LaRue Costa Signature OBR Hybrid Debuts at SHOT
NRAblog 04.09.12
While prepping for the Annual Meeting this week in St. Louis, I came up on a true gem that was misplaced during SHOT Show. From those recovered files, here’s a quick look at Chris Costa’s LaRue signature OBR Hybrid.
Las Vegas, NV – Former Magpul Dynamics President Chris Costa has been busy since his departure from the tactical training company last year. One welcome result from said departure is the production of the LaRue Costa Signature OBR Hybrid Rifle.
“I wanted the shortest gun possible that is still legal,” said Costa. “The 14.5 (rifle) is what I’ve been running with for the last couple of years. Performance wise, with a good barrel in 14.5, it’s doing everything that a 16 inch guns are doing.”
As a fan of the light weight LaRue PredatAR, Costa was hoping for more. Keep the weight of the gun but add the OBR barrel. The result would be a lightweight rifle with astounding accuracy.
“I like to do a room entry with a suppressed 14.5 inch gun. With a 16 inch, it’s getting a little big. So if you’re caught out in the open and you need to take a further shot, this 14.5 inch can do the job.”
Working with LaRue, Costa was able to come up with a Signature OBR Hybrid. All it took was a little imagination.
“They took the OBR barrel, put it in the PredatAR, chopped the rail down so you can still get a can on it,” explained Costa. “But instead of having a 16 inch barrel gun with a 15 inch rail you have a 12 inch rail on a 14.5 gun.
It’s more wieldable and the overall the balance of the gun is really nice. Bottom line is not that we invented something, we just took a lot of the great things that LaRue does and put them in one package.”
Weighing in at 7.9 pounds, the Signature OBR meets Costa’s desire for a lightweight rifle. And to make sure it’s completely up to date with branding, the hybrid rifle comes with the Costa Ludus logo on the side.
All we’re waiting for now is the final word on production and price. Whatever that word may be, it’s sure to be a favorite once it hits your local gun shop’s shelves.
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