HEAD DOWN XPR15 EBR 5.56mm
Enhanced Battle Rifle with billet components for the demanding patrol officer!
With excellent handling characteristics, 100-percent reliability and extremely good accuracy, the XPR15 EBR is ready to be accessorized in seconds and head out for duty use.
Range Time
The EBR looked like a hot rod, but a session at the range was in order to find out for sure. For directing fire, we turned to Nikon’s M-223 3-12×42SF Matte Rapid Action Turret Nikoplex Riflescope, designed specifically for the AR-15 and, more specifically, the 55-grain .223/5.56mm round. With a one-piece main body tube, this variant of the M-223 has a side focus parallax adjustment and Rapid Action Turret technology, which allows the shooter to adjust elevation from 100 to 600 yards with one revolution.
Nitrogen-filled and O-ring sealed, the scope is waterproof, fog-proof and shock-proof. Nikon has engineered the entire optical system to provide the shooter with a bright, sharp, flat sight picture and light transmission up to its theoretical maximum of 95%. A large ocular lens delivers a bright, high-resolution sight picture with 4-time zoom range and four inches of constant, non-critical eye relief. Magnification reference numbers are viewable from the shooter’s position.
The day I set out for the range, I enjoyed clear skies and 85-degree temperatures, but unfortunately, I was plagued by 15 mph wind gusts. I set up at 100 yards, and benched the rifle atop a sandbag, and took aim at Dirty Bird targets from Birchwood Casey. Playing a game of shooting between wind gusts, I was able to achieve impressive accuracy. In fact, the largest group of the day was only 1.19 inches from Federal’s Tactical 43-grain Lite Open Tip Match. CorBon’s 62-grain DPX tightened the pattern up to an even inch, which was bested by DoubleTap’s 69-grain HP BTM at 0.94 of an inch. Black Hills’ 55-grain FMJ crowded into just 0.88 of an inch, and the best group of the day was turned in by Winchester’s 55-grain FMJ at 0.69 of an inch. The Head Down ran smoothly and flawlessly throughout our tests, with no issues in feeding or cycling or any other functioning.
All of the XPR’s controls were standard AR, so there were no surprises there. The Magpul CTR buttstock was no stranger to us — I’d used it before on a number of AR-15s and have always found it to feel solid on the shoulder, and absent the clunking and rattling encountered with some other telescoping stocks from other makers. The magazine well opening was cut a bit larger than usual, which facilitated smooth loading.
The trigger was a joy to work, and I love a good trigger. The smooth-faced unit had about a 0.6 of an inch of take-up before resistance was felt, then about another 0.6 of an inch of smooth travel before breaking crisply. I would have guessed the trigger break to be around 3.5 pounds, and was quite surprised to learn that it actually measured 5.25 pounds. The oversized Magpul MOE triggerguard would certainly facilitate gloved shooting.
Rubber ladders for handguard rails weren’t invented by Head Down, but it was a thoughtful addition to the rifle—and sometimes it’s the details that make the difference. If you’ve ever shot a rifle with quad rails extensively without them, you’ll appreciate the amount of comfort that they add for the shooter.
Final Notes
This was the first I’d heard of Head Down, and certainly the first time I’d handled one. The rifle made a good first showing, with quality materials and construction, fit and finish, flawless functioning and a high degree of accurate fire on target. The EBR comes with a number of custom accessories from Magpul, and is ready to be further accessorized via its quad rail handguards and flattop upper. The back-up iron sights allow the rifle to be ready to fire out of the case, or to co-witness with any number of reflex-type scopes, and a great trigger makes the rifle easy to shoot accurately.
There’s not much more to say… the EBR would be well suited to both the military troop or police officer… any shooter or operator would be well-equipped with this rifle, and it could serve as the base for even further building.
February 21st, 2011 at 1:02 pm
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February 21st, 2011 at 12:57 pm
[...] me a call as soon as you can and we will get you in on a introductory order at great priceing. Tactical-Life.com
February 21st, 2011 at 11:42 am
[...] me a call as soon as you can and we will get you in on a introductory order at great priceing. Tactical-Life.com