Newbi build Question!

[seagiant]

Hi,

      I bought a DPMS lower and the lower kit and plan on building as I go. I am now looking at the barrel assembly. I was originally going to order a 308 BA-20 upper assembly but I'm thinking I would rather have a 18" barrel with a free float hand guard but still want the A2 gas block and detachable hand/sight grip handle. This will of course be with the upper with the fwd assist and shell deflector as I am left handed! I seem to be having trouble finding parts to do this? Am I not looking in the right spot any help or ideas on how to do this is appreciated!

[unforgiven]

Hello brother seagiant,I am also lefty but my rifles are righthand configured with ambi controls safety,mag release and bolt [bolt release on Lar-8].Haven't had any issues brass kicks out far enough [little to far but o well] so that it isn't a problem. :)

[seagiant]

Hi Unforgiven,

                      Are you using the upper with the case deflector??? Thanks!

[edgecrusher]

Try checking some of our vendors, Tactical Machining, Brownells, as well as Fulton Armory and Rainier Arms.

[unforgiven]

Yea brother seagiant,all my rifles have them. <thumbsup>

[seagiant]

Hi,

    Well....I've looked at buying parts for an upper and were talking easy $1000 bucks! I would end up with a little better barrel (Criterian) but not $400 better. The DPMS upper assembly that I've been looking at is the 308-BA-20. I will probably pull the handle and low mount a red dot for urban distance shooting. These are made from Wilson barrel blanks but have yet to hear of one that dosen't shoot fantastic! I hope to be able to buy one for about $600 so quite a bit of difference!

  Has anyone hear heard of Chicago Gunsmith??? They are suppose to have upper ready to go???  Thanks!

[seagiant]

Hi,

    Well no one has any upper assemblys ready to go,so I put in for a 308-BA-20 from DPMS with a 8 month lead time!!! The people at DPMS said they can't make them fast enough! We'll see what happens? Can someone tell me where the AR 308 guys hang out? Does not seem to be here? Thanks!

[survivalshop]

Just remember you get what you pay for . Building or buying a 308 upper assembly & get it the way you want it , will cost .

You can get an as built with some of what you want & change it later , when the $$ is available  & that works for most .

I build them over time to keep the cost spread out & make them more affordable , but I also get the best components available so I know the rifle will perform . 

You have to remember that right now the system is over loaded with panic buyers ,because of the pending election . Same thing happened , but after the election the last time . Parts are hard to come by in all the AR platforms .

You could build one before you get the DPMS unit .

I thought I was a 308 guy , but maybe I'm lost . :)

[unforgiven]

I'm here bro,I am also between jobs.It's summer and more people are out and about. :).Instead of waiting brother survival has a good point piece one together the way you want it ;)

[seagiant]

Hi,

    Sorry but when you are trying to make a decision your wanting some feed back and want to move along! I figured that for the money I'm not going to beat an upper from DPMS. I have never heard of a bad report on their barrels although Wilson is not considered top of the line something is working!

  Even if I changed my mind and wanted to go with something else I won't get hurt buying the upper and reselling for cash on a forum! Thanks for the help,I do appreciate it!!! There just dosen't seem like alot of info on the AR 308. Is there a step by step tutorial besides the one here on building somewhere? I have the AR 15 build book from Fulton Armoury!

[edgecrusher]

I also replied to your original post, we will try to help you out, but you should be aware of the mad rush in the industry. Dpms lead times have always been long.

In your original post you were looking for parts. Then you switched to a complete upper. For that, try Impact guns and Gunbroker. You will have more luck with inventory that way.

Now I want to ask, if you only plan on shooting urban distances with a red dot, why a 20" barrel? In the .308 a 16" barrel from a quality maker and a proficient shooter can easily hit 600yds. Heck, I've gone 550 with a 14.5" 5.56 carbine. I think you should state you end goals so we can really narrow down your search so you can find what you are looking for faster.

[jeffreyC]

For the most part the AR-15 and .308AR are put together the same, only when there are differences do you need specific instructions and usually those parts come with instructions or they are readily available.

Some of the differences are due to the designs of the various .308 rifles.

So the book on building an AR-15 is going to useful.

If you are impatient, there are two members of this forum with complete DPMS rifles for sale.

[MikedaddyH]

Seagiant, There is plenty of info on this site about gun builds ,problems and solutions. You are just going to read alot of posts. As stated earlier, Gunbroker.com will be one of the better sources of parts or an upper. When you are ready to assemble your lower, AR15.com has a tutorial step by step instructions.

BTW I am a 308 guy  8)

[Robocop1051]

SeaGiant,

You can't beat the availability of shopping at the gun shows either. It is gun show season, and there seems to be a show nearly every weekend in some part of every state. Remember that all written prices are negotiable at the table, and cold hard $CASH$ always speaks louder than words.

Check if any of these are close enough for you to get a head start on your build:

• Jun 9-10 Jacksonville Prime Osborne Convention Center  500 tbls, A: $8 Sat 9-4 Sun 9-3
  
• Jun 16-17 Ft Lauderdale, War Memorial Auditorium, 800 NE 8th St
  
• Jun 23-24 Ft Myers, Lee Civic Center, 11831 Bayshore Rd.
  
• Jun 23-24 Pensacola Fairgrounds. 6655 Mobile Hwy. $7 admission
  
• Jun 23-24 Starke, Bradford County Fairgrounds, 2300 N Temple Ave, Starke FL, 32091  Sat 9-5 & Sun 9-4 A $6
  
• Jun 30-Jul 1 Ocala National Guard Armory, 900 SW 20th Street, Ocala Fl, 34474,  Sat 9am-5pm & Sun 9am-4pm $6
  

[unforgiven]

Gun shows & $$$ =  <thumbsup>

[seagiant]

Hi,

    Thanks Gentlemen,very,very much!

  Edgecrusher you are right,you don't need a 20" barrel for urban shooting but I like longer barrels as a rule! The DPMS upper is going to take so long I might go ahead and build another upper from parts,but from what I see people want $300 for a barrel,$200 for bolt/boltcarrier,$200 for upper,then all the bit peices! It seems that a nice upper assembly is close to $1000! I guess that was why you guys gave the advice on the gun shows! I have a built DPMS lower so I guess I have to make sure the barrel and extension is good for the lower and I should be ok???

  I could go ahead and build a 16" and then get my upper assembly from DPMS next year and get another lower and stock for that! Those are the easy pieces anyway! Thanks again!

[Robocop1051]

I'm not quite sure of your questions are rhetoric or not...

A "nice upper receiver" starts at about $1,000. My barrel was $1,000 by itself. A pre built kit from a gun show could cost you significantly less

As for compatability... Just stick to LR308 and SR25 compatible parts.

[seagiant]

Hi Robo,

              Yes I was asking! A $1000 barrel??? I can't do that I'm afraid. So if I buy a barrel and extension,what about head space with the bolt? Thanks!

[Jgun]

If you build it yourself, you should check headspace before shooting it. Understand  that if you were to find the headspace to be out of spec, You'd have to have it handled by a compitant gunsmith (unless you own a lathe and know how to chamber an AR barrel). What you will find is that, as long as you use quality barrel/extension, and bolt, it's very unlikely that your going to have a headspace problem, just be sure to go with the same pattern for both barrel extension and bolt, don't mix DPMS and AR10 bolts and barrels.

[edgecrusher]

So if I buy a barrel and extension,what about head space with the bolt? Thanks!

If you get a bolt at the same time you get a barrel most times the  place you get it from will head space it for you.

As for compatability... Just stick to LR308 and SR25 compatible parts.

this is solid info, lr308 and sr25 parts work on dpms brand builds. there are many parts out there. most specifically it is the barrel extension,bolt, barrel nut, and handguards that you need to be worried about being manufacturer specific.

  I could go ahead and build a 16" and then get my upper assembly from DPMS next year and get another lower and stock for that! Those are the easy pieces anyway! Thanks again!

or just have two uppers and one lower. good luck, keep us in the loop, and you never know, something may come across the board you like too!

[seagiant]

Hi,

    WOW! This is great! Thanks for the help! How about hand guards and length? What's the difference between 16",18",and 20-24 length??? Standard,free-float? Thanks!

[jeffreyC]

Fulton Armory has a 4 to 6 week wait time and are DPMS compatible, they use Criterion barrels.

They make an 18.5 inch barrel with a rifle length gas system.

[survivalshop]

You really need to read up on this in the build threads , they cover all of this .

Free float is just that , hand guard has no contact with the barrel .Better accuracy out of the rifle , but more $$$

STD. is just like a mil spec M16A2 or M4 types

Lengths , are lengths !