I've had mine for a few weeks and figured I'd share some thoughts on it. Mine is a model 6970 "Compact" with the 12.5" LOP. My main reason for purchasing was because I was on the hunt for a very short, light and handy bolt gun to replace a .30-30 levergun. For some reason I've found I just shoot bolts faster and more accurately than my levers, so I made up my mind to make the switch.







The RARR balances well and aims naturally, especially with a low-mounted, lightweight scope and ring combination. Despite having a super light (hollow synthetic) stock and a fairly beefy "mediumish" barrel profile, it feels nimble and not front-heavy without a suppressor mounted. With even a lightweight can, ballast can be added to the hollow buttstock. The barrel has a 1:7 twist, threaded 5/8x24, cold hammer forged, and there is plenty of material there to work with for any style of barrel fluting (which is in the cards for mine eventually). It broadens just aft of the threading for an excellent shoulder for mounting a suppressor. The 1:7 twist rate will make this gun versatile and a ton of fun to reload for, I plan to handload everything from 110-gr to 208-gr with H110, Trailboss and Lil Gun, and I also have several different factory loads to experiment with. Not pictured is Gemtech 187-gr, and soon Silencerco 220-gr.



The stock needed cleaned up a bit cosmetically due to some manufacturing marks and flashing but overall feels nice in the hands and the bedding system is phenomenal for a cheap gun, it just requires a pretty even 60-80 in-lbs on the action screws and the V-shaped bedding blocks do the rest. Before I bought it, I had it in my head that I was going to do a non-aggressive golfball pattern stippling job to the grip surfaces and re-paint it, but upon owning it for a while I don't think it's necessary at all. I do have a personal pet peeve about very soft, grippy rubber recoil pads, and this rifle certainly has that. Most people seem to like cushy, non-slip, almost tacky feeling butt pads, but I'd personally rather have a hard plastic one or at least a harder rubber compound that that does not feel "sticky" and grab my shirt or jacket when shouldering the rifle. The stock color is attractive and darker than it appears in photos, it matches Magpul FDE pretty closely and is definitely more of a "coyote" than a "sand" or beige as photos online make it appear. The metal finish is nearly identical to that of my Gunsite Scout, which is a good thing. The magazine is a cinch to remove and effortless to re-insert unlike several Savage, Mossberg and other DBM guns I've had, but I am old school and do not like that you can't top load the rifle from an open bolt like a traditional bolt rifle... the 5-round rotary magazine must be "front-loaded" with the rounds inserted at an angle near the front of the mag and slid in rearwards. This is pretty commonplace with all makes of newer DBM bolt guns, but again, it's a pet peeve of mine.



The bolt throw was notchy feeling right out of the box, but after cycling the action 100 times or so it smoothed out. The 70-degree throw leaves plenty of clearance for mounting 1" scopes as low as possible (assuming your knuckles and/or adjustment ring isn't huge) and the full-diameter body aids in the speed and feel. It's definitely no Sako action, but it's better than some other Remington and Winchester actions I've handled recently. The safety is perfectly located on the tang and easy to use, but the click is a little loud. It may loosen up a little and disengage more quietly with use as well. The trigger is good for an inexpensive factory gun and is easily adjustable, but even adjusted all the way down it is too heavy for my liking. I have 2-3.5lb triggers in all of my guns, so I am a pretty good judge of pull weight, and despite being advertised to adjust down to 3lbs, it definitely does not. Mine feels a hair over 4lbs adjusted down as far as possible. It feels better than Savage Accutriggers in terms of crispness, but it needs to go lighter.



The recoil is very tame, I'd say it's lighter than a .243. Shooting 147gr. FMJ ammo at around 2,000 FPS, the kick was maybe somewhere between a 7.62x39mm and a heavy .30-30 (heavy gun, not heavy load). It feeds so smoothly you can barely feel it strip the round from the magazine, it has very positive ejection, and my wife was happy putting 20 consecutive rounds through it in about a 20 minute period, from both seated and off-hand positions. At 5'0" and 115lbs she is very recoil sensitive and weight and size both play a huge factor in her ability to handle a rifle. Her shoulder was a tiny bit sore later that night, but she was fine while shooting and fine again the next day - For what it's worth, I don't think she's ever shot a .30 caliber rifle more than three times in a row, ever, and she does not like how my Gunsite Scout recoils, if that gives a little more perspective.



With a shitty 4x32mm Simmons 8-Point (re: $25 backup scope) mounted on the factory base with low Leupold rings, we were shooting 1-1/4" - 1-1/2" groups using Armscor ball ammo. We have not had a chance to get it out with one of the Leupolds yet, nor try different ammo. It was also windy when we were doing our accuracy testing so I know the rifle has plenty more to give. Even at 1.5", I was shooting better groups more easily with it on my first trip to the range than the Marlin 336Y with Skinner Sights that I've had for years.



For optics, as I mentioned earlier I breifly had a Simmons 4x32mm on it that was quickly replaced by the Leupold FX-II Ultralight shown in some of the pictures above. This setup was really slick and the scope and Talley lightweight ringmounts combined weighed a total of just 8.57oz, making the balance and feel of the rifle almost like it didn't have any optics at all. It also looked right at home on this compact rifle, so I really wanted to be in love with it... However, the Heavy Duplex reticle handicaps it. The wide posts were ok for ranging, but they were way too far apart to be of any use for bullet drop. That, and the crosshairs were super thick, thick enough to fully obscure a car's license plate at 167 yards (observations made prior to installation on the rifle, of course). I think it would be a fine scope on a true brush gun in heavily wooded areas where shots are likely to fall between 40-100 yards, but it lacked the versatility I was looking for. Hence this:



The ounce counter in me cried when I made the 3.4oz increase switching from the FX-II Ultralight to a Leupold 2-7x33mm Ultimateslam, but in this case the weight savings were just not worth the sacrifice in overall utility. At 9.96oz it's still pretty trim, the magnification range is more ideal for some target work, it's marginally brighter than the FX-II, and the SABR reticle's BDC matches up pretty well with several of the sample .300 Blackout loads I've inputted into Strelok. Here's a screenshot of the SABR matched up to Barnes 110gr. TAC-TX loads at 2,350fps:



Short, light, handy, reliable, inexpensive... I love it. With a the Leupold scope, Talley rings, SOT Cheetah sling, Uncle Mike's QD swivels and 5 rounds of 150gr. FMJ in the magazine, it weighs in at 6lbs 12.2oz. All that for under $700 out the door including optics. Thank you, Santa.