I am pretty sure it was this thread that made me go watch some videos and check out Caracal's site. When I saw they offered LE/mil pricing it really piqued my interest. I'm watching Small Arms Solutions video, and I had been interested in the Brownell's BRN-4 kit. The video really got me interested with the adjustable gas block and removal of the piston and op rod through the gas block a la LMT.

So I emailed them about a month ago. Crickets. I figured, well another company with a good idea tried to break into the market and didn't take. Looked around, no Caracal product anywhere. That's that. I was half into building an LMT 14.5" piston gun, so I didn't cry any tears over it.

Two days ago I got an email from Nic at Caracal. Hey I'm Nic and I just took over answering the emails for this account, sorry about the long delay getting back to you blah blah. Damn it, I had just put Caracal out of my mind. The LE/mil price was an incentive and I thought about it overnight and yesterday I ordered the 14.5" complete upper direct through Caracal.

I have owned multiple PWS, an AK, and a CZ Bren 2. I currently own a LWRC 6.8 16" and a LMT 14.5" piston that the bcg is in the mail and was the last piece I needed to finish it. This Caracal will complete my gas piston trinity. I'm taking it to my gunsmith to have the QD mount for my suppressor pinned and welded. I should be ready to take this Caracal out sometime in July, and I'll post some pics and my thoughts on it. Should be getting my new LMT out to the range next Saturday and I am super stoked to shoot that for the first time.

cool, looking forward to the pics.  

Received the upper yesterday. It's off to the gunsmith for my QD mount to be pinned and welded. Here are my initial thoughts:

Pros
anodizing on upper and handguard looks good
QPQ barrel is nice to have
I just put together an LMT upper the night before, and this is lighter
fits the PWS lower I'm using well and the anodizing is shade correct (pro for me)

Cons
machine marks on bcg, very Eastern European AK quality machining
charging handle is very gumball machine, but it was getting replaced with a Radian anyway
handguard not standard mlok hex. I had anticipated this and have a straight Arisaka scout mount

pics when it's back from the pin and weld. I'm putting nothing but a microprism and a weapon light on this to try to keep the finished weight down.

at my LE/mil price, this is a heckuva upper and a very cheap way to scratch my 416 itch. Still enthused and looking forward to seeing how it runs suppressed.

I picked up a Caracal 816 a few years ago, and I was very impressed with it. Very underrated rifle IMO.

got my pin and weld back today, taking it out to shoot tomorrow and will post a pic and my thoughts suppressed/unsuppressed.

It's lighter than my LMT, so I already like that about it. It feels very handy on a sling.

took the Caracal out shooting with my son today


my LMT piston is my grail gun, and this Caracal was purchased to scratch a 416 itch and provide a decent backup to the LMT and another decent suppressor host.

Zeroed in the new optic to where it shot ragged hole groups at 50 yards in less than half a magazine and proceeded to run it on the steels both unsuppressed and suppressed.

This gun is set up almost exactly like my LMT with some slight differences. They differ in an EOTech on the LMT and a PA microprism on the Caracal. Everything else is pretty much the same on both.

The Caracal is definitely lighter than the LMT. That's nice.

The Caracal struck me as maybe more accurate than the LMT. The two groups I shot on paper at 50 yds after zeroing and before switching to steels were all ragged holes with the shots touching. Or I was just shooting well today.

The reticle on the PA microprism took me a magazine to get used to and initially I didn't think I ran as fast with it. After that first mag I couldn't tell any difference between how long it takes me to acquire and send than my EOTech.

Unsuppressed it sent cases consistently to 4 o'clock. That was a pleasant surprise.

The three position gas block appears to vent unused gas back to the barrel like the LMT. This is nice because it's less gas venting that might come back at you or cause a need to clean stuff off by where it vents. You can tell where my LWRC vents and you need to clean the light and tapeswitch mount after shooting every couple range trips.

I detected ZERO ammonia while shooting. With PWS, LWRC and LMT there is just the faintest amount, but this Caracal my son and I both remarked that there was zero gas to the face, I mean not just a huge reduction but a complete elimination. I noted when my son shot it some gas leaving the ejection port when it cycled, but in practice we found it to be the best suppressor host either of us had shot in terms of the shooter getting gassed.

Ejection was to 2-2:30 in the suppressed setting with the can on. The LMT is the same suppressed as unsuppressed, which I thought showed they had really put some thought into their gas block ports. I thought about it and the more aggressive gas in suppressed mode makes sense as they're all filthy with a can, so 2-2:30 on a clean gun probably translates into something that still cycles after hard use.

We both found it to be very flat with the can on and we were really fast on follow up/multiple shots on the same target.

The recoil impulse is a little more abrupt but I wouldn't call it rough. Smoother than LWRC IMO.

Normally I wouldn't clean the piston block and op rod after every outing, but after switching the gas block to suppressed and back again later in the day, I felt that the sticky action of the adjustment knob indicated it was dirty in there after shooting. I left the piston in the cup but scrubbed everything else good and it was smooth again on reassembly.

The BCG was still pretty clean after 250 rounds. Still lubed well. The bolt and the inside of the upper receiver close to the chamber was bone dry, so my grease had cooked off and I am thinking there is a little more heat close to the star chamber on this rifle than on my LMT or LWRC.

I had zero malfunctions, which is what I expect from any AR I own.

I left the range super happy about this Caracal. With my LE discount I paid what I would have paid for a Spike's upper, and for my money this Caracal is a lot more upper. Excellent suppressor host. Light. Accurate. A great backup carbine to my LMT and an awesome piston AR in its own right. The Caracal deserves a little more rep than it enjoys IMO, it's a great design and I'm glad I picked one up. It's a keeper.

Great range report......I can't tell you how much I love mine...its my go to rifle....

I am completely new to the suppressed game and I found out very fast how quickly fouling stops a suppressed DI gun. I am looking at a sionics suppressed port upper and various ways to reduce gas on ny current (overgassed) uppers. Whether that is a BRT EZ tune or Riflespeed. However, I started looking at piston guns. PWS has been on my radar for awhile. I starting seeing adam arms on all the guntubers within the past couple weeks. I have never heard of this brand. Basically, is a piston gun worth the weight/proprietary parts to keep a suppressor host running cleaner? People keep telling me to just get a tuned DI, but I can still see that it's going to get dirty quickly. Thanks for any advice for a suppressor noobie. Also, your piston collection is nice.

In my opinion the Caracal and the LWRC aren't heavier enough to warrant bitching about. Now the LMT and 416, they are noticeably heavy.....but it's not a deal breaker, they're just built like tanks and I doubt you could break one.

I'd use the Caracal or the LWRC without hesitation if I had to have it on a sling for long periods. I can't overstate what a great rifle the Caracal is. If you're eligible for the LE/mil discount it's a no brainer. Way more gun than a comparable Spikes or BCM IMO.

Thanks bud! I was,looking at Adam Arms, but I think I'm going to go this direction.

How are the lowers marked? Curious if they say Nampa ID,. Caldwell ID, Boise, ID or something different.

I'd love a Nampa marked gun.

Thanks, already have a Boise marked piston gun :)

Has anyone with an 816 tried any aftermarket charging handles?

I’ve tried a FCD and a G in my 816 upper, and neither will close completely.  The just barely fit in the channel in the upper, but bind to the point of not moving after an inch or so.

works fine with a Radian

Can you elaborate on that?

arisaka makes a light mount that is not angled for the standard mlok handguard

Tomorrow when I'm off I can take a pic of mine

I’m thinking more about the “not standard MLok hex” part of what you’re saying.

it's straight and does not angle to follow the shape of the handguard, so it doesn't contact the non-standard angle on the Caracal handguard. Bought it for a Bren 2 and glad I kept it because it's just the thing on the Caracal.

AFAIK, the M-LOK standard only governs the slot, not the angle or width of the handguard sides which will vary depending on handguard mfr decision on HG diameter, and whether to have 7-side M-LOK or just 3-side M-LOK, and whatever styling touches they wish to impart to make theirs different from everybody's elses.

mlok is mlok

the standard angled mlok light mount is meant for the standard ar handguard and its associated angles, and will have problems with 416-like or non-AR mlok handguards with their different angles

et voila, the arisaka straight mount to the rescue

Are you saying that the width or height is greater than the ~1.5” width handguards  
that are common (but not standardized) on ARs due to the max barrel nut diameter without requiring timing of 1,3/8”?

I’m familiar with the spectrum of Arisaka mounts, its the handguard bit that I’m trying to understand. If its a bit larger than the common skinny AR rail, I’d find that to be a positive.

the angle from 3 and 9 o'clock to the pic rail is not the same as a standard octagonal mlok ar handguard because that distance is longer on a 416-like gun to accommodate the piston system

so if you put the standard angled mlok light mount that is meant for a standard octagonal mlok handguard on a 416-like, the angle is too severe and the mount will not clear the handguard

see how the pic rail sits higher on the Caracal handguard? The angle is shallower because of that. Quad version instead of mlok, but you get the idea.

Oh, that makes sense. Thanks, I just wasn’t visualizing it right.

The LMT R20 RAHE doesn't feel heavy at all.  MR556A1 ... that girl needs to start eating salads.

Looks like your upper / lower are two-tone or non-color matched too.

I'm 100% not in the "fit and finish" crowd, but have been disappointed with the CAR816A2s I've seen. They all have pretty dissimilar upper and lower anodizing. At their price point more effort should be exerted in this regard.

that pic was just for reference of their lower

my 816 sits on a PWS lower

Copy that.