32SAR Vol. 18, No. 3 May, June, 2014

Bottom: The case that every Battle Rifle come with; this one is shown with the provided BR15 LIT or Light Infantry Tactical rifle.

Top: Test and evaluation BR15. The author added the Manta rail covers, Trijicon reflex sight and the new M3 Magpul PMag.

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BY CHRIS BARTOCCI

Over the past several years the black rifle

market has grown astronomically; not only

due to political frenzy but for the love of the

most popular rifle in the country. Many new

manufacturers have surfaced – some of them

to get in on the large amount of money to be

made on the popularity of the black rifle and

others who simply love the weapon and want

to get into the business. There are good and

bad manufacturers out there. What separates

them is mostly where they get their parts from

as that is going to determine whether their

rifles work or not.

BATTLE RIFLE COMPANYBLACK RIFLES FROM

THE LONE STAR STATE

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In 2009, Chris Kurzadkowsi made an AR for his son who was going through SWAT training. He then made ARs for other members of the SWAT team. Then, in 2010, he got his licenses and opened up Battle Rifle Company. Battle Rifle Company debuted at the 2012 SHOT Show. There, Chris introduced his standard lines of rifles. In 2013, the company again attended the SHOT Show as well as the annual NRA meeting. With all these different Black Rifle manufacturers something has to set each of them apart from the other.

Battle Rifle Company has many ar-eas where they stand out: Every rifle is assembled by an armorer. There is no production line. Battle Rifle Com-pany manufactures their own design flash suppressor, which eliminates 98% of the flash according to Battle Rifle Company. All of the barrels are cryogenically treated to increase the life of the barrel. Each rifle is custom tuned to run optimally. Every rifle has a rail of some sort on it. Every rifle is equipped with back up sights. Each rifle comes with a CProducts steel magazine. However upon request

they can be provided with a PMag or CAA magazine. Each trigger is pol-ished giving a trigger pull from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 pounds. Also what is referred to as rapid reset springs are added to increase the speed of follow up shots. The customer has options of stock assemblies such as the Dam-age Industries Enhanced Combat System Stock, Magpul stocks, Chaote M4 stock and Enhanced M4 stock to name a few. Depending on the mod-el, the barrels are manufactured by Ballistic Advantage, Green Mountain, DSS or Blackhole Weapons. Every mag well is currently inspected with numerous manufacturers of maga-zines to insure compatibility with all commercially available magazines.

The BR4

The BR4 was the first weapon tested in the Battle Rifle Company lineup. This is a basic patrol-type carbine. It was received with a rubber butt pad that slid over the rear of the standard stock assembly. This partic-ular rifle was shipped with a detach-able carrying handle. It was equipped with a one-point sling adapter on the

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rear of the receiver extension plate. The pistol grip was an Ergo Grip. The rifle had a standard rail assem-bly and the Battle Rifle Company flash suppressor.

BR15

The BR15 has a 16-inch barrel with the M203 step cut on it. The bar-rel has a 1/7 inch rifling twist. This is optimal for projectiles from 62 to 69 grains in weight. The rifle also came with a black carrying case. This particular rifle has a 16-inch barrel but also available is a 14.5-inch barrel with the Battle Rifle Com-pany flash suppressor permanently welded in place. The fit and finish of this rifle was quite good. The receivers were tight and the trigger was crisp. Some ac-cessories were added by the author. The rifle was tested with the new Magpul M3 magazines. This includ-ed the 20-round, 30 with and without window and the new 40-round mag-azine. This is the newest generation in the evolution of what this author feels is the best magazine available anywhere for this platform. The new

magazines have a flat floor plate al-lowing easier stacking in a magazine pouch. The new M3 features a stain-less steel magazine spring, four-way anti tilt follower, pop-off Impact/Dust Cover and no tools are required for disassembly for cleaning. The low profile ribs and aggressive front and rear texture provide positive control of the magazine, which help with compatibility of double and triple magazine pouches. The easy to dis-assemble standard flared floor plate provides drop protection and aids ex-traction from the magazine pouch. A paint pen dot matrix has been added to the bottom panel of the magazine body for easy marking by the end user for magazine identification. The ge-ometry of the M3 makes it compatible with non-standard M16/M4-type mag-azine wells including the HK416, M27 IAR, British SA80 and FN SCAR. The M3 incorporates a new material tech-nology and manufacturing process that increases strength and durability in critical areas. The new 20-, 30- and 40-round magazines were tested in the BR4. The Manta rail systems were chosen for this rifle as well. Manta

extreme rail panels are a new tech-nology in rail protection and gripping technology. Manufactured from the same material as M1 Abrams tank treads, this material is easy to grip whether your hands are wet, mud-dy or whatever condition may come. Molded into the rail panels are several metal clips that enable the rail to grab positively even improperly made rails. The manta grip sleeve was mounted over the forward vertical pistol grip. The pressure pad from the flashlight mounted on the rail was slipped into the sleeve on the vertical pistol grip cover. This not only protects the pres-sure pad but makes it much easier for the shooter to actuate. These same panels were adopted on the new M27 IAR manufactured by H&K for the Marine Corps. Manta rail sections are also designed to cover wire from various devises to keep them out of the way and from getting snagged on trees or any other obstacle. The optic chosen was the Trijicon RX01 reflex sight. This has a 6.5 MOA amber dot, which brings pin-point accuracy and allows the shoot-er to shoot with both eyes open. The sight has a 24mm objective. The

Top: The proprietary Battle Rifle Company flash suppressor. This has shown to be a very effective design.

Bottom: BR15 with new M3 Magpul PMag, Trijicon reflex sight and Manta rail covers.

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illumination source is both a tritium lamp as well as fiber optics located in the front of the sight. The body of the sight is cast A357. The sight came with a polarizing filter. This is the same one used by SOCOM and part of the SOPMOD program. The ammunition used for test-ing was U.S. M855 ball. The shoot-ing conditions were less than op-timal. It was 109˚F in the Nevada desert with high winds. More than 300 rounds were fired out of the BR4 with no malfunctions. It should also be noted that there was blow-ing sand on the rifle as well. Tar-gets were shot at close range due to the optic being a 1x CQB sight. The rifle shot right where the dot in the optic was once zeroed. The M3 PMags dropped free once the mag catch was depressed. The 40-round PMag worked flawlessly. The BR4 is by all means suitable as a patrol or self defense rifle.

The BR15 LIT (Light Infantry Tactical)

The second rifle provided for testing was the BR15 LIT with a 16 inch barrel. This differed from the standard BR15 in that first it had a nickel boron coated bolt carri-er group. This finish claims to be easier to clean and require little to no lubrication. The stock pro-vided was the Damage Industries Enhanced Combat System Stock. The rifle has an aluminum Mid-west Industries free floating hand-guard with removable rail sections. This rifle came with A.R.M.S., Inc. #71 polymer folding front and rear sights and a 1-point sling adapter attached to the receiver extension end plate. This also had the Ergo Grip pistol grip. This rifle also has a 1/7 inch twist and equipped with the Battle Rifle Company proprietary flash suppressor. The optic chosen for this rifle was the Trijicon ACOG TA31RC0-M4CP – this is the U.S. Marine is-sue ACOG sight. This is a 4x32 mm scope manufactured from a 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminum forging; the same as the rifle receivers. It is powered by both a tritium lamp and

Manta extreme grip panels. There is a KAC vertical pistol grip attached to the rail. Over the grip is the Manta vertical grip sleeve. The pressure pad for the flashlight is installed in the pock-et on the vertical grip sleeve. One of the very low profile cross clip panels holds the flashlight wire in place. Then a micro pan-el is on the bottom rail making it possible to hold the rail system when it is hot.

Receiver markings on the BR15 LIT. Notice the Ergo Grip, Trijicon ACOG scope, M3 Magpul PMag and “Battle Rifle” marked on the side of the upper receiver. This rifle did not have the letters painted in.

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a red fiber optic the goes right over the top of the scope. The reticle is a red. The brightness of the chevron is self regulating based on the ambient light collected from the fiber optic. Howev-er, soldiers have been known to cover portions of the fiber optic with tape to dim them up. The rifle came with a Killflash cover to prevent reflection off the lens as well as lens covers. This rifle was also tested with

M855 ball ammunition in the scorch-ing windy desert heat. More than 100 rounds were fired with no malfunc-tions of any type. Groups averaged between 2 and 3 MOA. I believe the ammunition and condition may have not brought out this rifle’s true capa-bility. I believe with proper match am-munition, less wind and better shoot-ing conditions the factory specified 1 MOA could be achieved.

Battle Rifle Company is new to the industry and is making low production numbers of hand crafted rifles. There is plenty of business in this communi-ty to go around and they will certainly find their nitch. The rifles tested were an excellent quality and function per-fectly. These rifles were accurate and well made.

Below: Manta extreme grip panels. There is a KAC verti-cal pistol grip attached to the rail. Over the grip is the Man-ta vertical grip sleeve. The pressure pad for the flashlight is installed in the pocket on the vertical grip sleeve. One of the very low profile cross clip panels holds the flashlight wire in place. Then a micro panel is on the bottom rail making it possible to hold the rail system when it is hot.

Above: Brand new Gen M3 PMags. On the left is the new 40-round mag, then the 30-round, 30-rounds with window and the 20-round. Improvements in material as well as human engineering changes make the best magazines even better.

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Below: Left side of the BR15 LIT.

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Right side of the BR15 LIT. Notice the Damage Industries Advanced Combat Sys-tems stock, Ergo Grip pistol grip, ACOG optic, M3 Magpul PMag, Midwest Industries free floating handguard, A.R.M.S. #17 folding front and rear BUIS and Battle Rifle Company proprietary flash suppressor.