Looking for a "just because" .308 semi auto rifle

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Hanzo581

Hanzo581

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I have adopted a philosophy of having a pistol, shotgun and a rifle, that and the fact my SO will only allow me a certain amount of money for guns.

So I have my primary pistol, XD45

I have my shotgun, Rem 870 police magnum

Now on to the rifle, just for general fun shooting, possibly when the SHTF

I would like a well built and reliable .308 semi auto with at least a 20rd capacity and a pistol grip w/ stock style.

I am leaning toward the DPMS panther AP4 Carbine with 16" barrel, as I have been told the AR style mechanism is one of the most accurate platforms.

anyways, I want to come in right around $1000 or less

Any suggestions? Recommendations?
 
since one of the criteria is that it be under $1000 that pretty much rules out a M1A,unless a Chinese one.

If you can get a FAL type get that.Or maybe a PTR-91?I'd stay away from Century,from what I've read its a hit and miss with them.

Unless on a Imbel reciever.
 
Personally, I'd recommend a FAL. It's the true time tested tough as nails .308 Battle Rifle. The AR type is ok in .308, but the ones I've fired tend to be awfully finicky considering thier price. certainly some will argue with me, but in my opinion the AR is the proper platform for he 223 , and not so much the 308.
A DSA SA58 for example, in my opinion, is simply the best bang in serious .308 battle rifles. That might be a little pricey , but you can get an STG-58 with Imbel receiver for $800 - $1000.
 
I really like the cetmes,i think they are neat, you should check them out, or the various clones out there of the h&k 91. and like what was said above by more than one person the fal's are nice and hard to beat. but my favorite.308 semi-auto has and always will be an m1a, but they don't fit your reqirements with out mods that will go over your budget. the dpms is a great rifle and would fit the bill, but what about getting the 18" model instead, the 16" barrel really dosen't do the .308 rd justice. I would go with an 18" barrel at least, just a suggestion. the 16" would be great for cqb and medium range targets but the 18 would do that plus do you better a little farther out and let you make use of that .30 rd a little better. which is what you need in a "shtf" situation. you never know how close or far they will be, and take every advantage you can get. so in closing for me with your requirements i would go with the 18" dpms, but that is me.
you should really get what fits you best and the one that is right for you.

link to dpms model i write about (third one down) http://www.dpmsinc.com/308_series.asp

good luck and let us know what you decide.:)
 
PTR 91 or FAL would fit your criteria - inexpensive mags - a bit more for scope mount. The DPMS would also be a good choice however you really need a $1300 budget to get mags and modest scope for it. No mention of a 223 or 7.62 X39 - are you covered in that area ?
 
If your only going to have one rifle I would go with the FAL.

I dont really recommend a PTR-91/HK-91/CETME. Too heavy/bulky, and safety, mag release, and charging handle are all horribly positioned (in my opinion). And there is no last shot bolt hold open feature. It is probably one of the most reliable rifles I've ever owned though and magazines are rediculously cheap.

M1A is nice, but expensive, and no pistol grip, like you wanted. You can get pistol grip stocks, but by the time you bought an M1A and a pistol grip stock you would be well over your $1000 budget, and you'd still need mags (which are more expensive than any of the other option's mags) and ammo.

AR-10, I really cant say, I have zero experience with them. I'm a big fan of the AR-15, but not the 5.56 round, so an AR-10 is attractive to me, but I don't know much about them.

The FAL is easier to clean then all of the above, magazines are cheaper than all but the PTR, all the controls are in the perfect places (for me). Reliability is excellent. And the metric versions have last shot bolt hold open. Recoil is also (in my opinion) lighter than on the PTR and M1A.

No mention of a 223 or 7.62 X39 - are you covered in that area ?
Click to expand...

If your only going to have one rifle, I would get a .308/7.62x51. 5.56 is too small, and there isn't a rifle in the world chambered in 7.62x39 that I would be satisfied with as my "one rifle".
 
CETME you know you want one!

I picked one up at the gun store the other day. $525 + tax. Did I overpay a little? Maybe but I had to have it. The wood furiture is BEAUTIFUL, it fits me nice, (quite a bit of a stretch for a mag release button), mags are $2.97 at cheaper than dirt. Recoile is very mild, IMHO. Pain to get it all the way clean though. Accurate too. More accurate then me probaly. Off hand at 25-30 meters I was knocking off clay pigions in the first 5 rounds.

Florida Gun Works has brand new ones for ~$480 plus shipping and transfer fee.

For half the cost of a FAL/M1A/AR 10 you can save enough to stock up on ammo and mags plus a LBE/LBV to carry those mags.
 
how about a saiga or vepr???? all the .308 versions i've tried have been better than sliced bread. accurate & reliable but all the mags were plastic/10 rounders.............
 
Can't say for sure about the quality issues on that gun. The guy at the store said that the one I got came in after 1997. He said prior to 1997 there was many quality control issues with the CETMEs.

I just got mine yesterday, I ran 150 rounds of surplus .308 through it. (looks like the one you linked too excpet with perty wood furniture) I had a couple falure to feeds on one magizine. Every other mag I ran was fine though. I am gonna blame it on that mag and see what happens. Mine also fit the G3 mags the gun store was selling prefectly and the only problem was the aforementioned mag.

You might want to check out http://www.cetmerifles.com/ They have pretty much all the info you need on CETME rifles and would know more about the qulity issues of CAI then me.

Wish ya the best of luck.
 
In a 308, I just can't say enough for my M1A. It is pleasant to shoot, very accurate and durable & reliable. I bought mine last year and wasn't sure I made the right choice. Then after the first couple of mags, I was wondering what took me so long.
 
I have nothing but praise for my PTR-91 and for JLD Enterprises. Excellent gun and better in many respects then the real HK91s I have shot and handled.

Chris

074464.JPG
 
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Hanzo: Ah. Right, missed that part.

Well, FBMG's supposed to be making 20-rounders available "soon". But I guess that fails the instant gratification part of things.

PTR-91 would be my suggestion, then.
 
I'd say go with a Saiga. You could buy a .308 for around $350-$400. If you're not happy with the sporter stock, you could have the trigger group moved and install a traditional AK stock or Tapco T6 stock for only a couple hundred more. If you do...you're $600 into a 22" barreled .308 semi that's pretty darn accurate, reliable as all get out, and super simple to strip and clean. Saiga's come with the scope mount on the side of the receiver so all you need is the clamp-on part that has the picatiny/weaver rail. Has a front sling swivel so you could mount a bipod on it too if you wanted to. Mine had an 8-round mag but I hear that FBMG is making 20 round mags real soon.
 
I had a saiga in my hands at the last gun show I was at, and the guy said I would never get hi cap mags...so I passed, I would be ok waiting for hi caps as long as they eventually came out.

So if I went with the saiga would it be fairly simply to put a standard AK stock with pistol grip on it? The guy also said that part would be hard to do

I would love a .308 with the reliability of the AK action

and CSlinger...with was the retail on that model?
 
There is a member of this board actively engaged in making 20 round magazines for the Saiga.

As for my PTR. I have a PTR-91K, Green Furnature, HK style collapseable stock. Retail on these is around $1000 or so. You can buy normal, skinny handguard, standard stock PTRs for around $700-$800.

Chris
 
Well said, Blackhawk. Well said. :)

If this thread is still going on in two days, I'll post up some pictures of my STG58 that's arriving on the tenth. :)
 
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