AR-10

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Been thinking a little more about a fairly lightweight .308 rifle. Why not an AR-10? They seem to have a reputation for being fairly accurate, lightweight, reliable, and you can get one without selling a kidney.

I know some of y'all own AR-10s. What do you have? What do you really like about it? Anything about it that you've discovered that you don't like?

I usually tend not to buy top-of-the-line, but more like 7/10, to avoid diminishing returns for my $. So, I like quality, but I like to get a lot for my money.

I'm thinking 16" barrel and left-side charging handle. I'm not interested in suppressing. And, as I said earlier, weight is a priority. Like to have something that's 7-8 lbs. in stock configuration.

What's better - direct gas impingement or piston? Pros/cons of each?

Also, what optics do you guys like? I have no experience with optics.
 
I have a Smith and Wesson M&P 10. It is very picky on ammo, but other than that it is a great gun. I haven't bought optics yet since anything decent costs as much as other things I keep buying.
 
Mine is a DPMS AP-4 Carbine in .308. It's been a very good running, accurate rifle. Astro 14 has one as well. I'm sure he'll chime in here with the positive results he's had with his as well. It's a nice, well built weapon for the money. (Right around $1K to $1,100.00). Like most AR platform rifles, they like a lot of lube, and run better on hot ammo.

yiOkq5t.jpg
 
I am looking at getting a 5.56mm rifle and am pondering the same kinds of issues.
My limited understanding is that the direct gas impingement system is lighter than one using a gas piston, but the former is more susceptible to fouling and requires more maintenance. I talked to a gun salesman who is a former Marine who said he has had dozens of AR type rifles (including service weapons) and has never had a feed problem, but he admitted that he was extremely proficient at and fanatical about maintenance.
I was thinking gas piston and looked at a Mini 14 Ranch, liked everything about it but the price. I know I can get an AR type for much less, but am worried about being able to maintain it properly. The only other gas piston models I found in 5.56mm that weren't expensive were Chinese and Russian models, not too excited about those.
Still thinking about this and am interested to see what comments show up here.
 
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
I was thinking gas piston and looked at a Mini 14 Ranch, liked everything about it but the price. I know I can get an AR type for much less, but am worried about being able to maintain it properly.


The AR platform is much easier to clean and maintain than the Mini 14. It field strips and goes back together like child's play. You can also easily replace things like firing pins, extractors, bolts, etc. The Mini 14, not so much.
 
I say just make sure the AR10 you get takes the SR25/Magpul mags so you have a ready supply of cheap and good magazines. The only thing I tend to dislike about the AR10 is that unlike its diminutive brother the AR15, there is not a standard "Spec". Other than that it is a perfectly serviceable firearm platform, although I have always preferred the other battle rifies. I currently have a metric FAL kit build and a PTR 91 for my 7.62 NATO guns. They aren't lightweight, but they have decades of proven track records, and I just dig having something outside the ubiquitous AR.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: Virtus_Probi
I was thinking gas piston and looked at a Mini 14 Ranch, liked everything about it but the price. I know I can get an AR type for much less, but am worried about being able to maintain it properly.


The AR platform is much easier to clean and maintain than the Mini 14. It field strips and goes back together like child's play. You can also easily replace things like firing pins, extractors, bolts, etc. The Mini 14, not so much.


Great info, thank you!
I found one blog online that swore that the whole AR fouling problem was due to people being too aggressive about cleaning and getting solvents/oils into the gas tube itself, where they would burn and leave ash that led to the fouling. No idea if this is really the case, but it did catch my attention.
 
1) There isn't any standardization for 762 NATO ARs, as was mentioned. Make sure to have basic spares to keep the rifle running.
2) Gas piston is going to weigh more than DI. Keeping a DI AR running is more a matter of keeping it wet enough to run, no need to be meticulous about removing every spec of powder fouling. I've seen a bunch of ARs that were too dry to work, I've yet to see one that was wet but had too much powder fouling to function.
3) The barrel is another place to save a lot of weight, with thinner profiled barrels dropping the most weight. Personally, I'd probably want at least 18" barrel on a 762 NATO rifle, but that's just me.

BSW
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Mine is a DPMS AP-4 Carbine in .308. It's been a very good running, accurate rifle. Astro 14 has one as well. I'm sure he'll chime in here with the positive results he's had with his as well. It's a nice, well built weapon for the money. (Right around $1K to $1,100.00). Like most AR platform rifles, they like a lot of lube, and run better on hot ammo.

yiOkq5t.jpg



I do! Great memory, Bill..

I love it. Easy to shoot. Accurate*. Reasonably priced. Carbine length is practical and allows for a variety of shooting needs. Handles every ammo type that I've tried. It likes lots of lube (but not Remoil). Recoil is surprisingly mild. I've got a limb-saver gel pad on the standard adjustable stock. It's a pussycat compared with a lightweight .308 hunting rifle.

If I could only own one rifle, and needed it to do everything, hands down this would be my pick.

DI is a lot cheaper than piston, and a bit lighter, with the only drawback being that it gets dirty quicker and needs cleaning more often. Keep it "wet" and you'll never have an issue with reliability. The G2 version has some improvements over mine but I'm not trading up.

*iron sights, 25 yards, the holes are all touching. At 100 yards, it's holding about an inch, but that's with iron sights. With an optic, it's at least a 1 MOA rifle despite the carbine length, which Is impressive. DPMS has some picky break in procedures. I bought a bore snake and followed them to the letter.
 
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Originally Posted By: Astro14

*iron sights, 25 yards, the holes are all touching. At 100 yards, it's holding about an inch, but that's with iron sights. With an optic, it's at least a 1 MOA rifle despite the carbine length, which Is impressive. DPMS has some picky break in procedures. I bought a bore snake and followed them to the letter.


You're saying you shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with iron sights? That is MOA, what's it do with a scope? Not sure which is more impressive, the rifle or the shooter.
 
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
I say just make sure the AR10 you get takes the SR25/Magpul mags so you have a ready supply of cheap and good magazines. The only thing I tend to dislike about the AR10 is that unlike its diminutive brother the AR15, there is not a standard "Spec". Other than that it is a perfectly serviceable firearm platform, although I have always preferred the other battle rifies. I currently have a metric FAL kit build and a PTR 91 for my 7.62 NATO guns. They aren't lightweight, but they have decades of proven track records, and I just dig having something outside the ubiquitous AR.


I agree with that and that's why I'm sticking with my Springfield M1A. When I do my part it will really shoot pretty well its a NM rifle.
 
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Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: Astro14

*iron sights, 25 yards, the holes are all touching. At 100 yards, it's holding about an inch, but that's with iron sights. With an optic, it's at least a 1 MOA rifle despite the carbine length, which Is impressive. DPMS has some picky break in procedures. I bought a bore snake and followed them to the letter.


You're saying you shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with iron sights? That is MOA, what's it do with a scope? Not sure which is more impressive, the rifle or the shooter.


Honestly - my first five shots with it ever were at 25 yards, with irons, and I had it off hand but I was leaning against the lane divider, and the shots were all touching. Could've covered them with a nickel. I was really stoked.

I've shot about 1.5" groups at 100 yards with irons with that rifle. It's really impressive. Maybe I got lucky, but my feeling is that it's limited by the irons and by me.

That's why I think it would be better with a scope ... but for a carbine, it's way more accurate than I would have anticipated...
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: Astro14

*iron sights, 25 yards, the holes are all touching. At 100 yards, it's holding about an inch, but that's with iron sights. With an optic, it's at least a 1 MOA rifle despite the carbine length, which Is impressive. DPMS has some picky break in procedures. I bought a bore snake and followed them to the letter.


You're saying you shoot 1" groups at 100 yards with iron sights? That is MOA, what's it do with a scope? Not sure which is more impressive, the rifle or the shooter.


Honestly - my first five shots with it ever were at 25 yards, with irons, and I had it off hand but I was leaning against the lane divider, and the shots were all touching. Could've covered them with a nickel. I was really stoked.

I've shot about 1.5" groups at 100 yards with irons with that rifle. It's really impressive. Maybe I got lucky, but my feeling is that it's limited by the irons and by me.

That's why I think it would be better with a scope ... but for a carbine, it's way more accurate than I would have anticipated...


Astro, is yours 16"?
 
Johnny - that Springfield M1A is on my short list. It's a sweet rifle. I love my 3 Garands, and while they shoot great, the NM is more accurate, while still maintaining the romance of walnut and steel...
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Yes. Mine is the AP-4 carbine version of the DPMS LR-308.


Very cool.

What other rifles were you considering before you decided on that one?
 
To be very honest, that rifle was bought in a hurry. It was very early 2013 and I bought what my local gun store had in stock. I just knew I wanted a .308 AR-style carbine. Everything was flying off the shelves, so I bought what I could find...
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
To be very honest, that rifle was bought in a hurry. It was very early 2013 and I bought what my local gun store had in stock. I just knew I wanted a .308 AR-style carbine. Everything was flying off the shelves, so I bought what I could find...


I see...

I'm looking at the Smith & Wesson M&P 10 too. I've heard good things about it also.
 
Im interested in the Sig 716, same concept. Hope to do some test shooting on one before too long...
 
I built a 20" LR308 a couple years back with a JP super match barrel and all the other woopty JP parts. I have a Vortex Viper 4x12 on top of it.

It's a really nice setup. I use it as my long range bench gun with 168gr a-max running about 2650fps.

I also use it for hunting speed goats in Wyoming when I know I'm likely going to be shooting longer distance. I load up some 130gr Barnes TSX hollow points running just over 3000fps. It hammers them soooo hard... like nothing I've seen...and my normal hunting rig is 7mm rem mag.
 
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