98Z5V

Well, it's getting confusing here a little... Let's look at this. Any rifle that has a barrel that's around 16" is a "carbine," and not a rifle. Barrels longer than 16" (militarily, they're 20" for the standard issue) are "rifles." So, that's "Rifles" and "Carbines." That's completely separate from the gas operating systems that are available. Like comparing apples to hammers. Nothing to do with each other, in the present day. Specifically, militarily, the M4 Carbine has a 14.5" barrel, and the A2 flash suppressor on the end. Total length of that combo, even though the FH isn't pinned, is just under 16" (pinning FHs on barrels less than 16", in order to bring barrel length to the legal 16" BATF minimum for ownership sans special papers, is a civilian thing - it doesn't pertain to military rifles). Hope I didn't muddy the waters anymore with that info... Gas systems have specific lengths to them, which are pretty much standard, unless you're talking about Armalite gas systems. I'll stay out of that for now. Carbine length gas system: 7.5" gas tube, designed around the mil issue 14.5" barreled M4 carbine. Rifle length gas system: usually around 13" gas tube, designed for the mil issue 20" barreled M16. Mid-length gas system: approx 9.5" gas tube, designed primarily for the civilian-legal 16" AR-15 "carbine." Notice similarities up there? I'll discuss further in a few.

This is a great 7.62x51 loaded Match ammunition. 168 grain OTM. Wonderful ammo, and it's always performed well for me through my .308 Win Match chambered semi. You can't go wrong with this stuff. http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/rifle.aspx?id=809 http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=713383 I usually pull it for $16 a box/20 at the local Cabela's. In all honestly here, it's not going to matter what you shoot out of your specific gun, be it .308 Win or 7.62x51 NATO. Your modern chamber will take either one, with ease on both. Shoot what you can get your hands on, but finding the right ammo online might still be a better idea.

ADCO can perform this barrel extension swap with minimal effort, and not a great expense, with a great turnaround. It would be best left to them, instead of purchasing a tool that will remove/install the extension. I'm just sayin'... <dontknow>

Bump, for correct title change, because I forgot to change the title last time... :o

Yup, the barrel extension would haev to be machined (down) for proper headspace, and the feedramp location in that headspaced position determines where the slot for the barrel index pin goes. That, in turn, determines the barrel centerline for gas port location. The chance of removing whatever barrel extension you currently have, then headspacing a new one into place, AND having everything line up from the first one - slim to none. If it did indeed line up after that, it's time to purchase lottery tickets. <laughs>

That's a Double Star kit - they're quality. You'll be able to use that receiver extension and the actual buttstock, but not the buffer and buffer spring, unless you verify that it's for their .308 AR. You'll need to measure the relaxed length of the spring (from the info provided above), and weigh the buffer. That'll be the only way to determine for sure, unless you find some other identifying marks on the parts. FYI - As far as I know, Double Star has not released their .308 AR yet...

^^^ GG&G mounts are rock solid, and full of quality. <thumbsup> I like them, as well as American Defense mounts. I know I'd love LaRue mounts, but I've never owned one personally, so I'll keep to what I know. ;D

That's the only factory-built gun I'd even want. Well, not counting the M110, of course... <laughs>

The additional pics are showing a .308 upper mounted, then an AR-15 upper mounted. What a slick design. <thumbsup>

The torque that can be produced from a 1" ratchet is definitely not required to install a barrel extension, at leasy not on anything .50 BMG and under. I think they're (the manufacturer, not Midway) making it like that based on large-manufacturer requests, from years ago. The barrel makers. You could easily step up a 1/2" drive ratchet with a 1/2" to 1" adapter, and have the required torque to install one of these. This is barrel-maker stuff, though, so I don't see the point unless you start making your own barrels. Even just "replacing" a barrel extension would require welding the gas port shut and drilling a new one once the new extension is properly headspaced (machined for proper headspace).

Parts between the Bushmaster .308 AR and the DPMS LR308 (model designation) will be interchangeable. Mid-length: refers to the gas system length used to cycle the weapon. Other lengths for DPMS-based guns will be Carbine-length (shorter than mid-length) and Rifle length (longer than mid-length). All this refers to the length of the gas tube and the position on the barrel of the drilled gas port (and gas block location). ORC: "Optics Ready Carbine" - it's got a 16" barrel and a flat-top upper, and I'm pretty sure it's got a picatinny rail gas block (place to put your front sight). LR: The DPMS designation for the .308 AR, i.e., "LR308." If you find parts that will work on a DPMS LR308, or any other parts that are made for the DPMS-pattern .308 AR, then they'll work on your Bushmaster.

Right on, Fred! Good rifle, good scope setup. Hope into the Black Rifles section and fire up some pics, man. <thumbsup>

The .308 AR Rifle Spring is different from the AR-15 Rifle Spring. The .308 AR Carbine Spring is different from the AR-15 Carbine Spring. The .308 AR buffers are different from the AR-15 buffers, both rifle and carbine. Don't attempt to use any of the AR-15 internal stock parts here. Receiver extensions will cross over, unless you need some kind of a hybrid extension.

Something 16x or higher, minimum. Even a 12x is tough at 800~900.

I'll be testing some of this stuff soon - never heard about it before, but I'm going to try it. I've got a 16" precision gun and a 20" precision gun to shoot this stuff out of. http://store.chencustom.com/

Do not use the spring and buffer - those are AR-15 parts, regardless of what the gun show seller told you. Find the following .308 AR-specific parts to make what you bought work: .308 AR Carbine Buffer // .308 AR Carbine Buffer Spring. Is it "Tapco type," or is it a real Tapco kit?

Nope, if you already have an A2, then you'll only need the stock body and a shorter, vented screw. Don't use the A2 buttstock screw on an A1 stock - you'll damage the bumper on the end of your buffer. For the A2 to A1 swap, you'll only be working with the buttplate removal (vented screw at the top), the stock body removal - slides right off - and the A2 spacer removal on the end of your current setup. Remove that stuff, slide the A1 stock body on there, put on the buttplate, and put the shorter A1 vented screw. Done. If the profile of the A2 buttplate doesn't match the curvature of the A1 stock body, you'll either have to grind it to fit, or get one specifically for the A1 stock body. A better description in the first post could have cut some time for us - something like "What do I need to replace my current A2 stock with an A1 stock?" We would have already had parts on by now... <thumbsup> <laughs>

Quick check of Tapco's website - they DO NOT make a single thing that is .308 AR-specific. That gun show guy lied. Now, more information from you - do you already have a receiver extension on your .308 AR, with a buffer and buffer tube? Meaning, did you only buy the buttstock? Or, did you pick up a whole buttstock kit, all Tapco parts in one kit? Honestly, not enough detailed info in your original post. Bottom line, though, you are not going to be able to use an AR-15 buffer or AR-15 buffer spring in any .308 AR rifle.

NO. Digging for more info, in case Tapco released something I haven't heard of. Those Tapco kits are AR-15 parts, so the buffer and buffer spring are wrong for a .308. You need .308 AR-specific parts for that, no matter what.

That's a damn good idea, right there. <thumbsup>

Check out Fulton Armory for their barrels - they're DPMS-based barrel extensions, but you can get the chromed BCG complete from them also, and if you buy them at the same time, they'll check headspace for you before it gets packaged up. I mention them because of the quality of the barrels, and they have a bunch of new profiles and lengths now for their stainless Kreiger barrels. They've been busy making new stuff for us. <thumbsup> There are many, many great triggers out there. Somewhere here, on the board, we've had several discussions about that. I'll see if I can find some of the links.

Fulton Armory. Cheap, too. You'll need the stock body (and buttplate, it if doesn't come with one), rifle receiver extension, .308 AR rifle buffer, .308 AR rifle-length buffer spring (unless you run a Tubb spring).

For a true test of the accuracy of the weapon, you'll need to put some quality match ammunition through it. Surplus 7.62 mil ammo, from any country, isn't going to give you a good assessment of what the weapon can really do. It's a given that you have to do your job as a shooter, to get good results - I have days when I'm just on fire, and other days when I shoot a few bench groups and just pack up/go home. If you're shooting the match ammo, and things just aren't working out, then stop and have at it another day - results might be radically different.

It just happened again... <dontknow> http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_3_121/543781_.html&page=1

"Kerf" - with a blade, that's not much. Here it is, though... <thumbsup> 8 thou is a giant difference in this stuff. Just sayin'... More experienced reloaders will probably get in here on this subject, hopefully.