Feed is from a detachable five-round magazine. A single-column design, the magazine is manufactured from heavy gauge steel and is fitted with a metal follower. The follower keeps the bolt from going forward when empty. Magazines lock into place with a simple upward push and drop free by pushing the magazine release button located just in front of the bolt handle. To the rear of the magazine is a Schilen single-stage trigger. The AR30 uses a Remington 700-type trigger design, so most aftermarket triggers intended for a 700 will drop right in.

The AR30 uses a standard Remington 700-type trigger mechanism.

Mated to the front of the trigger is a 26-inch-long Lothar Walther chrome-moly barrel. It has 6-groove rifling with a 1:10-inch RH twist to enable it to stabilize a diverse range of bullet weights. To enhance accuracy the barrels are triple lapped. The barrel profile is rather light for a rifle of this type.

It measures 1.238 inches at the chamber but tapers quickly to just .69 inch behind the muzzlebrake. And the muzzlebrake is huge--although it is actually a scaled-down version of the brake mounted on the AR50. It resembles something fitted to a Soviet antitank rifle! Blessed with a distinctive "heavy metal" look to it, you either love it or hate it. Performance-wise it's very effective and features dual baffles and a 30-degree blast zone to the sides.

The barreled action is dropped into an unconventional stock chassis fabricated from three sections. The forend is an aluminum extrusion, the grip frame is machined aluminum, and the removable buttstock is forged and machined. The action is mated to the chassis via a simple "V" block bedding system, and the barrel is fully freefloated.

A very distinctive, and effective, muzzlebrake is fitted to the AR30's 26-inch barrel.

The forend has a competition-style rail machined down its centerline to allow a handstop, sling, or bipod to be installed. An M16A2-type pistol grip is mounted along with a simple cheekrest. The simple butt is finished with a comfortable Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. The rifle is 48 inches long overall and weighs 12 pounds. Steel parts feature a simple but durable manganese phosphate finish while aluminum parts are hard anodized.

"Heavy Metal" Performance
As I said, the AR30 is offered in .308, .300 Winchester Magnum, and .338 Lapua. Between the .300 and .338 Magnums, in my opinion, the .300 Winchester Magnum is the smarter way to go simply due to the cost of ammunition. While the .338 Lapua Magnum is indeed a wonderful round, it's very expensive to shoot.

For this review I chose six loads from Black Hills Ammunition, Hornady, and Winchester. Full details of those loads are found in the accompanying accuracy results chart. Four five-shot groups were then shot with each load off a sandbag rest at 300 yards. Velocity readings were measured 10 feet from the muzzle using a PACT chronograph at an ambient temperature of 85 degrees Fahrenheit at 100 feet above sea level.

Before touching off the first round, I just had to see how well that Gothic looking muzzlebrake performed. I mean, the .300 Winchester Magnum does have a reputation for hitting hard at both ends. So I loaded a magazine and pounded a round offhand. While the blast was pretty intense, I was shocked at the lack of recoil. So I emptied the magazine. Although the bark was very pronounced, the kick was barely perceptible.