Raise the Bar: Barrett MRAD .338 Lapua Mag. and REC7 5.56 NATO

By Tom Beckstrand

Barrett has been building precision rifles for a few decades and knows how to make guns that shoot. The M82, the first semiautomatic .50-caliber precision rifle, went into production in the early ’80s, and Barrett has been in the gun business ever since.

A couple of bolt-action .50s followed the M82, and Barrett’s first non-.50 bolt action came in 1998. The M98B isn’t a variation of a sporting rifle; it was built from the ground up to be a precision rifle. Available in calibers ranging from .308 Win. to .338 Lapua, it was the MRAD’s predecessor.

In 2007, Barrett unveiled its REC7. This piston-operated, AR-style rifle offers all the advantages of a piston system while keeping down weight. It is as accurate as any direct-impingement rifle, exorcising another of the demons that haunt most piston guns.

The triple-lug design is also three deep. This gives the bolt a short throw and lots of engagement surface when the …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo