bigdaddy1957

Thanks, I was thinking just a good old DPMS set. Same for the bolt. I think because of the differences that's important to keep them all from the same place. So the Fulton stuff is DPMS, duh it says it right on top. I saw them but they don't make a 16". So many companies I forget which one is which. I'm getting it all together slowly. I'd really like to just buy one and be done with it but it doesn't seem to work that way. Write down the cost of the rifle and then all the parts to make it work the way you want to and my head spins. It's so much easier to buy a few pieces at a time and get the rifle you want. I have done that with most of my AR15s except for the DDM4V5. I'm trying to find someone who sells the Bushmaster barrel but I cannot. I know their stuff isn't the greatest. It's so easy with the AR15 so many barrels.... I'm hoping as time goes by more and more companies come out with .308 stuff. That's why I'm making this a long term project. I'm getting a hold of a plan now. It has to be open ended until I see what comes out. Many people are getting the itch for an AR in .308 as well as pistol cartridges due to the SIG Brace.

Well it's more about passing down the rifle and having it last. I may shoot it a lot, I may not. In the warmer weather which in central Texas is most of the year I shoot a lot. It also depends on ammo prices too. I must have shot almost a 1000 rounds through one AR is a very short period of time just getting it to work right and test different ammo types & muzzle devices, like a few range sessions. Andrew Tuoy did a great ammo test with ARs and it was interesting to see how fast barrels can wear out or performance degrade. I just figure go with a quality barrel and you will have a better chance of getting a good one that will perform and last. For a few bucks why get a headache? Plus with the way things have been I'm not so sure ammo issues will not rear their ugly head again. So we may be stuck with using ammo from any source we can find. Again I think a good barrel with a chrome lining will be more resistant to erosion and wear.

I see the stuff in the tech thread and have been reading it. Way too much information to shift through to get definitive answers on some things. What's the saying buy once cry once. I have wasted enough money trying different grips & handguards. I now know what works for me. I just do not want to buy a $1000 gun and start replacing parts on it. By the time I'm done I could have built one and bought another pistol or ammo with the money. So basically it's about a barrel, BCG and receivers. I know what works with an AR15, does it apply to a .308 version? Plus there are new things coming out for the .308 all the time. What was a year or two ago is not anymore. I'm glad I saw the thread about PSA< I almost pulled the trigger on some of their stuff. I had good luck with their 5.56 stuff as long as it was mil-specish. PTAC or anything other than that I wouldn't touch. I did get a nickel boron M16 BCG that looks good, I have to shoot it in a week or two. Does anybody make a CHF chrome lined barrel or is that a bit too expensive for a company and they might as well go 416R SS? Does anybody make a 410? The idea of a .308 with a 4140 barrel with no lining doesn't do it for me. That would be the first part I would replace, at least nitride barrels IMO is necessary. Thanks for the relies.

I thought that was appropriate since it is thanksgiving time. It is more expensive than an AR15 and I don't want to do what I did with the ARs. I asked and everybody has what they like. I had to find out for myself and it was costly to do that. So many grips, handguards, barrels, rails and so on. I have been reading so much about the .308 DPMS pattern AR. That seems like the best way to go for a .308 AR. So now that I have some information it's time to get it more specific. I didn't want to break the bank, I don't hunt and I don't have any realistic scenarios to use the rifle except for the range. I think everybody should have a rifle, I just do not consider rifles with small or intermediate cartridges as a true American rifle. I always thought of the M1 Garand as "the American battle rifle." But the AR platform is by leaps and bounds the most modular design out there. I am very happy with the ones I own and am used to the design since I first used it 30+ years ago. I see some blemished DPMS low rail uppers for sale, are they any good? Its it just aesthetics or do they have issues? I have used BCM & PSA blem M4 uppers with great results. Should I upgrade to a 7075 or billet, buy a matched set? If so who makes the best for price DPMS low pattern? Or should I just stay with a DPMS set and BCG? As for BCGs, is the DPMS standard one OK? Is there a specific extension tube to use or can I use an AR15 mil-spec tube? I plan on using a Troy rail, they seem to be the best for price and I am familiar with them. I also plan on using a mid-length 16" barrel with either a BCM muzzle device for some braking effect and flash mitigation or a Smith Vortex/AAC type. What's a good barrel for it. I would like a CHF chrome lined one but I do not see any. They seem to either be 416 SS or 4140 with nitriding or bare. Would the Bushmaster chrome lined barrel be good? Is it even available? So some recommendation on the barrel would help. I'm looking at this gun as being a basic rifle. Not too heavy, not too long and that is somewhat accurate. I'm not a hunter or sniper/marksmen so shooting, just a range warrior. I'm not sure exactly what to expect accuracy wise from a rifle like this. I like the Bushmaster XM-10, it's more like a military battle rifle. But I don't want to shell out $1100+ and start changing things to add another $500+. I might as well assemble it from parts and buy the right thing once. From having a few ARs I have tried just about everything and know what I like. I am approaching this as being a bigger AR15, which basically that's what it seems to be. Thanks.....

I bought a cheap WASR AK from Gunbroker. $440, chrome lined barrel, the rust was thrown in for free...ha ha. I cleaned it up, added a few things to make it ergonomic for me since I have some medical issues. So I Magpuled it, I added the new Magpul grip, a mil-spec Vltor tube on a rifle dynamics adapter, MI rail, AFG. Next I need to add some type of scope/red dot because I can't see anymore, due to old age. The rifle dynamic adapter put the stock higher so the cheek weld is proper, no need for a riser. I tried a few different stocks and decided on the new OD Green MOE SL. I also added a Damage industries flash hider. A few mods inside too, a buffer which is just a piece of plastic and replaced the wire that holds the trigger together with a solid part from Krebs. When I first got it I took it to the range. Yes the magazine wobbles a little bit, not much. Yes the safety has a bit of over-travel in the on position. But it's an AK..........I thought I missed the target, nice neat little hole exactly were I aimed it. I thought it would shoot high but it was right there at 25 yards. It's pretty accurate, I have yet to try it past 50 yards but with good ammo it should shoot OK. It's a battle rifle, I don't expect much past 100 yards even with a scope. It's a fun gun, the ammo is cheap and with the right ammo you could use it for home defense. In all honesty I would not hesitate to go to war with it, I can see under harsh conditions it would work where other guns would fail. I just wish it had a fun switch. I was going to buy an AK pistol but the ACE pistol version should be coming out next year. Hopefully it won't be too expensive. I can't see spending a lot on an AK. It was designed to be inexpensive and work in the worst conditions of war and it does just that. If I want a precision rifle I would get one not an AK.

New here but certainly not new.....getting close to 60 years old......wow I can't believe I'm that old. So I have seen a lot in my life. I lived most of those years in New York City......I just moved to Texas a year ago. This is my take on some issues concerning firearms but a little more background. I for the first time have been able to buy and shoot firearms other than a stint in the army. I love shooting and I love firearms, it's now my passion, always was. Living in NYC they made it so hard to get a gun and go to places to learn how to properly use them it was a waste of time. At one time they had a provision that as a disabled person you could not get a firearms permit, it was in black and white online. That law has changed but others are there now that limit ownership even more. I am now disabled due to an injury while working. I grew up in one of the worst neighborhoods in the USA at the time, East New York in Brooklyn. I drove a bus for the city in Manhattan including the Bronx and Harlem, mid-town all over. I have seen so many things even helped the police catch a criminal with my bus right near where they filmed part of the move about Malcolm X. I lived on Staten Island during hurricane Sandy, nobody helped, nobody came, nobody cared. I waited at the window for looters with a stick and knife taped to the end. Like I said I have a lot of life experience and have been in many dangerous situations, it's life in the city..... OK here goes...... The NRA, I was just going to join them until they had Sarah Palin speak for them, they actually paid that dimwit dingbat of a women to talk. She does not represent me at all in anyway. I am holding back joining them to rethink it and see if there are other options. If there are no other options I will join the NRA next year. They do very important and good things for gun owners. I hope they think a bit before having right wing nuts who soldout to special interest groups as a governor and quit her position speak for them. I don't think she represents any sane person. For that matter neither does any left wing liberal democrat. I will NEVER vote for any politician who is for gun control of any kind. Not under any circumstances will I ever vote for anyone running that believes in anyway there should be any type of gun control. I will vote for anyone who wants to repel gun control and believes in gun and 2nd amendment rights. I will get my CHL in a few months. What am I waiting for? I feel when I am comfortable enough to have the responsibility of carrying a gun everyday wherever I go I will get that license. If I have to use it I want to make sure I do so legally and accurately. I do keep them in my car always and ready in my home now. I sure needed them in NYC, a place of course I could not. Yet here in Texas there have been some recent instances of home owners having to shoot intruders so it happens everywhere. Open carry.....I have no problem with it. In fact I think people would be more friendly and talkative with it. Hey friend is that a M1911 in that holster? Yup, it's the one my granddad gave me, he carried it in WWII. Or is that an original M16? Yes my dad carried it in Vietnam. Something like that......I think you get the idea. Now would I want to see 10,000 people open carry walking around Times Square in Manhattan? I do not know honestly.....that would be a strange sight. I have no problem with people having so called machine guns, I fear the sniper with a 30,06 with a scope much more. I do know that since I was a kid the one thing I can say is that America has been a gun country. It was founded by gun people and has always been a country that stands for the rights and freedom of the individual person. That guns have always stood for the protection of each individual to be equal, the great equalizer as it's called. It has been stated that the need for an armed population is there to protect against evil, criminals and against our or any government that would take away our rights. It is well know that all countries have feared Americans because we can shoot and know how to handle firearms. We are known for our courage in battle and ability to shoot. They know the power and might of the USA and it's people. What I do not understand is why certain people want to take that power away. What scares them about guns or the people? So many of these so-called anti-gun people have guns themselves or armed bodyguards, they are hypocrites in the worst way. I'll give up my guns when I am the last person that has one on the planet. But what if......how could anybody say nobody has a gun. What if they have a knife, I am disabled how do I protect myself from a bigger man with a knife? By having a gun. So I'll amend that and add when civilized humans no longer are aggressive and violent. When will that happen? Probably never it's human nature. So I guess I will NEVER give up my guns. I have seen crime, I have been robbed, my house has been robbed, I even walked in on a burglary not knowing they where upstairs (I lived in the side apartment). I have seen many things living in New York concerning crime and violence against me and others. Gun ownership breeds responsibility. The thing that is lost in this country now is taking responsibility for your actions. Too many excuses for acting in an uncivilized manner. Teaching children to take care of the things they have and respect the laws of the land is what is missing in our new age society. Gun ownership brings both into view for children and adults. Being on the right side of the law and being involved with upholding the law is what is missing from our society, people are not invested in it and don't feel part of it. This is a country of the people and they are chipping away at that, it is now a country of the government and big corporations not even owned by Americans anymore. No wonder people do not have any pride in this country and it's laws, they don't feel part of it anymore. Like they have no say in what's going on and what the government does even if they vote. The founding fathers where able to protect themselves from the British because they had guns. No country ever invaded the mainland because Americans have guns. Every tyrant was able to enslave his people because they had no way of fighting back against government forces. I'll ask this; Would that purse snatcher take the purse of an older lady with a .357 on her hip? Maybe our society should stop making so many purse snatchers but that's another discussion.

Once you slow down a .308 by going with an SBR length barrel you basically get 7.62x39 ballistics. It maybe more accurate but the gun itself and ammo weight more than an AK and it's ammo. That's why I'm thinking you do not see anybody seriously using .308 SBRs. That might change with development of ammo in the future though. I almost forgot....That's a great looking rifle. Similar to what I have in mind for mine possibly. I'm still doing fact finding on parts and prices and hoping more companies come out with parts for the DPMS pattern.

Everybody says get a M1A1 but since I did not use the M14 I am more familiar with the AR and feel more comfortable with it. I really like the look of the Bushmaster XM10 Magpul version. It has the military battle rifle look. It's also about ergonomics with me. Short arms, arthritic hands, bad back and so on. It will just be a range toy pretty much.

I'm kind of new to shooting. I was in the Army but that was 30 years ago. Living where I did we could not easily acquire firearms of any kind. It was the country of New York, way up North. Now living in Texas I can buy all I can afford!!!! Since I used the M16A1 in the Army that's what I know and that in my opinion is the best supported weapon in the world. This does not hold true for the .308/7.62mm version unfortunately, not yet that is. I'm sure over time companies will start making more and more parts as people find out how good the design and platform is for so many reasons. I just wish they would find a standardized size for all the parts. I see PSA has jumped into the pool, I sure hope more do. Right now I am in the process of buying as many quality guns & ammo as I can. In the future an AR10/XM10 rifle of some kind is on my list. I have no need for a $2000 rifle though. I do not hunt, I'm not a sniper and I am not a tacticool dude. I go to the range and expend large qualities of ammo. That's the most fun I ever had....for some reason I love it. So what I'd like to do is watch how the platform is developing and eventually buy one or two of them. I'd rather build one from parts than buy a less expensive entry version or a more expensive high-end version, I'm more of a middle of the road guy. I don't want to buy a high-end gun only to spend a few hundred dollars on upgrades. I have no problem with parts guns, this design just screams out for them. But the M16/AR15/M4 is so standard that parts guns can be great guns. I'm hoping in time this will be so for the .308 version.