At the 2018 Athlon Outdoor Rendezvous, we caught up with RISE Armament, and got some trigger time on the new Watchman rifle. An impressive collection of well-thought out components, the RISE Watchman is designed specifically as a law enforcement duty rifle.
“This gun was designed with input from police officers literally coast-to-coast,” said Garrett Grover, RISE Armament. “We interviewed police offers, competition shooters, instructors and some U.S. Army snipers to help develop this gun so we could provide something for law enforcement that nobody else does.”
While we got to test out the Watchman, RISE also manufactures a .223 Wylde variant. Additionally, each of the rifles fall within the Watchman series of rifles, purpose-built as duty rifles for law enforcement. Also, each rifle features a RISE advanced flash hider, designed to minimize muzzle flash in low light conditions.
“The Watchman features our purpose-built flash hider that we designed specifically for this gun,” Grover said. The four-pronged system eliminates user visible flash, and we came up with a proprietary system for eliminating the annoying ring normally found with this type of flash hider.
Built on forged upper and lower receivers, the Watchman 223LE and 300LE utilize an LE145 Tactical Trigger. Keep in mind, RISE makes some of the best drop-in AR-15 trigger options in the business. Also included are an ambidextrous safety and RISE LE M-LOK handguard. Moreover, a 416R stainless steel barrel and black nitride-coated bolt carrier group, Magpul pistol grip and CTR stock complete the package.
Above all, departments are clearly beginning to take notice. Only recently, the Broken Arrow Police Department in Oklahoma picked the Watchman 223LE to outfit its Special Operations Team. For more information on the RISE Watchman, please visit risearmament.com.
