I've built several AR-15's, but this is my first adventure in the 7.62x51 flavor. From the time of my first part purchase (on the E&E), this build took about a year and 1/2. It didn't take me that long to buy the parts, it took me that long to commit to building one. I call my commit date, the night I bought my lower. That was Feb. 26th of this year. In that time to now it took me to make some decisions on what I wanted to do, wait for some parts to go on sale etc. etc. The reason I built this "DMR" Or LR-308, is that I wanted to push out beyond 600 yards and do so with more authority. I only briefly considered 6.5 CM and other calibers, but the Army in me says "commonality of round will rule the day" and also cost of round. Thanks to my buddies JWKnutson and Kain, I found some really good ammo buys from SGAMMO.com
But here it is:
Lower Build List:
Aero Precision M5 stripped lower
Aero Precision take-down and pivot pins
Mixed LPK (Aero bolt catch, Armalite extended mag release, DSG Arms billet mag release button)
Timney single stage 3lb pull trigger
KNC Lightweight anti-rotation kit
V7 short thrown ambi selector switch
Hogue soft overmolded grip (with storage)
Magpul SR25/MK110 Extended RE tube (A 10 position A5 tube)
Sprinco Orange 308 spring
KAK Heavy 308 carbine buffer
Vltor Emod stock
Upper Build List:
Aero Precision High Profile upper receiver
Ballistic Advantage 18" Premium 416R SS barrel, rifle gas. I debated a 20-24" barrel. Ballistically it's a better choice, but I was trying to find a compromise between maneuverability and accuracy/range. I have an 18" SPR and I'm comfortable moving with it. So that was the driving factor.
AAC 51t Brakeout 2.0
Ballistic Advantage BCG - There are other good 308 BCG's out there, but I have really learned to trust BA, they supply 98% of my barrels for my builds, but more importantly, I wanted the same manufacturer for my BCG as for my barrel.
SLR 15" ION Lite MLOK rail - I spent MORE TIME trying to decide what rail to get (I even went to WEVO and asked them to help me lol) I am used to LaRue Tactical quad rails. Don't care what you say, they are solid as a rock. BUT, I wanted to try to go lighter with this build. As some may have read my 5.56 SPR vs. 308 DMR thread, my SPR weighed 14.4 lbs w/scope. Since I started build though, a friend PIF'd a KAC URX 4 MLOK rail to me for an 11.5 build I was working on. I totally dig that rail. I mean wow. It is an amazing rail. However, I did not have KAC URX money for this rail. I had seen several SLR's on 308 builds and decided to go that route. My first SLR rail was a 16" SOLO rail. It has picatinny at 3, 6, and 9. I installed the rail for mock-up and really did not like it. It was TOO MUCH rail. So I called Chase at SLR and he said send it back. I said, well I dinged it, when I was putting a scope mount on it. He said send it back anyway, if I can't re-anodize it, I'll take the hit. AWESOME. So I sent it back and bought the 15" ION Lite MLOK. Once inch makes a difference. (That's what she said)
Magpul Type 2 rail covers
Wilson Combat Adjustable Gas Block (the worst adjustable gas block I've ever seen and will be replaced by weeks end with an SLR Sentry 7. I had to stop and go shoot them an email about their adj. GB.
Mech Armor TACOPS/Sniper AR-10 Charging Handle. I should do a review of these guys charging handles. I have a 7.62 Raptor, that I will test with my build, but the Mech Armor seems to action smoother. I've used them on builds I've done for others and on my own, they are pretty rock solid.
Knight's Micro Front and Rear sight (Is there another? Well Troy and PRI, but I like KAC for this DMR.)
LaRue QD LT-104 SPR scope mount (There are others, but I love the lock down of LaRue.
Burris XTR II 5-25x50 scope (It was on my SPR, and found a better home on my 308!)
US Optics rail mounted swivel bubble
Accessories
Atlas Bipod with ADM mount (Magpul aluminum 5 slot MLOK > Picatinny rail section)
ShadowTech SS Loophole Rifle sling (A huge departure from my normal Vickers)
Still in NFA jail: AAC 762-SDN-6 suppressor
As of this moment, I do not have plans to rattle can paint this rifle a I do most of my other AR's. I am considering getting this rifle cerakoted. I've been talking to "my guy", but I'm not 100% sure yet. I am thinking of Magpul FDE. Nothing flashy or weird.
Impressions:
It is a much smoother shooting gun than I was anticipating. Not sure if it was smoother because of my buffer/spring selector, or has the gas block was adjusted, or maybe I was anticipating a little more kick. Either way, it was pure pleasure shooting. I was also prepared to experience issues with my gas/cycling. (From what I had read on the knowledge thread and other places.) I brought a Tubb's flat wire (for 308) and one of my green springs just in case) My first 5 rounds were single rounds in a 20 rd mag, making sure my bolt locked back at empty mag. I was thrilled when it did straight off - and each and every time. It appeared to cycle perfectly. For those who like to observe the cartridge ejection angle, it looked to be GTG. I moved from single round mags to a 3 shot cycle, but not too fast. After I did that, I did a 5 shot cycle. (If you're wondering why I did it this way, believe it or not, it's the BA recommended barrel break-in guide.)
Towards the end of my shooting session, which was about 5 hours long, I did run through a couple of 25 round mags - just to see if something was going to get weird on me. Normally with one of my AR-15's I dump way more than one mag. But as most of you know, this ammo don't grow on trees, or money or something. It ain't cheap!. The fact that it ran smooth as silk start to finish, gave me some confidence, that I really had put together a good build. My build philosophy as I was taught, was to build a battle rifle. Build a rifle I would go into combat with and trust. That principle was taught to me, and that's still what I stick to. It keeps the frivolous down and the practical up.
This is my first .308 in the AR platform, so I do have some training to do, working on my shot groups. As long as I can keep SGAMMO on my shortlist, I should be able to train sufficiently. I still have my 5.56 SPR, which will soon be receiving a Vortex Viper 2.5-10x32 scope to replace the XTR II that found a much better and suitable home on the .308.
Now for the pictures. (Hopefully I didn't get too carried away.)
In the shop, she's built:
Charging Handle I mentioned
Focus on Lower:
Range modeling pics
At the Range...
Working on my zero
Ammo for zero: Federal 175gr OTM || Ammo for functional testing: 147gr MEN (German ammo, and it ran flawlessly!)
What's Next?
Why a 308 SBR of course!!
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