Rock River, DPMS, and balance

[Ted Bell]

Had to travel to Birmingham, AL this weekend for a wedding, and was able to run into my old gun shop for a few minutes (very few- wife and kids waited in the car.)  They had a Rock River LAR-8 and a DPMS LR-308.  I was surprised by the difference in balance between the two - the RRA was very well balanced, while the DPMS was noticeably barrel heavy.  The two guns had different stocks - the RRA had the standard A2 stock, while the DPMS had a Mako SSR-25 stock.  I was wondering if the difference in stocks had any influence on the difference in balance? I'm planning on putting a Magpul stock on whatever I get - is there a difference in weight between an A2 stock and the Magpul that it will change the COG?  Or can I be comfortable in that the way the gun feels before changing the stock is going to be very close to how it feels after?

Second thought- given how well the RRA LAR-8 felt to me, I'm seriously considering one of those.  What, if any, are the down sides to the LAR-8?  Anything I should be aware of?  How is it's out of the box accuracy?

Thanks,

Ted

[JD]

I don't think the stock would make a big difference in balance, the barrel contour would.  If the RRA feels better and you have no company preference, buy it. I don't know anyone who owns an RRA .308 but I've read some magazine articles that give them excellent accuracy reports with the right ammo, no different than any other rifle. The only negative I can think of would be the selection of the mags, it's their way or the highway.

For what it's worth, I own a RRA .223 Coyote rifle and it's the most accurate rifle I've ever owned. It loves HSM 50 gr Vmax(ultra accurate) and Hornady 55 gr sft points. I'm damn near wetting my pants right now in anticipation of shooting Pdogs this spring.

[roberts]

I have a RRA Standard Operator which has now been to the range only twice. First time out shooting So. African battle pack ammo it shot into about 2.5 inches at 100 yds. With about 50 shots through it improved to about half that and still seems to be  getting better. I think that when I get some real accuracy grade ammo I will see marked improvement.

The rifle is a little muzzle heavy. in my opinion, I mostly shoot it off the bench, so it doesn't matter too much.

Overall I am very pleased with the rifle and would buy it again. That doesn't mean that it won't eventually get a light weight 6.5 Grendle or .358 Winchester upper at some point for the piggie business.