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CMMG 308 18" SST Rifle : the Good, the Bad, The UGLY


sellmarkguy

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Ok, it has been awhile since I have posted here and I thought I would tell you guys my story re: this rifle

I had the 18" Stainless Steel barrelled version of this gun for about 6 months. Mods were Vltor EMOD stock, Pride and Fowler 3-9x32 scope, and Burris PEPR mount. I have good insight to share on their version of the 308AR.

Positives were:

1. Accuracy - The thing would hit an INCH target at 300 yards with the PFI scope. Repeat accuracy was easily attainable, whethere 150 FMJBT or 175 HPBT. 300 yards was the farthest distance I had available.

2. Better components - I like the fact that it has a midlength gas system and Milspec buffer tube. Also, the FFT handguard is a nice touch with Low Prof Gas Block. Also, the flared magwell makes loading the mag a bit more simple, much like a 1911-racegun.

3. Weight - It uses a Stainless Steel HBAR profile barrel which really makes the rifle easy to wield and shoot offhand. I do not know where CMMG sources their barrels.

Now, the bad, Ugly part of this. I sold my gun.. Here's why...

I am extremely anal about function and the CMMG has some flaws that you should be aware of, should you decide to procure one of these babys.

1. Handguard fit - Loctite is your friend with this thing. The handguard is attached with 4 screws and while the layout of this is well thought out, the problem lies in the length of the screws. They do not seat deeply enough and attach firmly enough because during my training session, after about 5 rounds, the handguard would start to come loose. So... my Allans were at the ready because the handguard would start coming loose and have enough 'play' to be irritating. Even after using Loctite, it STILL came loose. I contacted CMMG about this, and while I have nice things to say about their people, I do not have nice things to say about this design. The Tech guy said they are kinda 'stuck' with that design. (His words, not mine) Not a good answer.

2. Failure to Eject - When I 1st bought this gun, the bolt carrier looked to be 'previously enjoyed.' Hmmmm.. Are they buying DPMS BCG rejects to build their uppers?  Reliability was fine up until recently when I ended up with stovepipes. This later morphed into FT Ejects (Extraction fine, but empty would sit in the upper and bolt would close halfway on the empty. I thought it may be a dirty chamber, but I clean my chamber pretty regularly and even polished it, ever so slightly. The guy at CMMG said that the ejector could be problem, but it did not look bad to me.

3. Upper to Lower Fit - I have never seen worse. Understanding that an Accuwedge install will solve this, my gun had too much for my taste. Upon examining the machining of the front takedown pin hole, it did not look to be done very well. They cut these small V-s into the metal and I think this is a problem.

The CHF barrel may have a better chamber than the stainless one, so in all fairness to them, the SS one could be way to rough. This could be contributing to the cycling issues, but it ran fine at first and got worse over time.

This is just a 'buyer beware.' Looks can be deceiving! I went back to DPMS because of my previous positive experiences with them.

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They know they have a problem with their BCG's.  The second thing they did with mine was send a new BCG.  They also admit they have too big a gas port drilled in the 18" barrels.  The FFT is from a third party.  (Midwest I think.) But it may be made to CMMG's specs.  Mine was loose enough to rattle and I opened the original shipping  box. 

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Hiya Sell ! so "Now, the bad, Ugly part of this. I sold my gun.. Here's why...

I am extremely anal about function and the CMMG has some flaws that you should be aware of, should you decide to procure one of these babys. "

anal aint got nothing to do with your weapon...when you spend your hard earned cash ...when you pull the trigger it should go bang every time!...thats all there is to it  no ifs ands or buts...otherwise you could be putting yourself in a bind.....the only ones that are anal is the cmmg folks and what they are doing to the folks that bought their weapons expecting them to work and not even giving them a kiss while they are working the customers over !  So come to think of it if its anal to want your weapon to go bang when you pull the trigger I guess I am too  :)  Wash

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+1 to your responses. I guess we could say that they ruined a really nice looking rifle with the potential to be a winner in this market. When I saw the 'other' thread on this issue, I cut and ran while I could. The UPS call tag from CMMG was in my Inbox and I DELETED it. 

And yeah Wash you're right. It's not about being anal; its about function. That gun needs to fire every time the trigger is squeezed. I can't believe that they tried to fix the other guy's gun using a spacer! How cheesy!  :cookoo:

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I have a call in to a friend in the video business.  I'm going to try to get some high speed video of the rifle firing to see exactly what is happening.  They have offered a refund and I may yet take them up on it.  Of course a refund wouldn't help with the several hundred dollars worth of accessories I bought or the three hundred dollars worth of ammo I have already burned trying to get it right.

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I was on CDNN's waiting list for one of the "SASS" 308's , when I got the call I was at work and too busy to place the order and they sold out within a couple hours, I recon that was my lucky day <thumbsup> My advice would be to take the refund and cut your losses!

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