I recently won this rifle in a shooting competition. i have done a little research, and discovered some negative stuff about them due to the price, but since i won it, what is Y'all's opinion on them? also i was wondering if i should magnify it with a 1-4x, or just put another red dot on it (they claim to have MOA accuracy). honest input is appreciated. (and btw, this is the 16 inch, GEN 4 version).

ps.. it does cycle VERY smoothly, and the trigger seems crisp enough.. i just want some honest opinions from people with 1st or 2nd hand experience.

I have one of their triggers and it's great I have it in my 308 build. 4 lb pull little to no travel very crisp break.

The May 2015 issue of American Rifleman has an extensive test on that very rifle right now.  I have the complete lower of the 415 attached to a complete LWRC upper because I got a great deal on the two separate items.  The complete 415 is a very sweet rifle.  When you look at the features and quality it seems about equal to an LWRC in performance and price.

wasn't there just a thread on this?

I have no complaints with my POF rifles. I have a 14" P308, a 16" P415 Gen4 and a gen 3 P415 8" pistol, all three have the NP3 coating. All will eat anything I feed them and the 308 and 16" P415 are both MOA rifles. I have never had to send any of them back for any service, and never had any broken parts. The fit and finish on them is top notch. Rock Creek makes the barrels for POF, so I wouldn't be surprised to see accuracy well under MOA in the longer barrels.POF was the first successfully made piston system and little has changed over the years due to its simple and reliable operation.

You will see some negative feedback about POF, but you will see a good portion of it is just people repeating what they read on the internet from someone who had a bad experience. You will also see tales of a long drawn out court battle between POF and Hogan (Hogan used to manufature parts for POF before Hogan started selling their own rifles) and that led to many people choosing sides in a fight that had nothing to do with them, but people will defend one or the other to the death with internet lore and rumors.


Shoot your rifle and make your own decisions on what you think. As to the red dot vs scope, I have red dots on my 223 rifles and a scope on my 308. I have mounted a scope a few times on the 16" 223 just to see what it can do at distance and it's impressive. If I had another 223 POF I would definetly put a scope on it and skip the red dot..

What do you mean by performance? Most rifles perform the same.

Shoot the hell out of it and report back with your findings...

I have a POF 415 and a POF 308.  Both are very reliable never a single problem and very accurate.

I have a POF 415 that is very reliable never a single problem and very accurate.

My first AR was a P415 I bought back in 2008.  Still own it to this day.  I've been happy with it.

I am another multiple POF rifle owner. Bought a P-415 10.5" SBR that I run suppressed. Never an issue. Then bought a 308 16.5" (also just started to run suppressed). Just had a round get stuck in my P-308. Brought it to POF since I live less than an hour away. They removed the round and completely checked everything for issues/damage. In checking everything found that shooting 175 grain 7.62 Federal Match King rounds will occasionally hang up in standard Magpul magazines. They gave me the correct mag number to use (M118) and have never had another issue. Also offered to adjust the gas system if I had any feeding issues suppressed. More than happy with the rifle and customer service. Expensive, but worth it. I think most issues were way before they came out with the Gen 4 (mine are both Gen 4's). Frank has not been known as the most friendly customer service guy, but he's from Brooklyn. When a guy from Brooklyn tells you where to go, he really means he likes you very much and values your opinion.

I just got this rifle in the War Hog 5.56 version.  Doesn't come with BUIS.  What buis and scopes are everyone using?  What kind of co-witness?  I ask bc rail is high.  Thanks.

1st Gen POFs had some quality issues which lead to reliability failures.

Everything forward of Gen 1 has show to be pretty squared away.

The cost and heaviness are probably want prevent them from being more popular.

I have a first gen upper I bought new on a gen 2 lower.
never had any problems whatsoever on it.

it did stay really clean like they advertised until I suppressed it.

it is one of my favorite AR's

Me too, my very first AR is the POF 415. I have no problem with it, eats steel ammo and brass ammo without any complaints.

I think I have the Gen 2 lower with the Predator P4X rail, it is a little front heavy.

I use an eotech with magpul irons. No complaints, rock solid mounts.

I'm using Troy Micros, and am trying to get hold of an Aimpoint Micro sight in a low mount.  The Trijicon MRO is what my buddy is going after, but that optic messes with my eyes; YMMV.