Booth / Media Day first look: Media Day 2022 range visit with Matt at DRD Tactical — walkthrough of the Kivaari in .338 Lapua Magnum, then lead downrange. This is a booth/demo tape (~5 min), not a multi-month SlavGuns T&E. Specs, price, and lead times are as taped (upload May 2022) and may have moved — verify current DRD listings before you buy.
Squat Squad — a semi-auto .338 Lapua Magnum in an AR-style platform sounds nuts until you’re standing next to one. Here’s my Media Day 2022 first look at the DRD Tactical Kivaari with Matt on the range (~5 min), not a Short and not a full T&E.
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Why a semi-auto .338?
Bolt guns in .338 Lapua are the usual path when you want precision at serious distance. Matt’s pitch on the tape: keep the big-caliber energy and marry it to AR-platform modularity — including a quick-takedown barrel so the whole package can break down for a backpack or hard case. Use cases called out at the booth ranged from “dangerous critters” to the tongue-in-cheek “Chevy Suburban in the mud on an airstrip” job. Honest take from Matt: they just like big calibers.
What the Kivaari is (as taped)
DRD Tactical’s Kivaari is their big step up from the rest of the lineup Matt walked:
- Standard ARs in 5.56 / .300 Blackout, plus an MFP pistol and CDR15-style AR platform
- Aptus — internal guide-rod system so you can run the stock folded or not
- Paratus — .308 / 7.62 / 6.5 Creedmoor quick-takedown
- M762 — same calibers in a more standard AR-10-style chassis
- Then the Kivaari in .338 Lapua Magnum
I’d followed DRD for a while — the Paratus especially looked sharp — and the Kivaari is the next notch. On caliber plans for this gun: as of the 2022 tape they were staying on .338 for the Kivaari (other bolt faces had been looked at; new products were teased for the booth that week).
Quick-change barrel + gas system
The big latch on the side is the quick-change path: pop the pin, pull it, wrench the barrel nut, and the barrel comes off. Reassembly uses a barrel extension and an alignment pin into a slot in the upper so lockup stays squared — Matt’s point was you’re not fighting headspace the way a bare barrel swap might. For repeatability they want the nut wrench-tightened; hand-tight is “one emergency shot” talk only. Claim on the tape: sub-MOA when you put it back together correctly.
Gas: DRD’s own five-position gas block — 100 / 75 / 50 / 25 / close-open — so you can dial for ammo, temperature, and especially a suppressor without tearing the gun apart. Matt’s honesty: big magnums get finicky once suppressed; the adjustable block is how they keep it runnable after you dial it in.
Price & availability (May 2022 tape — verify today)
As taped at Media Day 2022:
- About $6,000–$6,500 depending on color
- Roughly 60-day lead time from DRD at the time
- Some distributors had them in stock for dealers; end users could order through DRD’s site
Those numbers are four years old on the calendar — confirm current MSRP, colors, and lead times on DRD’s site or your dealer before you plan a build around this tape.
Bottom line
If the idea of a modular, quick-takedown semi-auto .338 Lapua makes you grin (or slightly terrified), the DRD Tactical Kivaari is exactly that pitch — AR-style modularity, a serious adjustable gas system for suppressor use, and booth pricing in the mid-sixes as of Media Day 2022. This was a range demo with Matt, not a long-term accuracy or reliability T&E of my own — treat it as a first look and verify everything before you buy.
Keep squatting.
Would you rather run a bolt .338 for precision work, or is a semi-auto Kivaari-style platform on your unicorn list?
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