POF USA

[mtneer13]

anybody have a patriot ordnance factory ar in .223/.308??? if so, let me know what good/bad news comes with them...looks like good quality, but what is the opinion here???

[mpardun]

Had an 18" SPR for 2 years and sold it.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z302/mpardun/MP_SPR_RT.jpg


POSITIVE:

Very Accurate (sub MOA - .75 best group)
Great fit-n-finish
Well executed early piston design


NEGATIVE:

Heavy (the Noveske N4 Recce that replaced it is nearly 2 lbs lighter: swapped PRS for a UBR)
Piston op-rod rides too high above the barrel (in my layman's opinion)
Proprietary parts (although I never had a need to replace them)
Had trouble with Timney trigger (POF replaced it Free of Charge)
One (only) Customer Service experience - just had a very hard time getting a hold of anybody via Email or Phone (took several weeks)
Wish they could use standard rails from DD, Troy or LaRue - or do a better job of lightening them up as they are bulky & heavy


All in all, it is a great rifle.

SUMMARY (my opinion):
Do you need a piston: NO
Are there better values & options for your money in the market today: YES
What drew me to stray: weight, bulk and proprietary parts
What to consider instead (as I did): Noveske Switchblock or LaRue Stealth or OBR 18"

...I went with Noveske SwitchBlock route as I shoot suppressed, the Stealth is a relatively heavy upper and the OBR was not available at the time. I now own 2 Complete Noveske's (16" Recce, 10.5" LoPro), BCM 12.5" and LMT M4 and love them all. I currently covet a Knights SR15 and OBR, but hell, this is always changing.

[C-grunt]

I posted here a while back that my dept SWAT team recently switched from shorty Colts to POFs and they initially liked them. Word around the dept now is the teams are thinking of switching back to Colt, but I havent talked to any of the guys involved directly.

[reiswigt]

I have a P308, like the rifle, hated the wait. The ordering process was less than satisfactory as well. The rifle does not like Federal Powershock soft points.

[dmancornell]

I have a 20" POF-308. Love it for what it is (an accurate piston gun). Bought mine on GB, so no waiting. Things I liked:

- Doesn't need regular cleaning or even lubing since it is not DI and has the NP3 finish
- Nice trigger out of the box
- Raised rail wasn't really an issue, I put a scope on a Larue mount and still got good cheek weld

On the other hand, it is heavy as hell. I'd imagine the 14"/16" models would be more tolerable. Maybe I'll get the SR-25 when I win the lottery.

At the end it was down to POF vs LWRC. Picked POF because it's been on the market longer and costs less... no cool side charging handle though. Both of them are pretty heavy.

[platoonDaddy]

My partner has the R308-14-MRR-308, dang great shooting weapon. The weight isn't an issue, believe it is around 9.5 pounds loaded. Recoil is like shooting a .22.

He had an issue with the buffer (actually turned out to be the ammo) and called POF, the owner answered and assisted him.


FYI: Cabela's is also selling .308 and .223 POF's

[87GN]

I was given a tour of POF a few months back, the write up is here. (http://vuurwapenblog.com/2010/03/26/inside-pof-usa/)

I left with two T&E uppers, just returned them last month, still need to do a writeup on both...

I went in thinking that I wouldn't really like the product, but thought I'd give it a shot. I came away with great appreciation for the attention to detail I saw throughout the manufacturing process, and the uppers (one piston/op-rod, one standard AR with a gas tube, but all other POF mods) performed great.