Quentin

Some of us put stock in the old saying, "one is none and 17 is 1"! :D Others here pick up strays that need a home, which is good as it keeps them off the streets...

I am also impressed with ALG's quality at a good price. I recently bought a blemished EMR V2 M-LOK rail that's excellent. I can't find the blemish. And I have a few of their QMS triggers. Good stuff! Thanks for the hires pictures, that's a good looking receiver extension.

Tempting, and I really like Geissele and ALG... but I don't expect to be building another AR-15. Of course the new spring could get rid of the old sprooonnngggg! :D

My ArmaLite came with a PMAG and I bought more. They work, they're cheap. I'm happy. Lancers look great and I have five for my AR-15 that work great but their 308 mags are pricey. I'll stick with PMAGs. ArmaLite tested them extensively with their AR-10A and recommend them over other brands so I haven't experimented with others. I haven't tried hollowpoints so far...

dtom, I hope your range session this weekend goes well. Or at least you narrow down the problem. You've gotten good advice and lot's of things to test. Let's hope this is just a break in issue. I wouldn't sell the rifle for a loss, working with DPMS to get it right makes more sense. As far as getting an AR-15, I'd never talk you out of that since I enjoy the ones I have. But how about in addition to (not replacing) your 308! There are advantages to both calibers, of course only you can determine what you need. By the way, the way you've answered every question we've asked really has been helpful. Sometimes the OP is lazy and doesn't go to the lengths you have to make things clear. If you do have to pursue more CS at DPMS, maybe have your own script written before the call. Have everything pulled together and stay a step ahead of an uninterested tech.

Welcome, dtom! I'm sorry you're having problems with your G2 and that the tech you talked to blew you off by trying to shift the blame on you, your ammo and your PMAGs.. Sadly that happens way too often, and of course not just with DPMS. I've read that S&W CS also has blamed magazines and 147-150 grain ammo when a customer complains of their M&P10 short stroking. Either way, the tech just wants to end the call not solve the problem. He reads his script then sends you off to try a few things while he closes the call or ticket. (Like the computer tech that tells you to reboot the computer then call back if the problem persists!) Fortunately not all techs are like that, the ones who know something and care about their customers will actually try to help you. It is important not to give up, don't get discouraged, try calling back multiple times to get a better tech. Sometimes better techs handle the email questions and even chat if that's available. If you play the game well you will win. Be sure to get his name and use it often during the conversation, that really does help. He knows you will remember his name. I think you got good advice here about testing the original DPMS magazine that came with the rifle and trying hotter 168 grain ammo. And the function tests mentioned. Of course no matter what that tech said the rifle should function with M80 and it should work with PMAGs as most factory built 308 ARs do. Lancer makes great magazines and I have quite a few for my AR-15s but $50+ for 308 mags is pretty steep. You shouldn't be expected to use Lancers only and hot ammo only. One of the driving reasons many of us buy a 308 AR is to use PMAGs and low cost M80 ammo. In fact many factory 308 ARs come with PMAGs, mine did. Don't give up, they will take care of you if you squeak enough!

Yes, very nice! More pictures?

Science tells us that black guns migrated out of Africa about 60,000 years ago and moved into the Middle East, India, China, Europe and finally the rest of the world. As thousands of years passed coloring changed as guns adapted to their new environments. Brown guns, yellow guns, red guns, multicolor guns and even white guns. Camouflage is important in nature. But how in the heck did we get pink guns! :D Sorry... :D

All Guns Matter!

You're the man, EngrBob! Not much to building a best of breed AR-15 using various parts you prefer but I know you can get into real trouble fast mixing parts in a 308 AR. No doubt lots of guys here can do the same. Shepp, I'm sure your DPMS is a great rifle. And I like mine. Variety is the spice of life, as they say! And when it comes to guns I think we all want a large variety!

Well Mega Arms billet receivers look good, and it would be smart to have the "rifle" in your possession soon. No way of knowing what WA or Seattle might do later this year. Things are a bit more gun friendly on this side of the state line but who knows what's in store for us.

Welcome from another new guy from the Northwest (Idaho). I also recently bought my first 308 AR after dancing around the fire for years. I also wanted something around 8 pounds empty. I finally got drawn into the fire as prices got more attractive and there was a good chance that wouldn't last depending on the outcome of the election. I was leaning toward a PSA build and eyeing the S&W. I love PSA for AR-15s but their PA10 stuff was hard to pull together (find in stock) for a build and I kept hearing reports the S&W is undergassed even though it comes with a lightweight buffer. The DPMS GII probably will be a winner but I got the ArmaLite DSR10, added some PMAGs and haven't been sorry. The under $1000 price was hard to ignore so I jumped all over one when I finally found one. Like you, a milspec diameter buffer tube is important to me since I went that route with my AR-15 builds. I like the way ArmaLite uses a slightly longer tube so you can use standard AR-15 carbine buffers and that the rifle comes with an H3 buffer which means you could drop to a lighter buffer if short stroking was a problem (hasn't been, even Tula steel case). I haven't found the 16" barrel to be too vicious but definitely can see your preference for 18". Anyway, a build probably is your best route to get exactly what you want. Now on to the M1A Scout... I have one and love it for what it is (a greatly improved M1 Garand) but can't recommend it over a well designed 308 AR. The scout rail adds 8 ounces out front and I would pull it off except that it's good for a red dot. I like the 18.5" barrel over the standard 22" but my gamble with 16" on the AR-10A turned out fine. If I removed the scout rail the weight with no magazine would get closer to 8 pounds but a 308 AR has so many advantages it's not a contest. Still, the Scout Squad is a favorite with everyone when I take it to the range. Good luck on whatever path you take!

Shepp, you're right that lx2008's question has been answered but he didn't seem to mind thread drift to the past. I suspect a few other people have enjoyed this "pissing match" especially since it was fairly civil and informative. And no, I'm not an "armite "fanboy"" just not a DuMPS fan! :D

Thanks, Rsquared, yeah you're right. Some people love one brand and others love another. It's just annoying to see the term "DPMS compatible" bandied about when they came to the party 50 years after the fact! It is important to keep the story straight so new people get a glimmer of what actually happened. There are FAQs here but they're not up to date and even if they were I doubt that many new people would bother with them. These days everyone wants the Cliff's Notes version. I'm an older guy who carried the M14 and M16 in Vietnam so at least I don't have a problem with the M14/M1A vs AR-15/AR-10/308AR debate, I knew first hand 48 years ago both platforms were good. And now I have one of each so I'm happy. Hey, maybe I should have bought an AR-10B, maybe I could have figured out a way to use the same magazines in my M1A! :D Actually it was a real stand up move by ArmaLite to offer the AR-10A but I hope they continue to support AR-10B, some of those customers go back 20 years. And I hope the new owners keep the quality high. By chance I never owned a Chevy either (and just one Ford) but I've put a few hundred thousand miles on company Chevy pickups over the years! :D

The point is they are Stoner magazines or SR-25 magazines. DMPS didn't make them, they just copied them. He who went to all the trouble to design something that became popular deserves the credit, not the johnny come lately. Is SR-25 compatible so hard to learn? I'm sure DPMS makes good stuff today but those early crap magazines around 2005 and a crap LPK and receiver extension kit of theirs I bought in 2008 soured me on the brand. I'm glad you like yours but even a fanboy has to admit DPMS borrowed heavily from ArmaLite Fairchild, Knights Armament and Eagle Arms ArmaLite. If they hadn't they wouldn't have a good AR style rifle today. Anybody who has an AR pattern rifle should know the story of Eugene Stoner and ArmaLite. I agree about Lancer magazines. I love their AR-15 mags and am tempted to try their SR-25 compatible mags.