Rock River rifles
 

Relevant to quality materials/parts and weapon reliability, how do Rock River 5.56/223 Rem. rifles compare with DPMS, Bushmaster, & Armalite?

Along with .223 Rem., can Rock River rifles also shoot 5.56 mm military ammo with it's longer neck?

Re: Rock River rifles
 

It is my understanding that it needs to be chambered in 5.56 to shoot it safely similar to the 357mag/38special.

5.56 will shoot .223, but a .223 will not shoot a 5.56, but in am bicurious newbie in the AR world so don't take what I said as gosspel.

Re: Rock River rifles
 

Check out "the chart" at www.M4carbine.net to see exactly what parts from what mfgs are mil spec and what aren't.

While RRA has a lot of commercial parts, they are generally quality rifles. It really depends on what you're use is.

I currently or have owned several ARs of various makes, and I like my RRAs as well as any of the other producers in a similar price range, except BCM. For a seriously better gun you'll have to double the money + and step up to LMT, LWRC, Noveske, etc.

RRA chambers rifles in 5.56, .223, and .223 Wylde. You can shoot .223 in 5.56, but not the other way around. Of course both will work, but there is a margin of "unsafeness" when shooting a 5.56 cartridge in a .223 chamber.

Clear as mud?:confused_m:

Re: Rock River rifles
 

RRAs barrels only come in 5.56 Nato or Wylde chambering according to their website. Either will work fine with .223 or 5.56 ammo, regardless of the the barrel markings. http://www.rockriverarms.com/index.c...ategory_id=272

Olympic is the only AR maker who offers true 223 chambers, as far as I know, though there may be other makers of custom match barrels who do also.


From Wiki:

The 5.56mm NATO chambering, known as a NATO or mil-spec chamber, has a longer leade, which is the distance between the mouth of the cartridge and the point at which the rifling engages the bullet. The .223 Remington chambering, known as SAAMI chamber, is allowed to have a shorter leade, and is only required to be proof tested to the lower SAAMI chamber pressure. To address these issues, various proprietary chambers exist, such as the Wylde chamber (Rock River Arms) or the ArmaLite chamber, which are designed to handle both 5.56mm NATO and .223 Remington equally well. The dimensions and leade of the .223 Remington minimum C.I.P. chamber also differ from the 5.56mm NATO chamber specification.

Using commercial .223 Remington cartridges in a 5.56mm NATO chambered rifle should work reliably, but generally will not be as accurate as when fired from a .223 Remington chambered gun due to the longer leade. Using 5.56mm NATO mil-spec cartridges (such as the M855) in a .223 Remington chambered rifle can lead to excessive wear and stress on the rifle and even be unsafe, and the SAAMI recommends against the practice. Some commercial rifles marked as ".223 Remington" are in fact suited for 5.56mm NATO, such as many commercial AR-15 variants and the Ruger Mini-14, but the manufacturer should always be consulted to verify that this is acceptable before attempting it, and signs of excessive pressure (such as flattening or gas staining of the primers) should be looked for in the initial testing with 5.56mm NATO ammunition.

Re: Rock River rifles
 

I've owned several RRA carbines and they were all top notch. Right now new DPMS carbines are a better deal at www.rrarms.com:

http://www.rrarms.com/catalog.php?prod=GRFLP-WCP

Re: Rock River rifles
 

^^ to bad none of them are in stock!

Re: Rock River rifles
 

It isn't the neck. It's more that the 5.56 has more pressure than the .223. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5.56x45....223_Remington

The RRA is better than what you listed, but not as good as LMT or others.