SUITABLE FOR DEFENSE
RRA’S LAR-9 R9 COMPETITION RIFLE IS SHORT, LIGHT & MANEUVERABLE … & AN ASSET TO HOME DEFENSE
For home self-defense, you want an option that is reliable, light and maneuverable. Your choice may just be RRA’s LAR-9 R9.
What makes a sports superstar unique? Let us count the ways. Of course, these men and women have an inordinate amount of natural talent. These skills take them above and beyond most others. To use a cliché, they are also the first ones in every day and usually the last ones to leave. Extra work is standard operation procedure for them. Their desire burns hot. They set goals and go after them relentlessly. Let’s not forget visualization, either. They see themselves in different scenarios, and they see themselves doing each with tremendous success.
So, what does all this mean to you? Elite athletes should be your role models in your preparation for home defense. Work hard, put in the extra training, strive to be the best you can be should the unthinkable occur and see yourself executing the moves to keep your family safe. One way to be prepared is with a reliable and accurate firearm, such as Rock River Arms’ LAR-9 R9.
In the following story, Steve Mayer— RRA LE/government sales manager and new product development coordinator—discusses one of their newest offerings. The 15-year veteran of the firm lays it all out on the line.
01 WHAT PROMPTED YOU TO GO WITH A PCC (PISTOL CALIBER CARBINE)?
Steve Mayer: We’ve been building 9mm carbines since 2001. It was a natural evolution to roll into PCC competition with a new model build specifically for it.
02 WHAT MAKES THE LAR-9 UNIQUE?
Mayer: I’m unsure how to answer that, honestly. There are a lot of similarly-configured builds out there. Some are “better” than others. We use high-quality components; build each rifle to order, which also means we can reconfigure it at the time of the build rather than make you buy it our way then have the expense of upgrading it down the road; and we test fire every rifle and every upper with multiple rounds at an outdoor range rather than a single round into a snail trap. In general, I think we’re more concerned with our customers’ satisfaction with our products than some other manufacturers might be.
03 IF TALKING TO A CONSUMER AT THE SHOT SHOW, HOW WOULD
YOU DESCRIBE THIS GUN?
Mayer: I’d say that it’s a ready-to-go PCC competition rifle, right out of the box, but it is also a capable 9mm carbine for other occasions also, such as home defense.
04 TALK ABOUT THE EASE OF USE.
Mayer: Basically, it is very similar to the standard AR-style platform, so those familiar with the AR should be very familiar with the LAR-9 in general and the R9 that they have in-hand in particular. It has low recoil, low muzzle blast and it is very maneuverable.
05 DESCRIBE THE PERFORMANCE TESTS.
Mayer: Again, we’re pretty familiar with building 9mm carbines, having done so for almost two decades. On a blowback-operated carbine, there’s no gas system to fine-tune, so it really became an issue of what worked best in PCC style competition, what was comfortable for our shooters, what was versatile enough for the different stages of competition we had seen in PCC, and, going back to its roots, what was still viable as a general use carbine as well.
Of course, it isn’t just a competition rifle …we hate to tell our customers how they should use their rifles. If
“TEN-, 20- AND 32-ROUND MAGAZINES OFFER RAPID RELOADING WITH HIGHER THAN MOST HANDGUN CAPACITIES AS WELL.”
they have something else in mind than what we originally conceptualized, and it’s safe, more power to them. Enjoy your rifle.
06 WHEN YOU SET OUT TO MAKE THIS PCC, WHAT WERE THE GOALS?
Mayer: The primary goal was to build a competitive rifle right out of the box, without gouging the customer by throwing on this, that or the other thing that they may have seen on-line or at the matches that will make them “shoot like the pros.” Nothing will do that but a capable rifle, decent ammo and a lot of practice. We provide the capable rifle part of that equation.
07 TALK ABOUT THE ADVANTAGES IT PRESENTS IN A HOME DEFENSE SCENARIO.
Mayer: The LAR-9 R9 Competition is, at its heart, our basic LAR-9 carbine with multiple refinements. It’s light, short and easy to maneuver. It utilizes the same 9x19 round that many people already rely on in their EDC pistols and for self-defense at home, as well. The R9 offers better performance at longer distances than a pistol shooting the same round. This can be very important if one’s concept of home defense extends past the confines of the physical house and into the area around it. Ten-, 20- and 32-round magazines offer rapid reloading with higher than most handgun capacities as well.
08 IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D LIKE TO ADD?
Mayer: The LAR-9 R9 is a well-configured pistol caliber carbine that is ready for competition, home defense, plinking and even for use as a “truck” gun. HD
For the newcomer to firearms, the LAR-9 R9 can be an asset for a number of reasons, including that it’s an accurate firearm with low recoil.
RRA has been building 9mm carbines since 2001, so it was a “natural evolution” to build a PCC for competition, which can be used for home defense. For photo purposes, the rifle features Aimpoint’s 9000SC optic.
A firearm for home selfdefense needs to be very maneuverable, which this one is.
