5.56 OBR as a SPR?

[C-grunt]

I was at the Scottsdale Gun Club the other day and handled a Larue 5.56 OBR. It was priced at 2k.

Why don't we see these rifles more often in the SPR role? It's not terribly expensive, has a lot of features and if it shoots as well as its bigger brother it will easily be accurate enough.

[Djstorm100]

Excuse my stupidity here spr? Special purpose rifle?

[C-grunt]

Yes. Or even a RECCE.

[wetidlerjr]

The United States Navy Mark 12 Mod 0/1 Special Purpose Rifle (SPR) is a rifle in service with United States Special Operations Forces in Operation Enduring Freedom and previously in Operation Iraqi Freedom. SPR initially stood for Special Purpose Receiver, but that nomenclature has been replaced as the weapon became a stand-alone weapons system, and not just an add-on upper receiver assembly (part of the proposed SOPMOD upgrades). The SPR was eventually type classified by the U.S. Navy as the Mk 12. Note that the weapon was developed by a Navy office (Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division) for SOCOM units, not for use by units that fall under the conventional US Navy.

From Wikipedia: SPR (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_12_Special_Purpose_Rifle)

[BrigandTwoFour]

My guess is that you don't see them more often is because of the $2.3K price tag. Units that get issued rifles like the MK12 or RECCE variants could produce something in-house using a M4 (plenty of those around), match barrel, and a handguard. That's a lot cheaper to do than an OBR for 5.56

I would expect to see the OBR in service with plenty of LE and contractors though.

[C-grunt]

My guess is that you don't see them more often is because of the $2.3K price tag. Units that get issued rifles like the MK12 or RECCE variants could produce something in-house using a M4 (plenty of those around), match barrel, and a handguard. That's a lot cheaper to do than an OBR for 5.56

I would expect to see the OBR in service with plenty of LE and contractors though.

Im talking about more civilian useage. This rifle was selling for $1999 and a lot of the SPR rifles I see people using cost around 2k or more. I was just wondering if there is something bad about them that I dont know about.

[BrigandTwoFour]

I'm sure there's nothing bad about them. Larue is top notch stuff, and I have heard that the 7.62 version is in the hands of a lot of top notch guys out in the desert.

I would imagine the reason you don't see more of them in civilian hands is the wait list (6+ months, I think) and the price tag. A lot of people may have the $2K+ rifles, but they may have spread the cost out over several months rather than dropping it all at once.

[j-dubya]

I agree with you completely, C-grunt.

Having used the MK12 quite a bit overseas, and owning a Centurion-built MK12 upper for a few years, I still ended up selling it in favor of my 16" OBR...

[El Cid]

They are great rifles. I suspect the proprietary upper/handguard may turn away some folks. It means you can't swap to other handguards or use the upper receiver w/o the LRT handguard. For me it's no big deal - LOVE my PredatAR 556 and recently ordered a 762. But I believe a lot of the popularity of AR's comes from the huge aftermarket and ability to customize it however you want.

[TehLlama]

Too many folks waiting for the PredatOBR flavor (the lighter handguard with the match barrel) maybe?

It's possible to make a really accurate 18" or 16" for cheaper (WOA and Rainier Ultramatch SS barrels), and spend more on the optic, but the budget is no object set for SPR's is probably more excited about the authenticity of a particular Douglas barrel, I guess. I have no complaints about my Centurion DMR, except that I usually can't keep up with it.