What made you decide to move to the 308 AR/AR-10 Platform?

[BLKSHEEP]

I'm starting off with the 308 for the option to use it for hunting hogs and deer, I might get a 223 later.

[TomBruto]

I love all my guns, but when I sold my m1a to buy a savage 10 fcp, I vowed to replace it one day with another, or at least a semi auto 308. I love my savage, it shoots in the .1,.2, and .3's all day with reloads, but I feel I need a semi auto.  I think I would be able to get a few more hogs before they make it into the brush with a semi auto vs. my bolt action. I have been hunting with my ar15 since i was 16 and have taken everything from whitetail to ringtail. With proper shot placement, it has dropped many big deer and hogs at up to 250 yards. It is deadly accurate and I just like the way it is built, but i have never been a big fan of the 223. Thus the 308AR seed was planted. It has been a few years now and the seed has become a tree that needs to be taken care of. Especially since I stumbled upon the mega recievers.  It is only a matter of time before i have a complete rifle. I hope it is as accurate as my savage, or at least my ar15, because it will be used mainly on hogs at distances out to and beyond 700 yards. I hope it likes the 178 A-max as much as i do. Guess I will find out shortly.

[w_r_ranch]

I got into it mostly for hunting purposes. While I normally would use my Browning 300mag. on deer & pigs, I am lucky when I get 2 pigs at a time...  Also last Labor Day, I saw a puma, I actually saw it through a scope on my AR15 & was so shocked that I never pulled the trigger.  While I have killed a lot of pigs with head shots with the 'mouse gun', I wasn't going to screw around with a small bullet on a puma.  It has pretty much cleaned out a 900 acre high-fenced area. This was my main reason.

I also love shooting longer ranges, so I talked Mrs. Ranch into it.  <lmao>

[BLKSHEEP]

I got into it mostly for hunting purposes. While I normally would use my Browning 300mag. on deer & pigs, I am lucky when I get 2 pigs at a time...  Also last Labor Day, I saw a puma, I actually saw it through a scope on my AR15 & was so shocked that I never pulled the trigger.  While I have killed a lot of pigs with head shots with the 'mouse gun', I wasn't going to screw around with a small bullet on a puma.  It has pretty much cleaned out a 900 acre high-fenced area. This was my main reason.

I also love shooting longer ranges, so I talked Mrs. Ranch into it.  <lmao>

What state did you see the panther in?

[w_r_ranch]

Colorado County, Texas.  We are equidistant between Houston, San Antonio, Austin & Victoria.

Since Labor Day, numerous reports have come in (including a confirmed kill of a 150 lb. female about 20 miles from us). 

[BLKSHEEP]

I didn't know it was legal to shoot them in TX, The experts say they don't exist here in LA <lmao> about 15yrs ago I saw one chasing a armadillo on top of the levee in the middle of the day, he ran down the levee, crossed the road 30 yards in front of me! big male,beautiful animal <thumbsup>

[edgecrusher]

we have them coming back here in the berkshires. a car hit one early in the winter, 210lb male.  :-[ poor guy, they are beautiful creatures. don't think i would want to face to face though  :o

[w_r_ranch]

I didn't know it was legal to shoot them in TX, The experts say they don't exist here in LA <lmao>

Totally legal here.  I have the mount already picked out...  although the cost of a full body mount will 'hurt' for sure.  Mrs. Ranch wasn't thrilled but I told her it would be an investment...  she is slowly coming to understand after hearing about folks losing calves, dogs, etc.  Now if I could just get a shot at it...

I'm willing to bet that LA. has them too.  They are elusive.

[edgecrusher]

like ghosts for sure.. i spend a lot of time in the woods with my dogs and see bear,deer,turkey, sorts of animals. they are there.. hopefully not to close

[TomBruto]

Im sure they are there, I know they are here in west Texas, a little kid just got attacked by one a week or two ago about 70 miles from here in Big Bend State Park!

[unforgiven]

Welcome from Indiana brotherTomBruto.

[exracr]

already own a savage .223 bolt action, bull barrel with a 8-16x40 scope on it.... wanted a larger caliber gun and an AR style weapon as well.... AR-10 fits that bill!

[BLACKTIP]

The more I handle and shoot my 7.62x51 AR's the more I feel it's the better choice; I mean

if you're going to need/use a high capacity "military type" weapon the AR15-5.56 is just a

lot more limited. The only real advantage I find [in comparison] is that the AR15 is a few

pounds lighter and you can carry a little more ammo. I would rather carry 200 rounds of

7.62x51 than 300 rounds of 5.56x45 [if I'm packing a maximum load] and the extra few

pounds of [rifle] weight isn't an issue for me.

I have a AP-4,which is only a few inches longer and a few pounds heavier than my AR15

but has big power:

I turned my Armalite AR-10/Gen-1/A-2 into a Gen-2, added a collapsible stock and shortened the

barrel to 17"; with the muzzle break it's 18.5"

I shoot both of these as fast/well as my AR15's and with the big selection of ammo I have

[including M-61 AP rounds] these rifles can serve a huge variety of missions. I favor the

Armalite because with the muzzle break and "rifle length gas" it shoots more smoothly

and easily than the AP-4 [it's like butter].

[unforgiven]

Looks good brother BLACKTIP. <thumbsup>

[histopicker]

I started shooting the .308 ar because it is easier to get the cleaning media out of a .308 case than a .223 case. I shoot three different cals. in the ar. .223, 6.8 spc ll, and the .308. >308 was bought as a hog gun.

[LocoGringo]

I bought my DPMS LR-308 out of both fear and desire.  Fear that a gun hating Congress might work on another '94 gun ban and I wanted to get one before they attempted/succeeded and desire because it's freakin' cool.  I also found a great deal that I couldn't pass.  Been tweaking, modifying and improving since then (early 2008).  Almost got it where I want...

[Cabinetman]

1- shot 1- kill gar-uan-tee  :D

Yes.......and at 700+ yards, too.

Rome

[Grunt Medic TXARNG]

For me, it was a natural progression of my interest in US military rifles.  I first shot the M-14 at the National Matches years ago, and was immediately in love.  Moving onto my own attempts in Highpower competition I went with the AR platform, since that was what I was issued - and thus what I wanted to be most proficient with.  Fast forward and I attended the Army Master Gunner School - where I got to learn and shoot the Knight's M110 - and again fell in love. 

While in Iraq I had a semi M-14 built up, and am finally getting around to completing it.  At the same time, I have a strong desire to put it and the M110 style design (as I would like to have seen it fielded) head to head for a direct comparison.  So here I am with a big pile of parts - just waiting for my LPK to arrive and I can assemble it.

[unforgiven]

Glad you made it back home. <thumbsup>

[Will_Power]

As I mentioned briefly in my introduction, I'm relatively new to firearms and the like. I've been tentatively looking into putting together a semiauto black rifle for the past year and am only just now getting to the point of feeling confident in my direction of platform. But not because I particularly "like" the .308 AR platform, but because the negatives piled up too high on the other two I was considering: AR-15s and FALs.

FAL

For a while, I was looking hard, hard at the FAL. I liked the 7.62 NATO/.308 round for versatility, availability, and cheap (by comparison) plinking ammo. And with an FAL, you get supreme reliability, but the accuracy suffers. And that accuracy can range wildly anywhere from 3MOA to 6MOA+ on these guns, and no one seems to be able to pinpoint the exact problems (anything from magazine pressure to the tilting block to vibrating gas pistons to magic fairy dust). If I just needed a SHTF battle rifle as insurance, then that's not a problem, but as a jack-of-all-trades rifle, that's not going to cut it.

However, it seems FAL parts kits are drying up and what is available is - arguably for the most part - old, shot-out pieces of kit that are only climbing in cost (along with mags). I hear about the golden age of cheap FALs, but I certainly missed it. The only manufacturer of new FAL parts these days - DSA - has been working hard at building a horrible reputation amongst the enthusiasts over at the FAL Files.

AR-15

The widespread adoption of the AR-15 platform by 50,000 different manufacturers, and the resultant proliferation of different parts, accessories, and cartridges is very, very appealing. While I've no interest in 5.56/.223, the 6.8 and 6.5 cartridges interested me as workable substitutes for the .308 (even though I'd still worry about elk, even thought hunters have done it before). However, they both remain niche cartridges without cheaper plinking ammo or any sort of mil-surplus. Just too expensive.

Plus, the AR-15s I've shot (all M4 styled carbines with 16" barrels in .223) just feel so damn small and fragile. Hard for me to explain, but I'm a big 6'4" guy with long monkey arms, and I just didn't enjoy the small size of the guns. Doesn't that even make sense?

However, accuracy is miles and away better with the AR and - according to the anecdotes I constantly hear - all this development on that platform has really increased its reliability.

I still have my worries though. Even though I'm not planning on fighting some guerrilla insurgency against UN troops and a tyrannical US government, I still want to trust that my rifle will go bang every time, you know?

So there you have it. A bit long winded, but as basically a firearms newcomer, maybe it'll help others to see my thought process on that matter.

[jeffreyC]

Not in order, but:

Same controls and therefore shared muscle memory with the AR-15

Longer range and better penetration.

Accuracy.

Ease of mounting optics.

Magpul PMags.

I looked at the FAL long and hard, but in the end it had too many negatives.

I looked at the M1A but it is far more ammo sensitive, and harder to mount optics.

[Vlad308]

Liked my M16 but I wanted something with more reach and more punch. Got punch with my first weapon (Springfield Armory 1911 .45ACP) but still needed the reach out and show some lead love ability. Did some looking and a lot of question asking and in the end I bought my POF 308. And thus far I could not be happier.

[Compman25]

Stocked up on lots of 308 in the 90's and never had a gun to use it with. Until 2 weeks ago.

[unforgiven]

Welcome from Indiana brother Compman,you had good foresight.

[ghorn]

I never thought that I would get into the 308 cal but I did.  Love shooting the 5.56 cal and with cheap ammo years ago that was fun.  I have a SA M1A and would shoot that but not as fun as the 5.56.  One day my son bought a DPMS Tac 20 rifle and we both had a 308 and started having a better time with that cal than 5.56.  Now I just bought a DPMS AP4 16 inch barrel and will put a picannity rail and scope on it.  The 308 is fun to shoot and love the power. So much fun!!!