advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

[MrBourne]

First off, I love this forum. There's some good gauge here.

So I will be building an .308 AR. Looking at spending around $1200, give or take, not including optics.

I'm leaning toward the DPMS 18" bull barrel assembly. Any thoughts? Yay or nay?
http://www.cstactical.com/Bushnell/OPTIC...y.html?vmcchk=1

How should I pick a lower receiver? There are so many choices, I don't even know where to start. My main criteria are reasonably priced and tight fit w/ whatever upper I choose.

Looking forward to whatever help y'all shoot my way!

 

[RuLins05]

Re: advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

First off, welcome, second be careful what you call an AR-10. Best to just say 308 AR or large frame AR (technically only ArmaLite rifles are AR-10's and a few people get their panties in a bunch if you make that mistake).

Anyway, to answer you question, check out Tactical Machining. They have a billet 7075 lower that is DPMS patterned that goes for about $230. Its nicer than the factory DPMS in the fact thats its 7075 as well as the trigger guard is teared rather than straight.

The upper isn't bad but it will be marginally heavy due to the bull barrel, not unmanageable but kind of hefty. The DPMS bull barrels are accurate and although some will give you flack for going the DPMS route, it is really going to give you the most choices within your price range. The AP4 upper by DPMS can be had for the same price over at JSE surplus if you think you might want something lighter. Then again with the upgrades they are offering its a pretty good price, it really just depends on what you want the rifle for. The 18" is going to be able to push the rounds out there a little further and might give you better accuracy, but the AP4 is a good battle type rifle.

When building up the lower make sure you get the LR-308 Parts kit as there are some different pieces required compared to the regular AR-15 LPK. Same thing with the buffer and springs, they are 308 specific.

 

[JTZshooters]

Re: advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

You could get a Mega MaTen which can be Armalite or Dpms compatible & gives you way more options to work with .

 

[AXEMAN]

Re: advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

if you can find and buy something close to or exactly what you want, buy it like that. otherwise its a hunt and peck process. MA-10 is what i ended up with. there is also CMMG, Sun Devil i think, Fulton, Rock River (different pattern, just tossing out names) and spikes is gonna have sekins stuff in 308. there are a bunch of places making 308 stuff now.

here is a good tip. in this section, we all post our builds it seems. go back 30-50 pages and see what others used. people list everything so you can get good info be digging back

also, DPMS has barrels on special quite often. but, i ordered at 556 custom upper over a year ago, hell 18 months ago and they still have never gotten back to me since i placed the order. they just say its 12-16 months from the order date. since then i have bought the same configuration upper in a different brand and sold it off. and they have had a sale on the very upper i ordered in a "parts kit" flyer i got in my email. strange company

 

[RuLins05]

Re: advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

Since your not looking to buy from DPMS you won't have to worry about their back log, but the Ma-Ten is a fun route, but it won't be as cheep as buying the upper you linked to.

In all actuality if you want to build you could still use DPMS receivers, buy a Tactical Machining lower and a DPMS A3 style upper from JSE Surplus as well as their 308 lower parts kit and you have a decent foundation to work off of and it should under $400 for the receivers. Get a barrel from Black Hole Weaponry, a BCG from Alpha Shooting Supplies for $190 and the rest of the parts from MidwayUSA or whom ever you like. You technically should be able to build for $1200, with in reason (ie don't add a PRS and get mad that the cost is closer to $1400

)

 

[rchman]

Re: advice appreciated: building my 1st .308 AR

I've had four 308 ARs to date (and many more AR15s): a DPMS SASS on a TM lower, a POF308, a 20" Armalite on Aero lower and most currently, building a MA-TEN with a Noveske barrel.

Although many are suggesting the MA-TEN, I don't see it as a budget build piece.

As for the DPMS rifles, I probably would not buy one again. Although it was a fairly accurate rifle, I was unimpressed with the fit and finish. The TM lower was decent for the price, but the finish was thin and scratched easily. The Aero Precision lowers are worlds above the TM lowers.

You can get an Armalite pattern rifle for your budget range too. Everything just worked on that rifle. The mags are expensive but are built like tanks. Everything is simpler with an Armalite pattern rifle with respect to aftermarket parts - if it's AR10 compatible, it's AR10 compatible.

Overall, I'd highly recommend an Armalite rifle. If you have a store that has both, look at them side by side. The fit and finish of the Armalites are second to none.