Patriot Ordnance Factory P415 Edge Rifle: Tested

Patriot Ordnance’s P415 Edge family of rifles first appeared in 2002, and these guns were an immediate hit with shooters who demanded premium performance from their AR rifles. Over time, the P415 family has evolved and enlarged, and today these guns are available in rifle, pistol, and SBR versions.

There are a lot of AR rifles on the market, and it’s very difficult for one brand to stand out from the crowd. But POF has managed to do so, and one reason is the innovation that they pack into every one of their firearms, and that begins with the operating system on the P415 Edge. This rifle utilizes a regulated short stroke gas piston system that has proven to be very reliable. The POF system is relatively simple and utilizes three primary components: a gas plug, a gas piston, and an operating rod. When the rifle is fired, gasses behind the bullet are funneled into a gas port and gas block. The gas block drives the piston and operating rod rearward, cycling the action.

If you’ve ever operated AR rifles with and without a suppressor in place you know that the back pressure from the suppressor can increase bolt speed, and this can lead to wear and malfunctions. The best way to prevent these issues is to regulate the gas entering the system, which is easily accomplished with P415 Edge rifles. The five-position adjustable gas piston allows the shooter to regulate the amount of gas and control bolt speed. That’s a huge benefit for anyone who owns a suppressor, but it also allows the shooter to fine-tune the gas operating system to perform best with a particular load.

P415 edge rifles come equipped with POF’s one-piece gas piston bolt carrier group. The bolt carrier features a high phosphorus nickel coating with a chrome-plated firing pin. These coatings protect the metal from corrosion and they also improve lubricity which reduces wear on the system. An integral mechanical key is built into the body and is positioned behind the cam pin, a design that has proven to reduce carrier tilt and ensure years of reliable performance. Unlike most AR rifles that utilize pins with square steel heads, POF rifles feature the company’s patented roller cam pin that rolls along the inside of the receiver and doesn’t damage it, leading to extended life and improved performance.

Good barrels are critical to the performance of a rifle, and POF’s barrels are among the best. All P415 Edge guns come with match-grade chrome-moly barrels that are nitride heat treated to Rockwell 70 hardness for outstanding rigidity and durability. These barrels are 5R polygonal button rifled, which increases velocity and improves accuracy. Instead of the standard 4 or 6 grooves in other barrels (which positions the bullet between corresponding lands and grooves), 5R polygonal rifling has five grooves and sloping transitions between lands and grooves within the barrel. This improves performance by reducing deformation on the projectile, but it also helps with cleaning because fouling is easier to remove from the sloped 5R rifling than traditional rifling with 90-degree edges.

The P415 Edge barrel is threaded and comes with a heat-treated Triple Port POF brake that helps reduce muzzle rise and allows for faster follow-ups. The brake comes with nine blunt strike prongs on the leading edge and a collar jam nut that is also heat treated.

Another feature found on this and other POF rifles is the brand’s signature Heat Sink barrel nut. Located at the junction of the chamber and throat area, the oversized nut is positioned precisely where expanding gas temperatures peak. The three-inch Heat Seek Barrel Nut is made from aluminum and encompasses the entire throat/chamber area, allowing heat to dissipate quickly (17 times as fast as traditional steel barrel nuts) and reducing stress on the system. The Heat Sink Barrel Nut’s design increases surface area, and this speeds cooling. In addition, the barrel nut provides ample guiding surface for the operating rod and assures constant positive contact.

Reliability is a critical factor when choosing an AR rifle, and one reason POF rifles have such an outstanding reputation for reliable performance is their patented E² Dual Extraction system. The concept itself is quite simple: Four small channels cut into the chamber allow a small amount of gas to escape rearward, just enough to break the seal of the cartridge in the chamber. This ensures positive extraction each time, and it’s one reason that the P415 Edge has such an outstanding reputation for consistent performance. Though the concept is simple POF’s engineers have worked to perfect the channel design so that just the right amount of gas moves rearward. It’s one of the things that makes Patriot Ordnance rifles so unique and desirable.

Another key feature that sets these rifles apart from all other AR rifles is Patriot Ordnance Factory’s Modular Railed Receiver (MRR). Comprised of a two-piece upper assembly with a monolithic handguard that slides on and interfaces with the upper’s reinforced backbone, the MRR is extremely rigid. Because of its unique design, the MRR prevents weight from forward-mounted accessories from straining the barrel. M-LOK slots at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions and rail sections on the top and bottom front portion of the MRR handguard provide lots of space for adding accessories like bipods. There are even four QD sling mounting points offering an array of carry options.

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The P415 Edge comes with POF’s new Gen 4 ambidextrous billet lower. Unlike some rifles that claim to be “ambidextrous” after adding a few controls on both sides, the P415 Edge is truly suitable for both right and left-handed shooting. The safety selector, recessed finger rest, mag release, integrated trigger guard, and bolt hold open are all ambidextrous. That means that any shooter who picks up this rifle will be comfortable with the design. It also means that agencies who purchase rifles can provide them to both left and right-handed shooters without worrying about purchasing different rifles.

Rounding out this rifle are a Mission First Tactical BATTLELINK Minimalist adjustable stock and a Mission First pistol grip. The lightweight Minimalist stock offers plenty of anchor points for slings, and it is mounted on Patriot Ordnance’s Anti Tilt Buffer Tube that ensures the carrier is always supported. A drop-in non-adjustable 4.5-pound trigger in a hard anodized aluminum housing also comes standard.

Despite its laundry list of high-end features, the P415 Edge 5.56 rifle with 16.5-inch barrel weighs in at just seven pounds. It’s also available in a pistol version in either 5.56 or .300 Blackout with a 10.5-inch barrel and an SBR version with a 10.5-inch barrel in 5.56. The rifle version carries an MSRP of $2,059 to $2,191 and is available in black or with a choice of Burnt Bronze, Tungsten, or Olive Drab Cerakote.

At the Range

Patriot Ordnance Factory’s P415 Edge rifles are backed by a sub-MOA accuracy guarantee, though with quality ammunition, a good optic and a competent shooter you can oftentimes beat that figure with their rifles. The P415 Edge was no exception, punching groups as small as .84 inches for three shots at 100 yards with Black Hills’ OTM Match ammunition.

Several factors lead to such impressive accuracy. First, the barrels on these rifles are outstanding. There are a lot of AR rifles on the market, but few offer the quality you get from POF’s 5R rifled barrels. They consistently perform well and last for thousands of rounds. In addition, POF rifles offer a level of rigidity not found in other AR rifles. Shooters assume that all black guns are rigid, but that’s not necessarily true. Minor movements, which are invisible to the naked eye, result in problems like poor accuracy and reduced longevity. One reason why end users that demand the most from their guns turn to POF is because they know these guns will last. The MRR receiver, Anti Tilt Buffer Tube, bolt carrier coatings, Roller Cam Pin, Heat Sink barrel Nut and other features combine to create guns that are accurate out of the box and still perform after thousand of rounds in tough conditions.

Another key feature that makes these guns shoot so well is the single stage drop-in trigger. Some AR rifles leave the factories with suitable triggers that serious shooters will likely replace. The P415 Edge and other POF rifles are the exceptions in that even persnickety shooters find the factory-installed trigger suitable. If you want to swap triggers it’s an easy operation, but odds are you’ll like what you get with this gun.

Reliability was excellent with no failures or issues. Again, that’s no great surprise considering the quality of components used in the construction process and the Dual Extraction system. If you run into reliability issues with these rifles it’s usually remedied by adjusting the piston.

There are lots of AR rifles on the market, but POF guns are consistently billed as some of the best in the industry. The reason is clear: building quality guns from premium components and incorporating cutting-edge engineering usually leads to quality products. What guarantees a quality product is commitment to premium performance, even in the worst conditions. This is why Patriot Ordnance remains one of the top AR makers on the market and why the P415 Edge has managed to remain popular for so long.

Patriot Ordnance Factory P415 Edge Specs:

• Action: Regulated short stroke gas piston
• Chambering: 5.56
• Capacity: 30
• Barrel: 16.5”
• Muzzle Device: POF Triple Chamber Brake
• Collapsed Length: 34”
• Forend: POF MRR Free-Floating Monolithic
• Bolt Carrier: POF Gas Piston
• Lower Assembly: Billet POF GEN4 Ambi
• Trigger: 4.5 lbs
• Furniture: Mission First Tactical
• Finish: Black anodized (tested). Also available in Burnt Bronze, Olive Drab, Tungsten Cerakote
• MSRP: $2,059 As Tested
• Contact: Patriot Ordnance Factory, pof-usa.com, (623) 561-9572