chamberings

[AR47vet]

I am looking to build myself an AR10, I have built 2 in the past for friends. Both had them chambered in 308, standard fare. Now I have been all over the net, as many barrel manufacturers as Google can turn up, and all I can find is 22 250 270 308 and 6.5 these days. Now I like my larger Diameter bullets like .40 and up. I was wondering if there is a 40 cal chambering for the AR10? And if yes, where may i be able to find a barrel? Much thanks in advance.

[jtallen83]

20 minutes ago, AR47vet said:

Now I like my larger Diameter bullets like .40 and up. I was wondering if there is a 40 cal chambering for the AR10? And if yes, where may i be able to find a barrel? Much thanks in advance.

A local shop here, BW Outfitters, builds and sells a bunch of 45 Raptor uppers, it recently became an eligible cartridge for deer hunting here in Iowa. It pretty much duplicates 460 S&W ballistics. They have their barrels made by X-Caliber.

http://www.45raptor.com/45RAPTOR/

[98Z5V]

Most of the ".40 and up" chamberings are on the small-frame AR, not the large frame.  What specific cartridge do you have in mind, that's a short-action?...

This just came out, not long ago...

http://www.recoilweb.com/phoenix-weaponry-produces-45-70-government-ar-132226.html

Edited October 1, 2018 by 98Z5V

[AR47vet]

17 hours ago, 98Z5V said:

Most of the ".40 and up" chamberings are on the small-frame AR, not the large frame.  What specific cartridge do you have in mind, that's a short-action?...

This just came out, not long ago...

http://www.recoilweb.com/phoenix-weaponry-produces-45-70-government-ar-132226.html

I hate to say that while I am super versed in the AR15 and its offerings, I am not to rightly sure as to what big bore calibers are offered for the AR10. Hence I am here asking the AR10 guys.

[ARTrooper]

I think the 45 raptor would be best but as of right now, 45-70 government is a lot easier to find.

What are you planning on using your rifle for that you want such a big bullet?

keep in mind those large, slow moving bullets with poor bcs loose their energy very quickly. judging at quick a few quick looks at what I could find, it seems like .308 is going to have more energy at 200 yards than these bigger bullets, and still even pretty comparable at closer ranges. yes these bigger bullets are gonna create bigger whole that bleed more... bla bla bla. but speed kills just as much, if not more if you can get a large temporal cavity from a lot of speed.

Also, these larger rounds are going to have a lot more recoil and cost.

2 cents

[98Z5V]

11 hours ago, AR47vet said:

I hate to say that while I am super versed in the AR15 and its offerings, I am not to rightly sure as to what big bore calibers are offered for the AR10. Hence I am here asking the AR10 guys.

I'm glad you're super versed on the AR15, but you need to think about this.

The Large Frame AR is still a short action, so you're basically stuck with a 308-based case in what you can do. 30-06 is out, as a Long Action cartridge.

On a short action, and your quest for ".40 and up" just look at a 308-416.  You'll have to wildcat this one.  Custom chamber reamer, custom barrel, custom reloading dies - and a .416 in a .308 Win case is gonna leave you with 19-thou of shoulder.  Eh, well, that's almost like a 300 Blackout, so it'll work  - if all your custom-produced parts work.

Other than a .416, you're not going anywhere here, with this idea.  You step up to a .423, and you're just about straight-walling the tapered .308 Win case.  .470 is out.  What else are you gonna do, here, with it? You can run the Hornady .405 300-grain projectile. It's got the ballistic coefficient of a brick.

So, lust all you want, but do your research. 

If you want to step up to a Long Action AR, that's gonna be a shiit-ton of money - very few people make them.  Pick a company that makes a 30-06-based AR, and you'll have more options, but you'll still have to wildcat it.  All. Jump up even again, in expenditure, and get an AR that was built for the .338 Lapua Magnum - then wildcat that thing into a ".40 and up" AR...  If it'll run .338 Lapua Magnum, it still won't run a .416 Barrett or a .408 CheyTac...  You could neck that .338 Lapua Magnum up, though...

We have a member her that owns his own manufacturing company, and makes .338 Lapua Magnum ARs, with foreign-military contracts . I'm sure, for a price, he could find a way to sell you receivers - but the rest is all wildcatting, and on you, and at a great expense.

How far are you willing to go, here?... 

If you really wanna kick everyone's ass, make some AR receivers and design the rifle that would accept the CheyTac round - and neck that .408 CheyTac down to a .375 CheyTac.

That'll destroy everything, long range.

[98Z5V]

Basically, here are your options for calibers in the Short Action .308AR frame...

Left to right:

.308 Winchester, .243 Winchester, .358 Winchester, 7mm-08, .260 Remington, and .338 Federal.

You can run those without wildcatting anything.  Barrels are available, reloading dies are available, and the parent case of .308 Win is readily available to make your own brass.  .260 Rem it tricky, when you make your own brass - there are some .308/7.62mm cases out there that you would have to turn down the necks after down-sizing it, because shrinking it down makes for a thicker neck - and it won't chamber, because of that.  .243 Win (necked up) and 7mm-08 brass (slightly necked down) is excellent for making .260 Rem brass. Some of the .308s are tricky, though, and you have to monitor it.  I only use Hornady .308 Win Match Brass for making .260 Rem, and the neck diameter is fine after downsizing.

Making .243 Win from .308/7.62mm brass would give you the same circumstances, and you'd have to watch the neck diameter after shrinking it down.

If your quest for the ".40 and up" is a must have, about the only thing you can do is wildcat that .308-.416...