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Question - I want to get in my order to JD before the backlog runs up too close to the end of the year, where some of the bills may take effect. I want to get at least two receivers, but financially the budget isn't looking good for buying uppers and lowers at the same time. Is there something about the tolerances on AR308s where having the upper and lower from JD matched at the shop may result in a better fit? In other words, functionally / mechanically speaking, do I lose anything by buying lowers now and putting off my upper purchases for later? Thanks.

Interesting. Sounds like JD Machine will most likely be my huckleberry then. Thanks for the pointers.

Fantastic haha. I'll have to start finding threads reading about the holy wars and see how that works out. :)

Looks like JD Machine only does milled receivers. Given that forged 7075 parts are a little stronger, what would be my options on the forged path? Thanks for the recommendation for Fulton. Question though - if I'm willing to live with the weight/bulk/price, is there any reason not to go with their 26" bull barrel?

Thanks for the welcome gents. <thumbsup>

That's a perfectly good question. I don't have enough experience with rifles to be able to quantify my requirement in hard numbers, so I have to be a little "squishy". Let me try it another way. I'm looking for the completed rifle minus optics to come in below $3500 and get as much accuracy as possible from that budget while still being able to cycle factory loads. However, since I don't have the money to actually build such a thing right now, I need to get a 308 lower or two that fits that goal so that I'm not locked out after California passes the next bunch of laws. Complicating matters is that apparently 308 lowers are split into several different families, and I'm not really clear on the pros and cons of each.

Hey all, New member from So Cal here. I'm thrilled to see that there's a lot more support for 308 ARs out there than I expected to find. Anyway, here's my predicament - probably common for a lot of Cali folks. Despite repeatedly petitioning my state representatives to the contrary, those of us in California are probably going to have what's left of our 2nd amendment rights sacked really heavily. Even the humble 10/22 may end up being classified as an "Assault Weapon" as defined by California law. I figure that unless the Federal Supreme Court gets involved, if I'm ever going to own a 308AR in my lifetime in this state, I'm probably going to need to do something about it as soon as possible. My goal is to eventually put together a 308 that drives tacks at long range while having lots of visual presence. It must not be an impractical diva (it should be able to cycle cheap factory ammo just fine) and it must not end up with a price tag only a CEO could love. I'm pretty sure I want to start with a forged 7075 lower. Other than that baseline, I'm not at all clear on my options and could use some advice on brand reputations and places to learn more about the different AR308 variants out there.