Look another AR-15! Yes indeed, it’s another AR-15. This time from Barrett, manufacturers of big fifties and keepers of at least one LAPD .50. While well known for their big bore boomsticks, Barrett has had a good deal of success with their REC7 line of piston driven AR-15s over the last few years. Sensing that not everyone is sold on the idea of a long stroke gas gun, Barrett has introduced a direct impingement version for 2016 . . .
The new REC7-DI comes chambered in either 5.56 NATO, 6.8 SPC, or .300 BLK. Both the 5.56 and the .300 sport 1:7 twist barrels in sixteen inch flavors. You can also pick up an eighteen inch 5.56 or a NFA regulated 10.25″ .300 BLK version. The 6.8 offers your choice sixteen- or eighteen-inch 1:10 twist barrels. Barrett is advertising weights from five-and-a-half to six-and-a-half pounds depending on barrel length.
All rifles will feature Magpul MOE furniture, ALG ACT triggers, nickel boron bolt carrier groups, and BCM Gunfighter charging handles. Further complementing their build is a homegrown KeyMod hand guard called the Barrett Rail System (BRS) made of aluminum. You can have it in a variety of colors including Black, FDE, Green, Grey, Brown, and Burnt Bronze.
As these guns don’t feature any whiz bangery like assisted magazine releases or ambidextrous controls, they’re firmly in the category of “cleaned up” mil spec guns of the type that were all over the 2016 SHOT Show. Where you might buy a bargain bin rifle and swap out the factory parts for name brand pieces along the way, Barrett and various other companies have come to the market with “fully sorted” rifles that should check all the boxes you’d likely go after in the first year of ownership. You’ve got the free-floated hand guard, the upgraded BCG, the Magpul furniture, and the enhanced charging handle. Add in the coating and you can see how the price tag could kinda sorta make sense if you squint just right.
The REC7-DI will retail for $1899, but street prices appear to be hovering around $1699. That’s in line with what various other manufacturers are asking for higher end, sorted out AR-15s that meet a lot of similar specs. Unlike the REC7 piston line, you’ll only be able to buy a complete gun as the uppers aren’t sold as a separate item. We’ve reached out and asked for a sample to test to see if it’s worth the scratch.