308 Semis

[psalms144.1]

So, I have an irrational WANT for a "battle rifle." I KNOW I don't need one, but I WANT one. I've got 5.56 covered in spades.

I LOVE the DSArms SA58s - have wanted an FNFAL since I was a young pup reading Soldier of Fortune. But, I'm not sure I want a snowflake gun (mags, parts, etc) that might only have meh accuracy at a high price.

The first rifle I ever bought was an HK91, which I insanely traded off for a Walther PPK and $500 (this was the 80s - don't hate me). I recall it being a hard-kicking rifle with so-so accuracy and a terrible trigger (probably related?) Are any of the current knock offs worth looking at?

When I was at USSOCOM I developed a totally unshakeable love for the SCAR-H, but I don't want a 308 semi enough to pay more than the value of my youngest son's car on one.

Which brings me around to the generic AR-10 family. I know there are tons of them available, are any of them particularly "mo' bettah" than another? Keep in mind, I'm recently retired, so Uncle Sugar has paid me $0.00 for my last two paychecks (they'll get around to paying my annuity "Soon"), so I'm probably not in the market for an LMT or a GAP-10.

Thanks in advance!

Kevin

[ASH556]

My only advice based on my somewhat limited experience with AR10's is decide pretty hard on the front end where you want to be on the following topics and STAY THERE:
1. Precision
2. Suppression

I ruined a pretty great .308 battle rifle (M&P 10 w/FF handguard and TA11 ACOG) by trying to make it into a suppressed precision rifle. It was excellent in the first role and terrible in the second. Gassing, springs, buffers, etc with .308 gas guns is a different bag than 5.56 guns where we have a pretty good idea of what gas port and buffer combos work well together for a gun to run suppressed and not.

If you want to keep it unsuppressed battle rifle, your options are plentiful. If you want to go suppressed precision, I would start and stop with KAC personally (maaaaaaaybe Larue, but they seem to have good and bad generations).

Here's that M&P as I should've left it. Thing handled almost like a 5.56 gun:

[JRB]

With this I'd recommend buying what you truly love and want, and otherwise leaving the itch alone. Even if it's a $4k itch for a SCAR 17S, just scratch it. Be happy and need nothing else from there.

It's a fast spiral from 'close enough' to buying several different 'close enough' guns then finally you end up spending the big bucks on that thing you really wanted in the first place. If you want all of those different guns for different reasons, don't rationalize it to yourself. But don't try to sell yourself on something that's really less than what you want.

So if you want a good FAL, buy a quality build using a complete G1 or STG-58 or Imbel kit or similar and it'll basically never lose value at this rate. If you want a SCAR 17S - just dive in and be happy. It's a suitable retirement gift to yourself.

[fatdog]

I have owned 4 different AR-10's and the only one I kept was one I assembled using a DPMS upper/lower and a really great Criterion barrrel, 18" government profile, rifle gas chrome lined model that Benny Hill at Triangle shooting sports had them build for him when he was building heavy metal division raceguns.

My experience with PSA stainless barrel gun was the gun ran, accuracy was shit. My experience with S&W was gun ran, accuracy was mediocre compared to the one built with the Criterion barrel. I built another on a set of DPMS receivers with a 24" Shillen heavy barrel which was accurate, but no better than the 18" gov. profile Criterion.

No surprise to me that the barrel is the heart of the rifle, and all AR-10's are not created equal. Buying of the shelf, I would give that barrel factor the most weight. But I have no idea who is killing it with the quality of their barrels today.

[shane45]

Id recommend Seekins or LMT or perhaps DD or step up to SCAR 17 or go all in on SR25 (EMC or later). Ive had just about all of them. For me, I kept the SCAR17 and the SR25. If I could only have one it would be the SR25.

[HCM]

Battle rifles and budget don’t really go together.

I say just get the SCAR17 you want once you start getting paid again. Buy once cry once.

If I had to buy a sub $2k AR-10 I would get a SIG 716i.

It’s well vetted and in service as a battle rifle / FAL replacement with the Indian Army.,

[TGS]

Show support for Slavs that opposed the Russians and buy a Romanian PSL (7.62x54) or Zastava M77 (308).

Note: Yeah, ok, I'm a bit of a one-tracked troll.....but I enjoy my PSL and as a history-nerd I really get a kick out of it from that perspective.

[Andy T]

As others said, buy what you really "love" not something to "settle on" as you will end up with two rifles .
It seems there are plenty of used SCAR 17s for around low 3K.

LMTs are much more difficult to get, and you will probably have to assemble it from complete lower and upper as I believe LMT is no longer selling complete MWS rifles.

You can also buy lightweight, short barrels for LMT, getting its weight closer to the SCAR.

I own both and prefer LMT MWS. It's a bit heavier than the plain SCAR, but there is something about AR's familiar manual of arms. Plus, I managed to smack my thumb twice on SCAR's charging handle (which is a non-issue now).

I also own Colt Le901. In the fantasy world, that would be my "go-to" .308 platform because it's an AR that's lighter/handier than MWS. Sadly, it's no longer made. It's equipped with a 1-4 LPVO.

If you really must, Aero precision seems to have a decent reputation for AR10 platform. The only anecdotal advice is to try and buy either a complete rifle or everything from the same maker to minimize potential issues.

[HCM]

As others said, buy what you really "love" not something to "settle on" as you will end up with two rifles .
It seems there are plenty of used SCAR 17s for around low 3K.

LMTs are much more difficult to get, and you will probably have to assemble it from complete lower and upper as I believe LMT is no longer selling complete MWS rifles.

You can also buy lightweight, short barrels for LMT, getting its weight closer to the SCAR.

I own both and prefer LMT MWS. It's a bit heavier than the plain SCAR, but there is something about AR's familiar manual of arms. Plus, I managed to smack my thumb twice on SCAR's charging handle (which is a non-issue now).

I also own Colt Le901. In the fantasy world, that would be my "go-to" .308 platform because it's an AR that's lighter/handier than MWS. Sadly, it's no longer made. It's equipped with a 1-4 LPVO.

If you really must, Aero precision seems to have a decent reputation for AR10 platform. The only anecdotal advice is to try and buy either a complete rifle or everything from the same maker to minimize potential issues.

@JM Campbell built an Aero AR-10. It took some tinkering to get it running well.

Given the lack of standardization for AR-10s buying a complete rifle, or complete uppers and lowers from the sane company is preferable.

[Suvorov]

Show support for Slavs that opposed the Russians and buy a Romanian PSL (7.62x54) or Zastava M77 (308).

The Yugos opposed the Soviets, especially Stalin, not so much the "Russians." They actually have closer kinship to the Russians than they do most other Slavs. As for the current stupidity, the President of Serbia has made Serbia's placement of sanctions on Russia contingent on Ukraine recognizing that Kosovo is Serbia (not going to happen given Ukraine's ties to the "West" and the fact that nobody give a "F" about the Serbs claim on Kosovo). So the Serbs need to go in your "Bad Slav" pile. And Romanians aren't Slavs - in fact they would probably get pretty pissed if you called them a Slav.

I agree however that the history of the PSL and the Yugo M76 are quite fascinating from a historical perspective.

@psalms144.1 - even though the rifle is not on any of the "Cool Guy" lists, I have been very happy with my Primary Weapon Systems MK216. It's been 100% reliable with MagPul magazines and has yielded many honest sub MOA groups. It's a little heavier than I would like but lighter than the LMT and the Sig716. Feel free to contact me if you want more info.