About Great Lakes
Great Lakes Firearms & Ammunition started as a simple retail shop in 2013. However, the family-owned and operated business soon discovered a market for affordable AR platforms like the AR-10.
Aiming to make quality but price-conscious firearms for the everyday shooter, Great Lakes grew into a 30-machine manufacturer. In addition to its AR-pattern rifles, GLFA now offers handguns, such as its affordable Glock-like Striker and assorted GL-1911 pistols.
Even with its success, the company flies mostly under the radar in the national market, surviving largely by word of mouth, local dealers, and the performance of its budget-friendly firearms.
Features
The GL-10, like other Great Lakes firearms, offers a great deal of customization, ranging from various Cerakote patterns and slings to the option for 416R stainless-steel or 4150 CRMOV nitride-coated barrels.
Our test model here has the 18-inch, 1/10-twist nitride barrel and is dressed in what Great Lakes calls Pursuit Snow Camo. The 5R rifling in the barrel uses a unique rifling configuration where the sloped lands line up with the grooves on opposite sides of the barrel.
Normally, the lands and grooves run in opposing directions to each other and are cut at 90-degree angles, which compress and deform bullets from both sides. The theoretical result is less bullet deformation with 5R rifling, not to mention easier barrel cleaning.
Beyond that, the action itself is a traditional AR direct-impingement gas system built into a 7075-aluminum upper and lower receiver with a rifle-length gas tube. Overall weight comes to a fairly hefty 8.25 pounds before adding an optic. A lot of that weight is due to the long barrel, but that pays off in accuracy.
We actually used this budget-friendly GL-10 in a face-off against a custom TTI x V Seven Harbinger that sells for more than four times the price. I personally shot the GL-10 significantly better.
There is 15.125 inches of Picatinny rail made from 6061 aluminum over the top of the receiver. This picks up again at the end of the handguard with a short length of rail for those who want to run backup iron sights.
The barrel is suppressor-ready with 5/8x24 TPI threads. The gun ships with a ported muzzle device, which I left in place for my testing.
The six-position stock, polymer grip, and trigger are all Mil-Spec parts. I opted to add a vertical Gen 2 Priapus Grip for my accuracy testing, but the Mil-Spec grip is perfectly fine on its own. The real advantage of having Mil-Spec parts is that you can pick from a wealth of aftermarket upgrades that will fit the GL-10.
The rest of the controls are your standard AR-10/15 affair, with a basic charging handle, bolt lock/release, and a non-ambidextrous thumb safety.
The guns ship with a single 10-round steel magazine, but they will happily run common AR-10 mags, like those offered by Magpul.
Specifications
Here’s a breakdown of the basic specs for this GL-10.
Accuracy & Reliability
In the hand, the GL-10 feels like a hefty but fairly standard AR-10. On the range, it shoots like a champ.
I have fired 300 rounds through this rifle, and most of that was match-grade ammo. The gun has had zero issues in my testing, though I cannot say the same for several far more expensive AR-10s I tested over the last few years.
The real pearl in this oyster is the accuracy. The gun is heavy enough that I wouldn’t want to personally lug it around for any long-range hunts, but it can more than hold its own in just about any type of shooting in the accuracy department. I was even able to hit steel at 1,000 yards on my first range trip with the rifle.
Here’s my first-ever target after zeroing this rifle. I shot it alongside a pricey TTI x V Seven Harbinger with my range partner Seth.
That kind of accuracy became predictable over several other range trips. Here are some more targets from several trips over the last year.
While I hadn’t yet finalized my zero with the very effective Vortex Strike Eagle 3-18x44 scope, the shot sizes continued to impress. Here are some summer targets shot with the same ammo.
The final verdict? The GL-10 can shoot sub-MOA all day if you do your part and feed it decent ammo, and it can do so all year long.
Pros & Cons
Final Thoughts
Of the rifles I got to test over the last year, this one has been one of my favorite surprises. At first, I assumed it would be just another AR-10 that shot fine. Instead, it proved to be a budget-friendly laser.
I am not a precision shooter by training or trade. I am a generally decent shot. However, on my first range trip with the GL-10, we were able to stretch it out to 1,000 yards and ring steel. That is not something I expect to do with a rifle at this price point, much less on a first range trip.
For the money, it is well worth it. That’s also why I bought this rifle and kept it after testing.
Paul Peterson
Managing Editor Paul Peterson is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and an awarded combat journalist. He's been collecting firearms for over 20 years and enjoys sharing that passion with the broader firearms community through his work with Guns.com.
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