1187Shooter

Either magpul or some other handguard, Possibly something along the ones of a quad rail to match the KAC M5 RAS on my rifle.

I'm looking at the PSA mid length upper (A2 front sight, 2 piece handguard,) and am assuming that any drop in 2 piece handguard will fit this without modification?

Not Avery, I was at one of the other ones... Cote Blanche, farther south. It was definitely an interesting experience. Now I'm back in the Rockies in gold country. I come from a family of geologists but I'm an E&I supervisor. The apple fell a little farther from the tree with me just not far enough to keep me out of the mines.

Lafayette. 2.5 years, worked at a Salt Mine down on the coast.

Funny... I just left the swamps of LA... where are you at?

Well that's some good information... thanks for the input, fellas. I guess it boils down to personal preference, really.

I guess to clarify, with an 18" mid length upper, what differences would I expect to experience with say, an M4 type carbine lower vs. an A2 type rifle lower, with all other factors being equal?

That part I understand... the LOP, weight etc. That's all pretty straight forward. I'm just wondering if there is any difference as far as felt recoil, reliability etc... my only two AR builds were both 20 something years ago and I used A2 stocks because that's what I used in the Marines. I've handled and fired a couple of carbines since, but few and far between so nothing to compare. I've only handled and not fired a 308 AR.

I'm in the process of selecting my rifle, whether it be a complete rifle or parts... is there a functional/reliability advantage of going with a rifle system vs. a carbine system? I prefer the A2/fixed stock, so would prefer that, but if there is a better reason to go with a Carbine system, I'll do that and find a compatible stock that I like.

Kinda like coming face to face with a wounded hog in a small clearing with an empty mag in a Ruger Deerfield... which is why I now carry a Glock 30/460 Rowland. I'll say it again, those Ruger rotary magazines are a bitch to swap in a hurry.

I agree on the Red Dot... it's almost a necessity for fast shots on moving critters. The one on my Ruger (pictured) is a Mueller MX-1, not a super high end sight by any means but it does the trick.I don't know if it would hold up to a .308 AR, though. I'll have to do some more research on that. I don't know a whole lot about .308 load options, so I am going to be digging in to find the best combination of bullet vs. speed for this setup. I've never used Barnes or any other solid copper bullet of any caliber, but the lighter weight with less recoil and a bit more speed might be the way to go for fast follow ups.

Yep, and that's one of the reasons I decided to join the dark side... my 4+1 Ruger Deerfield .44 Mag just doesn't cut it in the middle of a mass charge. The magazines on these things are a bitch to change out in a hurry!

I've built a couple of AR 15s, but it was way back 20 some years ago. Even in the Marines I was never impressed with the 5.56/.223 as a practical cartridge. When I got rid of my last AR 15 I never had a desire to replace it. Since then I've stuck with more traditional hunting rifles, being more practical for my needs and for where I lived. I had the opportunity to handle my Brother in Law's Rock River LAR-8 a couple of years ago and thought it might be interesting, and although he wasn't real happy with that particular rifle, I figured it might make a good hog gun if it were reliable ad accurate enough... I still wasn't sold, though, until my son and I were talking about it recently... he went and bought a PSA PA10 yesterday, and so now I've done a bunch of research and have decided to jump on the bandwagon and get my own. I just need to make sure I can hit what I'm pointing at by the time we meet up in December for our annual Texas hog hunt.

This has been a great thread to read. As a new guy to 308 ARs, and one who has been out of the AR game in general for almost 20 years, I have enjoyed reading your posts as well as those of the other very helpful contributors... my son just bought a PSA PA-10 (http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-gen2-pa10-18-midlength-308-win-ss-lightweight-15-m-lok-acs-l-rifle.html) and I forwarded him the link to this thread. I think he needs to read this before he receives the rifle, so he knows what he could expect. This thread also has helped me make the decision to dive into a 308 AR myself, and the PSA seems to be a fairly safe bet for the money, as long as one is OK with the possibility of having to tweak things some. Since I'm not afraid of that possibility, I think I am going to jump on the bandwagon and order one for myself. I will probably go with the Classic Lower, and the 18 mid length M4 style upper, since they come to about $460 all together right now, and with 8 kids and 3 dogs, I'm all about budget. So, bfoosh006, my pocketbook sincerely thanks you for your well written reviews, because otherwise I would no doubt be looking towards a much higher priced entry into the 308 AR world.

Google. Found it researching the PSA PA 10.

My son in Texas just bought himself a PSA PA-10 yesterday and got me wanting to get back into the AR game with a 308. I've never been a big fan of 5.56/223 etc. so haven't really considered an AR for quite a few years. Now it's time to do a little research. Hopefully I'll find some info here to help me decide whether I really want to go for it or wait and play around with my son's rifle when I go visit.