Expensive, Designer ARs In Mid-Range Calibers
BY Herschel Smith
8 years ago
RTH Firearms today released its first semiautomatic production rifle chambered in 6.5x47mm Lapua or 6.5mm Creedmoor precision cartridges.
These rifles achieve amazing precision, hitting below sub-MOA at 100 yards with the ability to reach 1,400 yards with very little felt recoil.
Here is a picture of it.
Sweet rifle, yes? Here is the web site, and here is the URL for the gun. Now get ready for the sticker shock. Are you ready?
$6,899.99.
We covered precision shooting and semi-automatic mid-range caliber rifles before, and I noted that the guns were in that price range as well, most of them special order guns. They’re not shelf guns, they’re not even mid-range priced. These aren’t even highly priced, as you can get designated marksman rifles that will shoot < 1 MOA for much less than that.
I’m sure this gun is nice, but folks, what good is it, realistically, to have a gun that shoots < 1 MOA as compared to a gun that shoots 1 MOA, unless you’re a professional precision shooter or a professional sniper in the military? And not only that, what good is it to have a gun that can shoot better than you can?
I admitted to my failures several weekends ago, failures that had to do with not checking my dope before I started shooting, and failing eyesight forcing me to consider a higher power scope. Perhaps with perfect eyesight (uncorrected), years of experience, and your livelihood depending upon accuracy, it makes sense to worry over this sort of thing.
I suppose that they are targeting the very people I said would be interested in this gun, rather than the typical man who has trouble affording even much less than that, even for a really nice AR. It would be nice to have a mid-range caliber AR that shoots well and doesn’t tear the gun up (like I hear about AR-10s and the .308), but until manufacturers are able to pull the price down by a wide margin, this isn’t going to happen for the common man. They won’t be making many of these guns.
In the mean time, it’s easy enough to take my really nice ARs and slap a .300 Blackout upper receiver on it (which takes 10 seconds) and have a really nice mid-caliber AR that shoots 1 MOA or slightly less, which is as good as I can shoot anyway.
On December 1, 2016 at 12:12 am, Josh said:
Weekly reminder that the most prolific wartime sniper in history, Simo Häyhä, used a Finish Mosin Nagant with iron sights. 505 confirmed kills. Iron sights. No fancy floating.
The gear does not make the shooter when the application is practical in nature.
On December 1, 2016 at 11:35 am, Col. Douglas Mortimer said:
I don’t mind the color scheme so much, but I look at that and all I see are pounds to carry around.
On December 3, 2016 at 12:33 pm, Horatio Bunce said:
From what I remember most kills were also 100 yards or less .
On December 3, 2016 at 12:53 pm, Josh said:
Where do you remember this from? I would take issue with that notion for a number of reasons, not the least of which is being in the kind of proximity to the enemy would place him badly out of position. The soviets couldn’t locate him, and so they spread artillery fire hoping to catch him in its net (which eventually happened and took off a quarter of his face).
I would conjecture most of his kills were probably in the 500m range, given the terrain, his skill, the ballistics of the round he most often used, the shortened variant of MN, etc.
The point still stands, however. The gear does not make the shooter when the application is practical.
On December 3, 2016 at 2:28 pm, Horatio Bunce said:
I will dig through my archives . As I said , it is from what I remember . May not be accurate . Although he was close enough to allow troops to get within sub machine gun range and it is said he killed 200 with that , which are not included in his sniper total .
On December 1, 2016 at 8:40 am, Blake said:
I’d by an HCAR before I’d buy one of those. And I’d have money left over.
I don’t see the reason for semi-auto precision rifles. The very nature of long range shooting says that semi’s aren’t going to be faster at reacquiring a target, at long range, than a bolt gun.
On December 1, 2016 at 8:57 am, Billy Mullins said:
My FNAR is sub-MOA (unlike its owner) along with being semi-auto and having available a 20-round magazine. It costs about the same as a decent AR-15 type PLUS shoots the more powerful 7.62X51/.308 Win. Additionally, it is black (to make the proggies piss their panties) and looks exactly like what it is – a killing machine. I happen to think it is a beautiful machine although I am frequently disagreed with.
Here’s a photo in essentially the configuration in which I have mine. You folks decide:
http://cdn.gun-tests.com/media/newspics/FNM0136.jpg
On December 1, 2016 at 11:12 am, Col. Douglas Mortimer said:
If you have the money to burn, go for it. To each his own, a fair bit out of my price range or purpose. But I think these days it is fairly standard with modern manufacturing/tech to come up with a sub 1MOA gun for far less money.
On December 2, 2016 at 12:32 pm, Ned Weatherby said:
I previously posted your link to the YouTube post regarding the test of the different priced lightweight ARs. That video tells a typical tale of what’s available and the reliability of “cheap” and “expensive” AR platform rifles.
funny thing – I have an old DPMS (from before they peddled the latest, IMO, “Etronic” (new and improved) G2 308. That rifle cost under 800 bux. It can shoot 5, 60 gr flat base handloads into a half inch at 200 yards with a 4 power scope.
I think it’s great that some people can afford the guns listed above. But one can certainly build one for less, with similar accuracy and dependability results, if some tools, education and skills are proqired first.
On December 3, 2016 at 1:08 pm, Horatio Bunce said:
For less than 4k I would rather have the D&L AR-15 setup that beat the Cooper 20/20/20 challenge . Would I ever need it ? Probably not .
Do I need sub MOA ? Well , I don’t shoot competition . But I do hit what I intend to . My Rem 700 has done well enough taking out prarie dogs up to 600 yards away . My Norinco SKS bangs a 10×10 gong at 200 yards offhand at a round a second ( open sights) . Other firearms I have fit into the 100-1000 yard realm .
I am a practical shooter . Geared for hunting . The aim is kill zones , and that is what I practice for . If I were shooting 1000 yards at smaller game I may want a sub MOA gun .Just don’t see myself ever doing that .
On December 5, 2016 at 2:47 pm, Pat Hines said:
I’m building another AR-15 in 6.5 Grendel, this time with an 18 inch barrel. I’m sure It will have potential well in excess of my shooting ability. I just don’t need a AR-10 format AR, much less one for that price. My new build should come in under $1,000.00.
I like the round and there is low cost practice ammo available, at least three factories providing match ammo for it for about a buck a round.