Gun Test: Rock River Arms’ LAR-47 Rifle in 7.62x39mm

By Andy Massimilian

Companies have been building AR-15 rifles chambered in 7.62x39mm for years. Unfortunately, those rifles that use standard AR-15-style lower receivers are often unreliable because the straight-walled magazine well of an AR-15 is not well suited to cartridges with tapered cases. Special magazine followers help, but there’s no getting around the fact that the 7.62x39mm cartridge works far better in the AK’s characteristically curved magazine, which doesn’t fit the AR-15’s magazine well.

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The LAR-47 from Rock River Arms (RRA) is the company’s first rifle chambered in 7.62x39mm, and it solves this feeding problem by using a radically redesigned AR-15 lower receiver that accepts many unmodified AK-47 magazines. The LAR-47 Delta I tested, with its quad-rail handguard, ERGO grip and more sophisticated collapsible stock, is an upgrade to the standard model.

Running The BEAST

The LAR-47 uses the AR-15’s conventional direct gas impingement operating system with the gas block mounted in a carbine-length position. The rifle uses forged aluminum receivers, but the lower has a magazine well shaped to accommodate AK-47 magazines with their characteristic curve and rear locking tab. Like the AK-47, the LAR-47 lacks a bolt catch so the bolt closes on an empty …Read the Rest

Source:: Tactical Life