Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles .243 in an AR platform .....?

Roughly how much would it cost to build an AR in .243 ?
What would you suggest?

I'm by no means an expert, but I have a DPMS LR243 upper and have an LR260 build. The 243 shoots and functions well, I still have kinks to work out on the 260. Here's what I think I know:

Large frame ARs were designed around the 308, and there are quite a few options for factory rifles and drop in barrels there.

When you get into cartridges that run higher pressure than 308, like 243, 6.5cm, 260 etc you can have issues and kinks that need to be worked out. most of these will be severely over-gassed. Solutions to this range from adjustable gas blocks to heavy buffers and different BCGs. Some of these components are pretty expensive. Could be some headaches for the inexperienced builder.

And I'd guess you'll a minimum of $1000 in a quality built upper alone, plus the lower. All the components for these cost more than ar15 equivalents. But I have noticed Aero Precision running sales with reasonable prices on their M5 receivers, so you might look there.

Also, These riles are very hard on brass IME, if that matters to you.

After messing with them some, I like AR15s better. I'm just breaking in a 6x6.8 upper that is showing promise, and I'm not in any hurry to get the LR243 out...

It's too bad dpms is so slow offering the gen 2 in other cartridges

Gen 2..... get the uppers, and just have someone chamber barrels the way you want...

Very likely a more accurate way in the end...

Even just standard AR10 stuff its a more accurate way to go, and very likely get the right gas port instead of the factory 3/8 inch ports..... lol.

+1 rost

Only reason for a 243 or other barrel to be over-gassed is the barrel maker not knowing how to set up the gas system. 243 and others aren't that much different in pressure than a 308 to cause gas issues, but with the different bore size, the optimum port size and/or location may be different.

They shouldn't be too hard on brass either if they are gassed right. A $50-$100 adjustable gas block is worth the investment to tune your rifle to your loads.

I've got a DPMS lite hunter in 243 that is very accurate and functions well. Its just a range toy, but is a lot of fun putting rounds on target.

I haven't taken it out of the safe in months, PM me if you'd be interested in buying.