Rock River best ar-15 option for 1000$?

If I was in the market for a basic rifle in the $1K range, I'd be looking at the likes of Colt and Bravo Company.

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There is no best AR anymore than there is a best motorcycle.

There are so many variations available the best manufacturer's variant to choose will depend on what your application is what your preferences are.

For example a Colt M4 clone is probably a more durable build than anything RRA makes, but personally I can't stand carbine gas systems, cut outs in the barrel, mil-spec triggers, or milspec telescoping buttstocks.

What do you want to do with this rifle? Home defense, carbine classes, paper punch, varmint hunt, hog hunt, Service Rifle, plink at the range, a mix? All of that makes a big difference.

RRA makes an accurate rifle. I feel they skip many of the corners to be a hard use rifle that focuses on reliability above all else. That's not to say RRA makes unreliable rifles. If I wanted a rifle built more towards shooting small groups in a factory offered option, RRA would be towards the top of the list. If I wanted something that had to go bang every time and was going to see harder use, they would be towards the bottom of my list.

Some features should be present on any AR and some are use specific. RRA fits a few given uses very well but, and this is my opinion, they fall far behind the curve for other uses. I would take a good look at my desired use first and buy from there. If accuracy was first priority they are hard to beat for the dollar. If not they quickly fall to middle of the pack at best.

I think benzy nailed it.

What are you wanting to do with the rifle?

slash415 said:

My primary use will be target shooting and a little varmint hunting.

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The RRA well fill that role very well.

For a little less than $1000, you can buy a RRA Predator Pursuit, which shoots one-hole groups @ !00 yds with bulk ammo. Or, you can spend $2500+ on a Wilson Combat, etc., that won't shoot as accurately as the Predator Pursuit. Check out Adco online.

between S&W and RRA, i would go with RRA if you want to shoot national match, otherwise i would go with the S&W for everything else. RRA makes a great, ready to shoot, National Match AR. I've had a S&W for 4 years. The S&W has been the most solid rifle i've owned. For a carbine the S&W is accurate, 1-1/2- MOA with XM193, 1 MAO or better with Match ammo.

As said by someone else, Bravo makes a quality AR. If you want a M4 clone, get a Colt.

Go with the RRA. They make a solid rifle (so do some others mentioned above), but if its the one you've your eye on, do it. You certainly wont be let down. I have been through several ARs, most perform about the same, given they are similar models. Don't even own one anymore, not that they are not worth having. Just me.

For target shooting and a little varmint hunting the RRA would be right at the top of my list. They make a very accurate rifle, most holding a 3/4 or 1 MOA guarantee with quality ammo. Many of the other highly recommended rifles focus much more on reliability and durability, which with that often comes a loss in accuracy (sometimes only a minimal loss, and for a lot of money, no loss).

I would check the staking on the gas key when it gets home. They tend to skimp on the staking but it's an easy, quick fix. Their barrels and carbine extension tubes are a pain in the butt to get off. The put red thread lock on them so if you plan to change either the stock tube or the barrel fairly early on I'd just know that's coming. Some argue that the thread locker on the barrel extension into the receiver and on the barrel nut allows for a more accurate rifle, don't know personally, but it can have challenges to remove if the time comes. If those aren't things you plan to do any time soon, I wouldn't worry about it and would enjoy an accurate rifle.

I own the RRA and my brother owns a Bushmaster. Both rifles are pigs when it comes to shooting bullets. My brother went a hole year without cleaning his bushmaster just keeping the bolt wet and running a patch with oil through the barrel without a single malfunction and several thousand rounds throughout the year.

MY RRA shoots brass and steel cartridges and I have yet to have a malfunction. The two stage trigger that comes with my RRA is great too. It is my experience that many people will drop names and pay for name brand because that is what gives them security but they pay top dollar. So of course I would expect nothing less from a manufacturer that charges top dollar but reliability.

What you must ask your self is will you get your money's worth. How much time do you really have to enjoy your rifle and shoot it. Once a week twice a week, once a month or less frequent. My predator pursuit I got for $1125 and shot .680 5 shot groups at 100 yds. My brother paid $800 for his bushmaster through CDNN, and we both hit silhouettes and targets at 500 yds using 3-9x40 scopes.

RRA is pretty well regarded. Enjoy.

Watch your lane!

If accuracy was first priority they are hard to beat for the dollar.

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+1 on that. My RRA ATH is a tack driver.

M+p is a great weapon but a RRA is going to most likely be more accurate....as far as quality they both are well made..the RRA ATH is fantastic...ThePredator pursuit is what i built for 1200 but that was with upgrades...u could easily build it for 800-1000...depending if you want a 2 stage trigger and which stock....dont forget to get a nice scope to...u can check out my build of a RRA PP ...thread is my first AR build....i list the upgrades and stuff i had used and how much my total build cost

RRA

20" rock river eop. It will fill those 2 roles nicely.

My primary use will be target shooting and a little varmint hunting.

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You could do much worse than RRA for your intended purpose.

If hunting's in the mix, I think I'd go with a lightweight instead of a heavy barreled gun like a Predator? I guess it depends on how much moving you're going to be doing?
I think when I bought my two RRAs (got a couple of Colts also), they were 'bout the only folks that guaranteed X accuracy - think my Entry Tactical and LE Tacticals both had a 1" MOA guarantee on 'em. Some other folks may have guaranteed accuracy, but it was usually buried deep in the fine print (RRA always stuck theirs out front), and they never seemed to have quite the accuracy guarantee of the RRAs.
RRA is also known for having some of the best workmanship / quality on ARs - I've seen numerous folks at the shop buy other brands, then get an Accuwedge to take out the slop between the upper / lower (yeah, I know it's not supposed to affect accuracy, but I like the close tolerances of the RRA upper / lower).
I think someone in here recently posted on their build of a Stag? lower and RRA upper, commenting on how much better finished the RRA upper looked (he knew this ahead of time).

Anywho...it does appear Daniel Defense or Bravo Company (and of course, Colt) get good reviews in the ultimate reliability department, but a lot of stuff folks knock RRA for AFA (theoretical) reliability are relatively easy / cheap fixes which you could do first time you have to swap parts out for maintenance (if you do).

RRA is great for that purpose. You might also look at the offerings from White Oak Armory... if you put together your own lower and get one of their uppers, you can wind up with a higher quality rifle for not much more than the RRA. But for an out-of-the-box tack driver, it is hard to beat the RRA.