In addition to enhanced production by recognized AR15 outfits, each and every firearm maker that has a pulse seems to be producing some variation of an AR-15 today. Half of those rifles are direct-impingement types with the same solid design envisioned by Eugene Stoner when it was first introduced more than 40 years ago.

Rock River Arms was launched 11 years ago by 2 brothers, Mark and Chuck Larson, who worked out of a garage. It has grown progressively ever since and today employs in excess of ninety individuals. Although Rock River produces rifles for several government agencies, the particular majority of their sales are to the civilian market. Rock River Arms offers 50 or so versions of weapons, but customers can make up their own designs, utilizing a great number of parts alternatives - sights, rails, stocks, barrel length and contour, and more. Rock River will additionally add add-ons like flashlights and red dot sights. Rock River Arms is like an a la carte workshop for weapons. Rock River doesn’t make numerous components on site. Rock River designs and specifications components, then receive them, perform inspections, complete them, assemble them into weapons and ship them out. The RRA factory is complete with a buffing and blasting area, where raw forgings become finished parts. Rock River Arms is definitely a family small business with the brothers Chuck and Mark Larson as well as their father and one of their sons working at the plant. Looking about the facility there were many boxes of rifle carrier groups, essentially the bolts of the rifles. Rock River Arms offers an almost countless number of chambering options for the basic AR platform. Once you own a lower half which consists of the stock and receiver, you can easily buy upper halves (barrel, carrier group, and gas system) in all kinds of chambering and interchange them freely. There's even a company that offers a .410 shotgun upper half for the AR15 rifle.

Components are measured as well as tested as they arrive in to the production facility and at various stages during production. Tested for hardness, testing is done all the way down to the flash hider. All of the little sub assemblies - sights, gas blocks, carrier groups, safeties, and so on -- come together at the stations where the upper halves and lower halves are put together. Once at a work station the gunsmith assembles the upper half of what will be a future complete rifle. The gunsmith takes special care to assemble the upper with the silver tube running along the top of the barrel which directs gas from the gas block to run the action. During the upper half assembly, the headspace gauges are used to check the dimensions of the chamber. The bolt of a gun must close up over the green “go” gauge but not close over the red “no go,” which is slightly oversized. Cartridges can rupture, occasionally dangerously, in an oversized chamber. Rock River offers the choice of a standard trigger or a two-stage National Match trigger for serious target shooting. A two stage trigger is the desired style for military rifle competitions such as the famous National Match at Camp Perry, Ohio. Pulling a two-stage trigger, you feel slack as the trigger moves a short distance, then a light, clean break. The Rock River Arms gunsmith will check the weight of the trigger pull by dangling a 4 1/ 2 pound weight from the trigger. If the weight doesn’t trip the trigger, he will file the trigger sear to lighten the pull. Lighter trigger pulls are also available from leading Rock River Arms dealers. Lowers also come with options such as an oversized winter trigger guard, originally designed for police officers who needed to keep their hands inside warm gloves but still be ready to shoot in cold weather. Winter trigger guards work perfectly for winter coyote hunters as well. As the final pieces are assembled into a lower half of what will be the final rifle, this lower half could also be matched to an endless combination of barrel lengths, barrel contour, hand-guards and calibers.

Once uppers and lowers are joined to complete the final rifle configuration they are tagged and ready for test firing. All rifles are custom built according to customer specifications.

The shipping area is a flurry of activity. Parts coming in and rifles going out. A literal symphony in action as the Rock River arms factory pushes in raw components destined to become full rifles. Oddly enough, there seems to be no end in sight as the operation continues day after day.

Every rifle is sighted in and test fired before it leaves the factory. The Rock River Arms finisher loads the magazines prior to every rifle test fire. Using a fast bench loading tool, the finisher snaps 20-30 rounds into a magazine in an instant.

Several times a day, assemblers and firearm testers load the Rock River vehicle with rifles and take all of them away to the range. Shooting from the back of the vehicle, every rifle with sights is sighted in, and then test-fired for function. Testers shoot at least two magazines through the fully automatic guns. Who says semi automatics aren’t accurate? With barrels provided by Wilson Barrel, the primary attraction of Rock River Arms rifles is that they shoot much better than advertised.

Thanks to Rock River Arms AR-15 AR-15 BB2522 Operator 2 light-weight, it's hassle-free to carry and the Rock River Arms AR15 Model BB2522 Rock River Arms is even much simpler to shoot. Built with completely leading-grade materials and produced to the strictest requirements, this Rock River Arms AR-15 AR15 Model BB2522 Rock River Arms Operator 2 is really accurate, long-lasting, and well-performing, and makes a excellent addition to any gun collection.

The Rock River Arms AR-15 AR15 BB2522 Operator 2 rifle includes a Rock River Arms winter trigger guard and the ERGO Sure Grip. While I prefer a hard pistol grip, I have long touted use of pistol grips such as the ERGO that add a little material to the backstrap of the rifle. Standard AR pistol grips are too small for anyone who do not have child-size hands, and they encourage poor shooting technique by positioning the second joint of the finger on the trigger. After market grips such as the ERGO correct that downside. The rifles are built with the RRA Star safety/selector, which sticks out a bit more from the receiver than a mil-spec safety. It is not ambidextrous. The safety performed just like it should, but I like the appearance of the mil-spec design better probably because its what I'm used to. When I first acquired the Operator and tried out the trigger, I was really astonished. As a general rule, production line triggers on AR-15s are horrible. Not so the Operator trigger. Its crisp, light, two-stage trigger that breaks right at four lbs -not what I was expecting at all. This was just before I realized that all the Operator rifles come equipped with Rock River Arms well-respected two-stage National Match trigger system, which features a lightened hammer.

The light, two-stage trigger was a welcome resource in speed drills, but not as much as when shooting the Operators from the bench. If you've ever had to wrestle with a weighty, gritty AR trigger when attempting to shoot groups, you know just how hard that can be.

Listed here are the technical specs when delivered from my web based dealer.

Manufacturer Rock River Arms
Model: Operator 2 Series
Type: direct-impingement AR semi auto
Capacity: accepts AR-15 magazines of any capacity
Caliber: 5.56 NATO chamber
Barrel length: 16-inches chrome moly, 1:9" twist
Overall length: 37 inches
Weight: 7.2 pounds (Entry and Tactical), 8.0 pounds ()
Hand guard: Half-Quad aluminum free float (BB2522)
Stock: RRA Operator CAR compartment stock, ERGO Sure Grip pistol grip
Sights: post front; wind age-adjustable rear aperture
Trigger: RRA National Match, 4 pounds pull
Sale Price: $1,000.00 , Retail $1,515.00

Accuracy Results - Rock River Arms Tactical Rifle AR15 BB2522 Operator 2

Load Muzzle Velocity (fps) Standard Deviation (fps) Group Size (in.)
Black Hills 55-gr. SP 2,910 12 0.99
Black Hills 60-gr. V-Max 2,880 16 0.87
American Eagle 55-gr. FMJ 2,810 24 1.05
Black Hills Match King 69-gr. HP 2,780 21 1.03
Hornady 55-gr. V-Max 2,935 13 1.11
Black Hills 52-gr. HP 3,042 18 1.12

Rock River Arms AR-15 AR-15 Model BB2522 Rock River Arms Operator 2 has a list price of 1515.00. I ended up ordering it over the internet for much less. Nearly all dealers in my vicinity wanted list price ... plus which did not set well with my financing plan. I purchased my Rock River Arms AR-15 BB2522 Operator 2 from Class 3 Weapons in Houston, Texas at a considerable cost savings. Rock River Arms is at present offering the Operator rifles as a package deal, with the rifle of your choice equipped with its National Match two-stage trigger, any one of four rear sights, a one-inch or 30mm Hi-Rise scope mount, two 30-round magazines and a case. These packages start at an incredibly economical price of $1,000 according to the RRA factory website. I ended up purchasing it online for much less. Most dealers in my location desired retail plus which did not set well with my budget. I purchased my Operator from Class 3 Weapons in Houston Texas at a appreciable savings of only $969.00 which included shipping. Based on where you live your cost will vary based on shipping and taxes if relevant. For the time being, thanks Rock River for a awesome firearm and keep up the good work. I am off to the local community firing range to see what this power house can do again.


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