Thursday, July 19, 2012

Rifles DELIVERED!!!


Yesterday, I had the distinct honor of being invited to ride with Lee Firpo from GPI Custom Gunworks, to deliver some patrol rifles to the Okaloosa County Airport Police Department. I have been doing some in depth consulting, research and development, and all around "Ranger Proof" testing for GPI over the past few months, so it was a natural fit for me to attend this delivery. 

I know the Chief of Police there, pretty well, and have worked with him closely in the past. Okaloosa Airport Police is a new Agency, located in the panhandle of Florida. This agency is in a unique position, being located at Eglin AFB, and surrounded by very strategic areas.  

Chief Tennyson is a very forward thinking leader, with a long career in Law Enforcement, and a strong background in SWAT and Special Operations (Law Enforcement). The Okaloosa County Airport Police Department is very fortunate to have a Chief of his stature, and I have no doubt that Chief Tennyson will take this agency to the next level. You can read about Chief Tennyson being chosen and sworn in HERE. 

The Chief spoke with me based on my background with him, and asked me about outfitting his department with some high quality patrol rifles, without coming in outside of budget constraints. I immediately spoke with him about my involvement with GPI Custom Gunworks in Jacksonville, FL and put him in touch with the company's President, Lee Firpo.

Lee and I sat down, and discussed what the Airport Police would need in a rifle, and I felt their SAR would fit the bill. I leaned towards a 12.5" barrel, due to the fact that they would be working in close quarters, confined space, but have the potential of having to place accurate fire on target at distances beyond close quarters considerations.  

I had been testing the GPI SAR-15 for a while (FULL review coming very, very soon), running various barrels in the rifle, giving accuracy tests, inputs, and advice, and I had my SAR configured with a 12.5" barrel.

So, an order was placed, and the GPI SAR Patrol Rifle was born. This rifle is simply, top shelf. As stated, a FULL review will be coming very soon, as soon as I get some supporting video and pictures to add to the text.

Needless to say, the GPI SAR has already been deemed "Ranger Proof" by me, therefore, I have no reservations about posting about this.

The specs on the GPI Patrol Rifle are as follows: 

Upper is CNC Machined from Billet 7075, and is held to very exacting tolerances.

The lower is CNC Machined from Billet 7075 as well. It is a modified lower, produced by Core-15 in Ocala, FL. However, this lower is spec'd to GPI specifications, and soon, VERY soon, GPI will be producing their very OWN lower. This too, will have a detailed review upon receipt of this lower.

The barrel is done in house, by GPI. It is machined from a Montana Rifle Company blank, profiled, chambered and throated by GPI CNC Machines. These are chambered in the Wylde chamber, so you can fire both 5.56 NATO pressure as well as .223 Remington. The rate of twist is 1:8 which stabilizes a multitude of commercially avaliable bullets. I can attest to the accuracy of these rifles, which will be included in my full GPI SAR review.

Internals are all MILSPEC Lower Parts Kit. The trigger is a MILSPEC unit, since these rifles will be used in a Law Enforcement DUTY capacity.

The bolt carrier is MICRO-Slicked for enhanced wear and lubricity.

This rifle also comes with GPI Rails, fully floated, to allow attachment of any tactical accessory that the shooter may want to add.

The pistol grip is made by ERGO, a very popular choice in pistol grips.

The buffer tube (Lower Receiver Extension) is MILSPEC and installed correctly, with a staked castle nut. Buffer and Spring are standard carbine fare.

GPI makes a very nice Compensator, but since these rifles are built for duty use, we opted to use a standard A2 "bird cage" style flash hider. These are found on rifles around the world, and they do really work well. The GPI Comp is a nice addition to the SAR rifles, I too, will be adding a review on them soon.

Flip up sights are included on these GPI Patrol Rifles. They are the ARMS style, which I personally like, due to the nice sight picture that they produce. They are a polymer style sight, that fit very nicely on the rails, and provide a low profile signature.

Dollar for Dollar, the Patrol Rifle Package from GPI is hard to beat.

Here is a picture of Lee showing the rifle to Chief Tennyson:



Happy with the results, Chief Tennyson and Lee Firpo pose for a picture:


These are Short Barreled Rifles (SBR's) in the eyes of BATFE... but, since they are transferred to a Law Enforcement Agency for duty use, there is no "Stamp" involved. Here, Chief Tennyson makes it official... signing over the BATFE paperwork:



I took the opportunity to show off my GPI / MEGA SAR-TEN (don't worry, I am working on a post on this rifle currently... stay tuned).

This SAR-TEN is a rifle platform that I am developing to be used as a Law Enforcement SWS (Sniper Weapon System). So far, it is performing WELL beyond my expectations.

Here I am, showing the Chief a five round group I fired from 100 yards with M118LR... this will also be spoken about in depth in my review of this SWS.

As you can see... GPI is moving forward in the industry, and are producing some VERY high quality rifles. You can expect to see more on the subject from me in the near future. Thank you all for your patience as I get this blog up and running. In the end, GPI provided a very valuable service to the Okaloosa County Airport Police Department, and I would love to welcome them to the GPI family.

These Patrol Rifles were hand inspected by me personally, and I have zero reservations stamping them "Ranger Proof".

DMack Out.

1 comment:

  1. I'm so glad to see the GPI team getting the recognition they deserve. Business is very tough these days and it takes a truly remarkable product at an extremely competitive price to be a winner. I finally got my own SAR and consider it the best assault rifle of its type to ever shoot. The fit and finish are second to no other that I have seen. Bravo GPI!

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