Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles .308 on an AR Platform - money is no object

I would think that if you're gonna run the 308 from 500 in, personally I would go with something lightweight with an 18" barrel...

Easier to maneuver, quick handling, easier to mount and dismount from a vehicle, etc...

I have a JP LRP-07H with an 18" barrel and it shoots MOA or better out to 800 yards easily... Its lightweight and handles excellent...

Just another option to look at...

Geez FTR, aren't you glad to receive this info so you can change the error of your ways?

You just been doing it all wrong, what with those long barrels and heavy charges of Varget. Just WAY overkill. Probably WAY over penetrate the paper targets too.

Interesting that when folks state a desire IE bull barrel, others try to steer them away.

I don't think the question was bull or no, rather manufacturer etc...

I prefer heavy guns. I have a few light ones for specific tasks, but generally speaking I like heavy. And before I get slammed for being a TX stand hunter, I generally walk at least a mile or more to get to my blinds. And we often hunt on foot some if its slow hunting, through. I realize thats not nearly as much as others cover but a heavy gun isn't that much of a burden IMHO. Excepting in the mountains... but then again my 54MZ ain't light, I suspect its close to 10 pounds all up...

I am a wimp Jeff, I can carry the heavy ones but prefer a light carbine. I been there and done that with heavy semi auto 308 rifles, I buy them, try to like them and then sell them. I guess I don't live in a place where you can see to shoot 500 yards at a live animal so the 5.56 has enough horsepower at close range for my uses.

So this sums it up: I drink Jack Daniels, have tried Basil Hayden's and Johnny Walker Blue, but there not that much more to my palate that I wish to spend the money on them, and they all get you drunk. I don't care for Jim Beam however, nor Evan Williams, and I hate Popov Vodka.

SCAR 17

Ya missed the point really Jimmy, the guy asked for heavy. Had he not had his mind made up the light weight points would have been well taken. At least IMHO. Help the guy wiht his questions, and assume he is smart enough to know why he wants some thigns but has questions on others. I"ve no issues with light guns at all, as noted I have a few and they get used at times. Of course my main competition AR weighed 18 pounds and I shot it for years and am used to heavy. Doesn't mean I use heavy all the time. But I"ve walked almost all day with a 26 inch MTU contour 308 and Mc A5 stock... never felt overly heavy to me...

On the other note, Jack is ok, prefer beam black, Laphroaig. Won't touch Crown, thats nasty... don't do vodka either. Will do knob creek and Makers though.. grins.. we all do have our preferences.. so yes, point taken too!

Jeff

Barry, you are correct. I am learning things on this thread but I am old and crochety and I don't change my ways very easily. Just ask my wife. (Yes, I am always wrong, even when she's not around.) And you owe me a new flat panel for putting out such funny posts without adequate warning.

Maybe I should change and go to a shorter barrel. That way I would not have to fold the rear seat in my SUV to accomodate my rifle when I drive to the match. And as stated earlier, it would make it easier to get out of the vehicle and that's important. Also, If I had a shorter barrel, I could shout MOA at 800 yards and more all the time.

Gosh, I have been doing it all wrong, haven't I?

I have no illusions about the AR-10 I am building; 600 yards is all I will expect from its 20 inch barrel. I will not be working up LR match loads with boutique bullets for 1000 yards for that rifle.

And Barry, you are right; I'm sure my LR match loads over penetrate the paper at 1000. They could probably go two or three sheets of paper.

I want a heavy barrel to soak up recoil.

My Weatherby 30-378 AI has a Vais Muzzle Brake, 2 mercury recoil reducers bedded into the fore-stock, and is literally filled with Brownell's Steel Bed. It is heavy. But I can shoot it all day because there is hardly any recoil. I don't like recoil; it induces a flinch in me, then I have to take the 10-22 and work the flinch out. 1)Shoot, 2)recoil, 3)flinch, 4)remedial trigger control and follow through 101 w/10-22, 5)then back to shooting big guns again. Why not avoid steps 2, 3 & 4 and just put in place all measures possible to reduce recoil? Heavy rifles don't bother me. I don't mind carrying them, although I haven't tried carrying my Weatherby up and down mountains.

Take a look at Colt.They have a new offering,that excepts Pmags.Fully floated.

Mr. dood--I'd keep this in mind. This is a good point. I'd rather go a bit heavier contour, than extra length, to accomplish what you are trying to.

As far as accuracy...you said you'll stay inside of 500. A heavy 20" to 22" will get you where you want to be.

308 is perfect with a full-bull 24" if you are willing to lug it around....18" on a 308 is a velocity compromise a lot more than a 20" in my experience. For what - 2", thats not going to save much weight but will increase muzzleblast a lot more and decrease range a lot more than it increases weight. Like said if weight is a big issue (which the OP indicated was NOT) not reason to go Full-bull 20-24".

Just curious MD, have you given any thought to any other cartridges on this platform? Someone posted pictures of a GAP chambered in a Creedmoore recently that looked very interesting.

Terry

Both US and Brittish forces are fielding AR's in 308 with barrel lengths of less then 20 inches and running them effectively out to 800 meters.I've owned Ar's with 24 inch barrels,it defeats the reason for having an AR in the first place.

I beg to differ. If length is the limiting factor, then get an SKS and cut it down to 16.5" and rock on. It's accurate enough inside 100 yards to hit a chest size target. I know, I had my best friend, who is a gunsmith and a master machinist, cut the barrel of my Norinco SKS down to 16.5", add a KDF muzzle brake and reassemble it. It is a handy little rascal and does double duty as my house gun. I did a legal modification that enables it to accept detachable magazines. Inside 100 yds, for a SHTF weapon I would not hesitate to grab it.

The AR, to me, is modular in design, allowing changes that can be made by a shade-tree gunsmith such as myself. It accepts hi-cap magazines, and is as portable as anything in the field. If I had the $$$ I'd get a .338 Lapua on the AR platform, but, money is an object when the rifle alone costs $5K. I actually do have the $$$, I just cannot see spending that just to get a detachable magazine-fed rifle in such an esoteric cartridge. .308 is plentiful and reasonably priced enough to shoot. .338 Lapua not so much. Besides, I have a heavy bolt gun for loooong shots. I could get a 24" bull barrel, but that would be a custom order and it would take 6 to 8 months. I elected to use GAP's 24" barrel and cut the delivery time at least in half if not a third.

I gave a lot of thought to it Terry. I elected to go with the .308 because I've shot quite a bit of .308 through a series of M1As I've owned over the years, and the ammunition is plentiful, plus I have the reloading dies for .308.

I think we got sidetracked here - the 308 CAN do the "magic" 1000yds ok - out of a 24" AR its can do 800m in a heartbeat, repeatedly without losing sight picture. I have short barreled AR's (26" 20" 16" 7-1/2") but the 24" for a 308 is perfect for me (LR-308) for that purpose - fast repeated hits to 800.

If I need to go further....I would use another caliber - and not an AR...as said its cost-prohibitive.If I want short range the AR pistol is super fast and clay target accurate to a 100 with every round in the magazine with a red-dot sight. One aint gonna do it all - except compromise - just gotta pick whats important to you.

Paraphrazing here but "I want the best, longest barreled 308 AR that I can get".

The man was pretty clear and I believe he got what he wanted and doesn't have to suffer anything dpms. Life is good!

LOL. George Gardner and crew build their weapons like tanks, and they are accurate all day long with just about anything you feed them, especially if you're slinging match-grade .308 ammunition.

GA Precision builds a FINE rifle - but his products are still susceptible to the laws of physics and short barrels (22" and less) suffer from velocity loss that severy hamper their range. Just depends on what one wants to do - if you dont wanna use most of the range potential, no problem - there are no accuracy issues with shorter barrels, just more drop and less energy.

If money was no object for me, I would have something else, but until now the 24" DPMS has done fine achieving half-minute groups.

Your DPMS shoots 2.5 inch groups at 500 yards consistently? I"m curious cause if thats the fact, they must be using a a really top notch barrel.

Thanks for that input.