The PredatOBR
This thread will be a Evolving Thread as new Large Frame Barrels come in, to include Craddocks new RTR barrel line which will be arriving next week.
As many of you know with the 2013 release of the Larue PredatOBR it's claim to fame is it's ability to be broken down into a compact package with multiple Calibers and quickly assembled, you know incase you need to have a Airplane drop to shoot down those pesky drones.
The idea behind a Switch Barrel Modular Rifle System with the renowned Larue quality machine work sounded pretty damn enticing, and would definitely give the LMT MWS a good run for it's money.
Because I already have the other two Larue Large Frame Gassers dialed in I wanted to do something different with the tOBR.
It's no secret that I enjoy testing and reviewing Large and Small Frame rifles and barrels from various manufacturers, and what better platform to conduct Large Frame Barrel testing on but the PredatOBR with its quick change barrel system?
I wanted to make the tOBR as versatile as possible so a purchased both Handguard length of 12.4" and 14.5" gives me the capability to run multiple barrel lengths.
Getting tired of the old reliable Black Rifle look I decided to have the tOBR Cerakoted in Midnight Bronze to compliment the FDE furniture.
Current Build Sheet is as follows:
Paul Ross 20" 6.5CM Bartlein / 1-8 Twist / 4 Groove / Rifle Length +1 Gas System / .800 Gas Block Journal / Medium Weight M110 Contour / 5/8x24 Threads.
Paul Ross 16.5" .308 Bartlein / 1-10 Twist / 4 Groove / Intermediate Length Gas System / .800 Gas Block Journal / Medium Weight M110 Contour / 5/8x24 Threads. (STILL AWAITING DELIVERY)
As of two days ago I had a place holder for the 16.5" .308 Bartlein and have been using a like new (2011) Take Off 16" LW-50 Pre XTRAXN OBR Barrel that I've had for years, definitely the best Larue Barrel I've ever Scoped and a absolute pleasure to shoot in it's compact configuration. The Precision Armament Hypertap Muzzle brake is extremely effective with the shorter .308 Barrels, easily reducing the recoil by over 50-60% and giving a very linear straight to the rear recoil impulse.
I had it cut down to 14.5" opened up the gas ports and Pin And Welded a Precision Armament Hypertap muzzle brake. The barrel is in pristine condition that is used mostly for plinking cheaper factory ammo, but it's no slouch in the accuracy department. I've never seen it shoot FGMM 168 over .75 MOA, usually averages .60 MOA or less.
Magpul FDE PRS Lite Stock.
JP H2 SCS.
Raidian Ambi Charging Handle.
Magpul MOE K2-XL Grip.
Battle Arms Development 60/90 Ambi Saftey.
Triggertech AR10 Diamond 2 Stage Trigger.
JP Left Side Magazine Release.
Strike Industries Enhanced Bolt Catch and Extended Right Side Magazine Release.
Larue HP Bolt.
Precision Armament. 308 Hypertap / Area 419 Hellfire Muzzle Brake.
So far testing with the 20" Bartlein 6.5CM Barrel has mirrored most of the same results as the OBR and Ptar.
The dots on the targets are 1/2"
So let's talk about some of the unique characteristics of the tOBR.
The tOBR has a Quick Change Barrel and Handguard system that allows for a variety of Caliber options and Handguard lengths. The handguards latches have adjustable tension set screws that allow you to adjust the alignment and how tight you want the handguard to mate up to the upper receiver.
The max inner diameter of the OBR and Ptar are the same at 1.525" which allows for a generous amount of room to install up to a .875 adjustable gas block.
The tOBR has a very generous maximum Internal vertical of 1.928" but is restricted to a limited narrower maximum Internal width of 1.256". This leads to a more slimline feel but restricts your Adjustable Gas Block options to .800 or less.
There are in fact some subtle differences between LaRue Barrel extensions and your standard DPMS extensions, that you should know before rebarreling your Larue rifles.
The Larue Barrel extensions are .011" longer than SD DPMS barrel exstenions. If you're OCD as shit like I am there are 3 options to address this compatibility gap. When ordering a custom barrel you can have your smith turn down the barrel extension flange .011" on the side that mates up against your receiver face allowing the barrel to sit deeper, this is the route I take with all my custom ordered Bartlein barrels for my Larue rifles.
Or you can turn down the receiver face .011", the only issue with this approach is if you decide to run your old Larue barrels you'll have to use a .011" shim to bring the Larue exstenion back up.
Now I have ran multiple off the shelf barrels in my Larues over the years, Proof Research JP, Craddock Precision.. And have never had an issue with those barrels and not turning anything down, the Carrier just simply sits .011" further forward inside the upper receiver and when running JP SCS you can use a 5/8 shim washer to make sure the rear of the carrier and the face of the Buffer come together without a gap between the two.
As of right now the tOBR has a new Craddock Precision Rock Creek RTR 22" .308 barrel Installed, again without turning anything down. With my Custom Order barrels I have them Headspaced to the new Larue HP Bolts, but for this setup I'm running a Lantac Full Mass Carrier and JP HP Bolt.
As I said in the beginning the tOBR is going to be my main barrel testing foundation for this evolving thread. I will be making regular updates in this thread on whatever Large Frame Barrel I'm testing at the moment, so feel free to follow along and ask questions starting off with Craddocks new RTR barrel line.
Thanks again for reading, below are the up coming reviews.
(1) Big Brother 6.5CM, Little Brother .223 / JP LRI-20 and JP SCI-20 Matching Set.
(2) Craddock Precision RTR Barrels, starting with .308 With Precision Armament Hypertap Muzzle Brakes.
(3) V SEVEN. 14.5" .223 barrel
(4) Larue OBR in 6mm ARC With Precision Armament Hypertap muzzle brake.
Jake.
This thread will be a Evolving Thread as new Large Frame Barrels come in, to include Craddocks new RTR barrel line which will be arriving next week.
As many of you know with the 2013 release of the Larue PredatOBR it's claim to fame is it's ability to be broken down into a compact package with multiple Calibers and quickly assembled, you know incase you need to have a Airplane drop to shoot down those pesky drones.
The idea behind a Switch Barrel Modular Rifle System with the renowned Larue quality machine work sounded pretty damn enticing, and would definitely give the LMT MWS a good run for it's money.
Because I already have the other two Larue Large Frame Gassers dialed in I wanted to do something different with the tOBR.
It's no secret that I enjoy testing and reviewing Large and Small Frame rifles and barrels from various manufacturers, and what better platform to conduct Large Frame Barrel testing on but the PredatOBR with its quick change barrel system?
I wanted to make the tOBR as versatile as possible so a purchased both Handguard length of 12.4" and 14.5" gives me the capability to run multiple barrel lengths.
Getting tired of the old reliable Black Rifle look I decided to have the tOBR Cerakoted in Midnight Bronze to compliment the FDE furniture.
Current Build Sheet is as follows:
Paul Ross 20" 6.5CM Bartlein / 1-8 Twist / 4 Groove / Rifle Length +1 Gas System / .800 Gas Block Journal / Medium Weight M110 Contour / 5/8x24 Threads.
Paul Ross 16.5" .308 Bartlein / 1-10 Twist / 4 Groove / Intermediate Length Gas System / .800 Gas Block Journal / Medium Weight M110 Contour / 5/8x24 Threads. (STILL AWAITING DELIVERY)
As of two days ago I had a place holder for the 16.5" .308 Bartlein and have been using a like new (2011) Take Off 16" LW-50 Pre XTRAXN OBR Barrel that I've had for years, definitely the best Larue Barrel I've ever Scoped and a absolute pleasure to shoot in it's compact configuration. The Precision Armament Hypertap Muzzle brake is extremely effective with the shorter .308 Barrels, easily reducing the recoil by over 50-60% and giving a very linear straight to the rear recoil impulse.
I had it cut down to 14.5" opened up the gas ports and Pin And Welded a Precision Armament Hypertap muzzle brake. The barrel is in pristine condition that is used mostly for plinking cheaper factory ammo, but it's no slouch in the accuracy department. I've never seen it shoot FGMM 168 over .75 MOA, usually averages .60 MOA or less.
Magpul FDE PRS Lite Stock.
JP H2 SCS.
Raidian Ambi Charging Handle.
Magpul MOE K2-XL Grip.
Battle Arms Development 60/90 Ambi Saftey.
Triggertech AR10 Diamond 2 Stage Trigger.
JP Left Side Magazine Release.
Strike Industries Enhanced Bolt Catch and Extended Right Side Magazine Release.
Larue HP Bolt.
Precision Armament. 308 Hypertap / Area 419 Hellfire Muzzle Brake.
So far testing with the 20" Bartlein 6.5CM Barrel has mirrored most of the same results as the OBR and Ptar.
The dots on the targets are 1/2"
So let's talk about some of the unique characteristics of the tOBR.
The tOBR has a Quick Change Barrel and Handguard system that allows for a variety of Caliber options and Handguard lengths. The handguards latches have adjustable tension set screws that allow you to adjust the alignment and how tight you want the handguard to mate up to the upper receiver.
The max inner diameter of the OBR and Ptar are the same at 1.525" which allows for a generous amount of room to install up to a .875 adjustable gas block.
The tOBR has a very generous maximum Internal vertical of 1.928" but is restricted to a limited narrower maximum Internal width of 1.256". This leads to a more slimline feel but restricts your Adjustable Gas Block options to .800 or less.
There are in fact some subtle differences between LaRue Barrel extensions and your standard DPMS extensions, that you should know before rebarreling your Larue rifles.
The Larue Barrel extensions are .011" longer than SD DPMS barrel exstenions. If you're OCD as shit like I am there are 3 options to address this compatibility gap. When ordering a custom barrel you can have your smith turn down the barrel extension flange .011" on the side that mates up against your receiver face allowing the barrel to sit deeper, this is the route I take with all my custom ordered Bartlein barrels for my Larue rifles.
Or you can turn down the receiver face .011", the only issue with this approach is if you decide to run your old Larue barrels you'll have to use a .011" shim to bring the Larue exstenion back up.
Now I have ran multiple off the shelf barrels in my Larues over the years, Proof Research JP, Craddock Precision.. And have never had an issue with those barrels and not turning anything down, the Carrier just simply sits .011" further forward inside the upper receiver and when running JP SCS you can use a 5/8 shim washer to make sure the rear of the carrier and the face of the Buffer come together without a gap between the two.
As of right now the tOBR has a new Craddock Precision Rock Creek RTR 22" .308 barrel Installed, again without turning anything down. With my Custom Order barrels I have them Headspaced to the new Larue HP Bolts, but for this setup I'm running a Lantac Full Mass Carrier and JP HP Bolt.
As I said in the beginning the tOBR is going to be my main barrel testing foundation for this evolving thread. I will be making regular updates in this thread on whatever Large Frame Barrel I'm testing at the moment, so feel free to follow along and ask questions starting off with Craddocks new RTR barrel line.
Thanks again for reading, below are the up coming reviews.
(1) Big Brother 6.5CM, Little Brother .223 / JP LRI-20 and JP SCI-20 Matching Set.
(2) Craddock Precision RTR Barrels, starting with .308 With Precision Armament Hypertap Muzzle Brakes.
(3) V SEVEN. 14.5" .223 barrel
(4) Larue OBR in 6mm ARC With Precision Armament Hypertap muzzle brake.
Jake.
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