I am looking at the Rock River Arms LAR-15, Elite Operator 2 with free shipping and a rear buis of a dominator 2 eotech mount (also included). The rifle comes with RRA Operator CAR stock, ERGO sure grip, two-stage trigger, special made half quad free float with a full upper rail, mid length gas system, RRA tactical muzzle brake, etc etc...  The rifle is new and my price from RRA is $920.  What does the population think of this rifle (or RRA) for carry in the patrol car?  Any insight into the rifle/company/warranty/customer service would be nice.  I know there will always be somebody out there that hates/loves a certain maker but I just want to hear from ya.  Thanks!

have 2, one 6.8 other 223. Never had any problems

For the money, you may just be better serverd with something like LMT, Colt, BCM. etc.
read me

I know of a Florida Police Department that buys nothing but RRA.

Sounds like a good choice.

My Patrol Rifle:

http://home.comcast.net/~tavares11/VestARHemi.jpg

Specs:

Spikes Tactical Mid-length
Mag-Pro flip up rear
Aimpoint CompM
Spikes Ambi-Loop & Spikes Single Point Sling
MagPul Pmags
MagPul Mid-Length Handguard (in the mail)
2007 Dodge Charger Unmarked (Optional)

Good quality gun, RRA has good customer support, you won't be dissapointed.  There are better guns out there, especially if you put it together yourself to meet your needs instead of staying with one company but a lot of depts don't allow that.  If your dept does allow it, look at assembling your own using the best parts instead of getting a factory gun, you'll get a better quality gun tailored to your specific needs for similar money.

Trust GK & I...go to the thread he posted.

it'll be fine for your needs.

How about Doublestar rifles?  Does anyone know about them?  I see at budsgunshop.com, they have pretty cheap prices on those rifles.

Its a fine rifle but....I recently went through a rifle course with our county police (I'm with a smaller agency).  They  run the exact setup you mentioned but with an aimpoint instead of an Eotech.  After running around all day their guns got very very heavy.  They have that extended rail with a big surefire foregrip with light.  I tired their rifle, it is nice and went bang every time but I preferred my simple Colt 6920.  Just my opinion.

ETA:  sorry I read it wrong, the rifles out here are a bit different accessory wise.

For a serious rifle I also would go with Colt, LMT, or Bravo.

But RRA makes a nice rifle. I've been happy with the RRA's I have. It's a good price and the CS is good, so long as you are not waiting on a build. Took 18 months for our last one to come in.
I personally do not like a 2 stage trigger for a duty weapon. Just my prefernce.

My agency does not restrict anything on my purchase.  I can buy any rifle (.223) and put any optic on it.  The reason I am looking at this RRA is the cost...for what they are offering at $920 seems pretty good.  I'm still up in the air on optics?  I would be using this for duty use in a town / rural setting.  I probably wouldn't be engaging anyone past 100 yds but who knows?  I'm looking at EOTech maybe just the 512 or the 557 ar223?  I'm not suck on eotech, just interested.  I'm also looking at aimpoint for the fact of the battery life and if I win the lottery, I might be considering ACOG but how well is the ACOG in CQ?

You only have to buy it once.  It is a write off.  Get a Colt 6940.  It will cost 1300 ish.  It is optic ready.  

People can say alot of things about different rifles, however, not all of them spend a lot of time behind thier rifle.  Most instructors that teach patrol rifle or rifle classes in general will tell you to stick to Colt or true mil-spec rifles.  

I feel that Rock River is a civilian gun.  DEA contract or not.  Look at a Colt and compare the two rifles.  Seeing a rifle that is properly built, staked, made of mil-spec, mpi parts is hard to go wrong with.  Bells, whistles, cool names do not keep you safe.

I am a Colt armorer.  I maintain 38 Colts with an additional 10 to 20 personally owned Colts.  Worst problem I have delt with is a worn gas ring on a newer gun.  My 6920 runs like it's ass is on fire.  I have confidence in my rifle.  I think it was Pat Rogers the called other AR's hobby rifles.  I like that term.  I like being able to buy factory parts from Brownells.  I also like being backed by a large, experienced company like Colt.

At the very least, go look at a 6940 or 6920 first.

This is it, nothing more needs to be posted on these subjects. You have to go with what your departments policy states.

If you get a chance read the current ARFCOM news letter and the interview with Paul the owner of Bravo Company USA & BCM

then make your decision

I agree with these guys.  I purchased my first AR, which is a RRA Operator––it has the rail, dominator mount, scope mount, etc.  However, I am in the process of getting my second AR, and it is much better.  I got a complete upper with BCG and CH from BCM for $535.  It is chrome-lined, has M4 feed ramps and other mil spec components, which the rra does not.  In my experience, I want M4 feed ramps because I was firing Wolf ammo in my RRA and it didn't feed 3 rounds out of 30.  Now, it could have been underpowered ammo, but it could also have been the feed ramps.  Now, I am going with mil spec, top tier manufacturers for my 2nd AR and am looking for deals so that I do not spend too much.  FYI, my RRA came complete with mounts and what not for $1,000.  I am putting together a BCM upper ($535), Spikes lower ($250), Magpul OD green furniture and sight ($160), and a BlackHawk case ($35) = $980 if i did my math correctly.  This was the determining factor for me.  I would rather piece together a better gun than pay for a complete gun that isn't as good.

Damned nice rifle right there.  I like it.

RRA is okay
I would go with a Colt / LMT Carrier & Bolt  and use the RRA BCG as a extra spare

I've been using LMT for awhile . They are GTG as well

All the rifles mentioned will serve you well. But a Colt will have more endurance over the years. We are currently replacing our BMs with Colt. We have a Stag which is well thought of but it is new, so time will tell. As far as keeping them running, I hate the BMs and love the Colts. The Colts are definitely more cop friendly and can be roughed up and treated badly and still function, other brands require a bit more love and care. Cops are really hard on their gear. Contact Colt Directly and get an agency bid. You can transfer the rifles to individual LEO later.

My SWAT guys have Aimpoints and Eotechs. They prefer the Eotechs overall and that is all they will buy now.
We also have a couple Vortex Strikefires which are well thought of but not prefered over the Eotechs. Dont get a magnified optic. The Eotech is quite sufficient for accurate shooting out to 200 yards.

Which brands require a bit more love and care? And your guys like the Strikefires over the Aimpoint? If so I really don't know what to say about that one.

I have owned DPMS in the past and it functioned as it was supposed to with the standard level of maintenance. This DPMS rifle was my first LEO duty rifle. I carried a select fire Bushmaster in Iraq and it ran like a raped ape. Again, this rifle did not require any special care to function as it was supposed to. I will also say the same for the LMT, Daniel Defense and CMMG rifles/uppers I currently run. No special care to keep them running like they are supposed to so I would love to hear of specific brands and what extra care was needed to keep them running.

If you decide to go with Cold, check out phoenixlawenforcement.com.  They have great prices on Colts both 6920 and 6940 to LEO's.  And you can get it shipped to your dept without the hassle of going through an FFL.  
But I think RRA makes a great rifle.  Just make sure the gas key is staked and it should be gtg.

Our guys prefer the Eotechs over the Aimpoints. As far as the Strikefires, we really like the two we have in service but I cannot say they are better than the Aimpoints in terms of long term reliability and robustness. However the Strikefire is sufficient and costs considerably far less, that is a good selling point for some of the younger patrolman who want to buy their own optic for their department issued patrol rifle.

I am not going to get into an argument over which brand is better. I personally own CMMG, Charles Daly and Colt rifles. I used to own a Bushmaster but got rid of it a couple years ago. My department rifles are Colts, Bushmasters, Stag and DPMS. We have Colts and Bushmasters with 10-15k round counts. Bushmaster problems, broken bolts, worn gas rings, action springs, extractors, worn disconnectors, hammers and FCG springs. Colts only issues have been worn gas rings.
I ordered brand new FCGs for our Bushmasters from Bushmaster. First two were good to go. The next four I replaced were out of spec. The officers had to physically push the trigger forward to get the hammer to disconnect. I inspected the hammers and compared them to the two new working BM hammers I had replaced earlier. There was a lump on the malfuctioning hammers that was not present on the others. This caused the disconnector to malfunction. I called  BM and they sent me replacement hammers. The replacement hammers were defective as well. I had to file on the hammers to get them to function. I no longer buy BM FCGs. I have never had a Colt fail at the range which was not Mag related. I cannot say the same for BM or DPMS rifles.

DPMS and BM are good rifles, as are many other brands. Keep them clean and lubricated they will function perfectly. I believe that the Colts are more forgiving and have more stamina/longevity over some of the other brands. I do not believe you or anyone else is stupid for purchasing a brand of rifle other than a Colt. I am merely letting know my experiences to create beneficial discussion and increase my range of knowledge.

Buy once, cry once.  Colt, Daniel Defense, or BCM.  You can build a rifle using a BCM full upper, and a BCM blemished lower for ~$850 complete.  Check out G&R for great prices.  Don't buy the RR.

What are thoughts on m&p rifles? Not 100% mil spec (all but the barrel i think) they are closer the ops price range, come in regular m4 config and the moe set up plus other set ups.  Just throwing that out there since I havnt seen them mentioned yet

I have taught several patrol rifle classes and the RRA's don't seem to have many problems. I've had a RRA entry tac that's got around 6000 thorough it mostly suppressed and it's rock solid. I'd say go for it especially since it's already got everything you want on it. I think you'd be better off going that way than you would building one up.

+1
As far as running ,I cant  tell my Colt from my Bushmasters or my LMT'S

Also back in 98/99 my LEO friends traded in there colts for bushmasters
Bushmaster had a huge fan club here.

Bought my Aimpoint in 2001  never had a problem with it
Bought Eotech 551F in 2005 Had battery drain problems
I Have read several Eotech problems here at AR15.com