I had the chance to do a quick review of the latest rifle from LaRue Tactical, the 7.62 PredatOBR. The Larue PredatOBR is an interesting rifle that comes packed into a small black toolbox. That’s right, a toolbox. The rifle comes apart and is stored in a drag bag with pouches. It is offered in 14.5”, 16” and 18” barrel lengths. The 16” and 18” have slightly longer 14” hand guards than the shorter 14.5” barrel which gets a 12″ model.
The LaRue PredatOBR was initially offered for pre-order in March of 2012 and has just started shipping in recent months. An announcement from LaRue Tactical explained that the delay was due to LaRue beginning production of barrels in house. All previous rifles to date had come with Lothar Walther LW-50 barrels with polygonal twist rifling. LaRue is now handling the production of rifle barrels in house, and as of this writing I do not know the barrel specifications of the PredatOBR other than the twist is the same
as previous rifles. The current barrels being shipped in the PredatOBR line are called “Field Grade” barrels and come with a coupon for a “Match Grade” barrel free when barrel standards meet LaRue satisfaction.
The LaRue PredatOBR is designed as a complete take down rifle, and according to the LaRue website has a guarantee of 0.0 to 0.5MOA shift if assembled as instructed. The Upper and Lower are stored together with the LaRue R.A.T. stock attached. The barrel assembly and hand guard are removed and stored seperately. To install, simply drop the barrel extension into the upper receiver and tighten with supplied wrench. Then drop the hand guard over the barrel and using the levers snap it into place.
The rifle is made with good machining and is very attractive. There is no mistake who makes the rifle as every part has LaRue stamped on it somewhere. When the rifle is assembled the gas block is under the hand guard, but careful thought was put into its placement as it’s easily accessible. As an owner of an OBR I was happy to see that the hand guard has “suppressed” on one side and “unsuppressed” on the other. The PST (port selector technology) gas block is not marked on either rifle as to which way is for suppressed, but the PredatOBR solves that with it being machined in the hand guard. The PredatOBR uses the same high quality BCG and PRI Gas Buster charging handle that the OBR does. The PredatOBR has what appears to be the
same grip panels that the PredatAR series rifles use, and with the rifle I have came with both black and UDE. Other than the rifle being a “take down” rifle, the PredatOBR also comes with an AR Gold trigger which is different from any trigger in previous rifles from LaRue. When assembled the rifle looks very attractive and is surely going to get attention if you go to a public range.
This rifle will be equipped with a Leupold Tactical MK6 3-18×44 with Alamo Four Star DLOC-M4 L 34mm mount. Being as this is a rifle equipped with a “field grade” barrel, I did not have high expectations for how well it would shoot. Once the scope was leveled, mounted, and bore sighted, I was able to zero the rifle with ease using 178 grain A-Max Freedom Munitions ammunition. With less than 10 rounds down the pipe the gun was able to manage a solid 5 round group under 1” at 100 yards much exceeding my expectations. The rifle balances easily and while it’s a full weight gun, it would not be difficult to shoot off hand with the 18” barrel I used. If I were to carry the rifle afield and wanted to shoot off hand with a suppressor, I would think the 14.5” barrel would be preferred.
A couple of notes regarding the optic and mount: This optic is fantastic! The MK6 glass is bright and clear edge to edge, the adjustments are true and easy to use. The locking pinch and turn elevation turret makes sure that no matter what conditions it will not turn unless you want it to. This optic is light, com
pact and frankly perfect for a gas gun. I hope to do an in depth review of this later. The Alamo Four Star mount is a 34mm extended relief version of the one Charles mounted his NF in and what I mounted my US Optics SR8 in. After using the Alamo Four Star mounts I don’t think I’ll go back to using any other mount. The optic rests in the rings and mounting is very easy. Return to zero has been good and it seems to be very well made. Alamo Four Star is also a Texas company and I will be using these for long term tests. Look more on these in the near future.
Overall, the balance of the rifle and how it shoots so far has been fantastic. I believe that LaRue Tactical has made a rifle that will no doubt sell easily and is full of features. It has some very good potential for future expansion of the line and should have a good amount of accessories that LaRue can make. I imagine having a 14.5” barrel to hunt with, and a 22” 6.5CM barrel to use for long range would be awesome (though no hint or plans for different calibers has been stated). Cautiously, I wonder though about taking the rifle apart and putting it together often and how true the components will be able to maintain the return to zero over time. Also, with wait times being measured in years I think that there are viable alternatives in the same price range if you are not a very patient person. I think LaRue Tactical has a winner with the LaRue PredatOBR, and believe that the rifle will prove to be a very flexible and adaptable to multiple styles o
f shooting.
by: Jason Hallmark
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The quick detach barrel and handguard is excellent.
I’m trying to build PredatOBR 7.62 with this parts:
BARREL: Christensen 16″ Carbon 6.5 Creedmoor
GASBLOCK: SLR Sentry 7-Adj Titanium
BCG: JP VMOS™ with JP EnhancedBolt JPBC-8 BCG
TRIGGER: JP Fire Control with Roller Trigger JPFCP-1EZ-R
BUFFER: KynSHOT Hydraulic Recoil
BUFFER-TUBE: POF A2 7-Position Anti-Tilt
CHARGER: Radian Raptor
STOCK: Magpul ACS MAG370 with Larue RISR
How’s the compatibility? I don’t know yet.
John,
Recently my department’s SRT / Sniper Team received eight 7.62 PredatOBR’s with 18″barrels as well as eight Tranquillo suppressors. I’ve been a Sniper on the team for seven years during which time we carried and utilized both Remington and FNH bolt guns. We tested a dozen or so semiauto gas guns before getting in touch with LaRue and going with their rifles. It goes without saying that this specific rifle far exceeds any semi auto gun we’ve fired or purchased which included H&K’s, JP Enterprises, LWRCI, DPMS, Sig Sauer and custom builders. Mark LaRue and his entire company went above and beyond to get us setup. Their customer service is without a doubt light years beyond anyone else we dealt with. The fit and finish on the PredatOBR literally makes other rifles we tested seem like patrol rifles in regards to accuracy, tighter tolerances and innovative features. The easy takedown of this particular rifle makes cleaning and maintenance light years easier than conventional rifles. Even following complete disassembly which includes the removal of the barrel these guns hold their zero every time. We trust our lives to these guns and I’d have zero issue with recommending them to anyone who’s in the market for a serious piece of American made hardware.
Still waiting for your in-depth review…
John, sorry it took me so long to get back to this comment. I somehow missed it. I had intended on doing an in depth review as I had just received the rifle when I wrote the above. However, this rifle is no longer available to me. The owner moved too far away from me to be able to work with it, but I’m told it is working well and shoots fine. I’d ask LaRue for a sample to review, but I’m afraid they sell all they make.