First 308 AR Build Advice

matttahoe53

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Went back to Ohio this week and shot my Dad’s M&P10 and was pretty impressed with the accuracy/weight/price. So I started to look at alternatives and found it nearly impossible to find a factory built rifle with at least an 18” barrel, weight less than or equal to 8lbs, and within a couple hundred dollars of the Smith & Wesson.

That led me to wonder if it was even possible so I sat and put together the following and would like anyone’s input on the quality of this build. Prices were not researched closely and I imagine I can drop the total current price by shopping around.

Will it be reliable? Should I swap any of the selected parts? If so? With what? Anyways to shave 6ounces without shortening the barrel below 18” and increasing the price significantly? Or is the simple answer buy a M&P10?
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My advice is if you're interested in a .308 AR, forget about weight. You'll never shave enough off to make it an AR15. It's a big gas operated .308. In comparison, an M1A / M14 weighs between 9-12 lbs.

You could build one from scratch and it will be nice, but for around half that money you could just buy this 18" rifle and swap the barrel if you want a pencil 20". I love mine. It shoots MOA with XM80 ammo, and will
do better with handloads. It weighs around 11lbs with a Leupold 3-9x50, a nice ADM QD Recon mount, and the Luth-AR stock. I have less than $1200 in the entire thing including mount, stock, optics, and mags.
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I second the PA10 for a first .308 gas gun, I went in knowing very little about the platform since all of my ARs have been 5.56, I’ve built everything from very high end to beater Franken ARs but since .308s are a different beast I decided to take what other members here have suggested and went with a complete rifle and since I already had fantastic luck with PSA I went that route, in fact I have the exact rifle Ikarus1 has.

I paid $179 for my lower and $399 for my 18” SS upper, the price on the upper has gone up to $459 the last time I checked, but still at $640 you will be hard pressed to find a better gun for the money imo.

I added the following to my build.

Geissele 2 stage flat face trigger
Odin Works adjustable gas block
Fortis RED 7.62 brake
Warn 20 MOA optic Mount
Primary Arms 4-14x44 Mil/Mil optic
Cheap bipod & mount

Let me be very clear, I am the furthest thing away from being a long range shooter, but I am having a blast learning how to “dope” the various rounds I’ve been shooting, heck the last time I was at the range I put up 4 6” shoot n see targets and would switch between ammo and make adjustments to the scope to get back into the red, yes it’s a silly thing to be proud of to most shooters but it’s the first time I’ve had anything remotely close to a “sniper” setup, granted it’s not a “sniper” rifle but it’s as close as I can afford.

A few guys on here have assisted with questions I’ve had, YeeHaw has been extremely helpful with his suggestions and advice, the folks here generally will not steer you wrong!

Give PSA a look and sign up for their email adds, they have .308 & 6.5 Creedmoor uppers between 16” to 24” from time to time and as soon as they list something that is OOS their mailer allows me to quickly see if what I’m waiting on is back in stock.

Good luck either way you decide to go, if you were local to Greensboro I’d be happy to let you take my setup for a spin.
 
oh ya I forgot to list my trigger. Its a 3.5lb spec Rise Armament straight blade RA434 that breaks around 3 lbs
 
So it’s PSA or nothing? For reference the M&P10 is under 8lbs from the factory.


It’s the only one I have any intimate knowledge of, I am more than sure the M&P10 is a fine platform to start with.
 
Why do you want a 20" barrel? I wouldn't go longer than 18" (actually 16" really for me but I get why you may try 18").
 
So it’s PSA or nothing? For reference the M&P10 is under 8lbs from the factory.

DPMS is about 700 not as cheap as the PSA but just as good.

BTW, I am just waiting on my 358 Winchester barrel from Mcgowen and I have around 700 in to mine. But no optic yet. You can get a ToolCraft BCG for half of the Aero and it is the same if not better quality. Bear Creek Arsenal have 308win barrels for less than 150.

You can save a little by getting a Noreen Firearms upper and lower also
 
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I like the added velocity of the 20” but am not married to it. I’m leaning towards 18”.
I was about to say, the velocity will be negligible unless you really figure out the hand loads and need that extra velocity. But everything I understand is that .308 is your close to intermediate range thumper, whereas you move to something else like 6.5 for distance.
 
Went back to Ohio this week and shot my Dad’s M&P10 and was pretty impressed with the accuracy/weight/price. So I started to look at alternatives and found it nearly impossible to find a factory built rifle with at least an 18” barrel, weight less than or equal to 8lbs, and within a couple hundred dollars of the Smith & Wesson.

That led me to wonder if it was even possible so I sat and put together the following and would like anyone’s input on the quality of this build. Prices were not researched closely and I imagine I can drop the total current price by shopping around.

Will it be reliable? Should I swap any of the selected parts? If so? With what? Anyways to shave 6ounces without shortening the barrel below 18” and increasing the price significantly? Or is the simple answer buy a M&P10?
7d2a1a13e6b06a992e550aa0c27e14f5.png

0707de01fc93e1b685342566b625e1d6.png
187eef73b5becdb53ec20714ccbe1b10.png

Like I said, they are hard to beat when they are on sale

http://enews.palmettostatearmory.co...NThAZ21haWwuY29tw4gAXGwkVIKcIFME5XlVIEigQBwsg
 
Went back to Ohio this week and shot my Dad’s M&P10 and was pretty impressed with the accuracy/weight/price. So I started to look at alternatives and found it nearly impossible to find a factory built rifle with at least an 18” barrel, weight less than or equal to 8lbs, and within a couple hundred dollars of the Smith & Wesson.

That led me to wonder if it was even possible so I sat and put together the following and would like anyone’s input on the quality of this build. Prices were not researched closely and I imagine I can drop the total current price by shopping around.

Will it be reliable? Should I swap any of the selected parts? If so? With what? Anyways to shave 6ounces without shortening the barrel below 18” and increasing the price significantly? Or is the simple answer buy a M&P10?
7d2a1a13e6b06a992e550aa0c27e14f5.png

0707de01fc93e1b685342566b625e1d6.png
187eef73b5becdb53ec20714ccbe1b10.png

https://www.carolinafirearmsforum.com/index.php?threads/wts-dpms-gen-2-308.29303/

May be able to talk them down a little since it is used.
 
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That's actually the PX10 which is a smaller lighter and more proprietary rifle. Doesn't share many or any parts with most other AR10 style rifles. But honestly at that price it doesn't matter much. Its a DPMS GII type .308 and it will be a bit lighter than the PA10

Bam, even cheaper for @matttahoe53 to grab

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...Avantlink&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=cl

https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa...Avantlink&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=cl

Sorry fellas but I have been looking at stuff for my big frame rifle so I have been coming across a lot of stuff lol
 
Couple months back i picked uo a dpms ar10 for $650. It came as a 16". Found a nice 20" SS barrel for 100, free float handrail for 35, added ss muzzle break, rifle length gas tube, vortex 6-24 50mm optic w mounts, a2 butt stock.. i have 1100 in it now.

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I was about to say, the velocity will be negligible unless you really figure out the hand loads and need that extra velocity. But everything I understand is that .308 is your close to intermediate range thumper, whereas you move to something else like 6.5 for distance.

So 1K yard is considered still intermediate? How far would you have to go to start calling it long distance?
 
DPMS is about 700 not as cheap as the PSA but just as good.

BTW, I am just waiting on my 358 Winchester barrel from Mcgowen and I have around 700 in to mine. But no optic yet. You can get a ToolCraft BCG for half of the Aero and it is the same if not better quality. Bear Creek Arsenal have 308win barrels for less than 150.

You can save a little by getting a Noreen Firearms upper and lower also

I’m interested to know how your 358 Win AR-10 turns out. I have a Browning BLR in that caliber. It’s become my go-to hunting rifle since I moved to WNC. Deadly out to 400 yds when loaded to SAAMI chamber pressure.


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I’m interested to know how your 358 Win AR-10 turns out. I have a Browning BLR in that caliber. It’s become my go-to hunting rifle since I moved to WNC. Deadly out to 400 yds when loaded to SAAMI chamber pressure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I threw a 308 barrel on it and working out some kinks since this is a frankenAR lol. So far I’m glad I did because if I ran in to these issues when it having the 358 barrel on it I would be pissed.

But thanks for reminding me. I gotta call them to get a timeframe and finish paying it off so when it’s done they can go ahead and ship it
 
Good luck with your project. If you need any handload data to get started, let me know. If you can find it, factory ammo is pretty anemic.


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Working on piecing this one together. Just got the barrel in today (it's just mocked up right now).

Can in jail, just needs BCG and ch shoot it, then scope and mount. I have the gas block and tube.

To be a medium range, hunting, and fun gun.
 

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