a light barreled gun then it will start to lose some accuracy as the barrel heats up and a heavier barrel just helps to minimize this. I think a heavy barrel is worth it, but not a bull barrel. The heavy barrels aren't that much heavier anyways. But if its between a regular barrel and a bull barrel, then I would probably get the regular one. Maybe someone else on here who knows more about barrels can tell you more than me, but I was told that the difference in accuracy isn't that much. As far as the scope goes, the only problem with rings directly on the gun is that it limits how far forward you can put the scope and most people need the scope to be further forward. Try to find an AR with a scope on it that you can look at to get an idea of where you want the scope. If you want it further forward, then get a one piece mount. And the scope itself, depends a lot on terrain and personal preference. I am getting the 2.5-10 because I never really shoot past 300 yards or so and sometimes when they get up close the lower power is necessary, I know plenty of guys that have 1x or 2x scopes on calling guns. If most of your shots are past 100 yards or so, maybe get something else but I would either get the 2.5-10 or 3-12. Hope I answered some of your questions, some of the other guys on here know a lot more about this kinda stuff.
 
I went with a Rock River Varmint 18 inch Bull
Larue LT 104-30 mount so I could move scope forward a bit
Night Force 5.5x22x50 NXS
I put a Tactical NightVision RDP at 1:00 on the front scope ring (Larue tactical also)so I could use the red dot if a critter jumps out at a few feet away.
Also a Surefire6P with Malkof high output LED boosts light up to 235 Lumins.
Harris Bipod.
With the NF scope it is heavy but works perfect for its intended purpose!
kenny
013-1.jpg
 
I just ordered an upper in the mid-length from Rock River. I am of course wanting a calling rifle also. I changed the stock upper to include a Free float aluminum handguard (Hogue does not make the midlength), lightweight 1:9 barrel and weaver gas block. I think it will be just the ticket. Of course high volume fire and the lightweight barrel are not necessarily conducive to accuracy as already stated. I am not planning on shooting a 30 round mag while coyote hunting.

They do make a kit gun which has the two stage trigger included. It is priced pretty well for a quality kit. They do not allow options on it though.
 
RR predator pursuit, my favorite AR by far, wilson med ss barrel, light, very,very accurate 2 stage match trigger. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
Be prepared to wait!!! With all that has been going on i wouldn't be surprised if you wait the better part of a year for your rifle. Good luck and good choice! Lee
 
Be sure to add the two-stage match trigger from RRA. It's worth the extra bucks. How long are they telling you it will take to deliver your rifle?

Woo
 
Wheel10 - Another thought for you to ponder. I ordered a matched RRA upper and lower and then shipped it to D-Tech to build. It really doesn't cost that much more and you will have a rifle as good as it can possibly get.
As far as the 16" you had better figure on wearing hearing protection. You will love the Hogue I have that as well on mine.
You will have a long wait. I have another RRA upper and lower ordered and have been told that mid summer will be the earliest.
 
Have you looked into buying the RRA Coyote? once you do all of the upgrades to the A4 you will be close to what the Coyote will cost. Plus if you buy the Coyote you might be able find it instock at one of Rock River Arms stocking dealers.
 
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+ 1 on the predator pursuit. The only upgrade you will need is your hogue
front tube which is around 35.00 I think. Comes with the 2 stage trigger.
 
Thanks all. I am told the wait will be 14-18 weeks. I had thought about the coyote model but they have been very hard to find. I saw one on Gunbroker and it went for around 1300-1400. The CAR is $765 + 15 for the grip + 75 for the handguard + 10 for the winter guard. $865. That's with the 2 stage trigger. Also I like the lighweight barrel option over the heavy barreled RRA coyote. hoping to be around 6.5 lbs bare bones. plus I don't like all the front end weight. Thanks again. Mike
 
FYI, I think my RRA CAR A4 weighs 7 lbs bare, pretty sure RRA advertises them as 7.1 lbs also. I dont think you'll get an AR under 7lbs unless you go to a "govt profile" or other slimmer than H-Bar barrel. They are nice rifles by the way.
 
Great rifles, but I built 2 for less than the one I had on order and sold mine with out firing a shot. $1400.00 is a lot of money to be waiting 6 months for. Just my Humble opinion.

Mike
 
Like I said, not planning on spending $1400. Mine is $865. Greyhunter, I think you have the HBAR barrel on your CAR which gives it the advertised weight of 7.1 lbs. I am going to go with the lightweight barrel. If you go to their website you can see just how much slimmer this barrel is. Putting the order in tomorrow, hurry with any more suggestions. Mike
 
Yep, mine is the Hbar. I didnt catch that you were ordering it with the lightweight barrel, you will probably be glad you did in the long run.
 
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