nobodyspecial
Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2006
- Messages
- 2
Gentlemen,
First post, first question, hope you can give me some insight. It's time for me to join the "dark side" and procure a Black Rifle. Wanted one for a very long time but, let's face it, good ones are not particularly cheap and under most circumstances offer little in the way of real-world advantage over more pedestrian designs. Having said that; I want one, I can afford one, I'm single and nobody can tell me I can't have one.
The decision for 308 over 223 is long settled. I find the 7.62 much more practical. This led me to the the gist of the question, the DPMS LR or the JLD PTR-91. Please follow along with what I have gleaned from several sources and add what input seems appropriate.
Both are considered by most to be well made. From a reliability standpoint the LR is apparently a bit "tighter" but seems to function very well for most. The PTR appears to be able to club a rhino to death on the way to the range with no ill effects. Advantage- PTR
Both are considered by most to be quite accurate. Still, it seems the intent of the LR is accuracy biased and so am I. I doubt I'll REALLY need battlefield ruggedness, especially if accuracy suffers. "Apparent" advantage- LR
Both can have scopes mounted. The LR Picatinny Rail would seem to be a better system than the bolt-on options for the PTR. I'm a scope guy so this matters but I could be shorting the actual quality of the PTR's scopability. "Apparent" advantage- LR
I've read some WILDLY divergent opinions on the ammo the two rifles can digest. Some are quite emphatic that it is not even safe to use commercial ammo in the PTR and recommend mil-spec 7.62 only. Others refute this. I have not heard of the LR having issues either way but I have not heard anything suggesting a problem with commercial ammo. This matters since I WILL be hunting with whichever rifle and the ability to reliably and safely fire commercial type hunting ammo is a big plus. Advantage- ???
The PTR is unquestionably a brass eater. Having said that, I have found those who say that while it lacks visual appeal they have had success handloading PTR brass. I intend to handload for the rifle of choice at least some of the time. Obviously handloading brass other than that fired by the PTR would keep it in play but it would seem the LR has a real advantage here.
Forgive me if this seems wordy up-front but I've found when posts leave things out the first time it actually ends up less efficient as posters keep coming back for more info before they can even comment. You will likely come up with questions anyway but I tried to help out from the start.
One last thing, I'm having a real struggle with the layout of the rifle. Both can be had in full-size and carbine variations. I'm torn mostly because I'm a bit infatuated with the what the 24" SS barraled LR could be capable of with a good scope. This is tempered somewhat since I'm actually having a 7mm Mag bolt-action trued up and glass bedded etc. and might be overlapping somewhat. What accuracy/performace loss should I expect with the carbine versions vs the full rifle?
Thank you in advance for any and all comments.
First post, first question, hope you can give me some insight. It's time for me to join the "dark side" and procure a Black Rifle. Wanted one for a very long time but, let's face it, good ones are not particularly cheap and under most circumstances offer little in the way of real-world advantage over more pedestrian designs. Having said that; I want one, I can afford one, I'm single and nobody can tell me I can't have one.
The decision for 308 over 223 is long settled. I find the 7.62 much more practical. This led me to the the gist of the question, the DPMS LR or the JLD PTR-91. Please follow along with what I have gleaned from several sources and add what input seems appropriate.
Both are considered by most to be well made. From a reliability standpoint the LR is apparently a bit "tighter" but seems to function very well for most. The PTR appears to be able to club a rhino to death on the way to the range with no ill effects. Advantage- PTR
Both are considered by most to be quite accurate. Still, it seems the intent of the LR is accuracy biased and so am I. I doubt I'll REALLY need battlefield ruggedness, especially if accuracy suffers. "Apparent" advantage- LR
Both can have scopes mounted. The LR Picatinny Rail would seem to be a better system than the bolt-on options for the PTR. I'm a scope guy so this matters but I could be shorting the actual quality of the PTR's scopability. "Apparent" advantage- LR
I've read some WILDLY divergent opinions on the ammo the two rifles can digest. Some are quite emphatic that it is not even safe to use commercial ammo in the PTR and recommend mil-spec 7.62 only. Others refute this. I have not heard of the LR having issues either way but I have not heard anything suggesting a problem with commercial ammo. This matters since I WILL be hunting with whichever rifle and the ability to reliably and safely fire commercial type hunting ammo is a big plus. Advantage- ???
The PTR is unquestionably a brass eater. Having said that, I have found those who say that while it lacks visual appeal they have had success handloading PTR brass. I intend to handload for the rifle of choice at least some of the time. Obviously handloading brass other than that fired by the PTR would keep it in play but it would seem the LR has a real advantage here.
Forgive me if this seems wordy up-front but I've found when posts leave things out the first time it actually ends up less efficient as posters keep coming back for more info before they can even comment. You will likely come up with questions anyway but I tried to help out from the start.
One last thing, I'm having a real struggle with the layout of the rifle. Both can be had in full-size and carbine variations. I'm torn mostly because I'm a bit infatuated with the what the 24" SS barraled LR could be capable of with a good scope. This is tempered somewhat since I'm actually having a 7mm Mag bolt-action trued up and glass bedded etc. and might be overlapping somewhat. What accuracy/performace loss should I expect with the carbine versions vs the full rifle?
Thank you in advance for any and all comments.