Larue UU kits

flyfisherman246

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Minuteman
May 26, 2017
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I've handled a couple PredatOBR's and really liked the feel and quality of them. I still haven't shot one. I haven't had the chance to handle an UU kit though. For those with them, how do they compare to a full built larue rifle. Is the only real difference the handguard and how it connects to the receiver? What kind of accuracy are you getting out of the kit rifles? Also will they sell extra barrels and bolts to drop into the kit?
 
i have a full larue Grendel and another 5.56 built from thekit. Larue uppers may have some cosmetic alignments issues with other lowers. fit and finish with the Larue lowers is excellent. My Grendel has a test target of .80 MOA, not stellar but can make reliable hits at 575. you can buy bolts and barrels and if you buy them at the same time as the UU you may get a very attractive deal. I think when I bought the Grendel the 5.56 barrel and bolt was something like $225
 
I have bought a 6.5 creed UU kit last year. The kit shipped pretty quick but the lower took a while.

When I finally got the lower I assembled it. I’m as not happy with the fit and finish of the lower and upper.

I never fired a round through it and it went back to Larue.

They gave me a refund minus shipping but did tell me that my standard were to high and maybe I should order a PredatOBR

I did end up buying a second and it took a little longer to get that kit. I got it about 3 months after ordering. This kit was better on fit and finish but when I took it out to see the accuracy the best I could get was just over 2 moa.
The fired brass has some strange rings from the shoulder to the base. The chamber looked like it was as cut incorrectly.

So I sent it back. Just the upper this time. It took a few weeks and it was returned with a good dent on the front of the handguard, finish missing on the upper and scratch on the side of the upper.

The invoice said “returned to spec”

A good friend of mine bought on of their stealth barrels while on sale. Wouldn’t group at all. Long story short. He went through 2 barrels back and forth to Larue. Finally they sent him his money back and he said later days.
 
I have bought a 6.5 creed UU kit last year. The kit shipped pretty quick but the lower took a while.

When I finally got the lower I assembled it. I’m as not happy with the fit and finish of the lower and upper.

I never fired a round through it and it went back to Larue.

They gave me a refund minus shipping but did tell me that my standard were to high and maybe I should order a PredatOBR

I did end up buying a second and it took a little longer to get that kit. I got it about 3 months after ordering. This kit was better on fit and finish but when I took it out to see the accuracy the best I could get was just over 2 moa.
The fired brass has some strange rings from the shoulder to the base. The chamber looked like it was as cut incorrectly.

So I sent it back. Just the upper this time. It took a few weeks and it was returned with a good dent on the front of the handguard, finish missing on the upper and scratch on the side of the upper.

The invoice said “returned to spec”

A good friend of mine bought on of their stealth barrels while on sale. Wouldn’t group at all. Long story short. He went through 2 barrels back and forth to Larue. Finally they sent him his money back and he said later days.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I have been considering one of these uppers in 6.5 to supplement an old school 7.62 OBR but have been on the fence due to the number of negative reports on them. .260 is apparently a little better.

That low SN OBR with the Lothar Walther barrel is magic, just an incredible rifle that shoots like a bolt action. I've had a newer Predatar and PredatOBR that were decent, but apparently didn't quite have the same fairy dust thrown in.

It's also important to see the UU kits for what they are- a budget build kit like you'd get anywhere else, but probably better than most on the cheap end. Not saying that you were, but I've seen so many buyers expecting to get equivalent to a factory OBR or tOBR for $1200 or whatever which just is not going to happen.


EDIT: I am not sure how the UU barrels are ported, but the 5.56 stealth barrels are quite large. The 14.5" I had was .084. I measured a 14.5" criterion at the same time that was .078. This could be good or not depending on what you want to do with it.
 
I just ordered the UU 6.5 grend. kit but I am selling the Larue barrel. I already have a new Satern Grendel barrel I am using instead. I wanted to give it a try for the money. I will post some more info and pics when I get it in. I will prob. throw it together as soon as I can.
 
I haven't personally seen any of the UU kits, but I've read a lot of reports from customers and conversations back and forth between Mark and customers.
The consensus seems to be that they are good shooters for the most part. There are some lemons that squeeze through though, and fit/finish is not like their complete rifles. Mark's excuse is typically something like, "If you wanted the legendary fit, finish, and [under promised - over delivered] accuracy that Larue rifles are known for, then save up and buy an actual Larue rifle over the UU kit."

My actual experience is with two OBR's from 2010, one tOBR that a buddy of mine got last year, and two Stealth barrels. I've been very impressed with all of these. It's almost as if the bad stories that you hear about the UU kits are from a different company.

Take all this for what it's worth.
I'll probably end up with a tOBR ordered before 2020.