As most of you know, Cerberus Capital Management acquired Bushmaster Firearms, a leading maker of AR-platform rifles, in April 2006. A year later, Cerberus acquired Remington Arms. Not surprisingly, Cerberus has merged the product lines of these two companies, so AR-style rifles are now marketed under the Remington label.
Yesterday, at the NRA Annual Meeting in Louisville, KY, Remington unveiled its latest semi-auto rifle, dubbed the Remington R-25. The R-25 is based on the AR-10, the “big brother” of the AR15, a heavier, beefier rifle designed to shoot the .308 Winchester and similar cartridges. The R-25 will be offered in three chamberings: .308 Win, .243 Win, and 7mm-08. We were hoping Remington might also offer the .260 Remington or other 6.5mm caliber such as the 6.5 Creedmoor, but right now Remington is sticking to the more mainstream hunting calibers. However, Remington reps indicated that Short Magnum calibers might be added to the line-up in the future.
The basic R-25 features a flat-top receiver and metal float tube. The whole rig is decked out in Mossy Oak® Treestand™ Camo. Barrels for all three calibers are 20″ in length, with a 1:10″ twist rate. Barrels are fluted ahead of the gas block but that’s more for looks than anything else. Remington chose a fairly light barrel contour, keeping the gun’s weight down to 8.75 pounds, without optics. The trigger is a single-stage unit set at 4.5-5 pounds. That’s pretty disappointing, and we expect the first thing many R-25 owners do is modify or swap out the trigger to reduce pull weight. The R-25 ships with a 4-round magazine, but will use any standard AR-10 mag.
The Remington R-25 is priced at $1532 MSRP, and the first units are expected to ship in July 2008. At first blush, the price seems high for a pretty average rifle with a heavy trigger and what, we predict, is a mediocre barrel. Shooters wanting a .308 cartridge-size semi-auto platform for a cross the course rifle or space gun should consider other, less expensive sources such as Armalite for a separate AR-10 lower. Match AR-10 uppers are available from a variety of boutique makers such as Fulton Armory.
its great to see more companys like remington expanding into the ar market. but whats disappointing is remington’s msrp for there ar15 and this new ar10. rra offers a really nice ar10 for a msrp of 1300. or so and they have a well known name for there ar guns. i know first hand remington’s quality has gone down hill. i dont think im going to be running right out and get one of there ar’s anytime soon.
Comment by rick gambetta — May 18, 2008 @ 12 pm
My biggest question, is why? I just do not see a need for this rifle in the Remington line up myself.
Comment by patricksperry — May 18, 2008 @ 12 pm
I honestly see no reason to pay 1500$ for a semiauto ar style rifle that won’t be as accurate as a fine tuned bolt action for a fraction of the price,or even a BAR. If I’m going to shoot a semiauto,give me a design that at least has a gas piston-instead of blowing all the crud directly into action. Also,where does the idea of camo come from? I’ve shot a LOT of deer/predators and all have been color blind,if you are doing your job when they approch,you’ll be aiming at them in the 1st place.
Comment by Neil — May 18, 2008 @ 2 pm
Where you’re going to get a fine tuned bolt-action for a fraction of $1500? And for the accuracy, AR style seems to beat gas-piston.
The camo is for liberals, it’s just to steer away from the evil black color.
Comment by jthyttin — May 19, 2008 @ 1 pm
When are they going to learn.Rem. thinks we all need this new stuff they keep introducing and all we really want is a Model 700 that shoots like they did 10 years ago.Also,why are they avoiding anything in .260,I have talked to their reps and I might as well be speaking a different language.It is almost like they like they don’t know what you are talking about.Wake up Big Green or SAVAGE will be at the top of the hill. Jeff
Comment by Jeff Sampsel — May 20, 2008 @ 3 pm