Bolt action .308 ar upper?

[mastiffhound]

I know, I know, it sounds weird and wrong. I know that you can just buy an AR-10 or just get a regular run of the mill bolt-action. I love the ergonomics of the AR. Everything is in the right place for me. I know they make .50 bmg uppers. That horse has been whipped to death. The .50 bmg has a terrible amount of recoil., .338 lapua is more expensive to shoot, so is .416 barrett.

The question is if mossburg can come out with that fugly monstrosity of a tacti-not cool lever-action why can't somone make a bolt-action .308 AR upper?
With companies taking risks like that why hasn't this been done? It seems as reasonable as a .50 bmg upper, maybe more so with cheaper ammo and less recoil.

 

[taliv]

fulton (i think) and jp and others make side charging ARs for 3gun. some are reciprocating bolt handles and others are not. just build one on that receiver and don't put a gas tube or gas block on it.

 

[gunnutery]

No offense, but I just don't see the point. People buy an AR10 to have a long range semi-auto. People who don't want a semi-auto buy a bolt action. The .50 BMG conversions only make a cheaper way for people to shoot .50 BMG without having to buy another firearm and less paperwork.

It probably just comes down to the market and profit. Since there are already plenty of bolt actions in .308 and plenty of semis in .308, no one really wants to go to all the trouble of investing in tooling and machines for a couple people that would buy it.

 

[taliv]

i think it's actually a good idea.

e.g. i'd love a short-barreled 300blk ar15 with a side cocking upper, no gas system, and a reflex suppressor that threads onto the receiver. cheap 20-30 round pmags, lots of choices for stocks and grips that you can't get on most bolt guns, lighter weight than most bolt guns, good triggers, safety, etc. flat top for mounting a red dot, IR laser and PVS14...

 

[gunnutery]

I hadn't thought about the "modability" aspect. But would it potentially be cheaper than having it in semi-auto? I wouldn't mind a side-charge handle on an AR, but what would be the advantage of HAVING to charge it everytime when it's on a semi platform?

 

[taliv]

avoid the noise of the action cycling if you were going for a really really quiet gun.

on a bench gun, or f-class type gun, you might not want it flinging your brass 15'. you could remove the ejector and use a bob sled and brass would extract out of the chamber and then just lay in the action for you to remove.

 

[mastiffhound]

Mostly I like the advantage of ergonomics. I only thought of this after changing my stock on my 10/22 to a tapco stock. Even with the tapco stock I like the feel of the ar lower more. Modifications are another plus. It would also allow you to move up in caliber (.223/5.56 to .308 ) instead of trying to fit something like a .30 caliber bullet into a .223 cartridge. A new gun with a new trigger that you are not familiar with kind of sucks when you have such a nice trigger on your AR.

The other factor is my niece and nephew like to shoot with me. They both learned on my bolt action .223 savage and my old stevens buchorn .22lr. They seem more comfortable when they are using them. It also teaches them to aim instead of spray ( nephew with my 10/22 ). Some places won't let you use a semi-auto for hunting. Again, you can use your lower with your trigger and pull two pins. Now you have something different. I have come to love this aspect of the AR platform. I'm not the only one, this is a major selling point when buying an AR.

 

[mastiffhound]

If it was made and retailed for $200 to $500 dollars I would be first in line. I think maybe $700 tops. Without having to make a stock or trigger group it should be fairly cheap to manufacture. You can pick whatever stock or trigger you want to use. If AR's are so accurate (that's what everyone keeps saying) in semi-auto you could get some pretty good accuracy out of a bolt action upper I think.

 

[Robert]

I like this idea. I like where taliv was going with the uber silent rifle but I could see where a straight pull, side mounted charging handle like what JP offers, could be rather cool. Get a barrel with no gas port and even if you did mount a block or front sight you'd be fine.

 

[tarosean]

If it was made and retailed for $200 to $500 dollars I would be first in line. I think maybe $700 tops.

Im sure you could come close there are tons of custom stock manufacturers bending over backward for the tackycool "sniper" crowd... and you can have custom mags build... however look to cough up some serious coin...


quick google revealed

http://tgfblog.wordpress.com/2009/02/01/bolt-action-ar/#

so your not the first... and its possible