I Think I "Need" a New 308 Rifle

[SnidelyWhiplash]

I have an Armalite AR-10 and a Colt LE901-SE...did a side-by-side comparison of them when I first bought them. They weighed the same though the Colt balanced better. I shot them with ammo from the same box (Winchester white box 7.62x51)...and used the same magazine (P-Mag) for both of them. I wanted to make the test as objective as possible.

Accuracy...advantage Colt...tighter group but not substantially so.
Recoil...advantage Colt...somewhat less felt recoil.
Sight picture...the same.
Cost...advantage Armalite...by about 50%.

Both are excellent...overall the Colt was better but not by any substantial degree. Value...advantage Armalite. The Colt...as good as it is...is not twice the price better.

 

[SteveA]

I have a Ruger SFAR 16" I picked up a bit over a year ago. I run it suppressed and have about 500 rounds down the pipe. No issues and very accurate. I picked it up for just under $1k and have been well pleased.

 

[wood714]

In my opinion .308 and 7.62X51 military ammo can be considered the same thing.

That's what DPMS told me too. Learned something today!

 

[wood714]

One thing to bear in mind: AR-15s have one standard specification that they are built to, so parts swapping is easy.

For .308 caliber ARs there are a couple of different patterns. There is what is called the AR-10 pattern, and the DPMS/LR-308 pattern (although AR-10 also gets used as a generic term for all .308 ARs, and DPMS pattern is made by many others besides DPMS). DPMS also made a Gen 2 pattern, that isn't seen much anymore.

Major parts (receivers, BCG's, handguards, etc...) tend not to be interchangeable between the two, so just make sure you know which one you are getting. More brands are generally on the DPMS/LR-308 pattern than the AR-10.

Palmetto State's parent company bought the DPMS brand in the Remington bankruptcy.

I have done 308 builds with parts from both PSA and Aero, and both work well. I've taken the PSA out to 800 yards with a Primary Arms 4.5-14 ACSS scope, and it was able to handle that without having an issue.

If you do go the AR route, for the Magpul mags at least, stick with the 20 rounders and below. I have seen the 25 rounders fail in a number of rifles.

That's the reason I was going the DPMS LR route.

You mentioned DPMS Gen 2. The one I was looking at is a Gen 2. Check out the pic I posted above about it's box being marked 7.62x51. Was there something different about them?

 

[NewLiberty]

That's the reason I was going the DPMS LR route.

You mentioned DPMS Gen 2. The one I was looking at is a Gen 2. Check out the pic I posted above about it's box being marked 7.62x51. Was there something different about them?

Many of the parts of Gen 2s are proprietary, because they have a shorter frame.

 

[Sistema1927]

PSA has this one back in stock right now. It sells out quickly.
PSA Sabre AR10

 

[Gamecock]

Thanks for info on PSA, NewLiberty! I was going to PSA when they were on Farrow Rd.

 

[Harry Callihan]

I have a Daniel Defense DD5 V3 gas gun and like it...

 

[alwslate]

Read the review of the Ruger SFAR in the May issue of the American Rifleman magazine before you buy a .308. It is probably the best semi auto .308 available for the money, or the best period.

 

[TheTinMan]

I have an M1A Scout rifle, an LRB M25 Tanker (semiauto M14 with an integral scope rail above the receiver, and several AR-10s. Unlike whoever posted above, I like the one I got from Windham Weaponry but sadly they just closed their doors.

I love my Browning BLR ‘81 Lightweight Takedown chambered in .308 Winchester. It’s short. It’s lightweight. The factory fiber optic sights work for me. And it’s a takedown lever action. Just sayin’

I even had a case made for it!

Then again there’s always a Winchester Model 70:

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Well, there's always this tack driver from 1971, a Remington Model 788 in .308 Winchester:

I do like .308 a lot but, presently, as noted earlier, for me it is solely a hunting caliber.

 

[wood714]

PSA has this one back in stock right now. It sells out quickly.
PSA Sabre AR10

A nice rifle for sure, but I'll never own one in the FDE color. I had a upper once that had the quad rail hand guard, first thing I did was remove it. Too bulky with covers, and too sharp without them.

 

[Supadupa69]

FAL all the way. I just picked up a para FAL and also have a 16” carbine A full size Imbel

 

[A10]

This thread made me pull my Sig out of the safe....really like it!

Got me thinking about a takedown BLR though....

 

[BB57]

I built a few FALs 15-20 years ago when parts kits were flooding in along with well made receivers. It was notable for feeling lighter and shorter than it actually was, but accuracy was never much of a strong point.

At the opposite end of the scale I had a Springfield Armory SAR-8, a Brazilian made HK-91 clone. Very accurate but notable for feeling longer and heavier than it really was.

Over all, I preferred my M1A to both. And the only rifle that has ever posed a serious challenge to it as my .308 battle rifle preference has been the Beretta BM-59.

It’s remarkable that we spent 10 years and millions of dollars developing the M14 from the M1 Garand, while two engineers from Beretta developed the BM-59 in 18 months and created a design that had very high parts compatibility allowing very cost effective conversion, and in most respects outperformed the M14.