olyinaz

An excellent suggestion, but unfortunately those two pieces are designed to work together and that extension does not bolt into a standard handguard. Thanks for trying though. :)

I broke down and purchased the JP mid-length handguard which they list for the Bushmaster LR-308. The only problem I have with it is that it leaves a gap of about a quarter inch between the hand guard and the gas block which I find unsightly. As you can see I also installed a standard height rail-top adjustable gas block. This has been rather frustrating for me because this is the handguard that JP lists for our rifle, but I do not appreciate the gap between it and the gas block (understatement...). If I decide to throw in the towel and install a standard length hand guard (which I will probably do) then I'll also need to buy the low profile gas block to fit under it. Great! This whole set will be a waste and I'll have to set it aside for another build which kinda chaps my arse. Actually, more than "kinda". If you don't need the adjustable gas block (I did...another story in another thread) then get the rifle length JP unit and be happy. I'm certain it, and most handguards, will fit over the cut down gas block that came with your rifle but you'll have to remove the sling swivel. At any rate, I guess I need to see if this thing shoots before I go spending any more money on it: Oly

A heavy buffer certainly seems like it should work to slow down the rearward movement of the BCG. It's probably something I should try, but I'd like to hear from someone else that has tried one in a Bushmaster 308 ORC (mid-length gas system). I've already spent too much money trying to get this rifle to run correctly. Oly

Thank you! Can you tell me how it ejected prior to adding those parts? Did you have any failures prior? Best, Oly

Outstanding! I need to mull over options a bit. Thanks again for the offer and I will definitely be in touch. Best, Oly

Thank you sir! I really appreciate the offer. Would you happen to have the tools to do a free float hand guard installation as well? If not I'll probably have them both done here in Tucson at the same time - kill two birds with one stone. Best, Oly (Oh and yes, GREAT places to shoot down there for sure!) :)

Which is funny because that's exactly the kind of ammo that would not work. At least six different kinds of first quality domestic 308 and 7.62 NATO. Bear Silver, on the other hand, ran like a champ in my gun. As far as I'm concerned that whole shpeel from DPMS was simple lawyering up - mostly BS except the part about using quality ammo. Not much to argue with there, but I'm using quality ammo I assure you guys. I didn't buy an AR-10 to feed it Soviet mil-surp! :-) Best, Oly

Thanks again for the replies guys. Yes, I have installed the three-piece Armalite AR-10 extractor spring set in my gun and that was what got it to running at all. It's mostly good now, but as I said I don't like the looks of the brass (the extractor is trying to rip the rim right off the back of the casing) so I know that the rifle is over gassed. I also agree about what was causing the problem with the first extractor and standard spring - exactly as you guys surmise. The over gassing is causing the the bolt carrier to start to the rear too early (case still swelled up and stuck to the chamber walls) and the original extractor and spring were not up to holding on. Now they're holding on...and dang near tearing the case apart! I ordered an extra strength AR-10 carbine length buffer spring and I'm going to try that next. The adjustable gas block is probably a must also. Best, Oly

Thanks for the reply guys! I'm on the road but will post a bit more when I get back in. Much appreciated. Oly

Just one guy's report: I got a Bushmaster 308 ORC for Christmas and it's not run correctly since I got it. Extremely frustrating. It jams up, usually due to a failure to extract properly which leads to a failure to eject. If I load one round the one round would often wind up just sitting there on top of the mag. This video illustrates the issue VERY well: I sent the rifle off to Bushmaster and they didn't do squat. "Polished the feed ramps" and function tested it. Got it back and it had the EXACT same issue. Gee thanks. At least it only took two months for this useless process that cost me money to run its course.... I have no idea what ammo they use to function test at Bushmaster, but I took the rifle directly to the range with six different brands of .308 WIN and 7.62 NATO ammo and the only brand that would run was Bear Silver (zinc plated steel case). What's interesting is the rifle has always fired Russian steel cased .308 just fine. Extracts and tosses them like a champ. I suspect that the stiffer rims and perhaps slightly lower pressure (I've always found new Russian made commercial ammo - not Russian mil-surp - to be mild by comparison to other types and in my view it explains the "sooty" complaint that you often hear about this ammo). Everything else was a complete disaster out of three different mag types - Bushmaster steel, C Products steel, and Magpul polymer. I discovered that this malfunction is EXTREMELY common with DPMS LR-308s (search the internet and you'll be swamped with the issue). I tried all of the standard suggestions one at a time looking for the golden BB - new mags, polished any sharp points on the extractor, polished the chamber (such as you can with a chromed chamber), ran it wet, tried to get a few hundred rounds through the gun. Nothing did a dang thing to help. So I could send it back to Bushmaster at MY cost - shipping a gun is not cheap - or I could throw in the towel and start buying parts to try and fix it. I even went so far as to seriously consider just buying a new JP Enhanced bolt assembly and a new chrome plated bolt carrier. Long story short I ordered the Armalite extractor spring kit (3 piece kit) and a new DPMS extractor. It now runs with all brands of ammo but with some not well. What is clear is that the gun is over gassed (and I have seen this complaint from other 308 ORC owners). The rims of ejected cases have a very pronounced indentation from the extractor and the rims are indeed bent back by the extractor. Not to the point that I'm worried that they'll rip right off, but I would not reload this brass it's so deformed. It's greater or lesser depending upon the brand and loading. As before, Bear Silver runs like a champ and the cases look completely undamaged. I found one brand of brass that runs well also. So here I sit. I've got a rifle that runs, but not what I call "runs well", and I'd not trust it for hunting where I'd want an assured follow up shot. I assume that what has happened is that I've got a rifle that, due to "tolerance stacking" would not run as built. I think it's still not going to run well unless I put an adjustable gas block on it. I only paid $800 for my 308 ORC but in my opinion that does not excuse anything. That's a lot of money for some folks and I am one of those folks. I will never buy another DPMS product. The more I've read up the more I've become convinced that they are "cheap" ARs in general. It's too bad that Bushmaster has been purchased by and will likely be ruined by DPMS's parent company, and I suspect that's already underway with this LR-308 product as marketed buy Bushmaster. I'm always interested in comments and suggestions, but that's my story and given my experience I'm sticking to my opinions. Best, Oly Tucson, AZ