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Rock River Arms LAR-40 Pistol

rra_lar-40aI have to admit the Rock River Arms LAR-40 pistol is a head-scratcher for me.  This is one of those guns that I just don’t get.  Let me explain…

The RRA LAR-40 is a AR-15 style firearm chambered in the .40 S&W pistol round and configured as a pistol.  You can get them with a seven inch or 10.5 inch barrel with an A2 or A4 upper.  Overall length on the seven inch model is 23 inches with an unloaded weight of 4.8 pounds.  The 10.5 incher weighs 5.2 pounds in the A2 configuration and measures 26.5 inches overall.

The pistols use an UZI-style stick magazine (only one is included).  Retail prices run from $1120 to $1180 depending on configuration.  But…what’s the point?

These guns are chambered in .40 S&W, which is a common pistol cartridge, and popular for law enforcement and self defense.  But this pistol isn’t really easy to carry around.  At about five pounds and two feet long, it isn’t concealable, nor is it well suited for open carry.

While adequate for self defense, the .40 is underpowered for most hunting.  A longer barrel probably isn’t going to add enough velocity to make it great for hunting.

Am I missing something?

I imagine someone would like one of these to add to their collection, and you certainly don’t have to justify any “need” to me.  You want one, go get one.  RAA builds good guns.  But, I just can’t figure out what anyone would do with one of these.

Can someone set me straight on this one?  Sound off below to give me your thoughts and input on the subject.  I’m not trying to be a douche, I’m just really trying to figure this out.  There is probably a simple and obvious answer, but I guess I am just missing it.  Please sound off and get me straight.

rra_lar-40

By Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is a gun writer, amateur historian and - most importantly - a dad. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.

12 replies on “Rock River Arms LAR-40 Pistol”

It is so people can buy this, get the tax stamp, then affix the butt stock and have an SBR.

That just seems like a round-about way to get there. Why not just sell/buy a SBR version? Is it easier to get a stamp from ATF for modifying something you already have versus buying something configured as an SBR from the factory?

You cannot put a stock on a pistol. Once a pistol is a pistol it can only become an AOW (all other weapon.)

You CAN get a rifle, and pay the tax stamp to SBR it.

You were right at the start. RRA makes it because people will buy it. People will buy it as something ‘fun’ or ‘different.’ I expect them on used market, hardly fired, fairly soon.

From a design standpoint it uses mostly standard parts in an established configuration, so they didn’t need to invest a lot in to it. I wonder if RRA is working on a select-fire version?

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