Need Reviews for the RRA LAR 8 Standard A4

[ironpreacher]

I've been thinking about getting into the AR10 game & with my Highpower background immediately started to gravitate toward the RRA.

Does anyone here own/shoot the LAR 8 A4 Standard?  

I'd like to hunt with it & shoot some tactical steel matches, so I'd be taking it out to 1K, but I can't find much info on how they group at distance.

So any info would be appreciated.

[sketch]

RRA is its own opposed to ar10 but .308 shoots the same and I love my predator RRA! As for hunting naa its heavy as a bench gun! And then sum. 

Im sure you can configure any RRA but most likley with their parts not armilite? To some extent.. Reserch?! I wish I had more to offer here! We need more RRA people  ;)

[shepp]

What sketch is trying to say is all AR-10's are 308AR's but not all 308AR's are AR10's. The name ar-10 is armilites brand name. We only correct people to help eliminate confusion in the long run. 

I had a RRA elite operator on order for 8 months and I wanted a 308 AR before deer season, so I ended up canceling my order.

welcome to the forum

[ironpreacher]

What sketch is trying to say is all AR-10's are 308AR's but not all 308AR's are AR10's. The name ar-10 is armilites brand name. We only correct people to help eliminate confusion in the long run. 

I had a RRA elite operator on order for 8 months and I wanted a 308 AR before deer season, so I ended up canceling my order.

welcome to the forum

Thanks for the welcome.

I know people can be persnickety with the whole AR10 labels, but the term "AR 10" has reached the same point as "AR15" or "kleenex" IMO.  But fair enough.

My gas gun has been an M1A for years & I'm thinking it time to get into something that offers more in the way of optics.  I've nosed around on several forums & it seems like most folks who shoot LAR 8's shoot their varmint or operator versions.  

[shepp]

Thanks for the welcome.

I know people can be persnickety with the whole AR10 labels, but the term "AR 10" has reached the same point as "AR15" or "kleenex" IMO.  But fair enough.

My gas gun has been an M1A for years & I'm thinking it time to get into something that offers more in the way of optics.  I've nosed around on several forums & it seems like most folks who shoot LAR 8's shoot their varmint or operator versions.  

there's a reason for it tho and I myself have used the Kleenex reference. But when you say hey guys what bolt should I get for my AR10, but your gun is a dpms pattern or in this case RRA LR8 it's going to cause confusion. Not trying to be an ass it just eliminates problems in the long run. 

[planeflyer21]

And one of our members just brought this issue up to a manufacturer, who sells "an AR10 that is DPMS pattern", apparently oblivious that "AR10" is a registered trademark to Armalite.

Us LAR-8 fans prefer the proper terminology, primarily because it irritates Rsquared.  

My buddy sold his LAR-8 because with his pet handloads he couldn't get it to group less than 5/8" at 100 yards.

[ironpreacher]

there's a reason for it tho and I myself have used the Kleenex reference. But when you say hey guys what bolt should I get for my AR10, but your gun is a dpms pattern or in this case RRA LR8 it's going to cause confusion. Not trying to be an ass it just eliminates problems in the long run. 

No worries, I understand completely.

[ironpreacher]

And one of our members just brought this issue up to a manufacturer, who sells "an AR10 that is DPMS pattern", apparently oblivious that "AR10" is a registered trademark to Armalite.

Us LAR-8 fans prefer the proper terminology, primarily because it irritates Rsquared.  

My buddy sold his LAR-8 because with his pet handloads he couldn't get it to group less than 5/8" at 100 yards.

Do you recall what version your friend's LAR 8 was?

[unforgiven]

I have the Lar-8 Standard Operator, has run flawless.It's 14.5 lbs. with a full steel mag.I have RRA in 5.56 also ,they have been without issue.Damn good products.Welcome from Indiana brother.Can't go wrong with whatever you chose.

[planeflyer21]

Do you recall what version your friend's LAR 8 was?

He had a Varminter, not sure which stock.

[ironpreacher]

I have the Lar-8 Standard Operator, has run flawless.It's 14.5 lbs. with a full steel mag.I have RRA in 5.56 also ,they have been without issue.Damn good products.Welcome from Indiana brother.Can't go wrong with whatever you chose.

Thanks!  When I lived in Louisville I wandered in S. Indiana quite a bit & thought it was an awesome state.

 

What kind of groups are you pulling out of your Standard Operator?

[Rsquared]

Us LAR-8 fans prefer the proper terminology, primarily because it irritates Rsquared.  

And you think that that's all you do that irritates me?       laughing 

[planeflyer21]

And you think that that's all you do that irritates me?       laughing 

 

Uh, yeah...pretty sure that's it.  ROFL

[beeks]

I know so many people that swear by RRA 223's.  I'd really like to get my hands on their national match 223.  However, when you turn to the 308 platform, RRA went their own direction.  The lack of parts interchangeability with the more standard DPMS or Armalite turns me away from RRA.  I'd expect the quality to be excellent, but if you want to make an upgrade you may find the options are far more limited.  That's my 2 cents anyway.

[Tripledeuce]

OK,,,,,,,,,,,   Parts interchangeability.    I have an LAR8,   its fitted with a DPMS bbl in .260 rem.   Shoots under 3/4' all day.

   Only parts I'v found that ARE NOT interchangable are the bolt carrier  and the mag lock parts and the front handguards.

    I'v had several different bbls on the upper.   308, 260, and 338 federal being the most used.

   Wife and I have both RRA and DPMS style guns in the safe.  My favorite is the RRA 260.

  Respectfully

  Terry

[ironpreacher]

OK,,,,,,,,,,,   Parts interchangeability.    I have an LAR8,   its fitted with a DPMS bbl in .260 rem.   Shoots under 3/4' all day.

   Only parts I'v found that ARE NOT interchangable are the bolt carrier  and the mag lock parts and the front handguards.

    I'v had several different bbls on the upper.   308, 260, and 338 federal being the most used.

   Wife and I have both RRA and DPMS style guns in the safe.  My favorite is the RRA 260.

  Respectfully

  Terry

Awesome.  Thank you so much for this reply.

Parts interchangeability has been one of my concerns.  That if I got one & didn't like how it shot whether I could or couldn't change out the barrels.

If I pull the trigger on this, I'd like to have the option of installing a Lilja barrel or something if I didn't like how it grouped.

I've also thought hard about the 260.  But I really don't want to add another caliber to the reloading line up.

Did you do the barrel change outs yourself?  If so, what ft/lb did you have to torque the barrel nut to?

Edited August 30, 2015 by ironpreacher

[unforgiven]

Haven't measured group sizes,the rifle shoots better than me.As a lefty all the ambi features especially the bolt release are perfect.I you expect to make alot of changes put a .308 AR together.Just keep the upper/lower matching to minimize problems.DPMS parts work better for that application.Just my 2 mags.The land in the southern part of the state changes quite a bit it is a very nice area.

[98Z5V]

    If I pull the trigger on this, I'd like to have the option of installing a Lilja barrel or something if I didn't like how it grouped.

 

Did you do the barrel change outs yourself?  If so, what ft/lb did you have to torque the barrel nut to?

RRA barrels are pretty damn good.  Don't worry about getting a shitty barrel - you won't.

Barrel nut torque is the same as the AR-15.  30~80lb/ft.

[Tripledeuce]

98  has it.   30=80FT #.  And yes, I'v done all my own work.   Been a profesional smith for 48 years, but just learning AR's.  So, perhaps I don't take All the warnings as seariously as some.     Check, measure, check again.   try things out.

   i HAVE  found a number of AR bbls with the chambers out of spec.   DPMS seem to use chambering reamers that are to small in the body diameter.   People say "shoot them in" when actually the chambers need to be reamed to "std" diameters so pressure dosent go up.   Shooting a tight chamber won't help, oh you can do it.   But pressres WILL be higher than they should be.  That causes un-due wear to other parts.  And, eventually leads to premature parts failure, and other problems.

   At one gun show, I found a vender with 100 new bbls.   All had "fluted" chambers, which caused the brass to come out, after firing with 6 "flutes" ( flat sides) on the brass.   That comes from reamer chatter.  Guy wasen't happy, but I reminded him it was better to find out now, then after he sold them, and they trashed  his rep.

     I think some of these "new" companys need to hire a "real" gunsmith to check thing out, befor shipping out sub=standard parts, but thats just me,

    Sorry, off my sopbox, now.

  Respectfully

  Terry

[planeflyer21]

98  has it.   30=80FT #.  And yes, I'v done all my own work.   Been a profesional smith for 48 years, but just learning AR's.  So, perhaps I don't take All the warnings as seariously as some.     Check, measure, check again.   try things out.

  Respectfully

  Terry

Exactly.  The warnings certain manufacturers give about being proprietary are probably thought up by their legal department.

Kind of silly to say "The threads and parts may measure and appear to be the same but they are different," always smacked of legalese to me.

[ironpreacher]

98  has it.   30=80FT #.  And yes, I'v done all my own work.   Been a profesional smith for 48 years, but just learning AR's.  So, perhaps I don't take All the warnings as seariously as some.     Check, measure, check again.   try things out.

   i HAVE  found a number of AR bbls with the chambers out of spec.   DPMS seem to use chambering reamers that are to small in the body diameter.   People say "shoot them in" when actually the chambers need to be reamed to "std" diameters so pressure dosent go up.   Shooting a tight chamber won't help, oh you can do it.   But pressres WILL be higher than they should be.  That causes un-due wear to other parts.  And, eventually leads to premature parts failure, and other problems.

   At one gun show, I found a vender with 100 new bbls.   All had "fluted" chambers, which caused the brass to come out, after firing with 6 "flutes" ( flat sides) on the brass.   That comes from reamer chatter.  Guy wasen't happy, but I reminded him it was better to find out now, then after he sold them, and they trashed  his rep.

     I think some of these "new" companys need to hire a "real" gunsmith to check thing out, befor shipping out sub=standard parts, but thats just me,

    Sorry, off my sopbox, now.

  Respectfully

  Terry

Thank you Terry for the info.

I've done a few .223 AR uppers & try to get them right at 30 ft/lbs.  A guy who built his own match guns said that that was the optimal pressure for accuracy.

I've thought about just building my own .308AR, but the price difference on a factory one with a 1 MOA rating isn't far off from the price of me piecing one together.

And I'm a long way from being a professional smith.

[98Z5V]

^^^  I always go to 30lb/ft three times.  Set it at 30 again, and just go to the next possible alignment to fit it.  I try to keep them as light as possible. 

[Tripledeuce]

You don't need to be a gunsmith to put together an AR.   BUT,   you do need a lot of tools.Torque wrench,  headspace gauges, forarm nut wrench,pin punches, roll pin starter punches, roll pin punches, etc.

    Unless your going to put several together, it may be cheaper to buy one assembled.

    I' put them together with pressure from 30-50#.   Just what I needed  to get the holes to line up.   Never noticed an accuracy difference.

   Respectfully

  Terry