.308 Gas Piston AR Questions/Opinions

[Sevcrist]

I'm considering a .308 AR with a gas piston system. My questions are:

1. Since different manufacturers of .308 AR's don't appear to have much parts compatibility with each other, which manufacturer is considered the standard or largest supplier of 308 AR parts and or rifles? I'm assuming Armalite.

2. Does the U.S Army or USMC have any upcoming large contract bids for .308 AR's? From what I have gathered the Army and the Marines are currently using Knight's Armament .308's.

3. Does Armalite currently have a gas piston .308?

I guess the bottom line of what I am trying to ask is who is considered the standard for .308 AR's and who is likely to be the standard in the future?

[armakraut]

No hard data on hand, but I'd imagine Knights Armament and DPMS outdo Armalite in terms of sales. DPMS takes the KAC mag, vs Armalite using their own proprietary magazine design.

The Army and USMC are buying the Knights rifles for their Semi-Auto sniper rifles.

As far as I know, the only piston .308 AR in substantial production is the POF design which uses the KAC mags too. HK and LWRC are the only two other companies I can remember off the top of my head. All three rifles cost a significant amount of $$$.

Who knows if there's ever going to be a definitive "mass-produced" .308 AR again.

[fasty77]

i have been right where u are at wanting the best money can buy in an ar-10 platform

this is what i found out

if you want a non-di ar-10 buy a POF or wait like every one else for the LWRC SABR

otherwise buy this http://www.noveskerifleworks.com/cgi-bin/imcart/display.cgi?cat=55

call and talk to John at noveske he has some good input into why piston's are not always the better optoin

anyway

end/ rant

[Sevcrist]

Thanks for the information. At this point though I changed my strategy and am probably going to go with a Grendel 6.5 AR15. Ballistics are very similar to the .308 platform but it comes in a package which is lighter and has less muzzle blast and kick. Parts compatibility is also much better with the AR15 plus cheap Wolf steel case ammo should be available shortly.

Now my only conundrum is should I wait for the ACR or go with something that is already out there. Most likely I will wait. There is no guarantee that the ACR will be offered in the 6.5 although it probably will and who knows if the ACR will pan out as good as it appears. But at this point I am content to keep learning about AR's and then I will make my final decision.