New to this caliber weapon...looking to carry (small tactical knife & gun dealer) a "great value" in AR15...but got the following message from a very respected dealer in the SW...

"Rock River is a spin-off of Eagle Arms/ArmaLite.  I hear that they a good guys to deal with.  The only thing that I have heard negative about their weapons is the bbl.  Like all these companies building AR clones they do not build their bbl’s and they are not chrome lined.  When the weapons are used hard, the quality of the real mil-spec bbl’s will show up.  These companies also have a lot of dimension & tolerance problems in manufacturing.  I have seen hundreds/thousands of Bushmasters, ArmaLites, Olympics, and others go down in training and on the range over the years.  Being the “Colt Guy,” I always make fun of these weapons and say “what, you couldn’t afford a Colt?”  Everyone sees the problem first hand.
 
I have never fired a Rock River and I do not personally know anyone who owns one.  Our company deals mostly with L/E agencies and none of them will allow these weapons.  There is a guy in (this area) that builds AR’s with Rock River receivers and he is always trying to get a deal on Colt bbl’s from us.  He has had a constant stream of bbl related problems with the Rock River."


What's up with this..accurate info?  advice on chrome/no chrome barrels? 

THANKS!!!!

If you're looking for a weapon, buy a Bushmaster.  They're as close (for the $) as you can get to a true milspec one.  They're a little pricier than the RRAs (cheaper than Colts,) but in this case you truly get what you pay for.  RRA does not chrome line their barrel bores & chambers, as M16s are.  If you're looking for a casual shooter, than the RRA barrel will be OK if you properly maintain it.  Chrome lined barrels don't require as much.

Bogus...Bushmaster has filled lots of military contracts...seems to me the operator/bodyguard for Stormin' Norman during Desert Storm...carried a Bushmaster topped with an Aimpoint...Ive had lots of Colts and lots of Bushies and own Bushmaster, Colt, and RR (the Colt is the sloppiest fit of the lot) RR barrels are made by Wilson...not chrome lined..but certainly good barrels..Kreiger, Lilja, Hart, Obermeyer dont use Chrome lined barrels..either
Chrome lined barrels have a lot of fans...but so do the others...as for quality out of RR... talk to lots of guys arround here..mine is a quality piece just like their 1911 clones...my .02

9divdoc: Just because a company doesnt chrome line their barrels doesnt put them in league with Kreiger or Lilja, so that comparison isnt really valid.

Kharn

I have the RRA LEGP rifle from this year. This rifle is as good as any colt, bushy, ect.I shoot three touching at 100 yards with surplus ammo! Fit and finish are superb. Just because they don't crome their barrels is no reason to think they are not quality. I'll put their rifles up against any others, and they cost less than those overpriced sellout colts. If you want value without sacrificing quality get a Rock River Arms rifle.

I've got a RRA. Beautiful rifle. Fires great, and I haven't had any problems with it. One time I put 600rds of surplus through it without any cleaning and it functioned flawlessly. I haven't found any "dimension and tolerance problems" with mine.

I'm not a big fan of Colt. Reasons:

-The price doesn't justisfy the product. You are buying the name, and not much else. I'm sure they are good rifles, but I'd rather have a good rifle and more ammo
-They are PC up the ying yang. With their sear block, and a bunch of other things, it ain't worth it.

There are a lot of shooters getting into highpower match shooting using RRA's service rifle. If you want top accuracy, you don't necessarily want a chrome lined barrel. Sure, the military uses lined barrels, but that's for longevity & resistance to corrosion in situations where full-auto & lack of maintenance may be problems. The chrome plating process doesn't lend itself to producing really uniform bore dimensions, which is why Krieger, Douglas, Shilen, or any of the other companies producing match-grade barrels don't use it. The only problems I've seen with RRA rifles in match use is adjusting their trigger to 'make weight' to be legal in service rifle matches - you gotta bend springs to adjust it, which is an in-exact way to go about it.

You know I really get tired of reading about how Bushmaster uses 4150 steel with chrome lining and that makes them superior to everything else ever made.  I would love for someone to produce some concrete evidence that a 4150 steel barrel actually lasts any longer than one made of 4140.  There is very little difference in the two steels with 4150 being a bit more hard and less ductile due to a higher carbon content.  My M1 carbine and '03 springfield don't have chrome lined barrels and they have survived 60 years of use with no loss of accuracy (none than I can confirm anyway).  Now listen to this... If you have a chrome lined barrel the bulllet will obviously be in contact with that hard chrome at all times.  This would seem to be a similar situation as a barrel and liner such as the composite barrels you can buy for the 10/22 or the Remington carbon barreled varminter that came out recently.. So if the bullet NEVER EVEN TOUCHES the barrel steel what does it really matter what the barrel is made of as long as it is strong enough?  Hell the barrel could be made of aluminum if the liner IE the chrome was strong/thick enough...  I am NOT saying that I think one steel is better than another as I really do not have a materials engineering background.  However I am saying that there is not too much difference between the two steels and the chrome lining does nothing but extend cleaning intervals and protect the bore from corrosion from hostile environments at the expense of some (not much) accuracy.  In my eyes, in my application, the chrome lining makes NO difference in the rifles practical application as I am able to clean it after every range session and I do not swim with it in the Dead Sea on a regular basis!

So pretty please would some "concerned citizen Busy owner" please slap me with a proper rebuttal as I have made such outrageous claims!!

Why....if I had my duelin' glove.....

I have a rifle from RRA, fired a few hundred rounds through it. No problems. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. Dealer says he is very happy, very few problems or complaints, which makes HIS life easier. The one he really bitched about was Armalite. Go figure.

His suggestion was RR if you wanted a good trigger, Bushmaster if you wanted to save a few bucks.

ILove2Shoot had it right on...I'm look'n for that "common man's urban (150 yards and in) taliban eliminator"...something with a strong appetite for whatever it's spittin out, and accurate within a block-and-a-half...balanced in the hand (the RockRiver was sweet)...so recommendations are appreciated - stay at $800 or less please? :-}

I own a couple of Rock River rifles and a few Bushmasters. The non-chromed RRA barrels smoke the Bushmasters in accuracy but copper foul pretty easy. It takes a over dozen patches of Sweets to get the copper out. MY Bushmaster barrels NEVER build up copper. I have shot 1000+ rounds through the Bushie and then ran a half dozen patches of Sweets through the barrel and it was clear of copper. Both manufactures make good products. My next upper maybe a RRA DCM. Good luck.

I haven't tried a RRA upper or barrel yet, but I'm impressed by what I see in the lowers.  For casual shooting chrome lined is probably better for you. You sacrifice a little bit of accuracy but they're much easier to maintain.  You might consider getting a RRA lower (to save money) and putting a Bushmaster or Colt upper on it (for the chrome lined barrel).

The people who own/operate RRA were originally with Eagle Arms when they were located in Coal Valley, Illinois (prior to the current ArmaLite, Incorporated incarnation). They are not in the least bit affiliated as of now.

I have a RRA DCM and it is one hell of a rifle. 1500 or so rnds in it and zero problems. Check out this link for more info:
http://www.cruffler.com/review-August-01.html


Allen

www.cruffler.com/review-August-01.html

Does RRA use 5.56 or .223 barrel and chamber?
Thanks,
Steve