LMT .308 MWS

I've used the USA made XTR3 18x on mine for a year now. I like it but theres a few elements that stop me from loving it. I bought it because Cameraland was blowing them out and the weight was a positive. My friend had an 18x MK5 on his MWS and I would probably go with one of those if I bought again.

But the Burris has done everything I ask of it and is overall pretty nice, so I'm not planning on getting rid of it. Of the options mentioned I'd go with the Burris or the Leupold.

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What ARCA Plate do you have on the LM8 forend? I definitely am going to copy that setup as i add / move to everything having ARCA
 
Subject: MWS Bolt Disassembly Tool

Does anyone make a bolt disassembly tool for the MWS dual ejector bolt? I find that the Y/M 308 tool does not work well for removal of the ejectors.
 
I snagged this upper when they were on sale for 500$. I run a 16” 308, 13.7 308& 20” creed barrel. I love this rig
 

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Has anyone seen any stripped MARS-H lowers around recently? My local shop has been getting completed lowers in and I have one coming in a a week or so but was really looking for a stripped lower instead.
 
On a beautiful 25 degree Midwest day I finally got these out to the range.

I’ll probably still swap a few parts around but both being new had no malfunctions and both were shot 100% suppressed. Even with the SiCo can the recoil is light and so much fun to shoot!
 

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On a beautiful 25 degree Midwest day I finally got these out to the range.

I’ll probably still swap a few parts around but both being new had no malfunctions and both were shot 100% suppressed. Even with the SiCo can the recoil is light and so much fun to shoot!
Nice rigs. How does the Piston rifle shoot vs. the DI? Do you notice decreased precision with the piston system?
 
Nice rigs. How does the Piston rifle shoot vs. the DI? Do you notice decreased precision with the piston system?
Thank you. Honestly they’re both very similar feeling. The piston is a 16” 7.62 barrel while the Di is 20” 7.62, so there was maybe a little more felt recoil with the piston but it was very subtle, unnoticeable a with certain shots, and didn’t impact me viewing the round hit paper. Both were really pleasant to shoot, the piston had less gas blowing back but also has the pri charging handle to disburse any that did come back.

I’ve got a few more barrels to test out so should be some fun coming soon. 😊
 
I haven’t quite made it through all the pages of this awesome thread! With that said I’m looking for some feedback.

I have a nomad 30 with keymo that i plan on running on my 16” CL barrel. I am looking at the eztune, with stock buffer and spring. Is anyone running this setup or something similar? I am trying to get this done right the first time vs ordering more than one tube.

My goal is to tame the gas without screwing up the reliability.

Cheers!
 
I haven’t quite made it through all the pages of this awesome thread! With that said I’m looking for some feedback.

I have a nomad 30 with keymo that i plan on running on my 16” CL barrel. I am looking at the eztune, with stock buffer and spring. Is anyone running this setup or something similar? I am trying to get this done right the first time vs ordering more than one tube.

My goal is to tame the gas without screwing up the reliability.

Cheers!
I ran a 50/50 EZtune tube and whoever makes that really heavy buffer on the same 16" CL barrel and never saw reliability issues even in extreme cold with 175 fgmm without a can. It ran well enough with the sandman s and hybrid 46 cans I have.
 
If you’re worried about it just order one ported on the small side and open up if needed. I think I ended up at .076 on my 16” with a fa carrier, armalite spring and h3. I usually shoot suppressed but it feels good unsuppressed too. McMaster Carr has every size drill bit you could want for a few bucks a pop.
 
If you’re worried about it just order one ported on the small side and open up if needed. I think I ended up at .076 on my 16” with a fa carrier, armalite spring and h3. I usually shoot suppressed but it feels good unsuppressed too. McMaster Carr has every size drill bit you could want for a few bucks a pop.
Nice! That’s a good point. Are you shooting FGMM by chance?
 
Slash buffer maybe? Did you ever run the stock buffer by chance? How was gas to the face?
Yes, it's the slash buffer. There's still a little gas to the face if you get shooting fast, but nothing bad. The nomad night be a more gassy tho as it's known to be a higher blowback I believe.
 
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Nice! That’s a good point. Are you shooting FGMM by chance?
I want to say I have shot fgmm with that setup but mostly it’s federal power shock? 180gr psp. I got a bunch for $9/box and it works great for plugging wild pigs. Might be a similar pressure curve.

I went down the xh buffer route for a while but the more I shot the more I realized I didn’t like how long the recoil/bcg cycle was drawn out. Made it a bit slower on follow up shots. It did seem to help with gas out the ejection port and being gentler on brass though.
 
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Piecing together my MWS slowly but surely. I was curious if anyone has experience with cutting down a 308 20” SS barrel to 16” for suppressor use. The barrel would only be suppressed only. I’d assume the extra length on the gas system would aid in cutting down on excess gas.. if anyone has any info on this let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.
 
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Piecing together my MWS slowly but surely. I was curious if anyone has experience with cutting down a 308 20” SS barrel to 16” for suppressor use. The barrel would only be suppressed only. I’d assume the extra length on the gas system would aid in cutting down on excess gas.. if anyone has any info on this let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.
Only have experience cutting 16" down to 14", here was a comparison I made, gas is obviously longer on 20", but gas length, port size, barrel length, dwell time and all that get lost in my anti-math brain so I'll let others with much more experience and knowledge respond ;)

LMT MWS 308_20-16-13.5 barrel comparison.jpg
 
Only have experience cutting 16" down to 14", here was a comparison I made, gas is obviously longer on 20", but gas length, port size, barrel length, dwell time and all that get lost in my anti-math brain so I'll let others with much more experience and knowledge respond ;)

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My biggest concern would be proper cycling.. I’m sure there would still be plenty of gas, but I’d rather not be the one who finds out it isn’t!
 
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Piecing together my MWS slowly but surely. I was curious if anyone has experience with cutting down a 308 20” SS barrel to 16” for suppressor use. The barrel would only be suppressed only. I’d assume the extra length on the gas system would aid in cutting down on excess gas.. if anyone has any info on this let me know, it would be greatly appreciated.


We’ve done them, it will be fine.
 
Sup. Question
I decided to do a 14.5” 308 chop, pin and I also just got 2 suppressors. A sandman S and a surefire 7.62
so my question I’m debating is which can to make it go with so I can send the barrel to Dave and him cut, pin. Which would you recommend for it and yes I want to cut it 😀. Have plenty of longer 308s, 6.5 etc., I want something a little more handy.
 
Sup. Question
I decided to do a 14.5” 308 chop, pin and I also just got 2 suppressors. A sandman S and a surefire 7.62
so my question I’m debating is which can to make it go with so I can send the barrel to Dave and him cut, pin. Which would you recommend for it and yes I want to cut it 😀. Have plenty of longer 308s, 6.5 etc., I want something a little more handy.
You definitely want to go with the SureFire. Low back pressure is one of the most important considerations.
I have a 762RC mounted on my 16” barreled MWS.
Runs smoothly, with complete reliability. No need for heavier buffers, reduced gas or any other fucking around.
 
You definitely want to go with the SureFire. Low back pressure is one of the most important considerations.
I have a 762RC mounted on my 16” barreled MWS.
Runs smoothly, with complete reliability. No need for heavier buffers, reduced gas or any other fucking around.

MWS with the 762rc2 is a sweet combo

100pct reliable, gas difference is barely noticeable with or without
 

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I haven’t quite made it through all the pages of this awesome thread! With that said I’m looking for some feedback.

I have a nomad 30 with keymo that i plan on running on my 16” CL barrel. I am looking at the eztune, with stock buffer and spring. Is anyone running this setup or something similar? I am trying to get this done right the first time vs ordering more than one tube.

My goal is to tame the gas without screwing up the reliability.

Cheers!
I ended up going with the .073 tube for mine (16" 308). They shipped me a .070 originally but it wouldn't cycle 175fgmm. The .073 will cycle the fgmm but it won't lock back consistently but I shoot it 70% suppressed and it ejects around 3 o'clock and feels good. Overall supper happy with it and the customer service was great. Suppressor is a Surefire 7.62 Ti
 
Just took out my new to me LM8 with a 13.5 barrel and NX8 on top. What an amazing rifle! Sighted it in with IMI 175, then fired a couple of 5 shot 2 MOA groups, then a .33 at 100 and .799 at 275 groups. Def will take some trigger time to get use to the semi auto, but overall happy for its first box of ammo.

Does anyone reload for these short barrels and if so, what are you using? I don’t have a chrono, but based off drop calculations at distance I seem to be running about 2350 with the IMI 175. I thinking maybe better luck with the 155 SMK Palma, or just stick with 175? Powders I have are Varget, 748, H414, and H322. I have plenty of the 748 and 322, low in varget, but it seems available right now. Hodgdon shows higher speeds with Varget, but I wonder if the 322 would be better in a shorter barrel. Would like to stick with a temp stable powder since in a auto loader.

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Just took out my new to me LM8 with a 13.5 barrel and NX8 on top. What an amazing rifle! Sighted it in with IMI 175, then fired a couple of 5 shot 2 MOA groups, then a .33 at 100 and .799 at 275 groups. Def will take some trigger time to get use to the semi auto, but overall happy for its first box of ammo.

Does anyone reload for these short barrels and if so, what are you using? I don’t have a chrono, but based off drop calculations at distance I seem to be running about 2350 with the IMI 175. I thinking maybe better luck with the 155 SMK Palma, or just stick with 175? Powders I have are Varget, 748, H414, and H322. I have plenty of the 748 and 322, low in varget, but it seems available right now. Hodgdon shows higher speeds with Varget, but I wonder if the 322 would be better in a shorter barrel. Would like to stick with a temp stable powder since in a auto loader.

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The ELD-X keeps the 308 interesting, especially in a short barrel format. I would recommend 178gr ELD-X as it has the same BC as a 123gr Lapua Scenar at that MV (178's at 2400 in my 13.5).

I’d look at Varget and federal 210m primers loaded to magazine length. Work up your load.
 
The ELD-X keeps the 308 interesting, especially in a short barrel format. I would recommend 178gr ELD-X as it has the same BC as a 123gr Lapua Scenar at that MV (178's at 2400 in my 13.5).

I’d look at Varget and federal 210m primers loaded to magazine length. Work up your load.
Thanks for that...I didn't think about going heavier. I guess I was thinking lighter for more speed would be more beneficial. Looking in Strelok, the 178s @ 2400 beat both the 175 at a similar speed and 155s @ 2600. I'll get some of those and some fresh Varget inbound. Thanks!

Also will be ordering a BRT tube😏.
 
Thanks for that...I didn't think about going heavier. I guess I was thinking lighter for more speed would be more beneficial. Looking in Strelok, the 178s @ 2400 beat both the 175 at a similar speed and 155s @ 2600. I'll get some of those and some fresh Varget inbound. Thanks!

Also will be ordering a BRT tube😏.
A 50/50 BRT tube is a good start; LMT barrels are noted for being a little over gassed for improved reliability a large part will be dependent on your choice of can (low vs high back pressure). I would start out running everything stock with your can and the BRT 50/50 gas tube then if still over gassed look at a tubs 308 flatwire and heavy buffers XH.
 
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Some questions guys... I can't find a .308 LMT LPK anywhere. do you think I can get a standard LPK for now? until the parts become available? I think the only thing missing would be the ambi mag release and the ambi bolt catch. I have:
  1. Buffer Tube
  2. Castle Nut
  3. End Plate
  4. Buffer retainer, spring
  5. Buffer Spring
  6. H3 Buffer
  7. Geissele - SSA-E just laying around from previous build
I think a stand 308 LPK would work? Are the Pivot and Takedown pins all made equal? or does that have to be LMT specific?
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A 50/50 BRT tube is a good start; LMT barrels are noted for being a little over gassed for improved reliability a large part will be dependent on your choice of can (low vs high back pressure). I would start out running everything stock with your can and the BRT 50/50 gas tube then if still over gassed look at a tubs 308 flatwire and heavy buffers XH.
Yup, that's the plan (50/50 first). Sandman S MIL is hanging off the front, which is supposedly on the lower end off backpressure, but cases were still getting kicked forward. I know I don't want a suppressor only BRT tube, as I don't want to be 100% committed to the can for function.
 
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So, cutting the 20 inch 308 barrel to 16” functions fine suppressed but will also function not suppressed?? I’m debating on getting a 20” barrel as a second barrel and having it cut down but I wont shoot it 100% sup. Thanks for the info
 
The ELD-X keeps the 308 interesting, especially in a short barrel format. I would recommend 178gr ELD-X as it has the same BC as a 123gr Lapua Scenar at that MV (178's at 2400 in my 13.5).

I’d look at Varget and federal 210m primers loaded to magazine length. Work up your load.
@USGILT i am curious how many gr of Varget you are using.

Thanks
 
Yup, that's the plan (50/50 first). Sandman S MIL is hanging off the front, which is supposedly on the lower end off backpressure, but cases were still getting kicked forward. I know I don't want a suppressor only BRT tube, as I don't want to be 100% committed to the can for function.
I remember reading a few years back that LMT made changes to the deflector geometry to eject brass at 1 to 2 o clock. This was so that people shooting from helicopters weren't shooting hot brass into the helicopter, they wanted to eject brass out of the helo.

I'm not sure if that was for all guns or just contract guns. Regardless, ejection pattern isn't a reliable way to determine over/under gassing.
 
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Mine likes the one most people will recommend, ie FGMM 168 or 175's.

To my surprise I have also found that the Barnes VOR-TX TTSX 168 grain hunting round likes to group as well as the FGMM 168's. They are more expensive then FGGM for just plinking but it is my go to hunting round.

HTH
 
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Mine likes the one most people will recommend, ie FGGM 168 or 175's.

To my surprise I have also found that the Barnes VOR-TX TTSX 168 grain hunting round likes to group as well as the FGMM 168's. They are more expensive then FGGM for just plinking but it is my go to hunting round.

HTH
Thanks 👍🏼
@Tacwerk that is the best camo I have ever seen. outstanding!
thanks man! Spray painted it myself lol.
 
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