First Impressions of a New Sheriff in Town: Battle Rifle’s New Specter
When the former Battle Rifle Company owner passed away, many were left wondering what would happen to the company. The old company had success in the law enforcement arena but had found it hard in the past to really break free in the highly competitive consumer-driven market of AR-15 sales. Michael Rodriguez, owner of AWATT, an advanced tactical training and development company out of Houston, TX decided to rescue the suffering company and bring forth sort of a “Phoenix” revolution of sorts.
Michael’s first mission was to bring on quality partners on his way to rebuilding a strong platform. A belief of having solid foundation from a team that not only trains with weapons but understands what goes into making a quality product was first and foremost. Bringing on Matt Bilek and Karl Sorken was the first step in the rebirth of Battle Rifle Company.
“I knew if I could assemble a solid team that actually knew what was needed to not only build a quality rifle, but also a solid team, that we would be laying the foundation for success,” says Rodriguez “We have to be able to listen to our customers and build products that meet their expectations. Many of our customer’s lives depend upon our rifles functioning properly. We do not take that lightly.”
Secondly, the team cut out a lot of the rifle line up that was once in existence and instead focused on making just two rifle models and making them right way. Sourcing only all USA made parts, that are each individually made to the new Battle Rifle Specifications, insured not only top-quality rifles, but also rifles that would perform time after time in defense and in any battle environment.
The NEW Battle Rifle Company Specter
Sometimes you can tell what a product is made of just by holding it your hands. Initial impressions usually will be a good foreshadow to product performance. In receiving the Specter from my FFL, the rifle arrived in a custom Battle Rifle Company soft case with the Battle Rifle Company Logo proudly displayed on the outside. Initial impressions of the rifle were first class. It felt well-balanced, assembled perfectly and showroom new. Not a fingerprint on it. That’s the way I like to open a new product.
Let’s talk about some of the things I absolutely love about the Specter.
- The Specter is a Mid-Length gas system rifle. I’m sure many folks will argue with me here, but for my personal preference I love a mid-length gas system AR. I feel like the mid-length system allows for less failures to feed and poor ejection, due to over or under gassing.
- The Specter comes standard with a steel gas block. I will only run steel gas blocks. I have personally seen to many aluminum gas blocks turn red from heat and literally explode on the rifle. One small misalignment and you can lose a hand. Not for me.
- The Specter comes standard with a custom-made Battle Rifle Company Proprietary M-Lock Handguard that is super light weight and free floats.
- The Specter comes standard with a Geissele Trigger. Let me tell you, a good trigger is everything and this trigger is phenomenal.
- The Specter comes with a Hogue grip and a Hogue adjustable stock.
- The Specter has a Cryogenically treated 1:7 Twist barrel chambered in 5.56.
- The Specter comes standard with Mag-Pull flip up sights.
These are features you just don’t typically find on standard-grade, out-of-the-box AR-15. You certainly wouldn’t find all these features on the old Battle Rifle line-up. With a suggested MSRP of $1500, you will likely find this rifle at the dealer for around $1300, and it is worth every cent. I would stack this rifle up against any rifle in the country, and pound for pound it would hold its own just fine.
So, in conclusion, if you are looking for a solid well-made AR-15, add Battle Rifle Company to your short list of possibles. Give them a call and discuss options. You will quickly see, there is a new Sheriff in town, and this one certainly knows his rifles!
We will soon be doing a range test to check the accuracy and performance of the rifle in an up and coming article.
