LaRue UU still worth it?

[Spool]

Hi all,

I've been meaning to get around to a dedicated 6.5 grendel build to set up for hog/deer hunting down in Florida. From what I gather, LaRue at one time used to be a good option, though most of those threads are dated back in 2017/2018. At the same time I see a lot of concerns about accuracy being subpar and I have yet to distinguish if this is a very vocal minority, or a common issue.

Is LaRue still good for the money? Down here I am only expecting to push out to potentially 300 yards or so hunting wise.

[Croak]

With what you get for the money, it's a solid deal. Nice upper and handguard, quality barrel, gas block, muzzle device, stock and buffer tube, pistol grip, lower parts kit, and a great trigger plus a dohickey to test triggers in, some pocket Constitutions and bumper stickers. Accuracy issues are in the minority.

For $792 assembled, it's a great deal. But it requires patience, you may be waiting months for it to be built.

[drewthebrave]

Agree with Croak above. It's a pretty sweet deal if you're building a new rifle from scratch. Just add your own lower (or purchase one from LaRue) and you can snap together a high quality rifle for around $1,000.

[Spool]

Thanks to you both, just wanted to double check, I did buy their lower as well, figured I might as well be all LaRue. Lower is already otw to the FPL, UU may be some wait, but I am good with that for now.

Now to just find a good scope for some hogs.

[Klem]

Spool,

When evaluating guns, I pay particular attention to the barrel. A gun's ability to shoot is mostly down to the barrel, followed by the scope and trigger. The rest holds it together and while also important is not as weighted. New guns from manufacturers don't come with scopes so that counts optics out of the equation. Triggers do however, but even they can easily be swapped out. But the barrel is the gun.

For complete rifles LaRue will no doubt use their own barrels and when you look at the description of their barrels there's no detail of the type of steel. Plenty of marketing talk-up about how customers "boast" of "sub MOA" results but not what the barrel is made of. I find that type of marketing deceptive so straight away the BS filter comes out and it becomes a tedious process of trying to separating truth from spin.

La Rue has a vocal fan club who can be quite defensive on gun forums. Good luck to LaRue for engineering this as they spend a lot of money on image marketing and a loyal fan base is a consequence. If you filter out the spin you might find that LaRue is well-made and reliable gun but not necessarily the most accurate rifle.

Depends on what type of rifle you want and your definition of 0-300 accuracy.

[tdbru]

Spool,
Klem is right. competitive match shooters use Krieger, Obermeyer, Bartlien, Lijla, etc. barrels for a reason. they want to win. competitive barrels are not cheap.
what are you expecting in accuracy? and can you shoot well enough to get the accuracy out of the barrel? if you don't fall into the category of, for example, High Master class shooter, which i don't, what causes groups to open up for me is usually operator error on my part, not the barrel quality.

if you don't have lots of shooting skills, just use the upper as it comes to practice, work on technique, maybe load development. and when you've put enough rounds through it that you need a new tube, then you'll be ready for the expensive barrels.

My AR doesn't have an uber quality barrel, but i'm still learning to shoot an AR well, so it's ok. i get some practice in. and some learning in. when this tube is done, i might be ready to order a barrel from boots. but right now it would likely be a waste of $ for me. i'd still not be able to shoot to the barrels ability. and i know it wouldn't be the barrel, but me.

on the other hand if you already shoot an AR very well, then if the LaRue upper doesn't group well enough to suit you, order a top end barrel, and swap out the LaRue. you can sell the LaRue to recoup some of the cost of the better barrel.
-tdbru

[Klem]

Spool.

One more thing...If you are prepared to build your AR then you can have a better shooting rifle for the same price as a manufacturer's fancy off-the-shelf. Especially when the manufacturer loads as much of their brand as they can into the price.

[Spool]

Appreciate the feedback,

I am a simple man and not looking for perfection, I am just looking for something that will perform good enough that I don't have to endlessly troubleshoot it. As an example my first AR was a BCM RECCE 16, it was and is a work horse since I got it and I appreciate it for that.

At this point it is trying to find something comparable for a second AR that will only ever be a 6.5 grendel. Money wise I know I could knock off a few $100, but with inventories as they are right now the pre-built is attractive.

[Croak]

Spool.

One more thing...If you are prepared to build your AR then you can have a better shooting rifle for the same price as a manufacturer's fancy off-the-shelf. Especially when the manufacturer loads as much of their brand as they can into the price.

Hard to build a "better shooting rifle" for the $804 shipped price of the LaRue kit.

Just doing some back of napkin pricing, $300+ barrel to fit Klem's accuracy and material criteria. $50-$100 gas block and tube. $200 handguard. $150-$250 billet upper receiver. $150 BCG. $150 buttstock, buffer, tube and spring. $$100-250 trigger. $50 lower parts kit. $100 muzzle device. That collection of parts is about double what you can get the LaRue for, and that's not assembled, so if you're just starting out, add more money for torque wrench, vise block or reaction rod, punches, armorer's wrenches, etc. You can get the LaRue upper assembled and test-fired for free.

And what do you get for all that extra money? A barrel that may or may not shoot better, and for a lot of folks, that difference in accuracy can never be realized, and usually isn't even necessary for what they're doing. Not everybody shoots competition, not everybody posts groups on Instagram and forums for likes, and not everybody even shoots at longer ranges. In the case of the OP, anything more than mid-distance shots will be uncommon (I'm a Central Florida hunter, a game shot over 200 or so is rare here) so paying for the possibility of even better accuracy is sort of a waste when anything better than 2MOA does the job.

Now, I suppose if you sunk all your money in the barrel and trigger, generic parts on the rest of the build, and you already had all the tools needed for assembly, you could squeak in under the cost of the LaRue, but would you really have a better rifle at that point?

[drewthebrave]

Klem and tdbru make some very valid points on accuracy. If you're chasing sub-MOA accuracy, raising your budget to purchase a premium barrel (Krieger, Bartlein, Lilja, etc) from a custom maker is definitely going to give you the best odds of obtaining a highly precise rifle.

But in response to the OP's original question:

Is LaRue still good for the money? Down here I am only expecting to push out to potentially 300 yards or so hunting wise.

The answer is absolutely YES. The LaRue UU kit is a fantastic value for the money. And if you are disappointed for some reason, LaRue should take care of you.

[65Whelen]

I won a Larue upper two years ago, so I think I can give an objective opinion. At first I was happy as can be to get such a nice freebie. It is a quality upper and I like it but at first a 1-1/2 moa gun at best. I pulled the barrel and bedded it and now I'm getting a solid moa. Which is what I was expected out of it. I put down a nice 9-point buck at 165 yds with it first time in the field. Does it drives tacks, no but I'd be comfortable with a 300 yd shot under the right conditions. I was banging steel with it consistently at 400 yds. It has become my hunting rifle I'm confident with. So what you have to ask yourself is what are your expectations?

[Klem]

Klem and tdbru make some very valid points on accuracy. If you're chasing sub-MOA accuracy, raising your budget to purchase a premium barrel (Krieger, Bartlein, Lilja, etc) from a custom maker is definitely going to give you the best odds of obtaining a highly precise rifle.
.

That wasn't my point...I am saying for the same price as a LaRue you can build a rifle with the best quality barrel which will be more accurate, with exactly the barrel length and parts you want, for your needs.

If you are willing to pony-up $2K for an AR15 it had better be a Ferrari.

[Spool]

I won a Larue upper two years ago ... So what you have to ask yourself is what are your expectations?

Pretty much that, being comfortable taking ethical shots on game out to 200 - 300 yards.

Thanks

[Arce]

That wasn't my point...I am saying for the same price as a LaRue you can build a rifle with the best quality barrel which will be more accurate, with exactly the barrel length and parts you want, for your needs.

If you are willing to pony-up $2K for an AR15 it had better be a Ferrari.

Complete rifle, I agree fully. If you mean an complete upper plus the lower parts, I'd like to see what components you recommend.

I purchased their 6.5G upper because I am only looking to use for hunting and I wanted a fully assembled upper due to timing. While I have a couple of MBT triggers, I don't consider myself a Larue fanboy. If I enjoy this as much as I hope I will, I'd be very interested in building my own the next time particularly if I can do so for that kind of coin.

Having said this, my "problem" with the Larue upper is the proprietary upper and handrail. I chose to accept that for my current objective but I wouldn't if I was doing a complete build myself.

[Klem]

Complete rifle, I agree fully. If you mean an complete upper plus the lower parts, I'd like to see what components you recommend.

I hear you...This would be my cheat to building a more accurate rifle for $2K;

Lilja barrel 500
Maxim 6.5 bolt from Lilja 80
Geissele NM trigger 280
SLR AGB 126
Mid length Gas tube 16
=$1002

Find a cheap but reliable second hand AR for sale and swap the parts for the above. If you are patient you will find a steal and with the change put a few more preferred parts on it like ambi safety and charge handle, and pistol grip/stock.