Battle Rifle - ‘a military service weapon that fires a full power rifle cartridge.’
Unfortunately stripping a rifle down to that short of an explanation does some disservice to the SR-25 Enhanced Match Carbine. The following AAR is a summary of about 600 rounds of ‘alone’ time between the SR-25 EMC and myself. This is a rifle that will be drooled over by many, afforded by few, and absolutely appreciated by everyone who gets to spend time with it. Consider this a follow-up to my review of the 11.5 and 16” 5.56 Knights platforms. It is a weapon of a whole new caliber, and yes, pun intended.
Knights Armament SR-25 EMC
As far back as last summer my consideration of a battle rifle was peaked by the Larue OSR. As my skill-sets grew with the AR-15 platform my demand for a relatively light weight, accurate, and balanced 7.62 platform changed as well. At this point there was not a commercially made AR-10 style rifle that seemed to fit. Larue’s rifle was still being billed primarily as a long range marksman’s rifle, the REPR was only still on the horizon, the LMT 7.62 MRP was somewhere floating around, and no clue on the Massoud.
Fast forward to late 2009 with the introduction of the Knight’s Mk11 Carbine. I remember getting a few emails from RetreatHell with the subject basically boiling down to, “Holy mother of god, you need to see what Chris brought to class.” I was smitten by that rifle, it was exactly what I wanted, but absolutely out of my price range. So I tabled the idea and settled for the Larue OSR in a 16” configuration. Skip forward to SHOT ’10 and Knight’s introduction of the SR-25 EMC rifle. A gun that was an improvement in every way over the Mk11 carbine. Lighter, more durable, more reliable, smoother recoiling, and enough bells and whistles to stand feature to feature with it’s smaller SR-15 sibling. Make no mistake about it, this gun is accurate, but it’s a fighting carbine. It’s meant to be driven…hard, aggressively, and on the run.
I had to have one. Simple as that.
Lets get down to brass tax here. Running a 7.62 carbine is not easy on the wallet, even if you reload it’s a major consideration before you take the plunge. Especially if you intend to run the rifle with a high round count you’re looking at a sizable investment in ammo alone. I think that’s a pretty strong litmus test if you’re going to dive in to the deep end with one of these rifles. If you can stand the pain, come on in, the water’s fine!
Features
The biggest upgrades over the Mk11 carbine are related to the barrel and gas system. (Author’s note: KevinB, please feel free to correct anything I may get wrong). The rifle’s gas system has been extended further out, making it rifle length. The results of this I’ll cover in a bit. The barrel has also been dimpled, allowing for more exposed surface area and weight reduction. The gun also includes an ambidextrous lower with an ambi magazine release. As well as a scalloped right side selector. The rifle features what looks like on paper as an absurd feature, a 10-position stock tube. In reality this is a fantastic feature as you absolutely have to find a comfortable position on this rifle before you flick that selector to FIRE. Knights has also included a gas-buster charging handle with LMT style release paddle.
Much like it’s SR-15 feature set the rifle also uses the fantastically light URX II design, which provides for an incredible amount of area for lights, lasers, and other accessories. The rifle includes the same iron configuration as the SR-15, with the integrated front flip up sight, and 600m rear adjustable sight. The lower also comes standard with an LMT SOPMOD stock and 4.5lb match trigger.
Out of the box the SR-25 groups at around half an inch of accuracy. Mine prints a wonderful .45moa right out of the box, using a 1:11 twist chromoly barrel. The most I’ve seen it go up to is about .6-.7 moa on other EMCs. Still an impressive feat on a barrel of this length and of this caliber. The gun comes standard with the XM110 flashhider, but the intention is to offer the 7.62 Super Tap in the next few months.
Configuration
Right off the bat I swapped the SOPMOD stock for the Magpul ACS with extended butt-pad. This stock retains the fantastic cheek-weld of the SOPMOD, while being functionally non-stupid to put it lightly. Try accessing the battery compartments in a pinch on the SOPMOD, I dare you. As I mentioned in the SR-15 review it’s also a bit of a shame that a rifle of this price range includes a standard A2 pistol grip, especially compared to the Magpul MIAD, which is the grip I ultimately ended up using on this build. It should be noted that when using the MIAD with medium or large back-strap you will need to use the Magpul AR-10/SR-25 rubber gapper, which fills that back space between receiver and back-strap. At the time I added a Larue FUG to really get a strong grip for taking that extra weight of the rifle.
Now on the first range trip the rifle was a journey into admitting I didn’t have my needs vs wants fully scoped out. On my first go the rifle was run with a NightForce 1-4x NXS, which is a great optic, but added enough weight to the rifle that the experience of using the SR-25 EMC became an exercise in fatigue. Back to the drawing board.
Really drilling down I realized I wanted to run the EMC as a rifle that allowed for ballistically flatter performance, more knock down power, in a package that wouldn’t run me down after a day’s worth of use. With that in mind the NXS came off, a T-1/KAC mount combo took its place.
Essentially I re-approached the rifle’s configuration as I would a standard AR carbine. The FUG got bounced to the curb, and a Magpul AFG took its place. The AN/PEQ-15 got pushed back, allowing for the use of the Surefire dual pressure switch. The Surefire Scout flopped sides, and in general the rifle became a scaled up SR-15. This is a good thing.
Experience
Alright, so how does it shoot?
Simple answer: Amazing. If you’re the kind of AR owner who runs a 5.56 rifle and worries about the recoil, this may not be the right rifle for you. It does kick, it will leave your shoulder a bit sore, but it’s a hell of a rifle. As I mentioned earlier the gas system is now rifle length. Just like the longer than mid-length gas system in the SR-15 the results are instantly noticeable. The recoil isn’t any less than another AR10, but it’s smoother, more delayed. The best way I can equate it to is like taking a rubber mallet in the chest with a standard AR10. The SR25 is more like wearing a couple of pillows around you and then taking the hit. You feel the force, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s softer, more gentle beast. The 4.5lb trigger is a great addition to this rifle, and it’s light enough for precision shooting, but not so light that it becomes a hair trigger. The ambi-safety is also a welcome addition when shooting this rifle on your support side shoulder.
To be completely honest there are a few things that don’t work for me. The bolt release is carried over from the SR-25 precision rifles. So what’s the problem? It’s big, does it’s job, etc. The issue I have is that it’s carried over from the precision rifles, so when working a malfunction the user notices that there is no raised bottom portion like a standard bolt release. It’s smooth and rounded, so getting a quick tactile feedback that you’re locking that bolt back is difficult, especially with gloves. It feels like an EMC specific bolt release would be key, especially in the absence of a B.A.D-lever like device for this platform. I’m also not a big fan of the LMT style charging handle paddle, as the surface area feels smaller than the larger PRI style handles. This may be something I swap out in the coming weeks.
On paper the rifle prints shockingly well. I’ve taken it out to 600yds with the T-1 configuration with pleasing results. At 100 with the 4moa T-1 my groups have been on average about a silver dollar (two finger widths). At 600yds I have absolutely zero problems ringing a 12-14” steel plate. As I mentioned the gun ballistically runs like a laser. That said long range is not why I built the rifle. I’m honest about that, if I want to ring steel at 1000yds I run my 18” FN Patrol Bolt Rifle.
There are a few things of note. I’d pretty much parts bin the Knights SR-25 magazines, unless you’re excited by NOT buying the light weight and durable Magpul LR20s. It also is a bit disappointing that given the cost the rifle doesn’t come in a case like a Pelican. That said some trade offs had to be made to get this rifle down to the 5K mark.
Is it worth it?
That’s going to be highly subjective. And it’s probably worth talking about the cost of the rifle. Especially with systems like the Larue OBR, REPR, LMT 7.62, nipping at Knight’s heels. If you hunt you can find the EMC around 4500, which still puts it about 1500 more than Mark’s offering. That said, and I’m sure this will stir some shit up, the OBR is not a battle rifle. It’s a long range rifle with an unfortunate name change e.g the 20moa cant creates the need for a stock riser, which blocks the charging handle. The REPR may or may not compete in this category, my experience only extends to the long range variants. Those are systems that deserve to sit on a nice set of bipods, some great glass, and ring steel all day long. If you’re looking for a carbine sized 7.62 that can compete with it’s 5.56 siblings then the EMC is unmatched in regards to AR10s (pipe down FAL owners, we’re just talking ARs here).
That said, prospective buyers are going to have to dig down (in to their wallets) and decide if they really want to commit to a 7.62 gun. This gun will never replace my SR-15 as the gun I’d grab in a heart beat. I just find the SR-15 and the 5.56 to be an extremely capable carbine and caliber. What the SR-25 EMC offers me is the ability to really have a positive effect down range against steel in matches or when training. The EMC offers me a carbine that is only marginally heavier, while providing accuracy that is absolutely impressive, all by just dropping prone and mono-podding that rifle on it’s magazine.
It’s a completely different experience going for a ride with this rifle. It can very easily get out of hand if you’re not devoting 120 percent of your attention to it. It allows for very little margin of error. It’s accurate, and as a result there’s no wiggle for blaming the rifle for poor shooting. Calling it a big SR-15 wouldn’t be too far off the mark. Knights has taken the best of both worlds. The durability and flexibility of the SR-15, which the caliber, accuracy, and feature set of it’s 7.62 long range SASS platforms.
Bottom line, you can pony up for a ticket, it’s a hell of a ride.
