Need an AR-10 carbine upper

[captnmo]

I fell upon an Armalite AR-10 lower and couldn't pass it up. So I have a nice lower and thought I'd like to make a 16" Ar-10 out of it.

As far as I know, only Armalite and Noveske will fit this lower. I also wanted to go the piston route, but not sure if there's a drop-in upper that will fit this or if getting a conversion is a good idea or not. Has anyone heard of any problems with AR-10 conversions?

 

[salmonaxe]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

Piston systems are pointless on anything but super short barreled rifles. The only ones that are worth a hell of beans are built from the ground up as a piston setup. There is nothing wrong with Direct Impingement. I have 14.5" AR-15 with pinned flash suppressor that has gone 14k rounds. I have only needed to replace an extractor spring and a disconnector. It very rarely has a failure. None that I can remember in the past 2 years. I barely clean it, and will run 1k between cleaning. Last time I ran around 2k before cleaning it. Just add CLP every once and a while and keep shooting. Shoot quality ammo and it works like clockwork. If a DI AR doesn't function under these conditions, then it wasn't properly manufactured.

Do yourself a favor and make it a mid to long range rifle. I only shot a carbine 308 when ammo was cheap and plentiful. Going less than 18" is just a waste. Get a noveske 18" bbl. or a full upper. You can get parts from Rainier Arms.

Heck, my carbine AR-10 just sits in the safe. I've been thinking of buying a new noveske bbl for a long time. But recently I've been contemplating getting a 260 bbl for it. When I can easily shoot my .223 AR's to 750yds for repeat hits, I start to really consider using the AR-10's longer action to be use to the absolute best of my benefit.

 

[hopps]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

before arguing what length of barrel we should probably know what the intended purpose of the rifle is...and if you ever intending on suppressing it....

 

[ORD]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

There is absolutely nothing wrong with: 1) Armalite pattern rifles/carbines/uppers; 2) 16" barreled .308/7.62x51 carbines; and 3) DI in general.

As for your questions, you are basically left with only Armalite and Noveske for "factory produced" AR-10 pattern uppers. You can always build which will give you all the options in the world in terms of specific barrels, twists, HGs, etc. Stripped upper receivers, parts, BCGs, CHs, barrels, etc. are all readily available for the Armalite pattern rifles. Before you decide the direction you want to go (i.e. - build or buy) it is probably a good idea to set a budget. Basic Armalite uppers can be had for around the $700 mark and go up from there...Noveske will run you quite a bit more, but the Noveskes I have run have been truly excellent in every respect. You can probably build exactly what you want for around the $1k mark give or take...depending on how "high end" you decide to go.

Now, as for the piston issue...there are currently NO manufacturers making piston conversions for the AR-10 platform (or any other .308 platform AR for that matter). Adams Arms, Osprey, and others are working on this, but nothing available yet. Frankly, unless you are planning on running the carbine suppressed the bulk of the time, there is no need for the piston operated rifle. Keep your new carbine properly maintained/lubed and fire away. It will serve you well!

 

[captnmo]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

I already have a Armalite SASS for longer range. So my thought was to make something shorter and lighter. But I do want to squeeze as much accuacy out of it. Is it possible to get an AR-10 carbine down to 1 MOA? I'm looking for the best combination between weight and accuracy and would consider going 18". I've been eyeballing the Noveskes.

I'd like to get it suppressed, but that's really just a pipe-dream since it really doesn't serve me any practical purpose other than having a suppressed rifle. The practicality of doing that isn't there right now. But going back to the SASS, I could envision a single-type adapter and one suppressor to go between both since the SASS already has the adjustable system. So something worth considering as I build this thing.

 

[ORD]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: captnmo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I already have a Armalite SASS for longer range. So my thought was to make something shorter and lighter. But I do want to squeeze as much accuacy out of it. Is it possible to get an AR-10 carbine down to 1 MOA?</div></div>

Yes...more than possible. Accuracy is not a function of barrel length. The only thing a shorter barrel does is limit your MV, which in turn, limits the effective range of the rifle/cartridge. Now, with that said, a 16" barreled .308 AR can still engage targets very accurately and effectively well beyond 600yds and further.

Armalite guarantees their AR-10T rifles and carbines for 1MOA accuracy and I have yet to see one that wouldn't achieve that and more with quality ammo or reloads, and a competent shooter. I have a 16" AR-10T from the limited production run early last year and it is a solid sub-MOA rifle with my 155gr Scenar loads (I use the lighter bullets from my shorter rifles/carbines to make up some of the MV lost to the shorter barrels).

The AR-10T Carbine uppers are available directly from Armalite and some of its online dealers for around $975.

 

[captnmo]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

What do you guys think for a twist rate? I would think 1-10 would be good for a carbine but would that limit me to heavier match ammo all the time. I want it's primary purpose to be an accurate, light weight shooter, but also able to spit out some cheap stuff every once and a while. No sense on wasting the cheap stuff on the SASS.

 

[BCP]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

Armalite has some carbine 308 uppers for sale on their site for 730, they are 16" w/free float tube (no rails). That, or a standard carbine upper and then put rails on it are both options. Their carbine uppers seem to shoot MOA or so. And, of course, you could always build something for yourself.

It all depends on how much you want to spend.

 

[michael_aos]

Re: Need an AR-10 carbine upper

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BCP</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Armalite has some carbine 308 uppers for sale on their site for 730</div></div>

I've been looking at those. I have a custom AR-10 with a heavy 22" barrel in 260 Remington. Assembled from Eagle parts.

Shoots great, but that 16" 308 upper looks like just the ticket for hog hunting.
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