Patriot Ordnance Factory (POF-USA) re-invented the AR platform with its Revolution™. Winner of Ballistics’s Best 2018 Best Innovative AR award, the Revolution packs 7.62×51 NATO (.308 Winchester) punch into a 5.56-sized package. To quote POF-USA, “It’s an AR-15 that shoots .308.”
Not only does the Revolution handle and shoot like a standard AR-15, it also uses many standard 5.56 parts. This allows for a receiver with the same dimensions pin-to-pin as a mil-spec M16/M4, as well as greatly reduced weight. The barrel extension and bolt assembly on the Revolution are also the identical size as those on a mil-spec gun. As to the recoil, well you would have to shoot the Revolution to believe how soft it actually is. It’s more than a 5.56, but not by all that much. And the accuracy is absolutely exceptional for an AR platform. It’s an AR shooter’s dream come true.
POF-USA Revolution Pistol
POF-USA is now offering pistol versions of all of its firearms. The pistols are built to the same standards and specs as POF-USA rifles. Equipped with the new 5-position adjustable SB Tactical™ SBA3™ Pistol Stabilizing Brace that utilizes standard mil-spec carbine receiver extensions (buffer tubes), it’s now possible to purchase the POF-USA Renegade, Renegade+, P415, P308, and Revolution in short-barrel configurations at your local gun store with just a standard 4473. No NFA fees, wait or hassle to contend with.
You can purchase and sell the POF-USA pistols just like any handgun. It can be transported across state lines without notifying ATF. And you can carry your brace-equipped pistol anywhere and in any manner that you can legally carry a handgun, subject, of course, to state and local laws.
Technical Specs
Let’s start off by taking a look at the technical specs of the Revolution. The Revolution is not a stripped down 7.62 AR by any means. It’s truly revolutionary. Not only does it have all of the cutting-edge proprietary features that one has come to expect from POF-USA, it has a lot of new ones, as well.
The Revolution is built on the POF-USA Gen 4 lower receiver, although with a larger mag well to accommodate the larger 7.62 magazines. The Gen 4 lower is not your standard AR lower. It incorporates a number of enhanced features, including an ambidextrous bolt hold open and release with enhanced bolt catch, ambidextrous safety selector, Teflon® receiver tension screws, oversized mag well flare, ambidextrous magazine release, ambidextrous recessed finger rest, oversized integrated trigger guard with grip relief, and QD sling mount. The Revolution employs standard 7.62 NATO AR-10/SR25/M110 pattern rifle magazines. The rifle ships with a single 20-round Magpul® PMAG® LR/SR GEN M3TM 7.62X51 magazine. The magazines are also available in 10- and 25-round capacities.
The Revolution’s bolt carrier is of one-piece design with the bolt carrier key built into the body and built into the body. The patented design features that reduces carrier tilt. The bolt carrier is electroless high-phosphate nickel coated. The bolt carrier group features a chrome plated bolt, extractor and firing pin. The finishes provide enhanced wear and corrosion resistance and lubricity.
The Revolution features POF-USA’s patented E2 dual-extraction system. The E2 dual-extraction system incorporates four small channels built into the chamber to allow a small amount of gas pressure to push against the neck of the spent case as the extractor is pulling to the rear. This assists in extraction by removing a considerable amount of work that would otherwise need to be performed by the extractor alone.
The Revolution has a proprietary POF-USA single stage, non-adjustable drop-in match-grade trigger. The trigger is pre-assembled in a hard-coat anodized aluminum housing with urethane rubber feet. The trigger, disconnect and hammer are A2 tool steel and nitride heat treated to 70 RC for strength and corrosion resistance. All POF triggers come with KNS Precision stainless steel non-rotating anti walk pins specifically designed for POF USA’s lower receivers.
The Revolution features POF-USA’s patented 5-position adjustable Regulated Short-Stroke Gas Piston System. It consists of just three major components: the gas plug, gas piston, and operating rod. In a piston operated AR the gas pushes a piston that acts on an operating rod, that acts on the bolt carrier, cycling the action, instead of gas being directed into the bolt carrier as is the case with a direct impingement (DI) system. The piston system reduces two problems associated with DI systems: carbon fouling and timing issues (with short barreled rifles and with the use of suppressors). Piston guns also have a longer service life than DI guns, although most recreational shooters will never put enough rounds downrange to benefit.
The 5-position adjustable POF-USA gas system allows the user to restrict and even cut off the added back pressure when suppressors are employed. POF-USA offers a free suppressor tune-up for all their firearms. If you will be shooting suppressed, I highly recommend that you take advantage of it.
POF-USA opted for the SB Tactical SBA3 Pistol Stabilizing Brace on all of its pistols. The SBA3 is the first ATF-compliant arm-brace to utilize a standard mil-spec carbine buffer tube. The SBA3 is easily adjusted for the optimal length of pull for the individual shooter. This greatly enhances the versatility of the brace. The SBA3 also features a minimalist design and has an integral QD sling socket.
The Revolution Pistol has a POF-USA 5-position mil-spec 7075 aluminum receiver extension (buffer tube) that features carrier cradle extensions. The extensions ensure that carrier is always supported, even when the bolt carrier is fully forward. This prevents carrier tilt and premature wear of the buffer tube. The buffer tube detent is designed to double as a lock that inhibits the buffer tube from rotating and becoming loose.
The Revolution Pistol has a fluted 12.5-inch (31.75 cm) chrome alloy match-grade barrel with a 1:10 twist. It’s nitride heat treated for full corrosion resistance. The barrel iss equipped with a highly-effective 3-prong flash-hider instead of the triple-ported oversized muzzle brake used on the standard Revolution. The flashider is also nitride heat-treated.
The Revolution features POF-USA’s proprietary oversized aluminum heat sink barrel nut. It’s over three inches long and completely encompasses the chamber and throat area of the barrel, dissipating heat where expanding gas pressures peak. The proprietary heat sink barrel nut provides 17 times more heat dissipation than a standard AR barrel nut. The long barrel nut also provides more guiding surface for the operating rod to ensure constant positive contact with the bolt carrier.
The enhanced backbone receiver also adds substantial increased rigidity to the overall platform. It’s five times thicker than standard flattop platforms. Additional rigidity and precision is provided by POF-USA’s patented Modular Railed Receiver (M.R.R.). The M.R.R. is a two-piece upper assembly with a free-floating monolithic handguard that slides onto the upper receiver and interface directly with it. It keeps any accessories from weighing down on the barrel and reduces stress and flex in the barrel extension area, resulting in increased accuracy.
The Revolution features POF-USA’s newly redesigned Edge™ rail. It has full M-LOK® compatibility, a front top and bottom section of rail for sights and a bipod or other accessories, and features four QD sling mount slots. M-LOK offers a number of advantages over other direct attachment methods. It has been adopted by the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) as the modular rail platform for its weapon programs after extensive testing and evaluation conducted by Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Crane.
The Revolution Pistol features a Mission First Tactical Engage AR15/M16 Pistol Grip Version 2. It has a 15-degree angle that provides improved comfort and control than a standard A2 grip. The grip is textrued to to provide a positive grip surface.
The gun weighs a svelte 6.5 pounds. (2.95 kg). For purposes of comparison, the Revolution rifle with a 16.5-inch (41.91 cm) barrel weighs 7.3 pounds and a standard AR-10-style rifle with a 16-inch (40.64 cm) barrel weighs around 8 pounds (3.6 kg) or more. As you can see the weight reduction with the Revolution is significant.
Shooting the Revolution Pistol
So how does it shoot. To find out, I met up with with Will Milazzo of POF-USA and Josh Locatis of Tap Rack Bang Creative at the Rio Salado Sportsman‘s Club in Mesa, Arizona for some range time with the Revolution Pistol. I previously tested the Revolution rifle with the 16.5-inch barrel and was looking forward to comparing the two.
During my original testing of the Revolution rifle with 16.5-inch (41.91 cm) barrel it performed like a champ. At that time, our shooting was conducted both with the factory brake and with a Dead Air Armament Sandman-Ti™ suppressor. The piston system made suppressed fire a pleasure, with none of the unpleasant gas blowback to the face that one would have with a suppressed DI rifle. Although we did not test the Revolution pistol with a suppressor, there’s no reason to believe that the performance would be any different.
The Revolution is capable of delivering outstanding groups. Josh showed me a photo he took of a 0.48-inch ( 12.192 mm) five-shot group shot at 100 yards (91.44 m) by a benchrest shooter with the Revolution rifle and Federal Premium® .308 175-grain Sierra MatchKing® BTHP. As mentioned, the Revolution has an outstanding trigger. It has a 4.5 pound (2.04 kg) pull with no-slack and an exceptionally crisp, clean break with no over travel, and a tactile reset.
While we were at the range, the Revolution Pistol consistently shot 5-shot groups of two inches (50.8 mm) or less at 100 yards (91.44 m) with 168gr Hornady® Black ELD® Match. The pistol was equipped with a Trijicon® MRO® 1x25mm reflex optic with a 2-MOA red dot.
The design, operating system and oversized muzzle break on the Revolution rifle do an outstanding job in mitigating recoil and muzzle climb. The tradeoff with a muzzle brake is increased muzzle blast and flash.The Revolution rifle has considerable muzzle blast with the brake. Now where that’s an issue, it’s simple to remedy. The Revolution accepts any muzzle device with a 5/8-24 thread.
Muzzle blast and flash from the shorter barrel are the reason that POF-USA opted for a flash-hider on the pistol version. Even without the muzzle brake, the Revolution proved to be comparatively soft recoiling and controllable. Since our testing was conducted on a bright, sunny day there was no way to judge flash reduction. POF-USA the flash-hider on the Revolution does an outstanding job in mitigating the flash from the short barrel and I have no reason to doubt them.
As expected, the Revolution pistol does have more perceived recoil and muzzle climb than the rifle due to both the lighter weight and lack of muzzle brake. That being said, it’s still less than a standard AR-10-style rifle, a testament to the design of the Revolution.
So what does one give up in velocity with the shorter barrel. Not all that much. Although I wasn’t able to personally chronograph the velocities while at the range with the Revolution pistol, according to POF-USA the 12.5-inch (31.75 cm) barreled pistol averages around 1,260 fps (384 m/s) with Federal 168gr Gold Match. For purposes of comparison, the Revolution rifle with 16.5-inch (41.91 cm) barrel averages 2,496 fps (761 m/s) with the same ammo.
The compact size and lightweight of the Revolution platform, especially the shorter barrels, make it a fast handling gun that, coupled with the controllability, make it a great fighting platform. Not only is it suitable for dynamic urban applications (with the proper ammunition, of course), it also has the punch and reach for longer range applications. The 7.62 battle rifle cartridge provides the capability to accurately engage targets at a significantly further range than is possible with either a 5.56mm or 300 BLK.
Some Final Thoughts
You’ll definitely want to check out the POF-USA Revolution. It’s truly revolutionary. You get the punch of a 7.62/.308 in a rifle or pistol that handles like a 5.56/.223. Which leads to the question, why opt for a 5.56? The Revolution does it all.
The Revolution Pistol has a MSRP of $2664.99 with standard black finish. It’s also available with what POF-USA refers to as a “Burnt Orange” finished upper and lower receiver for a MSRP of $2794.99. I tested the Burnt Orange model. All POF-USA firearms are made in the USA in the Great State of Arizona> They have a 100% satisfaction guarantee and come with a limited lifetime warranty.
POF-USA now also offers a Direct Impingement (DI) version of the Revolution pistol. The Revolution DI Pistol has all of the features but in a smaller direct impingement system featuring POF-USA’s 9-position adjustable Dictator gas block and Renegade rail. The Revolution DI Pistol weighs 6.3 pounds (2.9 kg) with a 12.5- inch (31.75 cm) barrel, Pricing is identical to the piston models..
Specifications
POF-USA Revolution Pistol
Manufacturer: Patriot Ordnance Factory (POF-USA)
Model: Revolution Pistol
Caliber: 7.62×51 NATO (.308 Win)
Action: Semi-auto, short-stroke gas piston system
Weight: 6.9 lbs. (2.95 kg)
Overall Length: 30 inches (collapsed)
Barrel: 12.5-inch (31.75 cm) Fluted
Barrel Twist: 1:10
Handguard: 11.5-inch (29.21 cm) M-RAIL
Trigger: 4.5 lb. (2.04 kg) Drop-In
Controls: Fully Ambidextrous
Brace: SB Tactical SBA3
Country of Origin: USA
Warranty: Limited Lifetime
Suggested Retail: $2664.99 Black / $2794.99 Burnt Orange
Material Disclosure
I received this product on loan as a courtesy from the manufacturer so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.
*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Spotter Up Magazine, the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site
Photos by Tap Rack Bange Creative..