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Rock River LAR-8 Predator HP 20" .308WIN

Rock River Arms Standard Predator HP LAR-8 (308WIN)

Rock River Predator HP .308WIN (308A1532)

Retail $1,875.00

Our Price: $1,400.00

You save $475.00!

Availability: Currently Out of Stock
Product Code: 308A1532

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Description

Additional Information

Low prices on the Rock River Predator HP in .308WIN start at Champion Firearms-

It's All About Accuracy. Rock River Arms has been in the manufacturing business since 1996, making them relatively ancient for the AR world. Brothers Mark and Chuck Larson are the owners of the Colona, Illinois based company. Between 1981 and 1991, the two worked at Springfield Armory, where Mark was the head armorer. From there, the Larson's then went into business with Les Baer to form Les Baer Custom and specialized in manufacturing premium 1911 pistols.

In 1993, the two parted ways with Baer and began building AR-15's for Eagle Arms in Coal Valley, Illinois. At the same time, they formed their own company, which became known as Rock River Arms. In 1997, the Larson's severed ties with Eagle Arms after the company was acquired by ArmaLite. In 2003, after outperforming 10 other leading manufacturers in rifle testing trials, Rock River was awarded the DEA contract to supply the agency with 5,000 AR-15's. As a direct result of winning the contract, Rock River also began supplying the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service under piggy back contracts.

At the heart of the Rock River Predator HP design is its direct gas impingement system. Gas is tapped from the barrel as the bullet passes by the port located below the rifle's front gas block. The gas then rushes into the port and down a gas tube located above the barrel and into the upper receiver. From there, the gas tube funnels into the bolt carrier.

This gas system unlocks the bolt and begins the cycling process, but only after the bullet has exited the barrel. Direct gas impingement has several advantages over gas piston systems. First and foremost, impingement systems are usually lighter in weight. They also tend to be more accurate, less expensive to manufacture and much easier to free- float the barrel.

Unlike other AR-10 manufacturers, Rock River does not build their rifles in an assembly line process. Instead, a skilled armorer is dedicated to building just the lower assembly while another armorer is in charge of strictly building the upper. Once the lower and upper assemblies have been completed, yet another armorer is in charge of fitting them together. Every major component of the Predator HP starts out as either bar stock or a forging.

Upper and lower receivers are made from forged and mil-spec 7075-T6 aluminum alloy that is then anodized to a surface hardness of 70 on the Rockwell scale. All components are held to extremely tight tolerances to ensure maximum accuracy. After final machining, each receiver is carefully polished to remove dings, scratches or any other minor imperfections left over from the forging and milling process.

Once polished to a perfect mirror sheen, the receivers are then bead blasted and sent out for hard coat anodizing. This polishing step is unique and the reason why minor receiver imperfections normally found in front of the magazine well on other rifles are not encountered on Rock Rivers. Smaller parts like the bolt stop, safety and trigger components are investment castings made from 8620 steel that are case hardened between 89 and 92 Rockwell.

After installation, the barrel's feed ramp is highly polished and contoured into the upper receiver, thus eliminating the common "step" between the barrel extension's feed ramp and upper receiver that are found on most AR-10 rifles. As a result, Rock River enjoys significantly improved reliability with all types of .308WIN ammunition. Once the rifle is fitted, the barrel is lapped and additional touches made to ensure superior workmanship, accuracy and quality.

The Rock River Predator HP is equipped with a 20- inch 416-R stainless steel heavy barrel that is cryogenically treated in-house. Built by Wilson Arms, not to be confused with Wilson Combat, the Connecticut based company has been in the business of manufacturing high quality, button rifled barrels for over 60- years. Wilson makes the barrel, then flutes and cuts the chamber. Rock River hits the chamber with a finish reamer and cryogenically treats the entire barrel.

Even though the exact process is a closely guarded secret, what is known is that Rock River gradually takes the barrel down to 300- degrees below zero in precise stages, then incrementally brings the temperature back up again to 200- degrees above zero to provide maximum stress relief and ensure accuracy.

Though the .308 chamber drawing is also a guarded intellectual property of Rock River, the company has stated that the process is generous around the cartridge body, but has a standard throat with a shorter, steeper leade. This shorter leade works well for .308WIN/7.62X51 because the 7.62 NATO cartridges are loaded to a lower pressure than the .308WIN.

The aluminum free-float handguard is a bit larger than most other manufacturer's include, but is designed to dissipate heat more efficiently under sustained fire. It has been knurled to provide a positive grip surface and is hard coat anodized to offer a lifetime of reliable service. A Hogue grip further improves handling and control.

The Predator HP includes the best production 2- stage trigger on the market and is a standard feature on most Rock River rifles. While iron sights are not included with the package, a Picatinny flat-top receiver provides a solid platform to mount optics. The Operator A2 buttstock mounts firmly to a shooter's shoulder pocket, while providing solid cheek weld when used in conjunction with optics.

Unique to the LAR-8 line of AR-10 rifles is the fact it is engineered to accept FN-FAL pattern magazines-- either inch or metric pattern. Back when the Rock River .308 rifle was on the drawing board, there were millions of surplus FAL magazines on the world market and since the FAL is considered the overall most successful 7.62NATO battle rifle, the move made sense. However, after almost six decades of service, these FAL surplus magazines are beginning to show their age.

Luckily, Rock River is now producing a wide assortment of affordably priced polymer FAL magazines. For years, Rock River fans have been clamoring for an LAR-8 that accepts Stoner (Magpul) pattern magazines, but the likelihood of this becoming reality remains fairly slim as it would mean eliminating one of the most popular features of the rifle-- its ambidextrous release lever.

While many other AR manufacturers insist on MPI (Magnetic Particle Inspection) and HPT (High Pressure Testing) every part to ensure that parts will not fail, Rock River disagrees. The company feels MPI and HPT fatigues parts and should only be conducted on random parts to ensure batch quality, and those tested parts should never be installed in a customer's rifle.

This attention to detail on every aspect of the rifle, combined with Rock River's renown tight lower-to-upper fit, ensures a solid build every time. The rifle carries an impressive 1" accuracy guaranty and is backed by the company's lifetime warranty. Overall, the Predator HP is a well- built, extremely accurate and highly reliable AR-10 rifle that is 100% built here in the U.S.A.