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Less than a year ago, I decided to dive in to building an AR. I never built a gun before and had only dissembled one. I chose .308 so I can use it for hunting. When I went to look up what I needed in parts, it was overwhelming at first, especially with limited knowledge/experience with guns. The questions I had started with "WTF is a BCG!" and went to "Why is everything I want so expensive and/or out of stock!" (Also, "Where's the ammo?!"... which is how I found this forum lol)

I had collected all the parts over a few months (some very hard to find parts sometimes!), including the equipment to mill the lower. One step of this was restoring an old drill press I had sitting for years, it has a different style collet designed for light milling. Machining is very therapeutic I discovered, I enjoy the attention to detail and precision required.

But after I had milled my lower, I got busy with work and let them sit forever. I told @ScatPackLife we should pick a day to go shoot and that would motivate me to actually put the rifle together instead of having them as nice desk ornaments.

When assembling, I thought I screwed up my lower because my FCG wasn't working correctly, but I just needed to mill out the trigger pocket a bit more as I'd played it too safe. I got it working smoothly, installed some KVP lighter springs and had been checking the trigger function again and again. It turns out the wife does not approve of that at 3am, I was at my desk and she could hear it from the bedroom and came out to ask what the hell I was doing.

At the range, that first trigger pull, I was a little nervous... wondering if it would go boom or kaboom. Besides the adjustable gas block needing turned up, it ran very well with no issues. In the first few shots, while standing, I was hitting steel easily without even dialing in the scope. I was quite pleased until I went to aim at paper targets and wasn't hitting bubblegum... turns out the linear compensator was lose. Tightened it up and was good to go.

We realized I need a muzzle break, as it's got a lot of kick. After about 100 rounds, I have a nice bruise on my shoulder. The rifle weighs in at 7.5lbs without scope/bipod. I was planning on something light as I don't want to drag a lot of weight through the woods, but now I see a benefit of weight to handle the recoil.

On to the specs:
20210829_083236.jpg

20210829_090130.jpg

JMT Carbon 50 lower (Carbon fiber impregnated polymer)
Aero FCG with KVP light weight springs
Aero Upper
Rainier Arms BCG
Rainier Arms 16" Ultramatch MOD2 fluted SS barrel, TiN feed ramp
KVP linear compensator
Aero AGB w/ rifle length tube
Luth-AR AR10 rifle length A2 buffer kit
Lancer Systems CF stock
Lancer Systems CF XL hand guard
Aero ultra light scope mount
Vortex Crossfire II 3x12 56mm scope
Lancer Systems L7 AWM mags (10 and 20 round)
Magpul 50 round drum (just because lol)

I was shooting Freedom Munitions new 147g, and reman 175g match grade. Didn't get a chance to try out my 50 round drum... gotta get lessen that recoil with a proper muzzle break first. Anyone have experience with a hydraulic buffer, gimmick or good?

BTW, I searched the internet and the general consensus for reducing .308 recoil is something like this lol:
ec50556b-7fa4-42b9-ba96-700c7301767f.fcb42508267f9afb65323d2a9aab11b2.jpeg

-Robert
 
Less than a year ago, I decided to dive in to building an AR. I never built a gun before and had only dissembled one. I chose .308 so I can use it for hunting. When I went to look up what I needed in parts, it was overwhelming at first, especially with limited knowledge/experience with guns. The questions I had started with "WTF is a BCG!" and went to "Why is everything I want so expensive and/or out of stock!" (Also, "Where's the ammo?!"... which is how I found this forum lol)

I had collected all the parts over a few months (some very hard to find parts sometimes!), including the equipment to mill the lower. One step of this was restoring an old drill press I had sitting for years, it has a different style collet designed for light milling. Machining is very therapeutic I discovered, I enjoy the attention to detail and precision required.

But after I had milled my lower, I got busy with work and let them sit forever. I told @ScatPackLife we should pick a day to go shoot and that would motivate me to actually put the rifle together instead of having them as nice desk ornaments.

When assembling, I thought I screwed up my lower because my FCG wasn't working correctly, but I just needed to mill out the trigger pocket a bit more as I'd played it too safe. I got it working smoothly, installed some KVP lighter springs and had been checking the trigger function again and again. It turns out the wife does not approve of that at 3am, I was at my desk and she could hear it from the bedroom and came out to ask what the hell I was doing.

At the range, that first trigger pull, I was a little nervous... wondering if it would go boom or kaboom. Besides the adjustable gas block needing turned up, it ran very well with no issues. In the first few shots, while standing, I was hitting steel easily without even dialing in the scope. I was quite pleased until I went to aim at paper targets and wasn't hitting bubblegum... turns out the linear compensator was lose. Tightened it up and was good to go.

We realized I need a muzzle break, as it's got a lot of kick. After about 100 rounds, I have a nice bruise on my shoulder. The rifle weighs in at 7.5lbs without scope/bipod. I was planning on something light as I don't want to drag a lot of weight through the woods, but now I see a benefit of weight to handle the recoil.

On to the specs:
View attachment 1021833

View attachment 1021835

JMT Carbon 50 lower (Carbon fiber impregnated polymer)
Aero FCG with KVP light weight springs
Aero Upper
Rainier Arms BCG
Rainier Arms 16" Ultramatch MOD2 fluted SS barrel, TiN feed ramp
KVP linear compensator
Aero AGB w/ rifle length tube
Luth-AR AR10 rifle length A2 buffer kit
Lancer Systems CF stock
Lancer Systems CF XL hand guard
Aero ultra light scope mount
Vortex Crossfire II 3x12 56mm scope
Lancer Systems L7 AWM mags (10 and 20 round)
Magpul 50 round drum (just because lol)

I was shooting Freedom Munitions new 147g, and reman 175g match grade. Didn't get a chance to try out my 50 round drum... gotta get lessen that recoil with a proper muzzle break first. Anyone have experience with a hydraulic buffer, gimmick or good?

BTW, I searched the internet and the general consensus for reducing .308 recoil is something like this lol:
View attachment 1021843

-Robert
NICE!!!
 
Excellent! The low weight is going to add felt recoil for sure, but getting the GB tuned and adding a noisy break should help.
 
Nice job! You can reduce recoil by positioning your eye closer to the scope. When you fire, the rifle will gently push against your face allowing your neck muscles to take up much of the recoil that would otherwise bruise you shoulder. This is known as the "one eyed raccoon" shooting stance.

Honestly, a 308 is probably not the best choice for shooting a lot of rounds. To me, it's a great system for hunting and self defense. Again, beautiful rifle!
 
Nice rifle.

I run a Precision Armament EFAB muzzle thingy on my .308 that does a good job of recoil control without being too obnoxious.
kFJ13Hyl.jpg

I don't get beat up shooting .308 but others shooting my rigs do.
Kung Fu grip and firmly planted in the shoulder can keep it from beating the crap out of you.
When milsurp 7.62x51 was $99 for 1,600 rounds a 500 round session with my FAL was normal.
 
Nice rifle.

I run a Precision Armament EFAB muzzle thingy on my .308 that does a good job of recoil control without being too obnoxious.
View attachment 1021868

I don't get beat up shooting .308 but others shooting my rigs do.
Kung Fu grip and firmly planted in the shoulder can keep it from beating the crap out of you.
When milsurp 7.62x51 was $99 for 1,600 rounds a 500 round session with my FAL was normal.
A FAL is a lot heavier and yours likely has a longer barrel. A 7 1/2 lb AR10 will weigh less than a naked FAL even with a scope and bipod. Conditioning is also a factor - the more you shoot the less sensitive you become. At a buck plus per trigger pull it takes a fair investment to shoot enough to make that happen. Definitely agree that good shooting posture makes a huge difference.
 
My AR10 is tipping the scales at nearly 14 lbs and still wallops you if you don't hold on and roll with the recoil.
More than a couple guys had yellow and purple splotches on their shoulder from shooting my FAL, which was about 12 lbs IIRC.
 
The other issue is the stock. It's got zero padding. I shot a mag and his rifle kicks like my Mossy 500 shooting heavy slugs.

We shot a 308 bolt action a few weeks ago with a huge brake that was lighter than his AR and the recoil was lighter than my 5.56 rifles. I think the brake he chose will make night and day. He's got the GB tuned in properly and it didn't help much.

Rob, the brake that Powerman has uses the same concept as mine and they work good, however, the brake you picked will work better. That one is similar to the one dude had on his bolt action. And I'm sure you remember, that thing has like no recoil.

After you upgrade your brake we will take the rifle out again.
 
My AR10 is tipping the scales at nearly 14 lbs and still wallops you if you don't hold on and roll with the recoil.
More than a couple guys had yellow and purple splotches on their shoulder from shooting my FAL, which was about 12 lbs IIRC.
Something's wrong with that. I'll shoot 200 rounds out of my 11lb 7-08 AR10, without brake, and not feel sore.
Are you a 16" barrel? My AR10 is 18", and IMO, the longer barrel makes a world of difference in recoil.
Four boxes of 12ga 8 shot at clays, and I'm feeling it.
 
Mine is heavy. Don't have a scale, so couldn't tell you exactly how much it weighs, but it's certainly not light by any stretch. 24" heavy barrel will do that :D A muzzle BRAKE will help. Light weight springs probably aren't helping any.

VG6 762 gamma and epsilon brakes go on sale frequently on primaryarms site. if you can wait for a sale you'll save at least $40-60 on one of those. (I run their brakes on all of my center fire rifles) Epsilon combines a flash hider with a muzzle brake. The gamma is going to kick flames out the sides and rattle your brain bucket a bit with the report. But your shoulder will be fine :D
 
Something's wrong with that. I'll shoot 200 rounds out of my 11lb 7-08 AR10, without brake, and not feel sore.
Are you a 16" barrel? My AR10 is 18", and IMO, the longer barrel makes a world of difference in recoil.
Four boxes of 12ga 8 shot at clays, and I'm feeling it.
Yep, 16" barrel.
I swapped out the carbine action for a rifle action and that seemed to make the recoil impulse not as harsh.
I think it shoots pretty smooth but my neighbor doesn't like it much.
 
carbine action for a rifle action and that seemed to make the recoil impulse not as harsh.
Yeah, the slam of the BCG can contribute, but I think the pressure of the blast at the muzzle makes the most difference. There's an exponential pressure drop as the bullet travels from 14.7" to 22", and every inch more barrel drops it a lot more. The trade off is balance and handling.
 
Very nice write up. I always enjoy a story time. Congrats on the boom and not having a kaboom. It is sure a scary moment on that first trigger pull. What's next?
Besides the parts for two P80 glocks (g26 .22LR, and g20 10mm) I have sitting (this is a trend for me lol), I want to build a AR15 pistol. 10" barrel I'm thinking, maybe even 8", something for close quarters training, fun to handle, and easier for the wife to learn how to shoot with. Have lowers and an upper already, but waiting on fancy parts to come back in stock.

AR12 is also tempting, but need to do more research.

Nice job! You can reduce recoil by positioning your eye closer to the scope. When you fire, the rifle will gently push against your face allowing your neck muscles to take up much of the recoil that would otherwise bruise you shoulder. This is known as the "one eyed raccoon" shooting stance.

Honestly, a 308 is probably not the best choice for shooting a lot of rounds. To me, it's a great system for hunting and self defense. Again, beautiful rifle!
LOL... reminds me of the first time I shot a rifle with my high school buddy. We were cruising some forest roads and he takes out his dad's rifle (forget what caliber, but it was small) and asks if I want to take a shot. I never even shot a gun at that point, so I said, "Hell yes!"

We find a gravel pit, set up a can for a target, and he hands me the rifle. I was trying to see down the scope and got real close, but thought, "Wait, this is going to move back and hit my face... this can't be right."

Fortunately, I moved my head to a better position before pulling the trigger. I missed the target, of course. My buddy never said anything, wonder it's because he was also inexperienced... or if he knew and wanted to see some scope eye lol

welcome-to-the-club.jpg

-Robert
 
I've got two AR's in the safe with Rainier Ultramatch barrels; a 14.5" in .223 Wylde, and an 18" in .308. Two of the most accurate rifles I own....hope your experience is as good as mine is. The 14.5" is spooky accurate....it's a good one.
 
I've got two AR's in the safe with Rainier Ultramatch barrels; a 14.5" in .223 Wylde, and an 18" in .308. Two of the most accurate rifles I own....hope your experience is as good as mine is. The 14.5" is spooky accurate....it's a good one.
Not sure if they still do or not, but black hole weaponry used to make barrels for rainier arms. Now they're called cascade arms or something like that. A couple of my rifles have black hole weaponry barrels in them. the 24" .308 is one of them.
 
Can you put put on LimbSaver pad over the buttstock? I have an AR15 and found one that slips on the adjustable stock. I never got bruised or anything with it since the AR kick is really minimal. The LimbSaver pad is better than a hard plastic buttstock on my shoulder.
 
They do make recoil reduction stocks, but I think with a correctly installed muzzle brake on there, and a proper AR308 buffer spring in there, he'll be fine.

Neither one of my .308's really kick any harder than a 5.56. They certainly rattle your cage with the concussive report from the brake.

my 18" barrel .308 actually caused one of the light globes on the ceiling of the shooting area at the range to rattle loose and fall. Made people think there was a ricochet...Nope. that .308 is just a thumper that sends tremors through the walls and ceiling, and about 2 to 3 foot flames out the sides of the brake. Shorter the barrel, the louder it is, and larger the flashes out of the muzzle brake/muzzle. In that sense the 24" is far more tame since it gets a more complete powder burn before the projectile exits the muzzle.
 
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