ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Hey this is a first post here, I actually posted this post over at Northwest Firearms where I am actually a contributor. I just signed up for here this morning. Doing some google looking I found this forum so I figured it was more likely I would get good info from you guys. I am headed out to work this morning so I didn’t really have time to dig and search for answers to these questions so I apologize in advance because I know they have most likely already been answered in other threads. Anyway, Glad to be here Well I took the plunge, went down to Surplus Arms & Ammo and bought a Aero M5 lower. I have never owned a .308 AR let alone built one. I kind of expected it to be like building a AR15 but I can say so far its been nothing like that. So I bought the lower, I plan on using a CMC trigger so I really dont want to buy a entire LPK for the thing since all I really need are the takedown pins and mag release. Aero sells those separate but the long pin is out of stock. I plan on using a Aero upper, I figured at least having those two match would alleviate any worries about compatibility. I was told that the standard DPMS pins will work but the rear is a little short, It does not seem like anyone but Aero sells the Aero pins. I started looking around at BCG and barrels, Which If I can I would like to buy from the same manufacture (that way if there is a headspace issue I know they will take care of it) It seems like BCG vary wildly in price for comparable features. A PSA Nitride BCG is $149 VS a DPMS phosphate @ $289 both made from 9310 I might opt for a Rainer Arms barrel, They are 3 miles from my shop and I hear they will check headspace with one of their barrels free of charge when you buy the barrel. The 18" Black Select is $279 and instock. I hate to buy there BCG though as it is twice what the PSA one is and is made from the same stuff. Aero's Buffer, spring and tube set is not in stock. I am leaning towards using a PWS enhanced buffer tube I have but will still need to source a buffer and spring. A rail seems to be the hardest thing to determine if it will work The Aero says it is a DPMS High (.210) profile. I would like a slim Keymod rail something like the KMR The only one I have found is the Odinworks but they list two options 2.0 and 2.06 and the Aero says 2.10 so I am assuming they will not work, They 15" is out of stock anyway. Anyway now that I have taken the plunge it seems like its a little stressful trying to determine what's what and if all the bits will work together. I am in no real hurry but I would like to get some parts coming to at least get the lower together and start figuring out the rest of the bits. Anyone have some insight or suggestions ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgecrusher Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 First off, welcome. Buying the Aero upper will definitely help, as well as their pins. As for PSA parts beware, much of their early products and claims have been untrue of being compatible. I use the pws tubes, and Heavybuffers.com for spring and buffers (it uses the car10, not the anti tilt, and I prefer the XH, reduces recoil a bunch!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonfalcon07 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Second the comment about PSA. I started doing a PSA build, and ended up with an Aero build because the PSA parts are out of claimed specs, and won't function correctly with some parts. Aero makes their own handguard (and you can get an M5E upper, which is an enhanced upper with keymod rail). The M5E1 has a fixture built in that the rail slides onto and bolts down with 8 screws, with a low profile barrel nut that rides below the gas tube, and therefore does not require timing. It's not as slim as, say, a Fortis Switch, or something similar. Check out some of the other Aero builds in this section and you can see the difference. Aero also sells BCG's. I originally bought a Radical Firearms one, but it wouldn't headspace correctly to the Rainier Ultramatch barrel I had purchased. I ended up preordering the Aero BCG, and that one did headspace correctly with the Rainier barrel. Aero also sells barrels, so for the most part, you could make it a one-stop shop. They also offer a military discount, if you happen to be in the service, or a dependent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guruofhotrod Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) I'm nearing completion of of a couple of builds that have been somewhat long term, they are down to the handguards, I have a High profile 15.5" ODIN on order from a place called MASP Industries (they had a great sale price during the holidays) and also I'm planning on a Samson Star 10 in 9.2" combined with a PRI railed gas block to go on a high profile upper with a 16" mid gassed barrel (the rail on the upper and the rail on the gas block are a match for height, the Samson handguard is scheduled to show up next week - I'll keep everyone posted) The Higher profile ODIN should match with your High profile upper just fine - I don't know how soon the ODIN I ordered will show up since it is on back-order. Some other companies that make handguards for high profile uppers: Aero,SLR Rifleworks, Fortis Mfg, Midwest Industries, Troy Industries, Daniel Defense, Apex, (I will be confirming the Samson Star 10 height, they are advertised to fit Armalite AR10's but they do sell a barrel nut with DPMS thread and so far the measurement from the barrel centerline looks correct - stay tuned! Also I noticed that JD Machine has a new quadrail handguard for high profile DPMS type upper so far in 12" only: http://www.jdmachinetech.com/shop-jd/new-308-quadrail On the BCG Aero has located their Forward Assist similar to the AR15 as a result if you want it to function you will need a BCG that has the notches running down the length for the F/A pawl to engage with - Aero, Shadow Ops and Palmetto offer this feature on their BCG's, (Shadow Ops has them with or without the notches) Edited January 24, 2015 by guruofhotrod Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I went into Rainer this morning and tried to buy takedown pins and a mag catch, no dice, full LPK only. I had my M5 lower with me though and put a Rainer Arms full upper on it to see how it fit. It did not look bad at all, a few lines that don't match up but would certainly be passable. Of course the Mega/Rainer is more money so I don't know why you would buy one over the Aero. I would consider the M5E1 upper and Aero rail but it is not listed on thier website. They show them on complete rifles? I ask the guy at SAA about the E1 and he shrugged and said maybe they discontinued it. How about just buying the long takedown pin from PSA? It's twice the money of the Aero but atleast they have one to buy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonfalcon07 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 http://aeroprecisionusa.com/aspx/store/productdetail.aspx?pid=341 There ya go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Cool, so E1 upper and rail ordered along with the mag catch and the front pin, need to figure out where to source a rear pin if you guys think the PSA is a no go. Not sure why I could not find the E1 stuff on their page, they only had the 12" in stock, I would have preferred the 15" but I'll get over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McCannicalBob Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I bought some Aero stuff from Schuyler Arms. You might check to see if they have any pins in stock. I know they have the LPK and buffer/tube/spring kits. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 No pin at Schuyler but they had a complete aero upper for $545! Considering I had to pay $340 with tax on just a upper and rail that would have been a smokin deal. Too late now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 And you guys are awesome by the way. I have accomplished more this morning than in a week of fumbleing around on my own. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketch Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Welcome from Wa. Where you at iron monster ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Auburn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sketch Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 I'm here north of bellingham glad to have another north west shooter!! GO HAWKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonfalcon07 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I think you'll be happy to have that E1 upper, unless the complete upper was the E1 variety. It's pretty sweet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 So is the Axts Raptor good to go in the Aero upper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 So the Shadow Ops BCG's are both on backorder, So is the Aero NIB which is what I would like to have. You have three choices with PSA but you guys got me scared of them. I own lots of 5.56 PSA stuff and have been happy with all of it so far (probably 6 complete uppers, several BCG and at least 10 LPK's) But the .308 stuff spooks me since I have no experiance with it. The PSA NIB is $189 and in stock, Shoot they have a Black Nitride one for $149 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crimsonfalcon07 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 308 seems to be an entirely different ballgame than 5.56. There's no milspec, and thus no standard measurements. You have no guarantees of cross-compatibility. I tried the cheap route on BCG too, and ended up holding up my build by 2 months because the bolt couldn't be headspaced to the Rainier barrel. Right now, from what I've seen working on my own PSA build, unless you're going full PSA, you may want to be wary. Certainly I'd avoid the Radical Firearms NiB BCG, in case that pops up in your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I ordered a Aero BCG and barrel, Not cheap but I'll pretty much have an Aero rifle. Still should only have around $1200 in it which is better than the $1499 they ask and mine will have a better trigger and stock. I ordred a tubbs buffer spring and a DPMS buffer, I have a ACC 51T comp for it. Midway had takedown and pivot pins so I ordered a set of those as well. The only major thing I need is a charging handle. I'll probably just pop into Rainer and pick up a Raptor for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Have you seen this yet... I'm not saying the AXTS is a bad choice... but for half the price, the TacOps-1 is AWESOME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Z5V Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 ^^^ Indeed, it is. Price doesn't matter in that determination, also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 What are the thoughts on a adjustable gas block? I was thinking of using a Syrac? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D.R.D. Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Syrac & SLR seem to be common favorites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 Syrac & SLR seem to be common favorites +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmonster Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 So I got a few parts this week and have my lower mostly put together but I have a question. So I did not buy a LPK, I had a CMC trigger to use and a good supply of AR bits so I just ordered a mag catch and the pivot and takedown pins. Everything seems good other than the mag catch. It seems like the rod is too short to let the button stick out far enough on the other side. It works but there is only like 3/32" of the button sticking proud of the receiver. Is there a .308 specific mag catch? Other than that I feel pretty good. I got the notice that my upper and rail shipped, still no word on the BCG or barrel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robocop1051 Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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