Help me out fellas. I have several ARs that I like very much but I am still looking for "The One". I can buy a Noveske Thunder Ranch rifle today or I can sit around and hope when LaRue finally comes out with their second batch of Costa rifles that I can get one.

If this is the "One" then be patient.  Sounds like you've already got guns to shoot, buy an accessory or two to pass the time. The rail system would sway me to the larue, but I'm not you

Costa.

Yep....

Easy decision..Costa..

Thanks guys. Problem is I keep buying accessories and reconfiguring and then buyin more. Sounds like Costa it shall be then!
On another note: LaRue OBR or LWRC REPR? I am consolidating my armory from many very nice weapons to a few really nice ones.

Larue Costa Limited Edition

Thats expensive and doesnt come with anything that is bolted on to the rifle!

Can'T you build your hearts desire of AR's for cheaper?

Yep. It is expensive. But I have the the accessories I want already. I could build out what I wanted and I have done so on a couple but what I want keeps changing. I feel like the Costa is a turnkey solution and have always liked dealing with LaRue.

I have two of the most frustrating hobbies: Jeeps and guns (mostly ARs). You can always do something more or different when it comes to mods for them. Thankfully I am mostly over my wallet draining HK obsession for now.

After looking at the thunder ranch rifle I may need to hide my credit cards

My new guns budget has been spent for the year

ETA: Include the LMT MWS in your .308 search.  Some guys on snipershide have had awesome results with them.

Eh go big or go home. If you want to buy a limited edition you may as well go all out. Buy the kac/night hawk Knight Hawk set

I would get the thunder ranch but I think it comes without a forward assist. I'd either get the thunder ranch or the knighthawk set mentioned above.

That thunder ranch guy who says you should NEVER use the forward assist pisses me off.  LaRue Costa all the way.  LaRue makes high quality stuff... I personally run LMTs but I have run a friends LaRue and it looked beautiful and shot well.  However... he refused to go out in the swamp with it... its too pretty he said .

Again... the thunder ranch guy sucks donkey balls.  Noveske should drop that Clint Smith dude off their name... I know he is like 120 years old and dementia is a terrible disease but Noveske can show that they care in ways other than giving this poor man his own rifle under the Noveske name.

Waste of money... I got in trouble at a local gun store when they had one of these kits and were trying to charge just over 10k for it.  I asked why it was so expensive and he said that it was a Knights Armament and good luck finding a full KAC rifle anywhere... so probably laughed for a solid 45secs and it was probably kinda obnoxious but I couldn't help it.

It is a $4900 set at best that they mark up 2k for some commemorative dimpling.  KAC makes nice stuff but i wasn't that impressed with my SR-15.  I then kept hearing KAC this and KAC that so I tried again with just an upper... didn't really care either way so I sold it.  I'm very content with my LMTs so I am not going to change.  I have told people that if they are in the Columbia, SC area and are willing to take their KAC into a really nasty swamp, we will do a little LMT MRP vs KAC SR-15 comparison.  Not hating on KAC... awesome rifle but I rather use my LMT MRP, LWRC, or Noveske.

Was kinda the point of my post.  Don't get me wrong Larue and Noveske make awesome rifles, but all of these "limited run" type rifles comes with an inflated price tag.  Instead of paying for just a really nice rifle with these guns, you are paying for a really nice rifle + an additional premium for some extra name/word attached to it.

If you want a collector's piece that is fine, but if you are really just looking for a functional premium rifle there is no point to buy one of these.  

In the end though, his money his choice.

Another easy decision...LaRue OBR...

Noveske. Best barrel on the market and the barrel is the heart of your rifle.

Costa

The Noveske thunder ranch rifle uses their CL barrel, not their SS Pacnor barrel.

Very little difference in accuracy from what i have read. But that is a good point .LaRue say's 10k round barrel life on the SS . The noveske should be good for 40k rounds  plus.
Don't get me wong I would love a LaRue but if faced with the 2 and figuring over a year wait on the LaRue I would go Noveske

considering that both are glorified parts guns, which the incidentally have over 50 percent of the gun manufactured by somebody else, have you ever considered just building up a rifle/carbine with top end parts?

its not like John or Mark posses some magical ability to pop in a gieselle trigger, screw on some troy back up sights or slip on the latest magpul or vltor stock.


i mean, they have some cool logo's on the recievers but i have yet to acctually seem them preform better than a comparibly equipped dpms or shrubmaster.

You are a fool.

LaRue does make significant parts of their rifle in house but either are far ahead of poor quality rifles like DPMS or BFI. Compare the specifications and such and you'll see why.

Congrats for posting the most retarded comment on Arf today!

In the end. I just need more beverage entry tools. Can't someone just tell Mark Larue I deserve a rifle NOW?!

I may buy a Noveske upper this weekend in the mean time.

The costa rifle is nice, have you looked at the SR-15.

Looking at SR15 now. hmmmmm....also something to think about.

What's your intention for the rifle?

Who are you fooling, get both.
Also the SR-15.

Do you have any SBRs?
If not, I'd also consider that.

I'm a Noveske fan, but that Larue/Costa rifle is amazing.  The config is perfect, although I don't own any Surefire suppressors.

Does Surefire warranty their suppressors when used on a permanently attached muzzle device? I seem to remember a caveat about that.

According to their website you should be good as long as the barrel is over 10"

My vote would be for the Costa if you plan on purchasing now..I shot the Costa and own/have owned my fair share of Noveske's..I probably would have bought the Costa if I didn't already have a few rifles in similar configurations but, if they ever come out with the black version I held at SHOT Show, I may just have to get that one since it doesn't cost as much..

I've been really impressed with the accuracy of the Larue's I've shot and I actually have an 18" OBR on order..

I would get the Costa rifle, without beard.

Forgive me for sounding like a nutjob zombie watch TEOTWAWKI kinda guy. I have several nice ARs in different configs for different purposes as well as other nice non AR weapons. What I am looking for now is the one rifle that I would take if I had to hit the road running from zombies with the real possibility of never seeing any of my other guns or home again (aside from my Benelli M4 and my HK p30 I would have to find some way of grabbing them as well). I guess I feel like if I have Chris Costa's weapon I can one day run one like he does.

Also, the next one I buy or build will be a suppressor host.

Well then you want the Costa... it was built to host a suppressor!

haha, new gun budget, I have that too. I spent mine by february.

That Costa rifle is pretty sweet.  If I had the money, I'd take one home.

I would go with a Predatar or what ever it's called over the Costa. Cool configuration, excessive price.

This.

Buying either of these rifles is buying a brand, not a rifle.  Noveske's CL barrels are top-notch.  Mine shoots as well as my 20" match rifle.

I'm not Costa - I don't want to buy Costa's idea of a perfect(ly marketable) rifle.

If I were to spend that kind of coin, I'd just get the regular OBR. Or more likely either buy a LaRue 308 OBR for hunting and medium range F-TR matches, or just build my own like I've always done for 30% less than an OBR.



But no one is debating whether or not the LaRue OBR is a fine rifle. I'd probably go with that in some form. In other words, you know what you really want anyway, just get that.


 

It's crap like what you've quoted that chases professionals  away from this site and why it's (arfcom) often considered that laughing stock of gun forums.

Couldn't wait. I bought a Noveske Afghan 14.5" pinned with stainless barrell. I hope to make it to the range tomorrow.

The Costa blaster is awesome but to have 2900 wrapped up in a rifle that send rounds from point A to B is crazy......I had one of those KAC/MAGPUL SR15's and I sold it because I just couldn't see keeping a rifle that was over 3200 bucks when my other rigs were performing the same function.......With that being said you gotta buy whatever makes your boner the hardest at the end of the day !


P.S. Women will always cost but marriage is the most expensive route.

Its was obviously a joke....  I am sure Clint Smith is a good person and is knowledgeable about how AR15s operate but I do have issues with some of his claims about the FA which is one of the distinguishing features of his Thunder Ranch Noveske (the lack of a forward assist).  It is such misguided advice that, in my opinion, there is no reason to trust his opinion when there are so many other people out there who are extremely well versed in the function and operation of the weapon and who don't make these questionable claims.  I apologize if your so called "professionals" are such stone cold killers and badasses that they have absolutely no sense of humor because all they can think about is blood but the forward assist discussion is a serious issue.  The whole "you don't need a forward assist under any circumstance" is a legit argument and I personally consider it irresponsible to dismiss the idea of having one based on what I believe to be completely flawed logic.  The OP didn't ask about this so I'm not going to go into it any further here but feel free to IM me or Email me if you want to discuss it.

I think that a bigger problem would be people who have to chime in when they don't have shit to say about what was in the original posting but anyways...

... now that you are looking at the KAC, I would still say go with the LaRue.  Whether it is the Costa edition or not doesn't make much difference in my opinion.  They are accurate, reliable, and well worth the money IMO.  Everything that has come out of LaRue that I have had the privileged to use has been excellent.  KAC makes really good stuff (I have owned one of their SR-15s and another one of their uppers).  The KAC shoots well but has some proprietary parts that I do not like (operationparts.com does sell spare bolts for them but they are not interchangeable with the bolts from other ARs which isn't a huge deal but is a slight issue).  The gas system is a proprietary length on the KAC as well so if you damage the gas tube during cleaning or in some other random way they aren't as easy to replace as your standard AR-15 gas tube.  I also wasn't overly impressed with the URX-II not being T-marked or the stability of the front sight on the URX-II.  LaRue rifles are beautiful as well if that makes a difference to you.  The only issue I have with the Costa rifle is the length of the rail.  I personally think it is unnecessary how long it is... it isn't good for reducing weight or improving cosmetics IMO but again, its my opinion and you have to remember that I am a    fool    supposedly.

** I saw your post where you bought the Noveske Afghan 14.5"... awesome choice.  Noveske barrels kick ass and the 14.5" is a good length.  Let us know how it goes.  Awesome weapon. **

I apologize to greasemonkey and all the other shocked and disgusted professionals who were offended by my previous post.

I actually blew mine in February as well.  

I still haven't gotten the tax stamp or taken possession of my new toy (SBR) though .

I think the Costa edition has some ghey on it, beautiful gun, but I can do without that dudes name on it. OBR or KAC Mod 1 would be nice.