I know I am a pariah for saying that I prefer piston guns over DI on this forum, but I recently got a Rock River PDS carbine. I prefer side charging handles (I own a SCAR 16S, and I’ve previously owned two AUGs and two PS90s - all with side charging handles).
I also like how the rear stock folds sideways like it does on the SCAR.
I’ve taken it out 2x now and it has worked 100%. It’s really almost spotless inside of the gun after shooting it. It even runs cleaner than my SCAR 16s does. On this Rock River - I took it apart, wiped it down, and recoiled everything out of habit. Honestly, it didn’t even need it. I have been very surprised at how clean it is compared to the SCAR and the two AUGs I previously had. And, those are piston guns too.
I hate cleaning DI guns…
Anyway - you don’t see much mentioned about them other than the pistol versions. Just thought I’d mentioned it in case anyone else was on the fence about buying one…
Then don’t. You’ll find many here have fairly high rnd counts with minimal cleaning. Keeping them well lubed and running a bore snake down the barrel, seems to be a common approach for many with no damage or reliability issues with a quality AR. If you do a search here, you’ll find RR not well regarded by the BTDT AR members here, hence the minimal discussion volume of that brand.
I am glad you are enjoying your rifle. I am surprised though that anyone would compare anything made by Rock River to the SCAR platform though, but that is just me.
Since my post, I have seen that RRA is not looked upon favorably here on this forum.
Now, I do like my SCAR better. But, the SCAR is also $1k or so more.
However, I got this PDS for about $1150 + tax. I really like the gun. I read any review I could find of the gun, along with several youtube videos. The reviews were all favorable - but, I did pay more attention to individual posts and reviews than I did of reviews in print.
I almost bought one last year. When I saw the price decrease, I re-read all the stuff over a weekend and decided to buy it. I do like the gun a lot. It functions well and works in a fashion that I like…
I’ve also since learned, since reading some old threads here on this forum earlier this evening, that I will never get any positive comments here about any RRA gun. So, had I known that, I would not have bothered posting about it here. My like of the gun isn’t any less, and I initially thought mentioning it here might interest some . However, I feel like I am wasting my time…
If you don’t like to clean DI rifles or carbines, don’t! I tested one of my DI RRA carbines to see how long it would run without cleaning and fired over 1,100 rounds of Wolf 55g steel case ammunition during the hot summer months without any failures. When I finally decided to clean it the BCG looked like it had mud on it.
Keep a DI carbine properly lubed and they will keep on running.
Although the cleaning issue was the first thing you listed that you didn’t like about DI guns. The reason RRA doesn’t get alot of love here is because they are sub-par to other carbines in their same price point. They are similar to Kel Tec to me, they have some great ideas, but their engineering and QC are just below industry standards.
Nothing wrong with piston guns. This area is HQ for Huldra rifles. I know and shoot with several people that shoot them, including the principles in the company. They have been uniformly reliable and accurate, even in hard use. I’m certainly not inclined to put them in the same category as RRA, but I’m glad for you that your rifle works OK.
I have a RRA match rifle I purchased in 2001 and it has served me well. Let us know how well your carbine runs as time passes. Your observations about accuracy and durability would be appreciated.
I will admit, that purely in principle, I prefer piston guns, but that’s only ceteris paribus, which as we all know nearly never exists.
The marginal benefits of a piston gun have many offsetting drawbacks too.
This is the first I’ve heard of this particular RRA. That is one tall-ass handguard. At first glance, I thought you had an under barrel grenade launcher there. As I hate thick handguards and nose-heavy guns, DI’s have a huge advantage for me personally.
I agree, liking something just because it’s different is OK but if it actually performs in the long term both reliably and accurately that is a win, win.
It is 10 pounds with the 1 pound optic, the changed out stock I have, and the 30 round mag (loaded). But, my SCAR 16S weighs the same as well.
As for the rail height - it is shaped a bit different because of the design if the gun. The moving parts group is smaller than what’s in the SCAR, though
