opinions wanted: AR-type in .308

[Polar Express]

Hi all, I want opinions, and I know this is a great place to get them!

I recently purchased a .308 lower, made by MEGA machine. At the time, I also purchased one upper from MEGA as well. I have my reasons for why I chose that brand.

Now, the fun and creative part begins. I'd like to build several uppers that can interchange on my lower, for different purposes.

Suggestions I'm primarily looking for include barrel style, material, length.

Depending other hardware, (optics, forend guard, other accessories) will depend on each configuration and intended purpose.

I'd like to have one upper for long range, accuracy. Perhaps a varmint or coyote type intent. I would certainly be willing to consider a .243 for this, but is there an advantage to that over a .308?

One upper I'd like as compact and lightweight as I can have. Thinking for any difficult access hunting I might decide. It would be nice to have a design that can feed different hunting ammo loads, from light to as heavy as can safely be fired.

Which brings me to the next issue: a 180 grain .308 is a responsible load to use for Elk, likely the largest animal I'm likely to hunt. Can the platform handle a heavier bullet than that safely?

Eventually, I'll probably build one that is more 'tacti-cool'. Why? Because I want too.

Thanks in advance, and I'm really looking forward to all of your opinions.

PE

 

[rocinante]

I have zero useful input but damn your project sounds like fun. all I have is kudos. sorry.

 

[madcratebuilder]

168gr is what most match bullets run, there are some in 175 and 178grain. You could probably work up a 180gr bullet load if you reload. I would contact ArmaLite customer service via email and ask this question. They have a good rep for responding.

 

[henschman]

For barrels, check out Ranier Arms' website. They have a wide variety of Stainless Steel barrels, which is probably the best choice for your long range upper. Yes, .243 has an advantage over a .308 -- it is flatter shooting, and has a better ballistic coefficient for more wind resistance over a longer distance. Same with .260, which is probably a more common choice for that type of rifle.

For a light and short upper, you might look at a 16" barrel from an Armalite AR-10 carbine, since it is probably the lightest-profile barrel you can get for this platform. The barrel is where you can save most of your weight.

Yes, you can shoot 180 grainers out of this type of setup. If you want to experiment with handloads, you would benefit from an adjustable gas block, so you can adjust gas pressure to the optimal level.