BR4 TRIDENTBATTLE RIFLE CO.

BR4 TRIDENT

A SAILOR’S BEST FRIEND

BR4 TRIDENTBy David Hunter Jones, Editor

I left a gun out in the rain in a mud puddle during a tornado watch, but that’s nothing compared to what Chris Kurzadkowski did to the same gun: he left it in Houston Bay. For a month. Houston Bay—and all saltwater—is a nightmarish place if you’re a firearm or

anything made of metal. Kurzadkowski did this to both test his new rifle and prove a point. He was testing the corrosion resistance of his creation, the Battle Rifle Co. BR4 Trident. The point he was trying to prove was that an AR-15 can be made nearly as corrosion resis-tant as a block of wood. His test succeeded, and the rifle was removed from the bay, given a cursory cleaning and fired over and over successfully. Why build a gun that can withstand that kind of treatment? He wanted to offer MARSEC (Maritime Security) operators and near-water customers a low-maintenance rifle.

MARSEC is the U.S. Coast Guard’s security system that denotes three levels of threat as-sessment in and around waterways. In a nutshell, Level 1 means to keep your eyes peeled as usual, Level 2 means word has come down that there may be something on the horizon, and Level 3 indicates that a credible threat has been identified and it needs to be dealt with. Naturally, many of the Coast Guard’s 1,400 cutters, choppers and other vessels have racks of rifles and pistols, and they’re subjected to harsher conditions than the average desert- or safe-dwelling rifle many of us have and encounter. A light dusting of salt spray—if left unchecked and uncleaned—is enough to disable a run-of-the-mill M4-style rifle after significant corrosion has crept in. The Coast Guard follows the U.S. Navy’s maintenance protocols, which are de-signed to combat the salty environ, but who wouldn’t want a little more peace of mind when it’s time to go to guns? To give seaborne, riverine and coastal operators extra confidence, Battle Rifle Co. created the Trident rifle and SBR. Here we take a look at the rifle variant.

BATTLE RIFLE CO. MAKES A RIFLE THAT’D BE A WELCOME AND RUGGED ADDITION TO ANY VESSEL—OR HOME

BR4 TRIDENT

Battle Rifle Co.The Battle Rifle Company was founded in 2010 in part

by Chris Kurzadkowski who today serves as the Com-pany Commander and Master Armorer, or the guy in charge. Those titles aren’t a cheesy play on military ranks; they’re in place because Battle Rifle Co. is veteran owned and operated—every employee is either retired military or law enforcement. They’re all passionate about what they do, and proof of that shows in the quality of the rifles that come from the Houston-based company.

Kurzadkowski got the idea for making corrosion- resistant rifles after hearing about Houston-area police agencies dealing with rust issues in the swampy Texas weather, as well as pesky rust spots on his own firearms.

“We were building guns for various agencies around here and the humidity is so terrible that even if a gun is in a safe, it can still get spots of rust on it. So we put our heads together with some of our team testers who were Marine Recons and Navy SEALs. They loved the guns, but they were concerned about corrosion so we be-

gan dabbling in coatings,” Kurzadkowski said. “After plenty of trials, the end result is the Trident line that we have today; rifles that are 100% corrosion resis-tant throughout.”

Kurzadkowski reports that several police agencies in Texas (Liberty County and Montgomery County)

employ his rifles, with sales picking up in Florida and the Gulf Coast among boat captains. The Montgomery

County officers who patrol around Lake Conroe are par-ticularly fond of the Trident. Individual officers around Houston are catching on to the Trident as well via word-of-mouth.

“These guns are made to be used in an unforgiving en-vironment,” Kurzadkowski said. “Granted, they may be not used a whole lot, but when the time comes and you need your rifle, it had better work. We’re giving guys guns that work no matter where they are.”

Understandably, at the outset there were lots of crit-ics of Kurzadkowski’s plan to make a rifle that’s nearly impervious to corrosion. However, Kurzadkowski did something a little different when he was criticized: he lis-tened. His open mind led to changes that were ultimately rolled into the final designs. Thanks, haters.

“We listened to what people were saying in an effort to continually refine our product to make them perform better and be a better value,” he said. “Right now, we’re making a gun that no one else makes, and we stand be-hind old-fashioned values—quality, value and perfor-mance—when it comes to our business. If you buy a Battle Rifle, we stand behind it 100%.”

BR4 TridentThe Trident’s corrosion resistance comes from various

coatings (hi-temp Cerakote and NP3, TiN) and stain-less steel. The trigger group and bolt carrier group are coated with NP3, and the takedown pins, mag release, and flash hider crush washer are stainless. NP3 coating is an electroless nickel-based finish that was developed by Robar Guns. It offers dirt and fouling no place to ad-here thanks to the PTFE (Teflon) particles in it, which also adds a high degree of lubricity. The coating has a break-in period, but during that time there is no lag in performance, as is common with break-in periods on pocket pistols. After break-in, there is no further wear. NP3 is roughly four times more corrosion resistant than regular marine-grade stainless steel and more resistant than nickel-boron, which is a popular coating found on bolt carrier and trigger groups. Speaking of bolt carri-ers, Battle Rifle Co. sources theirs from Toolcraft, which

The Battle Rifle Co. BR4 Trident uses all manner of high-tech coatings that result in the most corrosion-resistant AR-15 rifle made to date.

Despite its heavy metal look, the BR4 is exceptionally light and handles as good as any AR-15 carbine. It’s also

quite accurate despite its highly contoured barrel.

BR4 TRIDENT

is where the U.S. Army gets theirs, according to Kurza-dkowski.

Upon arrival at the Battle Rifle Co., the carriers are stripped and sent out for batch electrolysis, and the firing pin is TiN (titanium nitride) coated. Titanium nitride is commonly found on industrial drill bits and cutting edges because of its extreme degree of hardness, which means it’ll keep an edge for a long time, even under extreme use. In other words, it won’t break. If you do break it, you can probably break an anvil with a rubber mallet.

Also contributing to the rifle’s corrosion resistance is the fact that no ferrous metal touches another one. Fer-rous metals contain iron, which is a chief cause of rust, and are more prone to corrosion than non-ferrous met-als. In the event that some of the finish gets scraped off through use, metal might be exposed and vulnerable to rusting. That’s fine, because in the grip screw is a sacrifi-cial zinc anode. Kurzadkowski says that if the grip gets loose, the gun isn’t broke; it just needs a new anode.

In my brief test where I chained the rifle to a tree in a storm, I did find three spots of rust the next morning: two where the castle nut was staked and one on the front sling rivet. I’d rather have a staked nut and a tiny spot of rust than a non-staked nut. As for the sling swivel rivet, perhaps a stainless screw and nut would prevent this, but a better option might be deleting it altogether in favor of a QD mount on a rail. Other than that, you can’t tell

the rifle was neglected. All in all, these are insignificant, non-crucial pieces.

Nuts and BoltsThe Battle Rifle Co. BR4 Trident is patterned after

the military’s standard-issue M4, but has a few key dif-

ference beyond the coatings and corrosion resistant features. The Trident has several of the de rigueur up-grades found on customized rifles, such as an enlarged triggerguard, a barrel that is contoured down to .750" and a QD socket built into the locking ring. Natural-ly the BR4 Trident is a semi-automatic version of the

The only spots Jones was able to produce rust on the Trident were on the non-stainless front sling stud rivet and two staking spots on the lock ring.

The receivers, rail and buffer tube are finished in green Cerakote. Battle Rifle Co. offers “Battleship Gray” as well, but they can Cerakote your gun any color you’d like.

The trigger group, selector, bolt catch/release, mag release and takedown pins are all stainless steel and coated in NP3.

The BR4 Trident has many standard AR-15 features, but what sets it apart is the multitude of coatings and its accuracy potential for the barrel length and profile.

BR4 TRIDENT

select-fire M4 machinegun, although Battle Rifle Co. produces select-fire and short-barreled rifle variants of its guns as well. The front handguard is contoured to offer flat spots on three of the four sides to make for a more comfortable grip without gloves. Otherwise you’ve got the standard “cheese grater” 1913 rails all

over. The cutouts also serve to lighten the rifle, which weighs 6.4 pounds unloaded. If you prefer running a vertical foregrip you might not like being restricted to either the extreme front and aft of the rail, but I found mounting a grip to the rearmost slots of the front sec-tion of 1913 worked just fine.

The Trident has a carbine-length gas system and a stan-dard F-height front sight base/gas block assembly, which means it is slightly taller than the original M16A1/A2 design. It’s taller because the original rifles employed a rear sight built into the upper receiver’s carrying handle rather than a flattop upper meant to accommodate an

T o me, the BR4 Cutlass is proof that Chris Kurza-dkowski can actually get inside your head. The newest iteration of the BR4 line is the Cutlass, and

it addresses every single shortcoming the BR4 Trident had. Although it’s a different “class” of rifle, it does take the Trident to a new level.

At the guts of the Cutlass is the chrome-lined barrel that is finished in high-temp Cerakote. It’s also cryogenically treated for an increase in accuracy and longevity. Like the

Trident, all the fire controls and bold carrier are NP3 coated, but unlike the Trident, which has a plastic ejection port cover, the Cutlass has a stainless and NP3-coated unit. The Cutlass also sports an ALG ACT trigger that—you guessed it—is NP3 coated. The pins and springs are once again stainless steel.

The more noticeable differences between the Trident and Cutlass are the furniture, rail, barrel and flash hider. The barrel is of a so-called SOCOM contour, meaning it’s heavier than the average barrel. This, in conjunction with

the 11-inch free-floated quad rail adds a bit of heft to the Cutlass. The Cutlass, while more comfortable to shoot, isn’t as handy as the Trident. But it is kitted out better.

It sports FAB Defense back-up irons, a low-profile gas block, upgraded flash hider and an ErgoGrip grip and Hogue stock. These represent some of the most popu-lar modifications to AR-15s today, but there’s no telling what will be hot tomorrow. These are all both functional and stylish, for what that’s worth.

THE BR4 CUTLASS

The BR4 Cutlass might be called an updated and enhanced version of the BR4 Trident. It has a low-profile gas block, flip-up iron sights, an Ergo Grip and Hogue stock, a full-length quad rail, a so-called SOCOM profile barrel, an improved flash hider and a greatly improved trigger.

The Cutlass has the same finishes: Cerakote, NP3, TiN and stainless steel throughout.

The trio of trigger, stock and grip make shooting the Cutlass a truly enjoyable experience.

The trigger is an ALG ACT unit that has been treated with an NP3 coating. This sample breaks very smooth-ly at 4.25 pounds.

BR4 TRIDENT

optic. The difference is not noticeable by the naked eye except for an “F” stamp. The sight base/gas block is fin-ished in a black Cerakote.

The barrel is 16 inches long and features a 1:7 twist. It is made from 416S stainless steel that is bead blasted then finished with an application of high-temp Cerakote. Another option that can be had is 4150 CMV (chromoly vanadium steel) with chrome lining. Again, it is contoured almost to the profile of a so-called pencil barrel and is exceptionally light. The barrels are cryogenically treated to add longevity. Kurzadkowski reports that these cryo-treated barrels will last 40 to 50 thousand rounds before they start keyholing. He points to one customer who has more than 125,000 rounds through his Battle Rifle and is on his third barrel.

The BR4 Trident does not come with a rear sight, but I added an LWRCI Skirmish rear sight, which I personally consider one of /the easiest to use and best rear back up irons. The ejection port cover is made of plastic, but it still serves its purpose. The gun ships with one Hexmag 30-round magazine, foam ear plugs, a sample of Frog Lube lubricant and a user’s manual.

Range ReportEveryone who first picked up the BR4 Trident said

something to the effect of, “Wow, it’s light!” It is. You see a serious-looking rifle that’s all metal with bits of stainless and it looks heavy, but it’s not. The standard collapsible buttstock and A2 grip are as unimpressive as ever, but hey, this is America and you can swap them out. As an aside, I realize that the standard collapsible stock was a hot item decades back. However, a free(ish) market being what it is, people wanted something different and now there are a multitude of superior options. The same goes for pistol grips. See the sidebar about the new Battle Rifle Cutlass for what I consider to be better choices, but your mileage may vary.

Remember me mentioning a break-in period for parts coated in NP3? Well, the trigger, hammer and disconnec-

tor all have this coating, and while it’s great that these components are protected, the pull suffers because of it. Shots broke at 6 pounds, which is better the standard so-called “GI-spec” trigger pull, but my Trident had a good bit of grit in the pull. That is really the only thing that’s holding this rifle back. Flipping the safety lever is also a bit of a challenge because of the coating. Kurzadkowski

told me that in his experience, cryo treating a barrel not only makes it last longer, but it makes the gun

more accurate. Long a skeptic, I squinted my eyes at this, but he is right: this gun

can shoot, even with its skinny bar-rel and gritty trigger. I have no

doubt that the groups I post-ed would be smaller if this gun had a better trigger pull (and also a rest from which to shoot; I left mine at home

and was forced to use my range bag as a rest).

I have access to a 220-yard range, which isn’t the lon-gest, but I do prefer a magnified optic when pasting targets at the end of the line. For this test I ordered a

scope that many of you have likely not heard about: a Styrka S7 1-6x24mm.

Styrka is a new name in the optics world, but as a company, its employees boast more than a century of experience in making binoculars, spotting scopes and riflescopes. The com-pany’s line of riflescopes are denoted S3, S5 and S7, with the S3 being the entry-level

glass and the S7 line carrying more features and commanding a retail price up to $815. How-

ever, this 1-6x24mm I ordered is a very fair $564.95, but street price will be a tad lower. I’ll let David Fortier do a full review in an upcoming issue, but to me, this thing punches about its weight (and price) class. I thought the color rendition was very accurate and clear, it dialed be-tween magnifications very smoothly, it’s lightweight, and the only down side I could find is that at 6x the eyebox is reduced quite a bit. That said, I feel that it’s a great value otherwise.

I know some of you will take me to task for my choice in reticle, but I like a simple duplex for 300 yards and shorter. I’m generally blasting silhouettes or paint cans, toilets and whatever else, not whacking hot-stepping Hajis in the desert. I don’t need holdovers and that sort of dope cluttering up my field of view. With the Styrka cranked up to 5x and 6x, I plastered a silhouette every shot I cared to at the end of the range.

Handling it could not be simpler or faster. Even with an optic, the Trident allowed me to engage targets from 50 out to 200 yards with ease. Early on I found myself yanking the occasional shot due to the trigger pull, but I got used to it. Like most triggers, it should break in after a while. I put 350 rounds through the gun and there were zero malfunctions. There were, however, two stuck cases thanks to Tulammo. If you’ve got any of this, go ahead and give it to your worst enemy. I’m not sure why I bought it, but however much I paid was too much.

If you live around the coast or south of the Mason-Dixon, you ought to look into the Battle Rifle Company’s BR4 platforms. Live in the desert? Battle Rifle Co. has a sub-MOA SPR for long-range pre-cision. They also make a host

of other AR-style rifles, PDW-style rifles and pistols in 9mm and 5.56x45 NATO.

I don’t need to tell you that with the political climate being what it is, now is the time to pull the trigger on an AR-15 if you haven’t yet. They’re at the top of the gun-banners’ hit list, and it and its accessories are targeted every week by anti-gun bills and agendas.

Speak (or buy) now, or forever hold your peace (and regrets). As the saying goes, the only enemies of guns are rust and politicians. At least take care of one of those threats without voting.

After initially receiving the BR4 Trident and sarcasti-cally thinking to myself, “OK, another AR,” handling and shooting the gun have changed my outlook 180 de-grees. This is a purpose-built rifle that excels at what it’s designed for, and it’s a fair value for all the technology that goes into it. Retail on the Trident is $1,595.

CONTACT INFOBattle Rifle Co.—1056 Hercules Ave., Houston, TX 77058, phone: 281-204-8278, website: www.battleriflecompany.com, email: info@battleriflecompany.com

ACCURACY AND VELOCITYManufacturer Load Avg. Velocity Accuracy (in.)

Black Hills 55-gr. Barnes TSX 2,793 2.0

Gorilla 69-gr. Matchking OTM 2,663 2.2

Remington 55-gr. Accutip V 2,964 4.1

Federal Premium 62-gr. Fusion 2,950 1.4

* Note: Accuracy and velocity is the result of five-shot groups at 108 yards from a bag rest 850 feet above sea level with an ambient temperature of 90 degrees. Velocity readings were taken from a Caldwell Ballistic Precision G2.

The Allen screws holding the upper and lower handguard together are stainless steel as well.

The barrel on top is that of the Cutlass, (see sidebar). It has a so-called SOCOM contour and next-gen flash hider while the Trident barrel (bottom) has a highly contoured barrel, A2 flash hider and is extremely light. Both are amply accurate.

IF YOU BUY A BATTLE RIFLE, WE STAND BEHIND IT 100%.