The Maple Ridge Armoury Maverick is the big 308-sized brother to the smaller 223-sized MRA Renegade (review here). The MRA Maverick is a straight-pull rifle that accepts many parts from your non restricted AR10 build that was prohibited by the scumbag Liberal Party of Canada, and it lets you use your gucci parts at the range again.
Receiver Set or Full Rifle?
The rifle can be purchased as a receiver set or as a full rifle. I chose a receiver set because I had some high end parts collecting dust on the shelf and I wanted to use them. I’ve built more than a few AR15’s, so the build was pretty uneventful. Since this rifle is manually actuated, you could run a really short barrel (12.5″ or so) and still be Non Restricted. Seems like a bit of a waste to go short barrel with a 308 sized cartridge though.
My build parts list:
- MRA Maverick receiver set
- MRA X1 Match 20″ barrel in 6.5 Creedmoor, MRA Defiant brake on the end
- MRA X1 M-LOK 17″ handguard
- H2 buffer, spring
- MFT Minimalist stock
- Timney Calvin Elite trigger
- Magpul grip
- Random AR10 style parts (bolt, firing pin, AR15 firing pin retaining pin, buffer tube, etc, etc.)
Build notes: The mag catch pocket was just a smidge to small and bound a bit, so I opted to smooth out a burr with a round file. 5 minutes, tops. Takedown pins were stiff to start with, but that’s the same on every new build. The BCG needed an AR15 “cotter pin” style firing pin retaining pin because my AR10 solid pin was too big.
Note: The BCG is shorter, lighter, and smaller in diameter than a standard AR10 BCG. It does not have a gas key, and instead has a guide installed further back on the BCG. The upper receiver does not have room for a gas key or a hole for a gas tube.
Should you get the full rifle? I think that depends on what you want to do with it. It’s not going to be competitive with a similarly priced PRS rig for PRS. There are 10 round LAR mags that are inexpensive and can change in a flash, so it would be better than a bolt action rifle in competition in a high round count stage. It may compete well in heavy division in 3 gun inside Canada. It’s kind of heavy and pricey as a hunting rifle, but you could use it for that too.
Shooting the MRA Maverick
It’s largely the same as shooting the MRA Renegade (review here), except with a bigger boom. The charging handle can be run on the right or left hand side, whatever’s your pleasure.
My rifle is in 6.5 Creedmoor, I have a big bad muzzle brake, and it’s straight line so recoil is very mild and it’s pretty enjoyable to shoot.
Cleaning
Because there’s no gas action (the gas hole on the barrel is sealed shut with a collar), the action is very clean and there’s no need to disassemble the rifle often to clean it. That’s a good thing, because disassembling takes some time. You need to remove the side charging handle and use a castlenut wrench to remove the buffer tube before you can pull the BCG out the rear.
Competition
What does the Maverick compete against? That’s hard to say, because I don’t think anything’s in the same category. There are some much more expensive 308 cartridge family semi autos like the SG542, but a $3k gun should not be directly compared with a sub $2k one.
Conclusion
Is this a cope rifle? I think that depends on your outlook. It lets you use your rifle parts, you can go hunting with it, etc. YMMV.
