I took the plunge and bought a new Rock River LAR-47 CAR A-4 rifle - the reviews for the latest offering were all good. I love my AK's, mainly for the 7.62-39mm round, and I love my AR's for their ergonomics. I was down to choosing this LAR-47 or the CMMG Mutant. I handled both and chose the LAR-47.
Here's the rifle from Rock River's website:
Here's my rifle the day I brought it home:
I decided to go with a free float rail, so I chose the ALG EMR in the 12" variety. That also required a low-profile gas block. While I was at it, I also got a VG6 Precision Gamma muzzle brake and one of the sweet Holosun 503C circle-dot sights.
The rail was not easy to install because the LAR-47's upper receiver was a bit wider than a normal AR's uppers where the rail's anti-rotation tabs install alongside the upper. I ended up filing about 2mm's of material off the insides of each tab to eventually make it fit. Here's some photos of the problem:
With the new rail and muzzle device installed, next up is to Duracoat the entire firearm in Magpul FDE. Here it is drying in the oven:
And that's the current status. I'll update the thread once the Duracoat has cured and I've reassembled the rifle. I'm also waiting for a couple Magpul M-Lok accessories to be delivered from Aim Surplus for this rifle.