Self Defense

Rock River Arms LAR-15 RRAGE Carbine

Other features of the RRAGE include a 16-inch medium-profile chrome moly barrel rifled at a twist rate of 1:9 inches, A2 flash hider threaded at 1/2” x 28 TPI, carbine length gas system with low-profile gas block sitting directly ahead of the short handguard, an abbreviated shell deflector, Rock River Arms 6-position CAR buttstock, an A2 hand grip and 100% Mil-Spec controls, including a single-stage trigger. Empty weight with 30-round polymer magazine is an exceedingly-light 5.7 pounds.

On notable absence it the typical RRA two-stage trigger, replaced with a Mil-Spec single-stage unit on the RRAGE. Again, however, it’s a fair tradeoff, and something the owner can easily add down the road if desired. At only $120, and with a proven track record, Rock River’s own two-stage trigger would make a great replacement.

Despite the heavy Mil-Spec trigger—each having their own distinctly-different pull characteristics to master during bench testing—our test rifle proved you’re not giving up anything in the precision department with this 0.74-inch, 100-yard five-shot group. Top honors went to Federal Premium 69-gr. Matchking BTHP, but most other top-shelf ammo also went 1-MOA or better.

For testing we mounted an EOTech ESPX2 holographic sight with the brand new green illuminated dot-in-circle reticle onto the rifle’s top rail. For reliability testing at 25 and 100 yards we fired a variety of 5.56 NATO and .223 Rem. ammunition at steel-plate targets, all without any fanfare or failures of any type. The trigger, however, did present a challenge at 100 yards.

Once we learned the peculiarities of this specific Mil-Spec trigger, however (every one seems to have a different pull-weight and stacking sequence to master when precision shot placement is the task at hand), the RRAGE gave us great performance at 100-yards from the bench. With our trusted Nightforce (nightforce.com) 4-15×56 SHV riflescope mounted, our best group of the day measured 0.74-inches using Federal Premium 69-grain Matchking BTHP ammo. That’s great performance from any AR-carbine, let alone a “budget priced” one. Similar one-MOA or better performance was seen with top-shelf loads from other manufacturers. Like most every-other Rock River Arms rifle we’ve tested over the years, this one’s a shooter.

The RRAGE ate everything we fed it during reliability- and bench-testing without hiccup, and holds up the level of performance we’ve come to expect from Rock River Arms after testing these rifles for the past 16-years. If you’re budget falls within the $700 range this is an AR you can’t go wrong with. The RRAGE ships with one 30-round Rock River Arms polymer magazine.

If you’re in the market for a top-pick AR in the $700 price range, you don’t need to look a whole lot further than the 2018 On Target Editors’ Choice Award winning RRAGE. See this new carbine at your firearms retailer, or for more information contact Rock River Arms; Tel.: (866) 980-Rock; Web: www.rockriverarms.com

Specifications:

MSRP: Starting at $759.95

Caliber/Gauge: 5.56x45mm NATO

Barrel: 16-inch chrome moly, 1:9 Twist

OA Length: 36 inches extended

Weight: 5.7-pounds

Sights: Flat top rail

Stocks/Grips: RRA 6-position, A2 grip

Action: Rotating bolt, direct gas impingement

Finish: Hard anodized

Capacity: AR-15 .223/5.56 compatible