DPMS 3G1 7.62/.308

[Heavyweight]

I just wanted to post this because I could find very, very little information on this rifle on the web. For anyone looking to possibly purchase the DPMS 3G1 in .308, I hope this helps.

Just some quick background. My 18 year old son has been shooting in the limited 3 gun division for a little while now. He asked me around Thanksgiving if he could move up/over to Heavy Metal. We both knew if I said yes it would mean the purchase of a 7.62mm rifle. The only platform we considered was a DI AR....no piston guns. The gun also needed to double for hunting and we needed to be able to go from irons to scope easily (no M1A). And I wasn't about to spend the money it takes for a LMT MWS or SR-25 at this stage. So that pretty much limited me to Armalite, DPMS, S&W and Rock River. My son really wanted PMag compatibility and to make a long story short, the 3G1 beat out the M&P10 because of the standard features it comes with. The price between the two was identical at $1,399.

Again, I'm not posting this because I need or want validation for my purchase. I just want to help someone else looking for information. I am well aware of the terrible reputation and problems that DPMS has in the AR-15 world. But I also knew that their .308 offerings are supposed to be much better in quality and I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the 3G1. I bought it online and had it shipped to my friend and gunsmith in Carrollton, TX. He was kind enough to completely disassemble it for me and check it out. He was impressed with the fit and tolerances. He told me the chamber is tight, but not too tight. I reload .308 and I'm hoping it will be pretty easy to resize the brass for longer case life. Some of the things I like about this rifle are:

*Heavy 18" 416R stainless steel barrel w/ Miculek compensator...ready to be timed for lefty or righty
*Already installed JP single stage trigger set at 4.5 lbs. I think
*JP free float modular handguard is nice....comes with dual swivel studs
*Railed gas block....can go from iron sights to scope easily
*The Magpul CTR stock is a nice touch....it has a good cheek weld
*The rifle length gas system makes for pretty smooth operation and helps on recoil
*8.5 lbs. empty....about a pound less than the M&P10
*Attention to detail seems good (properly staked castle nut and gas key, extended latch, etc.)

Not so crazy about:

*The BCG is not MPI tested or shot peened
*The extruded upper receiver

We put a Bushnell Elite 6-24x scope on it and put 500 rounds through it over two afternoons at our local range. I have some really old South African surplus ammo that made up a lot of the shooting. It averaged just over 1 MOA at 100 yards. That OLD, crappy ammo! The 168 gr. Hornady Tap match ammo was grouping at .52 to .68 MOA. I couldn't believe it....my son was getting better results than my Remington 700 bolt gun. I don't know if this is typical or not....I can't find any other reviews of this rifle on the web....anywhere.

As for reliablility, well, 500 rounds isn't enough to really say. But of those 500 we only had one issue and that was with a primer that came loose and got into the trigger assembly. Not the guns fault. We have had no FTF or FTE issues yet.

I am not recommending this for a duty rifle or battle rifle. This rifle is not in the same league as a Larue OBR or KAC. But for out of the box 3 gun and hunting?? I'm not sure how you can beat the 3G1 for the money. I'll keep everyone posted if we have any issues down the road....and I expect to. It seems that just about all of the .308 ARs have had issues of one kind or another.

Thanks!

Heavyweight

[_Stormin_]

I have to admit, I have not EVER considered a 7.62 rifle for 3 gun work.

There are several people at one of the ranges I frequent who have nothing but good to say about DPMS 7.62 rifles, and I have watched them shoot some impressive groups with handloads. I can see it being a useful tool for hunting, given the accuracy I have seen them display.

[T2C]

The .30 caliber DPMS has a good reputation for accuracy.

[sandsunsurf]

My Remington-branded DPMS R-25 .308 was one if the worst rifles I ever owned. Couldn't get it to function reliably, gun shop sent it back, the reamed the chamber and sent it back. It never fired more than ten rounds without a malfunction. It was heavy and was "sporterized" (I'm sure to be marketed to CA style states).

Since the parts commonality isn't an issue, I decided piston was ok after shooting a friend's Sig 716. Now I own one and it's a smooth shooter and reliable and accurate.

Good luck with yours, it sounds like maybe DPMS got their shit together now.

[dentron]

My old man has a DPMS AP4 in .308 with an acog on it. He uses it to hunt and punch paper. Nothing wrong with that gun for the intended use.

[Xsail]

I'm not sure exactly which model LR-10 we have but with 1000+ rounds through it, it's been 100% reliable and very accurate. When we 1st got it, in the first few rounds, had some feed issues. That was the mags causing the problem. Got 5 of the so called" DPMS -15 hobby guns", they too are accurate as hell (worst one 1.25 moa) and for 3 gun or use as a "rifle" instead of a spray and pray machine, I'll put them up against any I've seen costing 3 times more....O.L.