Re: KAC sr25 or LMT mws or LaRue obr?
I know this is an old topic, but I'd searched, found and read the entire thread and wanted to post a response.
The M110 I was issued in the military I only fired with the suppressor attached. Accuracy seemed to hover around 1MOA. The last group I ever fired with it was actually with HSM M118 equivalent and it put 5 rounds into 0.9 MOA at 200 meters from a bench, bipod supported with a sandsock under the stock. The performance was typical of the rifle.
The kit comes with a factory test target labeled "Knights Armament Company 100 yard MK11 qualification target". The target with my gun had several groups optimistically labeled .56 MOA, .51 MOA, .45 MOA, and .35 MOA. The groups all appear to be ~1" groups based on the 1" squares on the target- the target does not specify that it was shot at 200yards- The rifle being a 1MOA system in my experience supports the theory that the test target must be measuring the best 3 rounds- so 3 out of 5 it's a 0.5MOA rifle.
I'm in the early stages of building a 7.62 semi-auto (buying parts) and I looked around and did some research prior to beginning the process, and my conclusions were:
KAC's 16" gun looks like a great rifle, but it has 2" less barrel than I want on my rifle, and it is $4200 street price apparently, which is still pretty high.
LMT's MWS looks like another exceptional rifle, and the rail can't be any more rigid than a monolithic upper (so this feature beats the KAC URX in my opinion), but again has 16" of barrel, and here I have to pay apparently a $700 upgrade fee to purchase a Stainless 18" barrel (why it's $700 makes no sense as the chrome moly tube not included there must be worth $250, and the stainless tube can't be worth more than $500. The weight on the LMT rifle is apparently 9.75 lbs (derived from someone's posted rifle weight with loaded 10 rd mag and Elcan Specter DR with those latter items subtracted). LMT doesn't post the weight that I can find- and why would they- that spec isn't very competitive.
This post hasn't mentioned the LAR-8 from Rock River, but I decided to go that route for several reasons. DPMS doesn't make uppers and lowers out of 7075 aluminum, and Rock River apparently does. I've had accurate rock river guns in the past and I believe the gun will shoot 1MOA or better which is my expectation of the build. The LAR-8 weighs 8.5 lbs and the DD 7.62 lite rail I'm replacing the FF tube with is supposed to weigh 18 ounces so that's an overlap. The barrel is 4" longer so I would have to say it's probably realistically 1 pound 4 ounces lighter than the LMT MWS if you factor both guns with 16" barrels. I plan to cut the barrel to 18" and thread. The gun with rail, mil spec collapsible stock and custom buffer to make that possible will reflect $2275 retail. That's about $1200 better than the MWS, and $2000 better than the SR25.
The build will still be spendy because I'm buying front and rear back up sights, sling mounts, a sling, a Bipod, Bipod mount, 6 mags, rings, and a 4.5-14X50mm Leupold M3 ERT. Of course I would have to buy most of those items for the other rifles also.
<span style="font-weight: bold">The two primary factors for me were weight and price. The M110 taught me that in a sniper weapon system every ounce counts, because we added 20 rounds of ammo in the gun, bipods, scopes, night vision, IR laser/illuminators for spotting, suppressors for concealment, and slings for carrying and the weapons became 19lb unwieldy monsters. Starting 1lb 4 ounces in the negative is a big deal. Thats a free day optic, or a loaded magazine at no weight penalty.
When a company charges the equivalent of ~$950 for a stainless barrel, and Rock river sells an entire 1MOA guaranteed rifle with a stainless barrel for $1550 retail, it's obvious that one company is a bit over priced. As the potential customer that feels like being penalized for wanting the rifle to be a precision weapon. </span>
I've heard some rumors of trigger issues with the RRA rifles, and in the military 1 out of my unit's 2 issued M110's had bad trigger within the first 50 rounds, so I can't say those rumors bother me, or that I feel one company offers a higher quality product than another.
Talking to guys in the military, they love or hate the rifles- many military end users I've talked to have had M110 trigger issues that needed repair- our issued scope mounts needed to have the rings constantly tightened apparently for lack of loctite during assembly.
I loved the gun- it was way better than an M24 to me- I could spot rounds half the time or better because the suppressor reduced recoil and muzzle climb so effectively- spotters are less likely to blink so they do a better job, followup shots are rapid. To me the trigger and scope mount issues were small problems for an otherwise superb system. The M110 is the reason I'm not building a bolt gun.
