98Z5V

That rifle does shoot nice!

Anything 0.750" diameter, low profile. There are many out there that aren't too expensive. You don't need a new gas tube or gas tube roll pin - save the pin once you remove it. You will need a small hammer (Small!) and some roll pin punches - you can get the punches at Harbor Freight and they'll be cheap, and get this job done. You'll need to pick an Armalite AR-10 compatible handguard, too. If you can find one that uses the stock barrel nut, that's less work and less tools required. You'll need something to secure the upper receiver, some type of vise block. Some of the Armalite guys can get in here and make specific recommendations to you on those parts.

The question should probably go in this section, here - you'll get more bites. http://forum.308ar.com/forum/72-80-lowers/

Looks like the first 4 rounds - about 2200fps flat when it didn't knock the sunshade off - 30fps higher on the two rounds when the sunshade blew off - wondering if the concussion bouncing the sunshade off was the reason for the higher readings. Total deviation on the AE 185s?

Did you have yours painted in Cerakote Coyote Tan? Aero only provides receivers in Cerakote FDE, for a dirt color, from them. Cerakote also offers THREE different "Coyote Tan" colors - Benchmade CT, Troy CT, and Gen II CT - so you'll need to be specific in which one you're talking about...

Rene, what trigger was in this thing, brother?

Wait, wait, wait a minute here... I thought you were looking for MRS Big Rack, brother?...

Hey, I'm here to help...

That doesn't have anything to do with getting soft from living in WA, brother. I hate to inform you, but it's because you met US... HA~!

Tell him it can't be fixed, but you'll buy it cheap!... HAHA!

Not really, brother - hate, HATE to be the instigator, but... lmao... Reload .308 Win, projos on hand. Reload 5.56 - brass on hand. All you really need is a set of 300BLK dies, and some powder. Voila! 300BLK ammo! I've got an extensive list of steps on converting 5.56 brass to 300BLK brass somewhere in this place...

Damn, Rome, that is nice. Now, your buddy is REALLY gonna owe some beer!

Rome, you gotta tell your buddy that he owes us beer... lmfao!

Gas block changing is about the easiest thing you can do, seriously. You don't need to modify the gas system to do this. One definite bonus is that the DEF10 uses two pinch bolts to hold it on the barrel - it's not pinned. That makes it much easier. Don't know of any rails or handguards that are gonna clear the size of that stock gas block. They might be out there, but nothing jumps out at me as an obvious choice. If you're super busy - just take it to a good AR gunsmith with the parts you want installed, and drop it off...

Pat, I love how you started that document, right up front. I knew that's exactly what you were talking about with this statement, in your opener here, too: I've been preaching that for years - and I've even had people here tell me I'm crazy for saying that, from the gas-rings back to the bolt tail, that IS a piston, and it's in a cylinder (bolt carrier). The cylinder begins movement, around the piston, in this case, instead of the traditional way where a piston moves inside the stationary cylinder. People can't get their head around that, and it fuks them all up.

GG, you need to research Filthy 14. It's a DI gun.

Brother, snatch up some Reloder 15 powder for those 168 TSX projos. Start at 41.0 and ladder up. You'll see some magic happen between 42.0 and 42.5gr. Don't go over 45.0gr max charge. 44.8gr nets me 2750fps.

I think my standard load in that damn thing IS a magnum load... lmao... 405gr Oregon Trail silver alloy cast boolits over 50.0gr of IMR 3031. It's stout - but it can go higher...

None that I've seen. The surface hardness of the annodizing is only gonna increase the scratch resistance, not necessarily increase the ridigity or strength of the part itself. And Cerakote is pretty damn scratch resistant.

They make you go lead-free, brother?

Yep, SLR Synergy Brake. That thing works GREAT! It's a brake, so there's zero reduction in the flash or the amount of sideblast that your shooting buddy is gonna eat - we found that out. Damn, though, does it eat recoil... You can see in the vid of Mike - turns a 16" .308AR into a flat-shooting machine. I'd rate that thing as: very effective. I'd really like to try out their BCF 30 sometime.

^^^ I love the grips on that thing, brother...

The Kimber BP Ten II mags are identical to Para P14 mags. I'll go pull one and check it. EDIT - Relaxed length of the spring is 6" if you run the flat surfaces, 6 3/8" if you run max length across the spring (one corner to the opposite corner). Width at the bottom of the spring is approx. 0.820". The spring tapers towards the top, since it's a double-stack tapered mag. Love, Tom

Pat, my opinion is easy - I think that there is one area where the "piston guns" outshine the standard DI system - SBRs running suppressors. You'll have almost all the gas venting somewhere towards the front, instead of through the bolt carrier and in your face. IMHO, that is the ONLY situation where I see it as an advantage. Everything else doesn't matter - on DI guns, you have to clean your bolt tail and inside the carrier. Piston operation just has that gas venting on or near the gas block, and you have to clean that, too. Maintenance is maintenance, just two different areas. DI works, very well, it's easy to diagnose and modify, and I'll always run them. If I ever found myself in a situation where the only gun I had was a suppressed SBR, then I'd live with it as a DI gun, but it would be better if it was piston driven. I don't ever envision myself being in that position, though, where it's gonna be the only thing I ever have...

Here are the two rifles I was talking about - top one is the light AR, bottom is the .308. Second pic is that SLR Rifleworks brake.