Experience with AR-10/LR-308 and variants?

[Moxy]

I'm interested in everyone's experiences with AR-10's and LR-308's as well as the other AR style 308 variants. I purchased a LR-308 lower as a gift for my brother who was craving a .308 and now I wish I had one as he loves his. But the more I've researched it for myself the more I'm at a quandary as to what I want to purchase. And significant differences, (besides some indication of magazines or those such as the POF and similar piston 308 models). Which have you used, which do you like, or which would you recommend and why? I really think that I would like to make this my primary AR platform but I'll withhold my final judgment until all the votes are in!

 

[G27RR]

I have two semiautos in 7.62/.308, an FN FNAR, and an Armalite AR-10. I really like the Armalite. I got the 20" stainless barrel flat top model and put a Magpul PRS stock and MIAD grip on it, along with MI folding BUIS and a Falcon Menace 1.5-5x30mm scope on it. It has the same general feel of the AR-15 platform, just a bit bigger and heavier.

I bought the FNAR heavy barrel model first, mostly because of the 1MOA or less capability out of the box. It is a nice shooter and has some nice features, but field stripping is more difficult and for some reason it just doesn't have the appeal to me I thought it would when I bought it. In retrospect, I wish I would have passed on it and put the money into a LaRue OBR 7.62mm. I have the OBR in 5.56mm and it's fantastic.

It comes down to which platform feels more comfortable to you, in my opinion. They are both good rifles, but the FNAR ought to be abi less than they charge for it.

 

[madcratebuilder]

My personal preference is ArmaLite/Noveske. Both have the quality and customer service I look for in a company, plus Noveske is local for me. I wanted to do more long range shooting so I went with a 21" Noveske upper on a ArmaLite match lower.
I see some posted about the high cost of ArmaLite mags, if you look around (Gunbroker) you can find Armalite GenII mags for around $20 a pop

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 7.62 AR platform rifles.

Check Gunbroker, there is a great choice on the used market and you can save some major money for ammo or optics.


The "NoveskLite"

Forged Flat-top upper receiver, 21" stainless barrel, 1 in 10 twist polygonal rifling with 7.62 Noveske Match Mod 1 chamber, extended feed ramps and rifle 7.62 length gas system. SWS/Noveske handguard, Troy Fr&Rr battle sights and Vortex flash suppressor.

ArmaLite forged lower with two stage match trigger, PRS, and Gas buster charging handle, Tango Down grip and BAD safety switch.




YHM riser, Warne QD rings on a 3-10X44 TAC II scope.

 

[rbernie]

I have owned multiple Armalites. I chose Armalite because at the time (during the AWB) 20rd magazines were scarce and the AR-10 was designed to use modified M1A/M14 magazines. I really do like Armalite's product quality and have never had reason to wish that I'd taken a different route.

Having said that, I am a firm believer that most any of the manufacturers of 308-class AR platforms make a decent product. To look for discriminators between them, it makes most sense to me to compile a list of the features and specs that you want and then use that list to shop around.

For example, if you want a chrome lined barrel then you will find that many of the 'hunting oriented' offerings will not be useful to you, and you will likely whittle down the list of options quickly. Also, be aware that many of the 308-class rifles start life on the wrong side of 9lbs without optic; if a totable rifle is important to you then you should likely prioritize that feature above all else. It is very hard (meaning 'expensive') to get a lightweight 308-class AR.

 

[taliv]

this one is my old SR-25 (I also had a MK11mod0) and it shoots as good as it looks, though it's a bit pricey. but if you want the latest greatest, go here http://www.knightarmco.com/sr25.html and scroll to the bottom of the page to see the features they have that you won't find on most other guns.

like everything in life, they're good for some things and not so good for others.

 

[doorman]

I built one earlier this year based on a LR-308 lower. The 308 platform is not standard so you need to be careful with who you buy components from if you decide to go that route.
My wife equates building a 308 like building a car from parts from Auto Zone or O'Reilly. It was much more expensive than I had anticipated but I got what I wanted.

 

[Moxy]

Wow - Thanks everyone I really appreciate the feedback. I had completely forgotten to even check Knight and LaRue. This is excellent info!

 

[MCMXI]

Take a look at POF too ... they have some excellent rifles in the P-308 series. My POF is a good shooter and certainly capable of sub-moa at 100 yards. A couple of months ago I was shooting a friend's SR-25 and asked him if I could try some of his loads in my POF. I'd been shooting moly bullets in that rifle with mixed results. I get the impression that the 5R rifling and the moly don't work well together. I hadn't cleaned the rifle prior to trying my friend's ammunition so the first shot was about 2-1/2" low, but the next four grouped at just over 0.8". This was prone off a bipod. Not bad considering it was a load that my friend worked up for his Knights. It made me want to get back to using virgin copper bullets and continue working up a load for it.

I found the target ... the "grease ring" for the first low shot is darker than the others so I put that down to moly in the barrel. Maybe the velocity was slower due to less friction in the barrel but windage was fine. Anyway, the four shot group is very respectable for a semi-auto with all rounds fed from the magazine and using a load that has been optimized for a different rifle. I scribbled down the load details on the target when I saw how well that load worked. I live in hope.

 

[MCMXI]

this one is my old SR-25 (I also had a MK11mod0) and it shoots as good as it looks, though it's a bit pricey.

taliv, this is a bit of a hijack but is that scope a US Optics SN-3 T-PAL 3.2-17x 44mm Side Focus 1/10 Mil Adjustments FFP Illuminated with the GAP Reticle? If so, would you recommend it over say a Premier Reticles? If it's not that model, what model is it and how does it rate against the other top brands? I seem to remember you mentioning that you liked the US Optics reticle over the PRH Gen2 XR.

Thanks

 

[taliv]

yes, yes, yes, yes, no (it has the mil-scale MPR)

I don't really have enough experience with the PR to say. But I do like the USO mil-scale MPR better than my S&B's P4fine reticle. I vaguely recall the thread where we discussed that, but I can't remember what the gen2 XR looks like off the top of my head.

on the whole, it's an excellent scope. on the semi-auto, I like that it goes all the way down to 3x. that's less than my ACOG, with more eye relief. however, if i were in the market for another scope, I would definitely get the S&B over the USO. (or a PR or one of the hensoldts)

 

[MCMXI]

Thanks ... I need a scope for my latest build and noticed that Midway has a US Optics SN-3 on clearance (the model I described). However, if it's not markedly better than the PRH line I'll stick with my plan to buy the 5-25x56mm model.

Now back to regular programming!

 

[taliv]

dang! they do, for only $2300!!!

oh... it's a 30mm tube. mine is a 35mm tube
still, that's a pretty good value.