Barrett REC7 5.56 8″ Piston AR PDW Displayed at SOFIC 2010 (Photos!): 5.56mm NATO Piston-Driven Tactical AR Carbine/SBR for Military Special Operations Forces (SOF)

By David Crane
defrev (at) gmail (dot) com

All photos contained in this article were taken by DefenseReview.com, and are copyrighted. DefenseReview.com owns the copyright on these photos. The photos were shot with a Canon PowerShot S90 10-megapixel digital camera (still camera with video capability).

September 2, 2010

Back in May (2010), The Firearm Blog published a very short heads-up blurb on the 5.56mm NATO (5.56x45mm NATO)/.223 Rem. version of the Barrett REC7 piston-driven tactical AR (AR-15) carbine/SBR (Short Barreled Rifle)/PDW (Personal Defense Weapon), which was initially introduced in 6.8 SPC (6.8x43mm SPC). The blurb consisted of a company glamour shot of the weapon, and some info on the buttstock (“Magpul MOE stock”) and Mil-Std-1913 “Picatinny” rail system/forend rail tube/tactical handguards (“Daniel Defense free-float rail system”), and…well, that’s it. The way we look at it, some info is better than no info, right?

Anyway, in mid June (2010), as our readers should already be aware, DefenseReview attended the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference 2010 (SOFIC 2010), and, as you can see from the accompanying photos of the display weapon and internals, we had the opportunity to examine the Barrett REC7 5.56 8-inch (8″)-barreled PDW in some detail.

Kyle Lynch, Barrett Firearms’ director of sales and marketing, was kind enough to take us through weapon, including removal of the REC7 5.56’s gas piston/op-rod (operating rod) system for cleaning and maintenance, which is really quick and easy to accomplish, as you can pull the system right out the front of the gas block. Just push the engagement button on the right front of the gas block, twist the gas plug and remove it, and then angle the weapon down to let the piston/op-rod fall out the open hole. It’s that easy. To reassemble it, just do the reverse. The rest of the field-stripping procedure (upper and lower receiver separation, bolt carrier group removal, etc.) is standard AR fare.

The REC7’s piston system is as simple a design as DefenseReview has seen.

Notable features of the Barrett REC7 5.56 PDW/SBR DR examined are:

– 8″ barrel
– 17-4 stainless steel gas piston/op-rod system
– (Coated) Solid bolt carrier (bolt carrier with integral carrier key)
– Chrome-lined gas block
– Nitride gas plug
– Daniel Defense (DD) Omega-X PDW rail system
– 6-position MagPul MOE stock (telescoping buttstock)

Note: While the display REC7 5.56 was the 8″-barreled PDW version, Barrett also offers it with a civilian-legal 16-inch (16″) barrel.

(Listed) Barrett REC7 5.56 Piston AR Carbine/SBR Specs:

CALIBER: 5.56 NATO and 6.8 SPC
RIFLE OPERATION: Piston-Operated, Semi-Automatic
OVERALL LENGTH: 33.375″ (84.77 cm) with 16″ Barrel
BARREL LENGTH: Varies
RIFLING TWIST: 1 in 7″ 5.56 NATO/1 in 10″ 6.8 SPC
RIFLE Weight: 7.62 lbs (3.5 kg) with 16″ Barrel
SAFETY: Manual Thumb Lever
MAGAZINE: True 30-Round Capacity
MSRP: $2,519.99

It’s, of course, possible that someone has already published hi-res photos of the REC7 5.56 PDW and its internal parts/components (piston system, bolt carrier group, gas plug, etc.). DR just hasn’t seen them, anywhere. So, we’re publishing ours, above and below, as a service to our members and readers. We hope you enjoy them. If you don’t, please keep it to yourselves (kidding). Actually, we’re very interested in our readers’ opinions about/perspectives on the REC7 5.56 and accompanying photos, so please provide them in the “Comments” section, below. All we ask is that you be polite and courteous. Thanks!

Here:

Company Contact Info:

Barrett Firearms
P.O. Box 1077
Murfreesboro, TN 37133
Phone: 615-896-2938
Fax: 615-896-7313
General Email: mail@barrett.net
Training Email: training@barrett.net
Website 1: http://www.barrett.net/
Website 2: http://www.barrettrifles.com/

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