Re: AR-10 Options / Opinions
I used to have a DPMS SASS with a Bushnell Elite Tactical FFP 6-24X50 on it. It was a very accurate rifle. 1.5" groups at 200 meters and consistent hits on prairie dogs past 800m. When I started using it for prairie dog murdering is when I found the achilles heel of the rifle. Rifle+Scope+Bipod=16lbs. It is HEAVY. 16 lbs will break you off and is not very realistic as an offhand shooting weapon. With its ridiculously heavy bull barrel it is extremely front heavy, even with the heavy PRS stock to put more weight in the back.
Long story short I sold it and just built my own. IMO, and if it is feasible for you, this is the way to go. Best method, as someone already mentioned and I agree with, would be to buy the Bolt you wanna use and send it to someone like Krieger. Short of that, and what I did, was buy a Rainier Arms UltraMatch barrel and built around that, keeping weight in constant consideration.
What I ended up with is a rifle that I put together myself so I don't have to worry about DPMS QC using a DPMS upper and lower receiver, with higher end components in it than DPMS, a Vortex Viper PST FFL 4-16X50 and Harris Bipods, coming in at exactly 12lbs. That four pounds makes a huge difference. I can carry this rifle, and shoot offhand if I ever felt the need. The best part, is that I built the rifle (not counting scope or bipods) for right at 1800. Even better, is it ended up MORE accurate than the DPMS SASS. Using 168gr SMK I have consistently been able to put 5 rounds in a nickel sized group.
If you don't wanna go through all that (building your own rifle is not too hard, its worth it) then you might want to consider the LMT. For a pre-built rifle it seems the best bang for your buck. Depending on your options it can be had for around 2700.
You mentioned you wanted something that is a combination of both accuracy and "SHTF gun". IMO you wanna stay as close to 12lbs or less as possible if you plan on being able to carry this long distances and be effective with it. I was a M240B gunner in an infantry weapons squad for about a year before I moved on to better things and I can tell you that humping a heavy gun all over the place sucks.
Anyway, that's what has worked for me but YMMV.