We have a new Brownells BRN-10A reproduction AR-10 to take a look at today, hot off the production line! Brownells is making both AR-15 and AR-10 rifles in their "Retro" reproduction line, but this is definitely the more interesting one to me. You can piece together a good retro AR-15, but the AR-10 platform has until now been very limited in retro options.

In today's video, I am comparing the BRN-10A to a semiauto conversion of an original Portuguese AR-10. This allows some good comparisons, but it is also of limited use, because Brownells has chosen to reproduce the cleaner lines of the early Cuban-pattern AR-10. Details like the muzzle, handguards, charging handle, and front sight block are quite different between early and late original AR-10s, but the comparison with a late Portuguese one does allow us to see how much detail did go into properly replicating many of the other elements.

Overall, I am quite impressed by Brownells' new rifle. There is room for improvement, and my biggest complaint is the feel of the handguards - but they certainly do look right. Incidentally, after I finished filming I spoke with the company, and was told that a more accurate pistol grip is in development, as are waffle-pattern mags. Those will be nice improvements added to guns as they start shipping. The BRN-10 is definitely a much better reproduction than the old Armalite AR-10B rifles, and a heck of a lot less expensive than finding a semiauto conversion of an original one!