RIP John Noveske – Noveske Rifleworks AR15
by Mike Kojima
A few days ago, this week, John Noveske, founder and owner of Noveske Rifleworks was killed in a tragic car accident near his Grants Pass Oregon home. In honor of John's memory we thought we would feature one of his creations. Noveske Rifleworks is known as the producers of some of the highest quality AR15 pattern rifles in the country.
Don't worry we won't be turning MotoIQ into Guns and Ammo online but since our previous story on our Ruger 1022 was so well received and we had requests for more stories on bigger stuff, here we are. We would also like to show that a California Compliant AR15 is not an “Assault Rifle” that is popular to vilify in the media nowadays but a really good overall rifle that does well on the range target shooting, in other sporting contests like 3 gun matches, hunting and for home defense although its capability is limited in this respect to comply with state law.
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| Our gun is based off of a Noveske Light Recce model. This piece was designed by Noveske to be light and easy to handle compared to other AR15 models without sacrificing accuracy or durability. The rifle is loosely based off of the M4 carbine used by our military. Of course civilian models are not fully automatic like the media might lead you to believe. The Noveske uses a 16' barrel which seems short but testing has shown that this length does not affect accuracy and has only a small effect on velocity and maximum range. |
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| The basic design of the AR15 is inherently very accurate, one of the main reasons why it has endeared itself as an excellent rifle for sporting use. The gun's internal gas system takes cyclic stress and vibrations that affect accuracy out of the barrel. This design makes it possible to build an AR15 that is as accurate as a fine bolt action target rifle. Its military proven ruggedness makes it less finicky and fragile than traditional sporting rifles, good for action shooting competition or hunting in rugged conditions. These are good answers why people want AR's contrary to the popular media declaring that no one needs an AR15. |
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| The Noveske lower receiver is forged from 7075 T6 alloy and is reinforced and thicker in some areas compared to a typical AR15. This additional stiffness helps accuracy as well as durability. The monolithic trigger housing is much different than the typical military pattern two piece trigger guard and is way stronger. Noveske uses a Vltor upper receiver which is also more rigid than standard parts. The plunger on the upper receiver is the forward assist device which can be used to close the bolt on a dirty and sticky gun. To comply with California law, the typical AR15 magazine release button has been deactivated and the magazine cannot be removed from the gun without a special tool. This prevent fast magazine reloads. This makes the gun much less capable of rapid fire. |
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| Noveske uses a medium contour barrel which is lighter than typical sporting or target heavy barrels or the military contour which has a skinny area to accommodate a grenade launcher. Since most of us don't need a grenade launcher, Noveske made this area thicker and stiffer while keeping a slim contour on the rest of the barrel. The result is a lighter yet stiffer barrel for greater accuracy. The barrel is hammer cold forged from 4150 chromoly with a thick chrome lining for a longer life. The hammer forging improves the material grain size and flow direction for superior strength, durability and accuracy. |
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| The Noveske handguard is CNC machined from billet 7075 aluminum. The handguard has a large heatsink by the chamber to reduce the likelihood of heat damage and to extend barrel life. The handguard also floats the barrel to keeps stress off of it which greatly improves accuracy. |
