OAF Nation and Noveske made this collab gun 2-3 years ago. I was in the market for a new AR, am a big fan of OAF Nation, and always wanted another Noveske since the first AR I ever had was one of theirs. Technically, this was a factory gun but I’ve swapped the vast majority of parts on it so I think it counts. The base rifle was $2k and includes their Gen I receivers, one of their 14.5” skinny barrels with SiCo brake, NSR 13, Magpul furniture, and flat Geissele SD-E.
Parts that I’ve kept:
Receivers
Barrel
Gas tube and block
Trigger
BCG
Misc parts of the LPK
Working front to back, here are the parts that I’ve changed, and why. Plenty of it is cosmetic, because there are more than enough products on the market that look good and function well, so I like to have both. The other part of it is because I’m slightly OCD about having multiple parts from the same brand.
Muzzle device: the SiCo brake was, as you’d expect, super brakey. I first changed it to a BCM comp which I am a big fan of, but more recently swapped it to a SF WarComp. When I’m back in a free state, an RC2 will be one of my first purchases and though I don’t plan on suppressing a 16” gun often, I want to be able to. Plus the closed time WarComp is so hot right now.
Rail: I liked the NSR better than I expected but I was kind of bored with it to be honest. I think BCM’s MCMR looks far better, and since MLOK is apparently a superior mounting system, I used that as an excuse to give the rifle a makeover. It doesn’t hurt that it’s a tad bit lighter too.
WML: I’ve had great experiences with SureFire and really liked the concept of their Intellibeam line. I wasn’t sure how well it’d actually work, and did have an issue at first, but SureFire took care of it and the Scout Intellibeam has been great ever since. BCM Scout MLOK mount because BCM is awesome.
Take down pins: BAD ETP/EPP set. These things are really nice for how cheap they are in the grand scheme. They may not have the Noveske Iron Cross logo, but they are far easier to use than the standard pins. All of my guns have these, it’d be awesome if more companies used them on base guns.
Bolt Catch: I’ve used both the FCD ABC/R and Geissele Maritime Bolt Catch a lot. I don’t know if I have a preference, which is rare.
Mag release: FCD EMR. Same as above, really small part but I appreciate the finer details. The curved shape feels a little better and this has the ideal profile, for my purposes, over the EMR-C or the BAD design (can’t remember its name).
Safety: AXTS/Radian Talon. Very positive, I like that it can rotate between 45-90, and I didn’t have to choose between 17 models to figure out which one I liked.
Furniture: I like Magpul a lot, but I just prefer BCM’s furniture, plus I wanted FDE. I used the standard vertical grip with the NSR and really liked the QD feature, but never used the storage compartment so when I changed over the MLOK, I got the Mod 3 to save some weight and money. I also prefer the SOPMOD cheekweld to the standard. BCM MLOK rail panels are en route.
FA: just like the EMRs and BAD push pins, all of my ARs have the FCD LDFA. It makes a difference when using an ambi charging handle, so why not?
Buffer: VLTOR A5 system because of the reported benefits, frequently discussed here. I’ve paired it with a SpringCo Green spring and I believe the BCM receiver extension. A5-3 has worked flawlessly through a fair amount of gunk.
CH: I’m a fan of the BCM ambi handle but it did tend to pinch sometimes. I’m also a big fan of Geissele but always felt that the SCH wings were a tad too large. I jumped on the ACH when they were released and it’s been great.
Sights: this is the one thing that is still incomplete for this rifle. Initially it wore an EXPS-3 and G33 magnifier. I’m still a big EOTech fan but wanted to try an LPVO. The Steiner P4 allowed me to try a decent optic at a good price and I’ve found that I really like the concept. Hopefully by Christmas, it’ll have a Razor Gen II-E in a Geissele 1.93” mount. I had been eagerly waiting for the Scalarworks mount, but decided that I don’t need BUIS on this gun, especially with an optic as rugged as the Razor, so I don’t need QD and want a mount that is just as durable as the optic.
Sling: I posted a dedicated review of this sling in Jason’s thread, but bottom line is that the Redback One sling offers something that no one else does, and it works very well. Mounting it on an RSA up front is the best option that I have found.
Currently the gun has right around 4k rounds through it and it has worked great the entire time, except for the one time I let the barrel get too dirty. I’m very happy with it, and since it was a limited release, I’m glad that I have it, but I don’t know that I’ll ever buy another Noveske. The magwell is just a tad too tight (which was a problem with my first Noveske) so Gen 3 PMAGs and USGI mags are the only ones that’ll drop free. If I have the desire to spend over $1600 on an AR again, I’ll get a KAC. If not, I’ll stick to BCM.
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Originally Posted by gaijin
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