Does anyone have first-hand knowledge of the R-25?  If not, anyone have direct second-hand (a buddy or relative) knowledge of one?  I'm in the market for an AR in .308 to use specifically for hunting (I already have an FNAR H-Bar for range stuff), and I really like the cosmetics of the R-25.  I know the R-25 is made by DPMS, and I've heard good and bad things about DPMS.

I've read some posts in various forums that were pretty negative about the R-25, and some that were good.  But most of them were from when the rifle first came out, so I don't know if Remington has done anything to alleviate those problems.

Any info/help will be appreciated.

If you are looking for a .308, regardless if its for hunting or not, look at an AR-10 one of the other 10 options hitting the market now

Thanks, but can you be more specific as to what the other options are?

I looked at the Armalite and they are way too expensive.  I can get an R-25 for $1250-1300.  Also, I'm kind of looking for something in camo.  I see S&W has a camo AR coming out in .223, I don't know if a .308 is in the works, but they are priced similar to the Armalite (+-$2000)

Well you didnt mention cost as being important, but you can still find used rifles for much less, or build it yourself.   Larue, LMT, Knights (and even rumors of Spikes) all have .308 options

Cost is a factor, because I'm also on the market for a Bravo Co. M4, as soon as I can find one in stock.

Nothing wrong with it. I have a 7mm08 R25 and is shoot very well. They are alittle more money then a stock LR308. I also have a DPMS 308b paid about 1k for it. The R25 was about 1200.00. Its a nice add to my collection and do not think I would ever part with it, its my new deer rifle.

I got one of the first R25s, I use it for long range shooting. I routinely fire it up to 600 meters. I did not care for the furniture for my aplication, so I switched the stock for a PRS, the handguard for a DPMS rail, and the grip for a ergo palm swell model. For hunting, you may find the furniture is fine for you. I also didnt like the trigger- it was hard. I switched it to a Jard. Again, the stock trigger may be OK for you. I had some relability issues at first- te gas rigs were very tight. After about 200 rounds thru it, and using a lot of strike hold, no more problems. FYI, even tho DPMS makes the R25, the R25 is superior to the DPMS products.

There doesn't seem to be too many of us R-25 owners around here yet (maybe 3-4 owners), but I've had nothing but good luck with mine.   I kinda feel like I just answered this same question here with some pics:

http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=121&t=473312&page=1�

I'll stick by my reply in that thread, as it's very similar to your question.   Basicallly it is that the R-25 is great for me, and what I was looking for( basically a range queen, semi auto's are illegal to hunt with in my state)   For you though, depending on the type of hunting your doing, and how picky you are about scratches and dings...... you may want to go with a standard DPMS .308.  I don't own a DPMS branded rifle, but I think the black finish of a DPMS rifle would hold up much better then the Mossy Oak of the R-25, especially if you have to move thru any thick brush.

As for me and my R-25, it's a keeper, I'm itching bad to get it back out to the range.  I love shooting it, and have a pair of new pmags, plus KAC's Bulletflight to test out.... That is as soon as the weather warms up a tad, preferably atleast 40.. If I can wait that long.

As for negative things about the R-25, I haven't really heard many specific to the Remy, other then the finish is fragile(which it is) and there is some kind of overspray inside the upper and lower receiver, and the handguard(mine has this also)  The bad batch of magazines that affected dpms, and caused the brass and jamming issues.... well it never affected me, for one Remington only gives you one 4 round magazine, it was driving me nuts trying to get thru the dpms break in procedure so the first day I had it, I ordered two 10 rnd Cproduct mags(they were in stock at the time at 44mag), and later on four 19 round Cproducts, they have been flawless and I haven't experienced any of the horrors I've read about with damaging brass and jams that the DPMS guys did.  To that, I've never had a jam or failure to fire of any type.  DPMS guys also seem to have varying accuracy, and I've heard stated that it is a "hit or miss" thing with barrel quality... I tend to believe people need to learn how to shoot, but I only own one, and maybe I just lucked out and got one of the good ones.

If there's an R-25 sitting on a gun store shelf, and you can live with the occasional battle scar.. I don't think you'll be disappointed, especially considering some of the wait times I've heard about for people waiting on dpms rifles.  Purely biased opinion, I'm all for more Remy owners here.  

Thanks for the input, and thanks for the link to your previous post.  That was very helpful.  I'm glad to hear there are people out there having good luck with them, because I hear a lot of bad stuff, too (though I think a lot of the guys posting bad stuff haven't actually fired one, and are just basing it off their experiences with DPMS.)  As for people who actually own one, I haven't heard anything bad, except for the finish chipping issue, and bad trigger.  The trigger is easy enough to pop in a new one, and the finish...well, by the time that is pretty worn, 2000s camo will be dated, and it will be time to paint it something else, anyway. (have you seen the bad camo patterns on the circa 1980s guns?)

Pecker's sporting goods carries them for $1399 (last week they had them on sale for $1299, but I didn't have the money then), Flying Rat on a hill carries them for $1600, and Cahellas for $1499.

Are you saying you've had bad experiences with the R-25, or you just prefer other brands for .308 ARs?

I picked up an R-25 about a year and a half ago.

Great shooter. Took a deer in South Dakota last year with it.

This year went elk hunting in Colorado with it.

For the money I can't complain; it is more accurate than I am.

http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/55554

Thanks, I checked there and saw it.  That's a good price.  Impactguns.com has it for about the same.  By the time I have it shipped and pay for the FFL transfer, it's going to be about the same as what I found it at Dick's (Dick's had it for $1299 on sale 3 weeks ago.  Unfortunately I couldn't get it then.)  I'm debating wether it's worth the $100 I'd save ordering it from Buds, compared to being able to just pick it up same day, and more importantly, being able to finger fudge it myself to make sure everything on it is good.

I got my FNAR from BudsGunShop.

I have an R25 and I love it.  its very accurate even with delinked grubby surplus 7.62.  I wanted an LR-308 and I got tired of the backlog so I went with the R25 and haven't looked back.

I bought one. Shot fine, was hard on brass and I reload. Made out of 6061 T6 rather than 7075 T6 if I recall correctly.
I sold it. I have ordered an OBR for my hunting and shooting duties. Wanted something for the long haul, not that the R-25 wouldn't be
but Mark Larue has earned my business.
I recently purchased a Winchester SXAR which is identical to your FNAR and I am waiting on my scope to shoot it.
I have high expectations for the SXAR as there is a 5 month wait on my OBR. It will be the backup to my OBR.

For light duty I think you cannot go wrong. I wanted a different twist for lighter bullets and I shoot alot.

Based off of what I can tell you about my FNAR, you'll love your SXAR.  My FNAR has the nicest trigger I've ever pulled on an off the shelf rifle.  I think it's also very accurate.  Just make sure to put an adequate scope on it.  At first I put a Walmart $40 special on it, and it took 6 shots for the reticles in the scope to start jiggling with every shot.  Even still, my groups were just over MOA at 100.  Now I have a Cabelas scope on it, which seems to be pretty decent.  I'm saving up for a Trijicon.

Let me know how you like your SXAR, I'm interested to hear.

I bought an R-25 when they first showed up on the shelves . I don't care for the finish,  it flakes of and is white under neath . I sprayed the receiver with Brownell alumihyde 2 , it holds up under normal hunting conditions but still flake off . One day I plan on bead blasting it and having it sprayed with gun kote , I have had several guns done with this and it is tough stuff , I have even put a torch to it and it stays .  I replaced the stock with a PRS and the grip with a miad , the handguard with a Troy 13.8 " . I also had the barrel threaded to 1/2x28 to accept any style of muzzle device . I had a problem with FTF but only with Remington ammo , everything else fired fine , it would dent the Remington ammo but not hard enough so I replaced the hammer spring with a sronger one from Brownells and that solved the problem but that turned a bad trigger to worse , I will swap that out before next fall . Even with a stiff trigger I still get some good groups . It shoot the 168 gr. TAP ammo very well .I may pick up one in 7mm08 when one comes in .

As I stated above I think this is a fine rifle.

I do have one problem with it. The finish wear life is horrible.

After I complete my next few projects I will be considering bead blasting the finish off in order to refinish it.

My rifle has a few spots that are worn to the white coat and a number that are worn to a black finish. These wear points are only in the use areas but still I would expect a finish to hold up better than this.

Is there any type of clear, protective coating I can spray or have baked on to protect the finish?

I have handled Remington Ar's not specifically the R-25.  Not a big fan, especially when you don't need camo to hunt with.  There are better options out there.  The rifles themselves hits a particular market and I'm glad it does, but if I was to use an AR for hunting, knowing what I know, knowing the difference between brands, I would choose something else.  Other people who have no experience with modern sporting rifles, the Remington line may be just what they need.   Its hard to come to a site such as this one and push a rifle angled more towards people who only have a bolt gun in their safe.

I understand what you're saying, and I mean no disrespect, but at the beginning of the thread I asked specifically for someone who has trigger time behind the R-25, or even the R-15.  "Handling it" doesn't count; I've went to the store and "handled it" myself.  The reason I asked for a person with experience is because I know us gun owners are a biased lot.  I wanted to avoid input from someone with preconceived notions about Remington, or the R-25.  I understand who out there makes the best ARs, and who makes the best of this and that.  I myself am a snob when it comes to buying guns.  I have certain brands that I prefer.  But I'm learning that there are good products from companies that I wouldn't have given the time of day to.  Ruger is a great example.  I don't really like Ruger.  But I bought the LCP, and you know, it's a good pistol.  I haven't had 1 single issue with it.  I also don't really care for S&W, Sig, and I could go on.  Do I have a rational reason for not liking those companies? No.  I just don't   I know they make good products.  This is why I'm researching the R-25 and am going to probably buy one.  A year ago I wouldn't have cared to buy a Remington.  But the R-25 is interesting to me.  And I think it's wonderful that ARs are going mainstream and people are hunting with them.  And that's exactly what I'm going to do with it; hunt.  I'm not going to run out and spend $2500 on an .308 AR so that I can attach every gizmo on it so I can fend off mexico from my back porch.

I am interested in the R-25.  And I have in my safe: Colt AR H-Bar, FNAR, Beretta Storm Carbine, Kalashnikov, HKs, FN 5.7.  And a Bravo Co. M4 on the way, as soon as they come back in stock.  I'm a huge fan of semi-autos for hunting. I spent 11 years in the Marines carrying an M16A2, M249, shooting the M2, the Mk19, and just about every other fire arm in our inventory.  My point is that I'm hardly a person who only has a bolt gun in their safe.  The Remington ARs are aimed towards hunters.  They're a hunting firearm company.  And there's nothing wrong with that, and it's a shame that you think it is.

There may be something you can spray on to harden or protect the current finish.

I am not really worried about it. I could not have purchased a 308 AR for the price I picked this up for at the time.

I enjoy and would buy it again even knowing about the problem with the finish.

You miss understood me. I stated

I never questioned your experience with an AR platform.  I was merely giving advice, and you can take it or leave it, no harm done.  Your experience, however, strengthens my point of view that you will feel the R-25 lacking.  Since you do have experience with Colts, HKs, etc.  And you can find an AR-10 for the same price as the R-25.  And better yet, find a used AR-10 for alot less.  

just my .02

for get the R25, if you want that, save 500 and get a DPMS, they are the same.  However, I would suggest a RRA 308.  They released several new 308 guns on their site.  check them out, worth doing.  I have one and love it.  Plan on putting a RRA rail on it, bipod and forward grip.  Then this summer scoping it.  good luck

I have had my R25 for just over a year and I really enjoy the rifle. It is accurate, powerful and reliable, what more can you ask for in a rifle? Mine is in 308 and would have no problem recommending it to anyone.

I didn't really see a $500 diff between the DMS and the R-25.  Right now Cabelas has the R-25 on sale for $1240.  The DPMS usually run $1100-1200.  I like the RRA, though.  I'm going to look into them more before I make a purchase.  They have some nice looking rifles and they're prices are in line with the R-25.

Summer, heck, I go to the range every week now, and I live in WI.  Rain nor snow keeps me from shooting $100s of ammo at 10 cent targets!  A month or so ago I was shooting my Colt AR and it was five degrees.  I had on a face mask and everything.  That was some cold stuff!  Two weeks ago I was at the range shooting my FN Five-seveN and it was a balmy 16 degrees.  See it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLzrF7hhM8k.

Thanks for the input on the RRA.  

Bad link.

Anyone know if the new magpul mags work with the R-25?  Thats going to be my deciding factor between dpms and rem.

They work great for me in both my R25 in 7mm08 and my LR308

The link works for me, you just have to copy and paste.  Here it is again, this time you shouldn't have to copy and paste.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLzrF7hhM8k

I think you will enjoy the R25 - I have used mine for many hours in the field and have found it to be comfortable to crry and very accurate. Stiff trigger is ony down side.

All right, I got an R-25 today.  I'll get it set up this afternoon and take it out tomorrow to see how it shoots and to give feedback.  I'll try to shoot some video of it and post it to my youtube channel.

Make sure you pull the bcg out and ensure there is proper lubrication.

I had a problem with mine when I first received it. After I lubed it up, ran perfectly.

Thanks... the first thing I did when I got home is field strip it, clean it (it's surprising how dirty "new" guns are), and lube it.

As far as the finish chipping, I think a good solution for me will be to wrap it in mossy oak cloth tape.  The reason for this is two fold.  Not only will it protect the finish in the long term, but even more importantly, I hunt from a metal tree stand with a metal gun rest, and the metal fore-grip on the R-25 is going to make an awful lot of noise if it bangs/scrapes the metal gun rest. Cloth tape will prevent this.

I did get out the other day to shoot my new R-25, and it was a joy to shoot, but eventful.  I had a couple of FAILs, of which I don't think any are the fault of the rifle.
1. Scope/owner FAIL.  The only scope I have that is not used is the $40 Walmart scope that I put on my FNAR after I purchased it, and couldn't afford a good one at the time.  It took about 3 shots from the FNAR and the reticle was bouncing all over the place and vibrating if I moved the gun.  So, in my infinite wisdom –– and it being my only available scope, as I said –– I decided it was better than nothing, which it was, but barely.  After 5 rounds from the R-25 **I stress: I don't know if this is physically possible, and some scope expert will probably say it's not, but I sweat it's true** the crosshair reticles twisted, like the scope was canted in the rings, but I looked, and it wasn't.  Instead of the reticles being at 12,3,6,9 clock, they were at about 1:30, 4:30, 7:30, 10:30.

Still, with all this drama, after my very fiirst shot, I adjusted the scope and fired a shot dead center bull, keyholed the next, the 3rd touched that one and the 4th touched that one.  Even with the jacked up scope.

2.  I had feed problems. The first round would feed fine, but I had issues with all subsequent rounds.  Once, the bolt dug into the round about half way up the round.  And other times it nicked the round, other times it didn't even touch the next round.  I think this was due to the magazine.  This was the thing I was most disappointed in with the entire setup.  You would think DPMS, and the mag was branded as such, would be able to keep with the modern trend of ditching the crappy pro-tilt follower with a newer non-tilt follower.  It's not a tough switch.  I'm pretty sure that's why the rounds didn't feed as they should.  If anyone else has another idea on that, I'd like to hear it.

3.  A couple of observations about it –– I didn't like the firing pin retaining pin.  It had a flat head like a nail, instead of a little loop like on a 5.56 AR.  The loop style I can always get out with my finger tips, but this nail head type I had to use a pen to get it out.  This is one of my pet peeves with firearms: I believe guns should be able to be field stripped using only parts that come with the gun.  Like the extractor pin –– no problem, use the firing pin to push it out.  The barrel of my CZ-52 –– no problem, you use the magazine lip to push wedge it out.  I don't like having to bring other tools into the equation, because in a SHTF scenario, I might not have those tools.  Another observation, the cam pin kind of threw me, because I stuck it in with out looking at it and rotated 90 degrees as you do on any AR I've taken apart, but the firing pin wouldn't go in.  I tried for like 5 minutes to get the firing pin to go in, and it wouldn't.  Finally I pulled out the cam pin and saw the way the hole was, you don't rotate it like normal.  Just stick it in.

All in all, the rifle shot really nice.  With the jacked up scope, I wasn't able to take her to the 100 like I had planned (in WI, with the thick woods, that's about the max you're going to get a shot at a deer).  Once I fix the feed problem and get a decent scope, I think it will be a really good deer rifle.  I love the AR.  I'm glad I'm switching from a bolt gun as my primary hunting rifle.

The finish wear can be fixed by coating with a high quality automotive ureathane clear.  Its whats supposed to be applied after the water transfer of the camo, but I suspect that remingtion is scimping on this.   A good paint shop should be able to hook you up with a durable matte clear and even someone to apply it if you don't feel comfortable taking that on.

Congrats on then new Remi, sorry to hear about your bad luck with magazine and scope though.  Cproduct mags have been flawless for me, I have 6 of them and have put around 250 rounds thru them... Most of those rounds were thru 2 ten round magazines that I prefer to use at the range for shooting 2 five shot "shot groups," then leave the barrel cool.  I also have 2 Magpul pmags, but so far I've only shot 20 rounds with one of them just to see if it fed the whole magazine... Not much of a torture test to be able to say that they are the cure-all, I've always liked pmags though.   My Cproduct mags have spent months fully loaded at the bottom of my shooting box, between range outings without fail, and I am very confident in them.
    My only other advice that may help(probably won't help if it's a magazine issue), is download the DPMS break in procedure and follow it.  I did it, and it was the only time I ever used the 4 round mag that came with the rifle.  If I remember right... the first 25 rounds of the break in, are single shot, then clean barrel... and I was dropping the mag between rounds to clean the barrel.  I did that one weekend, and by the next weekend, I had the two 10 round Cproducts to finish the break in.  I don't think I've ever fired two consecutive shots with the 4 rounder that came with the rifle.  That magazine serves as a dust protector while the R-25 is sitting in the gun cabinet, I can't see ever using it again.  Hunting regulations being what they are, Cproducts and Magpul, might not be an option for you, so good luck, keep us up to date when you get it figured out.

Thanks for the advice.  I was actually going to add to the last post that I was going to get new mags, but forgot to add it.  I've never used the Cproduct mags, though I've heard good things.  I have the Magpul P-mags for my Colt AR, and love them, so I'll probably get them.  We actually don't have limitations on mag capacity for hunting here, surprisingly.  I just like the short ones for at the range.  It's easier to load on the rifle rest.  I actually bought a short mag for my Colt AR, just for that.  I would probably prefer to hunt with a short mag, too.  The stuff I hunt, if you can't hit it in 3 rounds, it's gone, anyway.  And generally with deer around here, If you get a second shot you're lucky.

Does that barrel break in procedure really work?  I've heard it's a bunch of hogwash.  I try to think of the logic behind it, and I can't picture how cleaning your barrel after every shot for the first 100 shots will affect the long term barrel accuracy and life.  I would love it if someone would explain that to me.  Maybe I should make another thread on that.

I did the break-in process. Took a lot of time, don't know if it really helped.

Also, I had difficulty with the 4-round magazine. It feeds right now, but I had a problem when I first started using it.

The cproducts 20 round magazines work just great.

I just got my scope in for my R-25, so I bore-sighted it and now it's ready to go.  I'll sight it in tomorrow, weather permitting.  I put a Redfield on it –– I figure Remington is a classic American gun company, so I wanted a classic American gun scope on it, and I wanted to give the new Redfield a try.  I wrapped some camo wrap around the stock and fore-grips.  Mostly because I hunt out of a metal stand, and didn't want the noise, but also to protect the finish.

Here are pics:

i have a R25 in the 308 cal. VERY HAPPY WITH GUN. shoots remington 150 gr cor-lok 1 inch groups at 100 yards. i did put a JP trigger in at 3 pounds. marty

I shot one last weekend , nice rifle and recoil was not bad at all and accuracy was pretty good.. i would try the magpul 20 rounders , ran flawlessly with them and try a drop in timney trigger.

I sighted in my new scope today, and in the process, I think I figured out the feed problem.  I only had 1 feed hiccup today, and when I looked at the magazine, all the rounds were pushed to the front of the magazine.  Whenever I load a mag, it's second nature for me to tap the mag so all rounds are seated to the rear of the mag, and I do it every single time.  I think the recoil of the rifle is causing the rounds to move to the front of the mag, and that is just enough so that the bolt isn't catching the next round as it goes over it.  That would also explain why the Pmag doesn't have these type of feed problems, since the rounds don't have room to move forward, really.