*Photo courtesy of Tactical Life
For anyone not familiar, DRD Tactical‘s .338 Lapua Magnum Kivaari—which means “rifle” in Finnish—was designed around the company’s AR-based takedown system, but it encompasses significantly more research and development than the company’s CDR-15 and Paratus models for which DRD Tactical has become famous. The Kivaari uses the same patented takedown method as its 5.56mm and 7.62mm NATO counterparts, allowing this larger .338 Lapua Magnum rifle to be assembled without tools in about 30 seconds.
Assembly is simple. After making sure the rifle is unloaded with the magazine removed, lock the bolt to the rear, engage the AR-type safety and insert the barrel and gas tube into the front of the receiver. Yes, the Kivaari operates via direct impingement. The barrel comes with a cap held on by the barrel nut that protects the gas tube, and it’s the first component unscrewed and removed to properly install the match-grade barrel.
With the barrel firmly in place, the barrel nut is screwed in tightly by hand (a wrench is also furnished). The special free-floating, 7075-T6 aluminum handguard is then slipped over the muzzle after rotating the locking cam lever out to expose the retaining pin, then pulling the pin out as far as it will go. With the handguard in place against the receiver, the retaining pin is pushed in from the right and the cam lever is rotated forward. This squeezes the slotted rear of the handguard tightly together against the barrel nut, preventing it from rotating. The Kivaari is then ready to be loaded and fired in the normal manner.
