There are awesome rifles. Then there are freaking awesome! rifles.
It’d be tough to argue that the Heckler & Koch MR762A1 rifle doesn’t fit into the second category. Just looking at it gives most shooters an itchy trigger finger.
ARG&H recently had the chance to throw a few rounds downrange with this bad boy, and we’ll tell you, the think shoots like a dream. With its German engineering and aggressive styling, think of it as the Porsche 911 turbo of the 7.62 semi-auto world.
Designers at H&K put reliability and accuracy at the top of the list in developing the MR762A1, with a cold hammer forged barrel and piston operating system, shots are consistent and maintenance in easy. Based on the H&K 416 — which is used by top tier special operations troops — and the 417 — which is the Marine Corps’ replacement for the Squad Automatic Weapon — the MR762A1 gives civilian and law enforcement shooters the power and dependability of its military counterparts.
During a police-sponsored sniper course, ARG&H friend and master instructor with International Training Incorporated Brandon Wright used the MR762A1 for the shoot. From the get go, Wright said, his fellow students ogled at the new rifle, wanting to trade in their bolt guns for the sexy machine.
And when Brandon starting shooting his targets, the MR762A1 really started to turn heads.
“I was shooting very tight groups right out of the box,” Wright said of his week shooting the H&K rifle. “And since it was a semi-auto, I was engaging targets a lot faster than the other students without sacrificing accuracy at all.”
High caliber AR-style rifles have come a long way over the past few years, with hunters and shooting sportsmen beginning to see the advantages of a semi-auto platform throwing larger .308 or 7.62 rounds to their targets. Gone are the days that such rifles played second fiddle to their bolt-action brothers as the engineering and design of these “heavies” continue to refine.
And while they’re a bit costlier than their 5.56/.223 counterparts — with the H&K MR762A1 carrying a Porsche-like price of nearly $4,000 — their battle-tested reliability and long-range takedown accuracy make rifles like this a great addition to any AR-shooters quiver.
Read more at AR Guns & Hunting magazine.
