What's your favorite 308/7.62 AR and why?

[OutlawHoss]

Gotta say, A huge fan of the FAL! On the worst day of your life, that's one of the rifle'sView attachment 290984 you should have in your hands! Its a real toss up which rifle actually shoots better M1A or FAL, Depends on what I ate for breakfast!

That is a classy rig!

 

[Ura-Ki]

That is a classy rig!

Thanks!

 

[clearconscience]

For the price of that FN it better aim for me.
I'd rather buy two AR10s and a boat load of mags and ammo.

But it is a beautiful rifle and can't knock the precision.
Same with the M1A. Other than price you can't say anything bad about them.

I want one of each, but with limited funds and ammo prices soaring. I'd have to go with a less expensive rifle and more ammo.

But I'm a cheap SOB.

 

[Ura-Ki]

For the record, I'm only into that FN about $1100 including 8 mags. You can still build one from a kit for under a grand! Mags are about $20 or so if you shop around.

 

[Jnarowe]

I am by no means an expert, but I would share my recent experience: I just built a Mega Maten (.308) and it has had some ammo issues. Nothing to do with Mega of course, but a by-product of using a JP barrel and BCG. It comes in at 9 lbs including the very heavy Big Bastard Brake and captured spring, but as shown, with no optic or bipod.

Ammo issue: Purchase 600+ ZQI 7.62 x 51 (M80) 147 GR FMJ. These are MIL-SPEC rounds and a favorite of many avid AR-10 shooters. They would not reliably cycle. Some didn't fire. Some didn't eject, and some I had to really yank on the charging handle to get them out.

I went through the various scenarios including the adjustable gas block, the low mass BC, and the captured spring. I decided I would grab some match grade Hornady before i started getting bent. That ammo shot perfectly. No issues whatsoever.

Clearly the barrel assembly has much tighter tolerances than other AR-10's. I measured just below the neck with the Hornady at 1.147 and the ZQI at 1.153. There is a visible difference in the shoulders. Both seem to fit well in the JP CAse Gauge, with the ZQI just barely a gnat's bubblegum long.

So now I am bringing in samples of various rounds to whittle down to ones I know will cycle, and then pare down for accuracy.

As far as the rifle goes, with only 40 rounds through it, I can't give an full review. I will say that the combination of the brake, low mass BCG, and captured spring make this a very comfortable rifle to fire. It has slightly more recoil than my Mega 5.56 (also a custom build) that weighs less than 7 lbs.

 

[OutlawHoss]

Ammo issue: Purchase 600+ ZQI 7.62 x 51 (M80) 147 GR FMJ. These are MIL-SPEC rounds and a favorite of many avid AR-10 shooters. They would not reliably cycle. Some didn't fire. Some didn't eject, and some I had to really yank on the charging handle to get them out.

When I first got my DPMS LR308, I bought a battle pack of M80 ammo. Horrible performance, from cycling to external ballistics. Never have used it since, and only shoot 168gr, mostly my own loads. This is an example where a FAL won't balk at this ammo but my particular AR does.

 

[Ura-Ki]

When I first got my DPMS LR308, I bought a battle pack of M80 ammo. Horrible performance, from cycling to external ballistics. Never have used it since, and only shoot 168gr, mostly my own loads. This is an example where a FAL won't balk at this ammo but my particular AR does.

You got it right about the FAL. I have put several of those battle packs through the FAL and it did just fine! That Hornady M1A match should really be called FAL Crack!!!

 

[jcruz907]

Looks cool 8.6 lbs, not too bad. But $2349.00

For that kind of money, consider a Desert Tech MDR bullpup in 7.62: 26.2" with 16" Bbl and only 7 Lbs for $2249 short, lightweight (lighter than most ARs in 5.56) and totally ambidextrous with forward ejecting brass. It's on my short list.

 

[jcruz907]

Oh, and it's piston: https://deserttech.com/html/product_overview.php?product_id=4&load=specification

 

[Ura-Ki]

Don't forget Keltech!!!

 

[Boboclown]

Ammo issue: Purchase 600+ ZQI 7.62 x 51 (M80) 147 GR FMJ. These are MIL-SPEC rounds and a favorite of many avid AR-10 shooters. They would not reliably cycle. Some didn't fire. Some didn't eject, and some I had to really yank on the charging handle to get them out.

That sucks, ZQI is my favorite cheap ammo. Works well in my PWS. Have yet to find ammo that doesn't.

 

[jcruz907]

Don't forget Keltech!!!View attachment 291007

Actually, the picture is of the RDB which is the 5.56 model and weighs the same as the MDR in 7.62. The RFB is Kel Tec's 7.62 model which also ejects forward, but pushes the brass out instead of actually forcefully ejecting it. It's also a pound heavier than the MDR and a few hundred $ less. It's the same size but, interestingly enough, has a barrel that's 2 inches longer than the MDR. I don't know how they stack up side by side at range. According to Kel Tec and some reviewers, its effective range is 600 yards. I'm not sure how far out the MDR goes with a barrel that's 2 inches shorter. The RFB has a 1 in 11.5" twist rate while the MDR has a 1 in 10" rate. Supposedly, they both have the best factory triggers you can find on any bullpup and break nicely at 6 lbs. The MDR has two mag release options: one at the front of the mag well and one above the pistol grip AR style. The RFB only has a release bar on either side of the mag well. The MDR can also be converted to 5.56 (for another $900) while the RFB does not convert at all. Finally, the MDR has a specific made can that fits beautifully, looks cool as all get out and doesn't extend as much past the barrel like an aftermarket one maintaining compactness. The downside of the can is it's $1600 and that's BEFORE the $200 tax stamp.

The MDR is more versatile but, damned expensive with all the bells and whistles.

 

[Kentfjr]

I have a Rock River Arms LAR 10 in .308 and a FN SCAR 17. The RRA LAR 10 is heavy barreled and a fun shooter. Never had a problem with it but not a fun weapon to carry in the field. The FN SCAR 17 is 7.62 is my preferred weapon for any situation that would involved carring a weapon in the field. The SCAR is accurate as any battle rifle I have used. The SCAR stock folds if the situation requires close work. If you can afford an FN, go SCAR!

Of coarse these statement are all hypothetical???!!!

 

[blaster1145]

Don't wanna step on any toes, but finally Kentfjr gets to it. 17s is the real world successor to the M1A and the FAL. Just sayin. If you have the scratch, just do it right the first time. I cried paying for mine, but I haven't regretted it once. Outstanding weapon, by all accounts.

 

[Boboclown]

I went with a PWS over a SCAR. Granted it was because I refused to support the store that had the SCAR in stock, I do not regret it. If there really was such thing as a gun that's perfect for everyone, there wouldn't be options.

 

[blaster1145]

Cheers, my friend!

 

[Velzey]

I really do like the SCAR, but I have seen some things that made me not buy one. Internal wear to the rcvr when it was shot with just a little dirt in it...Oh my it was bad. It still worked fine, but the galling was bad.

 

[Ura-Ki]

We went through some trials on those platforms and the problems we found were pretty bad!. I would have thought FN would have worked those problems out by now. It is ( or at least it can be) a great battle rifle!

 

[U8395279]

When I first got my DPMS LR308, I bought a battle pack of M80 ammo. Horrible performance, from cycling to external ballistics. Never have used it since, and only shoot 168gr, mostly my own loads. This is an example where a FAL won't balk at this ammo but my particular AR does.

I don't think that it is fair to lump all M80 ammo together and consider them the same. I have had no problems with M80 ammo made by both Federal and Winchester here in the USA. One cannot consider all ammo manufacturers equal when it comes to quality control.

I've been shooting Winchester and Federal ammo for 50 years now. I would be damned before I would switch to buying that ZQI M80 ammo that is being imported from Turkey. I would honestly not care how low the price was. I would not put it in my rifle.

I would suspect that your issue was more related to your DPMS barrel than the ammo. It is my understanding that the LR308 model was equipped with a barrel designed for long range precision work, and thus has a 308 Winchester spec chamber. It was the only DPMS 308 rifle model that did not have a 7.62 chamber.

So I would not expect 7.62 ammo to perform well in your LR308. If you examine the barrel, you should find that it is marked 308 Win.

If you Google this topic, you will find a number of discussions on other websites about this issue of using M80 ammo in the LR308.


.

 

[Boboclown]

Eh, every rifle's gonna have issues. But really, anything that you can shoot is a great battle rifle. Even the AR-10 despite the nay-sayers (though I must stress that you get what you pay for).

Just a random tidbit of info that's relatively useless but still pertains to the topic at hand, the U.S army replaced the M110. With something from H&K. So if anyone wants to follow military fad and has a lot of money... H&K MR762 is probably the closest you'd get to it. IMO, the other alternatives do the job just as well for less money.

I would be damned before I would switch to buying that ZQI M80 ammo that is being imported from Turkey. I would honestly not care how low the price was. I would not put it in my rifle.

To each their own, but I will say that the ZQI brass is pretty good.