Rainier Arms RUC 16 Mod3 Review

This entry was originally posted on July 20, 2017 by Debi Earle at RainierArms.com

Products in this review:
Rainier Arms RUC MOD 3 - 16 Black
Rainier Arms RUC MOD 3 - 16 Sniper Grey

REASONING: I am on a mission to find firearms and gear that really do the job and that I know women will absolutely fall in love with.

This is the biggest reason I asked John Hwang (Founder & CEO of Rainier Arms) if I could review the R.U.C AR-15.

Over the last 3 years of learning to shoot, I have become a great fan of the AR-15 platform and as a woman who represents the more serious side of the female market… I started to see companies market AR’s to women but with no thought in the design or component selection of their offering so that it actually matched our desires and needs.

The approach seems to still be… slap some girlie coloring and/or Barbie Dollesque design on it, and advertise it with a female.

And at this time, I was looking for a new AR to replace my LMT 14.5 CQB. I looked around and tried most all of the big brands from Daniel’s Defense, to LWRC, BCM, etc… and also looked at having one built for me using my favorite rail, the Fortis Night Rail.

This is where the R.U.C came in. After reading the specs, it seemed that it was everything I wanted but nothing I didn’t need. It was right about the price point where I knew you had to be to get a factory built gun with the right quality. It also represented an AR platform that I knew women would absolutely love… first because it’s flat out gorgeous and secondly (most importantly of course) this gun flat out performs, bar none. You have to understand… woman want to have their cake and eat it too, and the RUC represents that rarely found combination in a factory built gun.

I spoke to a friend Craig Outzen, who is a Rainier Arms Team Shooter and one of the top MultiGun competitors in the industry. He told me that my thoughts on the R.U.C were valid, in his professional and personal opinion, and that he uses a R.U.C with some minor modifications.

THE R.U.C. ARRIVES…

I was excited to get the RUC and run it around for a few months. When it came, my good friend Brian Nelson from Firearms Pro (many of you know him as PFI Dude from the NUTNFANCY PROJECT), called me and told me it arrived and to come pick it up.

I opened the soft carry bag there at the store, and talk about doing it right!! Rainier Arms sends the RUC in a beautiful black box like rifle case compete with embroidered logo on the corner. I opened it up and the WOW Factor was undeniable from everyone. Pictures DO NOT do this thing justice. It is amazingly gorgeous!

If you have only seen a Fortis Night Rail in a picture on Instagram, I will tell you, live in person, that thing is a work of art and you should buy one just to look at it every day. And for those of you who think I am over exaggerating, just ask any Night Rail owner how they feel about theirs.

The package included a pvc patch, a few stickers, which I quickly added to some ammo cans, and then a Rainier Arms Spork. HeHeHe… Very cool. I will say though, as a girl, I was really hoping to find a t-shirt in there.

One other thing… The color of this RUC was not black, but a color called concrete. And it is fantastic! This gun begs for you, and everyone else on the range, to look at it, and trust me… people stop and stare.

Rainier Arms R.U.C 16 Mod3 Black

TIME FOR THE RANGE…

Next, was to schedule our range time so we could have the entire facility to ourselves and spend a day along with about 1,500 rounds of every kind, seeing what this RUC can do and if I love the performance as much as I do the look.

After a full day at the range running everything from bench testing accuracy, defensive drills, shooting on the move, vehicle tactics, clearing, barricades, steel, and then spending a day learning from Rainier Arms Team Shooter Craig Outzen… this is my thoughts on the Rainier Arms RUC 16 Mod3.

I’ve broken them down into categories to make it easier to sift through and you can see the Video Mash-Up in the link below.

CATEGORIES OF IMPORTANCE:

• My Current AR-15

  For the last 3 years my #1 AR has been an LMT CQB. And I absolutely love this carbine. It has never failed me after three years of training and shooting. I’ve probably run about 14,000 rounds of every kind of ammo through this gun with no failures except a few rounds from crappy local reman companies. I’ve used it in the hot Utah desert heat and the dead cold winters. The reason for switching to something like the RUC is to represent to my audience a platform that is not a $2,400 plus option. I wanted something down in the $1,500 range that wasn’t a BCM or a DD. Plus… as women, we want something that is sexy, and the Fortis Night Rail is as sexy as it gets.

• Overall Feel

  The RUC feels great in the hand from the first time you pick it up. From the B5 Butt Stock, which is smaller than others and anchors better, to the Magpul MOE+ Grip that feels comfortable, to the Fortis Night Rail which is slim and fits fantastic in smaller hands like mine. You’ll hear me brag about this Night Rail all of the time. Some people have kids they like to brag about to everyone... me? I have kids too, but I catch myself telling all my friends, “Hey have I told you about this Fortis Night Rail?” The gun just feels right when you get it in your hands. You do feel like you’ve got something special.

• Weight

  Even though the weight is listed as 6.9lbs, and has a longer 15” rail… it feels really well balanced. I am 5-7” and even after a full shoulder workout at the gym, I never felt the “weight” during a full day of range testing and running drills, shooting, reloading, etc. When I was shopping during the week before I went to the range with the RUC… I handled just about everything including a Cobalt Kinetics (not a fan of the looks but it felt fantastic) and a Christensen’s Arms Kyle Lamb model (My favorite of everything I handled outside of the RUC). This process really sold me on the RUC when I first picked it up.

• Balance

  The gun balances really well. I didn’t feel that it was back heavy or front heavy at all. The weight seems to be in the middle with the lower. This made a difference when manipulating the gun from all kinds of ready positions, to firing positions, to working in and around vehicles, clearing drills, barricade shooting, transitioning to targets and reloading. Never really thought of the guns balance. It was very easy. I haven’t felt that way about other carbines with the exception of the Colbalt and the Christensen Arms VTAC.

• Component Quality

  It’s Rainier Arms, you know they use top shelf components including many Fortis parts. You can look up the specs at the bottom of the article. I copied them from the website.

• Build Quality

  The RUC is built like a tank. I’d love to do an abuse test on it, but I’ll be honest… I don’t think I could stand to do it. One thing that drives me crazy and I know many will say that it doesn’t matter, is a carbine that doesn’t past the “Rattle Test”. Most of the guns I’ve handled and shot, all rattled like crazy. Not the butt stock, but the whole gun.  It’s just a pet peeve of mine and maybe my nature, but it drives me crazy. Even my Glock rattling makes me nuts. The bolt is smooth and pretty quiet (no metal on metal feel).  You can read the specs list at the bottom.

• Accuracy

  We zeroed the RUC at 100 meters mostly using some remanufactured soft tip 55gr. With a 1/7 twist barrel I was surprise that I ended up with 1 MOA using an EoTech. I decided that if I could do that with that type of setup… It would kick serious butt with match grade ammo and a 3gun type optic. Probably will do a follow up with bench tests at different distances and a 1-6 optic for accuracy over the next month as a follow up. I am more interested in this gun primarily as a defensive weapon.

• Recoil Impulse

  The gun is smooth. Doesn’t jump up nor does it have any push back. You really don’t notice it. The gun stays level even during fast shooting (See RUC Video Mash-Up). It was easy to regain my sight picture and/or move targets after each trigger pull. Recoil never ever even came into my mind while shooting, which shows it wasn’t an issue. Otherwise, that would be the first thing that would have crossed my mind… and if you’ve experienced a lot of recoil before, you know exactly what I’m talking about. This is of course not just due to the build, but also the Rainier Arms XTC 2.0 Comp. , which accepts the Fortis Blast Shield, and I can’t wait to add one to mine.

• Trigger

  The trigger is an ALG QMS. Not a match grade trigger, but I have no issues with the pull. It’s perfect for what I am doing with the gun and won’t give me any issues during competitions either. (For those who are serious competitors, they would of course change the trigger to their preferred platform). I like the feel of the trigger it’s crisp, short, great reset and the right weight for defensive purposes. There is no need to change it out.

• Anything that should be changed?

  Not in my opinion. Everything you need and nothing you don’t. It really is the perfect “If I Could Only Have One AR”type of carbine.

• Anything I would personally change?

  Yes a few things, but this is my personal preference. As a standard RUC offering, I’d say leave it alone, it’s perfect the way it is. But my personal RUC has a Cole Components Butt Stock and I am changing to a 12” Fortis Night Rail and 45 degree BUS. That’s it.

• What I liked

  I love this gun, and I’m not just saying that because I am reviewing the gun. I chose this specific gun out of everything that Rainier Arms has to offer because it fit the bill of what I felt that women would fall in love with, and feel that after they made the purchase, that they would continue to shoot and gain confidence in this weapon. I also love the fact that the gun comes with what you need to go shoot right out of the box, minus an It comes with Magpul BUS Pros, so all I did was add my EoTech and I was ready to go. There really isn’t anything you need to change. The Fortis Hammer Charging handle is also bomb proof and really gives you a secure purchase when pulling it back.

• Anything I didn't like?

  The selector switch…It wasn’t so much the fact that I didn’t like it, as much as it was the fact that I just wasn’t use to it. I was use to more of the traditional format. But now, I prefer it, and have found that I can switch from safety and fire at a quicker rate.

• What I liked versus other AR's

  Very few guns in this range have ever surprised me strait out of the box. I’ve seen a few that I have loved in pictures and specs, and then when it comes to handling and shooting them, I was very underwhelmed. Then you have your standard go-to’s like your BCM’s and DD’s. I love both of those, but wanted something different, not the same as everyone else (Now I know you’ve heard women say that before). Many times I was surprised at the lack of build quality in AR’s that are similarly priced. I liked that I could take the RUC out of the box and go strait to a training course or competition and not worry at all.

• Would I recommend it over other guns in a similar price range?

  Yes I would recommend the RUC. I think that it’s a secret gem amongst a lot of bigger named AR’s.  This is what I am recommending to my audience in this price level. I have not yet to feel good about any lower end AR’s. I really have a mind to wait and save and hold a freaking garage sale if I have to, and get the money and get the one I will love. And with the slight adjustments, I would suggest this becomes an AR that will really custom fit any and all women. You really don’t need another AR.

FINAL WORDS

I think I have said it all already. I love the RUC 16 Mod3.

I am making some mods to the specs just to make it really fit me, as a woman (boobs you know), and then the RUC Mod3 is what I am recommending to my audience. Plus… when it comes to doing business with a company… it doesn’t get much better than Rainier Arms and Fortis Manf.

It just doesn’t get any better than…
1) Top Quality Components & Performance…
2) Sexy Looks…
3) Great Company Behind It.

It’s what we women call, the “Female Trifecta”.