Alamo

Added a JP Supercomp XL. It's a big beast... I must say I was skeptical of the manufacturer's claim that it made a .308 recoil like a .223. After taking it to the range, I am now a believer... the muzzle hardly rises at all. Some video:

Thanks man, I'm real proud of her... rifle's not bad either :) That's cool that you were able to introduce your grandson to shooting for the first time, especially since it's early enough for him to pass it on to his own children. I've made it my civic duty to indoctrinate my Canadian neighbor into the "American Gun Culture", poor guy never shot a handgun before. I took him out to the desert and let him.blast away my XDm .45, almost had to have his perma-grin surgically removed.

I've got about 500 rounds through it since the mods... so far, function has been flawless. Only problems were with some handloads that were just a little too spicy, some beat up cases and a popped primer... but that wasn't the gun's fault. I love this system, it's so simple and functions so well that a 12 year old could operate it... matter of fact, here's my 12 year old:

Ooops, this part of post #4 should read "Once I center the dot/ reticle in the window" instead of "Once I center the dot in the reticle"...

Prone @ 100 yds... seven shots on target, one flyer (literally, a fly landed on my ear). Using my buddy's hand loads, 150 gr Hornady FMJBT.

Hi guys, Thanks for the replies. Putting it at 45 degrees makes zeroing interesting. You can also attach at 90 degrees, but 45 allows a more head up stance. I grip the forend and pull my elbows into my sides. Once I center the dot in the reticle, I lock my arms... this allows me to keep both eyes open and use a basketball style pivot to engage multiple targets laterally. Here's what that looks like (though I don't pivot in the 1st video). Paper is @ 100 yds, square 2.5 gal @ 95, 1 gal @ about 85.

Hi Everybody, Wanted to post up here with my build and say thank you to the members that helped me out. It started out life as a Sportical, had some issues with the original barrel... I ended up replacing the slick sided upper with one of the low profile A3's, installing DPMS's 18" SASS barrel and a Troy Battlerail. Got 45 degree flip up BUIS on one side and a red dot on the other ... scope in the center. You can shoulder the rifle, keep both eyes open and the red dot is in the perfect location in front of your right eye ... makes it real easy to pivot from the hips to acquire new targets while keeping the the rifle and sight in alignment. Added a couple of attachment points and use the Magpul MS3 in either single mode, at the butt plate, or dual mode, at the ends. Ergo grip is nice and springy. The addition of the butt pad takes some of the punch out of the recoil and covers the rough saw edges on the back of the original Pardus stock. Built it all myself, only needed the gunsmith to check the headspace once I was done. I started out the project knowing next to nothing... proud to say I now know two or even three times more nothing, just with significantly less $ in the bank :-[. ... to be continued

Very nice bro <thumbsup> Now you'll have to outdo yourself on the 2nd build... :auto:

Hey! I know that guy... his name is Ho Li, either that or his twin brother, Ho Li Xeet

I buy precut sections of 1" PVC and using elbows, create a framework... then use shower rings with clips attached threaded through the tubes to hold the paper. I bring spares of everything. Cheap, lightweight, & modular with easily replaceable parts. So far we haven't shot it up enough to run out of spares.

I'm guessing that as an instructor, very few people posses "extensive" training by your standards. :) I'm not calling into question that civilians probably shoot better than police, I'd be interesred to see the actual figures about how much better... the figures I've seen relate to how civilians shoot the WRONG guy less than police, not how their accuracy is better.

Beachmaster has it right. I am not invalidating marksmanship or it's practice.... I said I am personally not depending on my ability to pinpoint shoot in a gunfight. Study actual gunfights, trained LEOs only have a hit percentage of about 15-20% at POINT BLANK range. Although the requirements are not awfully stringent, they are required to qualify periodically and have trained extensively for just those types of situations. If you have trained and practice regularly, you might expect to have similar numbers.

I was always told to use the largest caliber that I could shoot properly/ accurately. As the article says, it's all about the physics of it... all other things being equal, more kinetic energy = more "stopping power" (as defined in the article). Although the argument rages about the exact mechanism by which the bullet "stops" the subject, I heard somewhere (maybe the more medically inclined can confirm or deny) that it's the sudden catastrophic drop in blood pressure which causes all power to go out of the muscles and the target to fall into it's own footprint (no BP, no physical activity). In some cases, there seem to be additional hard to quantify factors involved. Similar to other incidents related here, I heard from my uncle about how he shot a medium sized white tail head on through the torso with a .30-06. It took off, leaving a blood trail 10 yds wide and 100 yds long. When he caught up to it, it didn't have a single drop of blood left in it and it's body cavity contained nothing, no lungs, no heart, nothing recognizable... just jello. In any case, I personally wouldn''t depend on accurate marksmanship in a gunfight (though I am a better than average shot). I carry 230 gr +P Ranger Talons in my compact XDm .45 because, like horseshoes & hand grenades, they will do the job from "close enough" (it's also why I have chosen the .308 platform over the .223). In fact, studies show that it's not optimal shot placement that will save you (good luck getting them to stand still so you can shoot them properly)... the #1 factor in surviving a gun battle? The ability to recognize and properly utilize cover.

Thanks edgecrusher, looks like I just need to learn how to use the charging handle properly as opposed to getting FA. Got a question for you. Since the barrel / nut setup is not typical, wouldn't keeping the barrel mean I couldn't install most aftermarket free float tubes (like a Troy TRX) since they use a proprietary barrel nut which works with the standard (non threaded) barrel attachment method?

Hi survivalshop, when I 1st took it apart, I only unscrewed the gas block and pulled the tube out of the receiver. Didn't disconnect the tube from the block and didn't remove the muzzle brake, just slid the block up the barrel so I could see what was going on. When I took it to the gunsmith, he disconnected the muzzle brake (it was on so tight he almost had to cut it off) and removed the block to work on it. Still all OEM parts on a factory built rifle.

Thanks Farkle, good advice. Improve the user... rather than just the device.

Thanks gnatshooter, good to know. I guess I'll keep the original upper around until it evens out a bit. Your handle reminds me of a scene from the movie, "They Call Me Bruce": "You see that fly?" (slices at fly with Samurai sword and the fly flies away) "You missed" "Ahh, but that fly will never make love again"

I will definitely give them a call if I decide to keep using that same barrel. However, after my initial use of the rifle, there are a few things I'd like to change/ improve: 1. If I don't release the charging handle cleanly, the bolt doesn't go into full battery. Since there is no forward assist, I would try pulling the charging handle back a little and re-releasing... sometimes it would work & sometimes it would push another round in under the one already chambered. Possibly a break-in issue that would clear up after some use, possibly a training issue that would clear up after some practice. Regardless, I've decided that this is fine for a bench rest rifle, but it isn't an issue I want present on a tactical rifle. Solution: change uppers to one with the built in FA and ejection port cover. 2. I want a slightly longer, more accurate barrel. Probably this one: DPMS SASS Barrel LR-308 308 Winchester Bull Contour 1 in 10" Twist 18" Fluted Stainless Steel Black Teflon 3. The gas block rail is not on the same level as the upper rail (upper is HP, rail is for the newer LP rail upper). I'd like to add a Troy TRX Extreme Battle Rail to match the new LP upper with FA & dust cover. I'm sure I'll come up with additional stuff as well as need answers to assorted questions/ complications associated with changing the stock parts. Once I get a better handle on what I want to do, I'll post another thread with the build questions.

I get it, kind of like a country song... only you get to keep your rifle.

Thanks guys. Yeah, I figured as much. Even if I sent it back to DPMS, I don't know how they would get it to stay on with the barrel threaded onto the extension the way it is without any mechanism to prevent the threads from loosening under stress. I'm thinking about switching it out for an 18" SASS barrel... but that's another thread. In doing all this research into what's going on with the barrel, I've been bitten by some sort of bug and caught some sort of fever... anybody here have any experience with that?

Thanks for the reply & welcome plane flyer. I thought the same thing at 1st, until I took it apart. The barrel nut is still tight as can be, but there's no flange on the barrel that the nut fits over. I've included a pic.

Hello everybody, Recently bought a new Sportical .308 and had put about 50 or so rounds through it. I installed some iron sights, using the gas block rail for the front sight and subsequently noticed that the gas block would wiggle back and forth. At first I thought it was just not tightened down properly, but after loosening the gas block screws and pulling the gas tube out of the upper receiver, I was able to unscrew the entire barrel by hand! (it was threaded onto the barrel extension) I'm far from an expert on AR pattern rifles, but this seems to me to be highly irregular. The way it's put together isn't something I've seen before or been able to find on the Internet. Unlike most barrels assemblies, there is no pin and the barrel nut doesn't hold the barrel on at all. The nut holds the barrel extension to the upper receiver, but the only thing holding the barrel to the extension are those threads on the barrel. I took it to my local gunsmith and he also had never seen anything like it. He put the barrel back on and tightened it down, re-installed and aligned the gas block/ tube and checked the headspace to make sure it was still OK. I took it back to the range and 50 rounds later it's loose again. I just don't see any way that the barrel can stay on given the lack of some sort of washer or a pin or something to keep it from unwinding every time it gets shot. My gunsmith is more of an AK/ FAL type of guy (though he does work on AR pattern rifles, but he's kind of an "arteeest", says he likes to do more "challenging" builds)... so I wanted to put it in front of the experts on AR .308 rifles. Is this something you guys have seen before? Is this type of assembly flawed or is there a fix? Any assistance is much appreciated.