POF USA Revolution DI – A handy AR in .308 Winchester: one size smaller

As soon as you unpack it, you realise that this .308 AR is a little different from the others. The semi-automatic rifle manufactured in Arizona arrived fully assembled with a one-piece Leupold mount, in the rings of which was a Leupold VX5 HD (1-5x24) scope. In terms of handling, the scope-mounted POF Revolution looked as if it was hardly heavier than a standard .308 AR-10 without scope. This was to be confirmed later on the scales.

The technology: what's inside the POF USA Revolution DI semi-automatic rifle

In short, the Revolution DI from Patriot Ordnance is a gas-operated .308 Winchester in the style of an AR-15. The basic concept is typical for an AR rifle: two-piece (in this case milled) receiver made of light alloy, in front of it the barrel, which is screwed together with a barrel nut and floats freely in the handguard, behind the receiver the buffer tube, in which the recoil spring and buffer work.

Even the gas system in this DI ("Direct Impingement") version works in a very classic way: at the gas block above the barrel (pinned and non-adjustable in this model), propellant gases are channelled backwards through a tube until they hit the "gas key" of the bolt carrier and then initiate the unlocking of the rotating bolt and the bolt cycle. So where is the eponymous revolution hidden? Right here: the bolt head and bolt carrier of the Revolution are considerably slimmer, shorter and lighter than a conventional AR-10 bolt, as is common for this type of gun in calibers such as 7.62x51 mm (.308 Winchester). The bolt weighs in at just 312 grams and, measured across the locking lugs, the width of the bolt head is just under 19 millimetres.

POF USA Revolution DI features

POF keeps a low profile when it comes to the muzzle attachment; the thread is sealed by a standard A2 flash hider. And the gas system is a standard DI system, without a piston and without the option of adjusting the gas amount, for example for use with a silencer. A look inside the lower receiver shows a conventional AR trigger mechanism. Apart from that, the Revolution has pretty much everything that is good and useful for a modern AR rifle. A 46-mm slim, sturdy skeletonised aluminum handguard with M-Lok interfaces? Check. Ambidextrous safety and bolt catch? Check. Slightly enlarged charging handle, also ambidextrous? Check. A lightweight collapsible stock with a locking system that cannot be inadvertently operated by the supporting hand? Also on board.

There are also many small details designed to make handling the rifle as easy and comfortable as possible in all situations. The steep pistol grip, not too bulky and only moderately textured, means that even smaller hands have a good grip on the rifle and can reach the safety lever and trigger ergonomically. Where to put the index finger, stretched out for safety? POF milled index recesses into the lower receiver on the right and left for this purpose. The trigger guard is enlarged, creating space for the safe use of thicker gloves.

The finish is upscale for an AR semi-auto and reflects the price: all surfaces appear to be neatly finished, the controls look high-quality and fit neatly into the overall appearance of an expensive AR. The slight play of the stock on the buffer tube is normal for all collapsible stocks that do not have an additional element integrated to lock the buttstock bombproof in any position. If you pull on the receiver halves with force, you will feel a slight play, but there are no visible gaps between the upper and lower receivers. However, zero play in the receiver is not usual for AR rifles with LE/military requirements.

On the shooting range: what the compact 308-AR POF USA Revolution DI can do

Thanks to its low weight and slim handguard, the Revolution DI is much more like an AR-15 than a typical AR-10 in terms of handling with a comparable barrel length. If you combine this with the modern, ergonomically well-designed controls and the steep, not too large pistol grip, as with the Revolution, you get a real pleasure – a .308 semi-automatic with the manoeuvrability of a .223 rifle. Two optics were available for the practical test, each mounted on the upper receiver in one-piece, forward-tilted mounts from Leupold. As already mentioned, Leupold also supplied the compact VX5 HD 1-5x24, which with its low weight fits in very well with the concept of the POF rifle. A full-size Elite Tactical DMR3 from Bushnell was used to minimise the shooter's dispersion for the pure accuracy test. This combination delivered good hit patterns at 100 meters. The match cartridge with a 168-gram Hollow Point Boat Tail from Hornady produced the smallest grouping at 29 mm, which corresponds almost exactly to one minute of angle. If you were to ignore one flyer, the Norma Golden Target would have been ahead. In principle, the Revolution can certainly do even more in terms of accuracy if it were retrofitted with a more massive competition stock or a match trigger. But that would contradict the core idea behind the gun.

What wasn't quite so good? The ultra-light telescoping stock is a successful compromise for an AR where manoeuvrability is the top priority. However, it is not a match stock: its shape is not necessarily gentle with your cheek and the narrow shoulder rest with its thin rubber butt plate is not particularly suitable for use in conjunction with a rear bag as support. The built-in POF direct trigger should also be mentioned. With a pleasantly crisp release and no major overtravel after releasing the hammer, it made a first-class impression for a military or LE gun. For competition or hunting use, however, the trigger pull weight is somewhat (too) heavy.

To be fair, we have to take a stand for Patriot Ordnance here: conceptually, the Revolution is a defence and service weapon, not a sport or hunting gun. Where was the Revolution again fully convincing? Smooth operation: feeding the cartridges and ejecting the fired cases did not cause the test gun any difficulties. Compared to conventional AR-10s, the cases left the ejection port with a much more pronounced rearward slant than usual, but the brass picked up later looked perfectly OK on the outside. In addition, the simple yet functional A2 muzzle attachment reduced the muzzle flash perfectly and no propellant gases escaped to the rear in the direction of the shooter.

And what about recoil? If everything is technically more or less similar, guns with a lower moving bolt mass shoot more comfortably than those with heavier bolts. This may theoretically also be the case with the POF Revolution, but it is more than a pound lighter overall than an average AR-10 with a comparable barrel length – and the low weight of the gun is also noticeable in the shoulder, low bolt weight or not. The .308 Revolution is anything but a bone crusher, recoil and muzzle flip still remain subjectively within a relatively mild range, but it recoils noticeably more heartily than an AR-10 with standard weight.

Patriot Ordonance Revolution DI technical specifications and price

POF USA Revolution DI: wrapping up

The price of the semi-automatic rifle from Patriot Ordnance Firearms is already quite high for an AR rifle. However, in view of the good build quality, the shooting performance and the practical features, the price seems reasonable. In addition, the exceptionally low weight of the POF model is a unique selling point. For .308 fans who have always found conventionally designed AR-10s a little too heavy, the Revolution DI model is the perfect choice.

Further information on the POF Revolution can be found on the POF USA website.