New rifle in the family

[Cascade Precision]

After attending the Oregon Sniper Challenge, my said that she wanted to get in to precision rifle shooting with me. The catch was that she did not want a bolt gun, she wanted a gas gun. So we took a drive over the hill for some shopping and stopped by Sportsmans Warehouse to have a peak. After looking at all the 308 AR rifles, we opted to get her the DPMS Oracle in 308. Got the yank around by the staff there as we were originally going to get the Sportacle in 308, but they "inadvertently put the wrong one aside for us" and we got billed an extra hundred bucks. Oh well, now she has a forward assist, brass deflector, and a dust shield.

So, now I am tasked with putting on a good butt stock (thinking the Magpul PRS) and a decent trigger (likely a Geissle). Have to save a little cashola and find a good scope (contemplating the 3-15 SWFA Super Sniper for the features and reticle) and a solid one piece mount (Aadmount seems solid).

Over all the rifle seems to be built pretty solidly. Have not put a round down range yet, but that is going to happen tomorrow. Have a donor scope from a 223 and some factory match from federal and SWA.

Looking forward to seeing how it shoots. Hoping for MINIMUM of MOA at 500 yards.

 

[elfster1234]

that's awesome! nothing like having a wife force you to purchase a semi auto .308! nice!

with that said, my very first .308 semi auto was an oracle! now, don't take this the wrong way and I'm just being totally straight up honest with you... sometimes it's best to pay a little more up front to make sure it's correct rather than investing much more in changes to make it correct.... UNLESS you're trying to build your own rifle from the ground up & you don't really need an "out of the box" shooter. With that said, the big problem with the oracle is the handguard, first and foremost. It is not free floating & will effect the accuracy more than anything. This is why I always advise getting ANY AR rifle with a free-float handguard & will be very expensive to change out in comparison to the price of the rifle you just purchased. You might get lucky with the barrel, but you will not know this until it's shot. Take in account it's only a chrome-moly barrel (just a steel barrel),,,, and not stainless steel. Then followed by the trigger & then the buttstock.

If I was you, and like I said above please don't take this the wrong way, if you're going out to 500yards & you haven't taken a shot out of the rifle yet.... see if you can get something with a free-float handguard & a better barrel.... UNLESS you plan on ripping the entire rifle apart and re-building the rifle from the ground up. BUT, if you want an out of the box shooter, then you better be rocking a free float handguard & a nice barrel as your oracle will at best produce 2moa groups at 100yards ON AVERAGE, which will turn out to be about 2moa groups at 500yards or damn near 10.5" size shotgun groups not taking in account the extra mirage and wind!!

If you are going for an out of the box shooter, always check out the barrel first with the twist rate to the bullet you want to use, then ALWAYS make sure it has a free float handguard!! ALWAYS! If you want an out of the box shooter, and you haven't taken a shot out of the rifle yet, then I would return it.

Like I said, not being cocky here... just trying to help with my own personal mistakes owning the very same rifle.

After attending the Oregon Sniper Challenge, my said that she wanted to get in to precision rifle shooting with me. The catch was that she did not want a bolt gun, she wanted a gas gun. So we took a drive over the hill for some shopping and stopped by Sportsmans Warehouse to have a peak. After looking at all the 308 AR rifles, we opted to get her the DPMS Oracle in 308. Got the yank around by the staff there as we were originally going to get the Sportacle in 308, but they "inadvertently put the wrong one aside for us" and we got billed an extra hundred bucks. Oh well, now she has a forward assist, brass deflector, and a dust shield.

So, now I am tasked with putting on a good butt stock (thinking the Magpul PRS) and a decent trigger (likely a Geissle). Have to save a little cashola and find a good scope (contemplating the 3-15 SWFA Super Sniper for the features and reticle) and a solid one piece mount (Aadmount seems solid).

Over all the rifle seems to be built pretty solidly. Have not put a round down range yet, but that is going to happen tomorrow. Have a donor scope from a 223 and some factory match from federal and SWA.

Looking forward to seeing how it shoots. Hoping for MINIMUM of MOA at 500 yards.

 

[elfster1234]

BTW, if you want an out of the box straight up shooter for the least amount of money & I would gladly put these rifles up against rifles damn near twice the price in terms of accuracy, and will only be used for punching holes in paper, then I would highly suggest looking at these .308 semi-autos.... I'd bet money with the correct fundamentals these rifles would produce groups sub-moa for a little amount of money. There only downfall is the magazine as they are no PMAGS. If you want straight up accuracy, then get the bull barrel varmint option... If you still want good performance but take off a little bit of weight, then get the heavy barrel predator model. IMO, either will produce sub-moa results. ALSO, being that the free float handguard already has a round tube with a swivel sling adapter = easy mounting for a bipod = one less rail you need to purchase & is ready for a harris bipod right off the bat. Yes, the A2 buttstock might not look pretty, but it is hard to beat with a rear sandbag!

Rock River Arms: LAR-8 Varmint A4

Rock River Arms: LAR-8 Predator HP

 

[Cascade Precision]

I guess I should mention that not only am I am AR armorer for my agency, I am also a gunsmith with access to parts cheaper than the average joe. This will likely be built for less out of pocket than those others (not discounting their quality). And when the day comes for a new more accurate barrel, I will machine and fit it myself.

Thanks for the other links though. There are others in my area that like to just buy rather than build.

 

[MarinePMI]

I have the PRS and the Gieselle trigger on my DPMS 6.5CM. No complaints here. Shoots well.

 

[elfster1234]

ahhh, well then you sound like you're good to go! that's awesome! Keep us all informed with how it turns out my friend. You can never go wrong having an armorer & gunsmith in the family!

I guess I should mention that not only am I am AR armorer for my agency, I am also a gunsmith with access to parts cheaper than the average joe. This will likely be built for less out of pocket than those others (not discounting their quality). And when the day comes for a new more accurate barrel, I will machine and fit it myself.

Thanks for the other links though. There are others in my area that like to just buy rather than build.

 

[LRRPF52]

I guess I should mention that not only am I am AR armorer for my agency, I am also a gunsmith with access to parts cheaper than the average joe. This will likely be built for less out of pocket than those others (not discounting their quality). And when the day comes for a new more accurate barrel, I will machine and fit it myself.

Thanks for the other links though. There are others in my area that like to just buy rather than build.

I think you got one of the best entry-level project rifles that will act as a platform for upgrading, if your wife chooses to go that route. The AP4 upper is a nice-to-have over the low-pro version.

You might consider building the system around her, depending on what positions she will be shooting from. The PRS is a bit of a heavy stock, as you probably know, so it pretty much drives you to the bench or prone, unless you are unusually strong.

I have learned to approach the AR's like a European custom rifle builder approaches rifles, namely by fitting the gun to the shooter in every way possible, especially with regard to balance, weight, length of pull (too easy with the AR), and the all-important cheek weld-to-optic height measurement. The PRS is nice because it solves a lot of those aspects, but with the weight penalty.

If she's recoil-sensitive to the .308, I would look at one of the 6.5mm's, like .260 Remington.

 

[Cascade Precision]

Took it out today and here is my impression:
1: Definitely an MOA rifle. Match ammo from American eagle (designed for the socom rifle) produced .9" to 1" groups with me driving. Wife needs a little practice but still shot 1".

2: Trigger feels like my gravel driveway. Heavy, but consistent.

3: Need a buttstock with a recoil pad. Not bad for me, wife did not like it so much.

4: Weight is about perfect for her, pound up or down is not a deal breaker. PRS stock is out though as she did not like it.

5: No FTE, FTF, or any other malfunction. Feed from the magazine just fine.

Overall this is a worthwhile project and a great base platform that she can grow with.

 

[elfster1234]

that's awesome! nice to hear it all turned out for ya friend.

Took it out today and here is my impression:
1: Definitely an MOA rifle. Match ammo from American eagle (designed for the socom rifle) produced .9" to 1" groups with me driving. Wife needs a little practice but still shot 1".

2: Trigger feels like my gravel driveway. Heavy, but consistent.

3: Need a buttstock with a recoil pad. Not bad for me, wife did not like it so much.

4: Weight is about perfect for her, pound up or down is not a deal breaker. PRS stock is out though as she did not like it.

5: No FTE, FTF, or any other malfunction. Feed from the magazine just fine.

Overall this is a worthwhile project and a great base platform that she can grow with.

 

[Newtrick]

I have a mess 'o AR10ish platform rifles. Now you may think me crazy, but I've started going back and replacing the different aftermarket stocks with,.....wait for it,.......A2 stocks. That Eugene Stoner knew what he was doing. The weight is right, if you mount your optic low, the cheek weld is good, and the angle of the lower portion of the stock allows infinite adjustment of your bag for elevation. Also it is more solid than any adjustable stock. No shifting or looseness. This info is just for me. Not meant to be a guide for anyone else.