Quentin

Nice handgun, Sisco! But your weather is brutal. If you can't make it to Alaska, Idaho has good salmon fishing and the weather is nice now!

You make yourself sound like a liberal! Or a gun grabber. Of course I don't think you are. What you said above doesn't make sense. In our lexicon in the 308 AR community AR refers to ArmaLite and especially two military submissions in the 1950s, the AR10 and AR15. It certainly doesn't stand for assault rifle. Now if you had said America's Rifle, well I like that. Of course I like ArmaLite (past and present) but acknowledge that DPMS has moved the 308 platform forward. Which is a good thing. Of course if they had done a better job of ripping off KAC and Eagle Arms/ArmaLite we might have a more standard platform like the 5.56 little brother's. :D

Yeah, try ArmaLite, you'll like it! AR stands for ArmaLite... :D

Glad she likes her new AR. I was clowning around, this thread is about buying, not selling! Selling a gun? Sacrilege! Just kidding! :D

I stand by what I said (and did differentiate today's ArmaLite from its 1950s predecessor) but must drop it because we're derailing Gator's thread. Careful googling will turn up the old M4 Compatibility Chart that gave so many AR owners Colt/BCM/Daniel Defense/Noveske/LMT envy.

True, it's an old post. Wikipedia has the history of ArmaLite... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArmaLite

There's a sticky on these forums where imschur says "If your weapon is not stamped Armalite it is not an AR-10." Good advice when it's just as easy to use the generic term 308 AR. ArmaLite and Colt lost the rights to the terms AR and AR-15 long ago so today any FrankenAR can be called an AR-15. So I can see why today's ArmaLite defends the trademarks it created or now owns. Of course DPMS defends its trademarks too. They wouldn't be pleased if a Chinese knockoff used their model names. And that is ArmaLite's position. They own the name so no one else can rollmark AR-10. And they don't want someone to slap together an inferior build then troll on all the gun forums complaining their "AR-10" is crap. You have to admit DPMS largely did this to themselves, this nagging reputation of cutting corners, being less than the best. The infamous M4 Compatibility Chart very fairly compared 15 or more 5.56 ARs and DPMS came in dead last. When I and many other prospective buyers looked at ARs it was hard to ignore even though the DPMS rifle of today is much better than the DPMS of 2008. I think we can thank the M4 Chart for many of the lower tier manufacturers raising the level of their game. Anyway, it's great that there are so many 308 AR choices today, prices are coming down and quality is going up. It's also good that quite a few parts interchange between brands. That's because everyone looks back at the original Stoner designs.

My new AR-10A Defender came right out of the box with the rounded end of the cam pin forward, toward the chamber. The flat end toward the buffer/buttstock. As others said above, it just looks right this way. Think I'll scribble that in my manual because no doubt I'll forget!

Oh man, NEVER sell guns! Now wouldn't you rather have the Mini-14 and an AR! There's room for both... :D

Thanks, Gator! No doubt many of us will be interested in your progress. I hope you're able to find the parts you really want!

I hope that doesn't happen any time soon. Maintaining two incompatible receivers does cause problems but it's hard to drop something you've been selling over 20 years, especially when they've sold way more B series over the new A series. Introducing the A series was the right thing to do, though.

Only thing I'm waiting on right now is a Magpul FDE CTR stock. Quiet week at the front door unlike last week!

Well you done good this time! I have two PSA M16 BCGs in two PSA uppers and all's good. I have a BCM and a Daniel Defense BCG as well and sure paid a bit more for them. Sure they're better and staked a little better but the Premium PSA stuff is plenty good.

FrankH252, Unforgiven is right - no problem using the M16/full auto carrier in a semiauto AR. I always go that route for the extra ounce in the recoil drive train. Even BATFE says it's ok, hardly any chance the weapon can go full auto with that carrier. Good price, too. The premium PSA BCG is good to go.

I'm a little late to this thread but a week ago I got an AR-10A Defender! Pics are in a thread in the ArmaLite forum. My first 308 AR!

Outstanding retro builds, Gator! Love to see pictures!

I've been in a quandary since I qualified with the 7.62x51mm M14 in 1966 then given the M16 in Nam. I loved both but must say it was much easier carrying the plastic fantastic rifle. After the Army I never gave either rifle much thought - doing just fine with a Marlin 336C , Marlin Model 60, Remington 870 and a few handguns. The 1994 AWB, its sunset in 2004, my retirement, then the election of 2008 got me thinking it was now or never to add a few firearms that could get banned. I put together a few AR-15s that worked well but couldn't get that old M14 out of my mind. I finally got an M1A Scout but kept my eye on the 308 AR market. When ArmaLite released the A series compatible with PMAGs I really got interested. Then they introduced the $1000 AR-10A DSR10 and I grabbed one. I've built many 5.56 ARs because I could get what I wanted better with a build than a factory rifle but this time I was able to get a factory AR the way I wanted it. Thanks ArmaLite! Still in that old quandary, I usually shoot the 5.56 but love the M1A and AR-10. Honestly, it's hard to have too many tools in the shed and a 308 AR is an important tool to have! I'm glad to have one and hope we're able to buy quality firearms well into the future. This is a great time to buy an AR, 5.56 or 7.62, never better, the quality is high and the price is low. Don't put it off too long, we don't know what the future has in store.

This is great! Love it!

In Boise it's hard to beat Impact Guns and Sportsman's Warehouse for price and selection. If you catch a good sale Cabelas is worth a look. These days you have to have a feel for good online prices vs. a local store.

I believe the magazine catch and bolt stop catch are the only differences in the A and B LPKs. If you're in a rush you might see if those parts are in stock separately. Probably not since the A version LPK isn't in stock.

I upgraded to the Raptor and really like how it handles. It looks great, too. (Pun not intended)

Thanks, guys! I got the ArmaLite/Raptor charging handle and BCM pistol grip so I'll update with more pictures. I love the charging handle, lukewarm to the pistol grip right now. However, it does feel better than the old A1 grip. I'm glad BCM includes a flat head screw to mount it. I've gone to the flat head screw in all my AR builds but this ArmaLite came with the 3/16" hex head screw - now it's upgraded to my standard. I like the look of the hex head better but the flat head makes more sense, in an emergency it's a lot easier to find a screwdriver than hex wrench. Yeah, I got a hat, too!

Thanks GRA and Sisco. I agree, nothing wrong with the B Series AR-10 and the Gen II mag seems to be well liked. I just entered the game later so had the opportunity to buy the A Series. Either way, the rifle itself is the same except for magwell - well the receivers and bolt hold open catch and mag catch. So far the only issue (and I discovered it before I bought the rifle) was the ejection port cover wouldn't close. The rifle looked great otherwise so I accepted such a minor annoyance. I called CS and got ahold of Tim Rooker (who I've contacted several times over the years since I also have an M15 carbine). Tim said push the spring forward and son of a gun it worked! Dust cover snaps shut now. I'm still trying to figure out how it was blocking the door from closing! One other thing is a bit confusing - my serial number is within 14 of a DSR10 tested in the Special Weapons for Police and Military, Jan/Feb 2015 magazine, the testing actually happened Dec 15, 2014. Tim said my rifle was shipped out 2/2016 and the lower receiver is dated Sep 2015 but I think he meant Sep 2014 considering the serial number of the tested rifle that existed Dec 2014. No big deal, just interesting to see serial numbers so close in a rifle that existed well over a year ago and mine which was assembled last month. (I hope they sold more than 14 in a year!) Tim said serial numbers aren't necessarily sequenced numerically, they just grab lowers and assemble rifles. That held true with my M15 stripped lower that I bought in 2010, Tim looked up the number and the lower was made in 2007. One other thing, complete rifles used to have the eagle proof mark on the magwell but mine did not. Tim said they stopped doing that a year ago. Anyway, it's a nicely made rifle and I know I'm going to love it. I hope to take her for a spin next week.

That must be true. The DSR10 was backordered much of this year. Then Impact Guns, got a few in the Ogden store and I had them send one to the Boise location. Good thing I did that promptly because they're gone now and backordered again most places online.