Not your typical Baer

[CH4]

Today I struck out at a local show, so I headed to a favorite LGS, where I found this cherry Les Baer M4 Police Special. I am familiar with Baer’s 1911s, I have several, but have never seen one of his rifles and know little about them. Traded into it for about $800. If anyone has knowledge or experience with this rifles, I’d appreciate hearing about it.

 

[Hairtrigger]

I have a LB lower…
My opinion is his rifles were nothing special

 

[CH4]

Yeah, I have the impression that ARs, like 1911s, reach a certain price point where there’s not much more to be gained besides bragging rights, e.g., Daniel Defense, Noveske, LaRue, etc. Not sure where the point of diminishing return is with ARs, perhaps $1000?

 

[LVSteve]

Yeah, I have the impression that ARs, like 1911s, reach a certain price point where there’s not much more to be gained besides bragging rights, e.g., Daniel Defense, Noveske, etc. Not sure where the point of diminishing return is with ARs, perhaps $1000?

Honest Outlaw on Youtube said the other day that for most shooters and the amount of use most ARs get, it has become difficult to tell the difference between $450 guns and those listing for $1200. He had a Ruger 556 for review not long ago and it shot really well.

 

[TheTinMan]

Barrel, bolt, then trigger are the parts that matter most.

 

[Fishinfool]

I think with these high dollar versions of the AR 15 you are not only paying a little more for top quality barrels, you are also paying a lot more for the extra hand fitting and QC that makes them usually more accurate than their typical Colt counterparts. That's the theory anyway.

I remember reading, I think it was either LB or Wilson, that they basically "blueprinted" the entire gun.

Larry

 

[JRB416]

Congratulations on your new find. Your Baer M4 looks very nice and I like the way you have set it up. I'm betting it will shoot as good as it looks.

I owned a Baer Super Varmint for a few years. While not an M4 Police Carbine, still a Baer built AR. It was an accurate rifle, performed very well in the field, and I don't have anything negative to say about it.

I sold it because I prefer bolt actions for the varmint hunting I do and found it was staying home most days.

 

[Hairtrigger]

Here are pics

 

[zeke]

Always lusted for one of these, but outside price range. Don't know if they're still offered.

Les Baer .308 Ultimate Match Rifle - Shooting Times

 

[bobsguns]

I have a Baer M4. It is in fact more accurate than my Colt AR or any others. Worth every penny it costs, IMO.

It is my understanding that Uncle Les no longer makes his AR rifles. Reason would be slow sales, IMO.

My .o2

 

[Hairtrigger]

Do you think Les simply charges extra because of his reputation
He did not stay in the AR business long enough to gain a great reputation. There are several others that already are known for great AR rifles

 

[LostintheOzone]

Barrel, bolt, then trigger are the parts that matter most.

Don't forget the ammo. The high dollar AR's don't shoot any better with garbage ammo.

 

[LVSteve]

Don't forget the ammo. The high dollar AR's don't shoot any better with garbage ammo.

There is a Box o' Truth test showing that very thing. Regular 55 gr and 62 gr milsurp ammo was shown to be pretty mediocre for accuracy.

 

[LostintheOzone]

There is a Box o' Truth test showing that very thing. Regular 55 gr and 62 gr milsurp ammo was shown to be pretty mediocre for accuracy.

A 2K Danial Defense will shoot just like your average $750 S&W unless you upgrade to premium ammo. I'm a witness.

Probably another reason to just shoot an M&P Sport unless you compete or have money to burn.

 

[rockquarry]

I tried around ten different bulk junk ammos about ten years ago in ARs. Most are a waste of money unless you have minimal interest in accuracy, but it seems many AR shooters see accuracy as a secondary factor.

Expensive commercial match ammo shoots very well as it should, but handloaders who take the time to do proper load development can at least equal or exceed the accuracy level of factory match ammo. Good quality components cost more than the junk stuff but the cost is worth it.

 

[TheTinMan]

Don't forget the ammo. The high dollar AR's don't shoot any better with garbage ammo.

Amen! However, if you don’t have a good barrel it won’t matter how much you spend on ammo.

 

[SlamFire]

I shot iron sighted AR15's in NRA Highpower Competition. Back when I was shooting, Armalite, Bushmaster, Rock River were the most common AR's on the firing line. And believe it or not, shooters with stock box National Match versions of all of these brands won Major events, such as Civilian Service Rifle champ.

Barrels were what you wanted, NM Armalites were Wilson match barrels, and I suspect, Wilsons were used on the other brands. You could pay more for Kreigers, Shilen, etc. And they all shot outstandingly. Chambers were always "match" chambers, the Wylde chamber was common. At the time, two stage triggers were versions of the Garand/M14 trigger mechanism. Now I see drop in modular triggers. You can pay more, and buy a more expensive trigger with a lighter pull, which is all to the good for a target rifle.

At some level of quality components, AR's will outshoot the owners, regardless of the brand. AR's are not like 1911's, which the most accurate have to be hand fitted, and Les Baer assemblers hand file the barrel bushings tight. You can assemble a AR15 from quality parts, the thing can rattle, and yet shoot dime sized holes at 100 yards, as long as the ammunition, barrel, and chambering job are right.

I earned my Distinguished with an M1a, and to make a match rifle out of an M1a, that rifle had to be built by someone who knew what they were doing. Bedding took a lot of hand labor, so did the unitizing the gas system, getting the correct barrel tension on the upper band, etc.