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Rekindling .308 Love

bigjake83

bigjake83

Golden Shellback
Full Member
Minuteman
    • May 19, 2013
    4,773
    3,368
    Southern Idaho
    Just thought that I would share a little preview of a .308 Barrel Review I'll be doing in the near future for a Compass Lake Bartlein Barrel.

    Picked up a LaRue rifle that was plagued with some barrel and bolt issues so I decided to rebarrel the rifle instead of selling it and thought I do a Range Report and review for y'all. I wrote a thank you note on the Compass Lake Facebook page and supplied some pictures from today.

    I haven't been this impressed by the performance of a barrel in a loooong time and I'm looking forward to sharing my experiences with all of you in the upcoming reviews. For a barrel to shoot this accurately with less than a 70rds downrange and to group like this while fiddling with parts that affect the accuracy is truly impressive. Hopefully next week I'll be able to meet up with @FALex at a 100yrd Indoor Range and test out some of my Handloads I've got ready to go and see what this thing can truly do without being influenced by the freezing temperatures and high winds of Idaho. I want to get a second shooter behind the rifle and possibly get some video footage for the review.


    "Thank you to CLE"…...................

    "
    I just want to take a moment to personally thank Frank, Theresa and especially Paul for the outstanding work y'all did on this barrel.

    I had the Compass Lake family spin me up a Custom Bartlein .308 Barrel to replace the less than stellar problematic OEM barrel that came in this rifle.

    These two 10-shot groups were shot one round at a time, checking for BCG lock back while conducting barrel break-in, Muzzle Brake, Gas Block and Scope adjustments! in less then ideal weather conditions. Compass Lake Barrels consistently shooting 1/2 MOA or less is pretty much the norm but this one truly has impressed me with less than 70 rounds down the barrel and store-bought ammo, can't wait to see what handloads and favorable conditions produce.

    Job well done.

    IMG_20210301_114412138.jpg
    IMG_20210301_114228678.jpg
    IMG_20210301_114114451.jpg


    The American Precision Arms Gen 3 Little Bastard Brake with the adjustable ports really helped put the icing on the cake as far as adjustability for this platform and how far it can be dialed in, not only is the 18" Bartlein Barrel with Rifle Length Adjustable system super soft to shoot but now the recoil is directly to the rear and centers itself perfectly back on POA.

    These were the first rounds out of the barrel, pretty damn impressive considering I was scrubbing the barrel in between shots.
    IMG_20210222_180550016.jpg

    M110 Contour.
    IMG_20210219_152422417.jpg


    Perfectly balanced.........

    IMG_20210219_161214815.jpg
     
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    Beautiful rig! Did you by chance measure the gas port? Also, is that a Superlative AGB and how many clicks open are you running? I look forward to the complete review, hopefully with a build sheet!
     
    Fantastic work young man!

    Shout out to @bigjake83 as he's a trusty SOB when it comes to me needing to bounce "why is my gas gun doing this shit" issues!

    As far as the range goes, can we push it out one more week to the week(end) of 3/15?
     
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    Don't give up on it! I have a CLE Bartlein on my 308 also. I'm sure as soon as yours is broke in and conditions are better with some handloads your groups will tighten right up. Maybe let someone else shoot it as a comparison.:whistle:
     
    Great shooting. Nice to see someone with an AR10 that's "sub MOA all day" who's actually posting groups to back it up.:)

    And as accurate as the gun may be, you're certainly doing your part. That's outstanding shooting on a platform that a lot of us struggle with.
     
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    @bigjake83, Nice to see you've got that up and running like it should. I'm assuming you got a new small pin bolt? Did you send it (Larue bolt) in to get the barrel matched to it? Did CLE provide one? Inquiring minds want to know?
     
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    Halfnutz said:
    @bigjake83, Nice to see you've got that up and running like it should. I'm assuming you got a new small pin bolt? Did you send it (Larue bolt) in to get the barrel matched to it? Did CLE provide one? Inquiring minds want to know?
    Click to expand...

    I had to buy a new LaRue Small firing pin Bolt out of pocket, Mark LaRue refused to replace it. And yes I sent the new bolt in for Headspacing when I had CLE spin up the barrel.
     
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    @bigjake83's rifle(s) shoot very well (there were a few at the range that day). Not only is she as purty as she appears in the photos, but she shoots like a house on fire too.

    I'm happy to see LaRue was so helpful in remedying in your issues. That would be tragic if they didn't...LOL!!! That's me trying to get Jake fired up about LaRue again ;) At least there are some third parties willing to help repair LaRue's issues.

    I can't fathom any of these quality rifle manufacturers telling a customer they would not help them. I know for a fact JP and Seekins wouldn't (I've seen them firsthand). They would at least be willing to look at the firearm for consideration's sake, while knowing most issues are shooter induced.
     
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    I remember threads I searched where IIRC Jake was kinda bashing (ok alot) LaRue. I thought man this mf'er is a bit harsh. He did say re-barrel and it'll shoot. Bought one and realized the guy was spot on. And now he has proved it again.
    I still wish they had stayed with LW barrels.
    My interest in the take off is to make mine into the large frame bullet hose it is until I feel like coughing up $700+ for a good 6.5CM barrel. At least my bolt is small pin and doesn't have a huge chamfer around it.
     
    Excellent shooting to all !! Who says Large Frame AR's can't shoot !!

    bigjake83, how do you like the LaRue handgrip ?

    I wish LaRue would up size them 25% ish.
     
    Out of all the rifles I've worked on, I've rebarreled far more LaRue rifles then any others. Most of them were OBRs because a lot of people are intimidated about disassembling them because of the monolithic top rail.

    The TRUE free-floating Barrel / Handguard design IMO the only thing LaRue does right. The monolithic OBR is also well thought out with its built-in 20 MOA monolithic top rail, The trouble with the OBR Is the short handguard length anything over rifle gas sticks out too far so I usually tell people to look for the PredatAR's because It's a bit lighter and has a longer handguard length that will accommodate up to a +1 Gas system without issue.
     
    bfoosh006 said:
    Excellent shooting to all !! Who says Large Frame AR's can't shoot !!

    bigjake83, how do you like the LaRue handgrip ?

    I wish LaRue would up size them 25% ish.
    Click to expand...

    I 100% completely agree about the LaRue grips they're a bit to small for sure, but other than that for under $10 I'll use them.
     
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    Halfnutz said:
    I remember threads I searched where IIRC Jake was kinda bashing (ok alot) LaRue. I thought man this mf'er is a bit harsh. He did say re-barrel and it'll shoot. Bought one and realized the guy was spot on. And now he has proved it again.
    I still wish they had stayed with LW barrels.
    My interest in the take off is to make mine into the large frame bullet hose it is until I feel like coughing up $700+ for a good 6.5CM barrel. At least my bolt is small pin and doesn't have a huge chamfer around it.
    Click to expand...
    Oh yeah, @bigjake83 isn't messing around. I know another fellow, an acquaintance, who is heavily involved in the firearms community as an engineering consultant type dude, the same guy who introduced me to JP Enterprises (thank the Lord). Anyhow, the guy definitely knows his shit.

    He had purchased two LaRue OBR's a few years back. Neither one of them performed up to his standards. He said LaRue didn't give two fucks about helping him, even though he was able to explain why the rifles were not performing, in a very technical manner. This wasn't just some random shooter from the US who was bitching his rifles weren't performing up to standard. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the issues were, but long story short, he had stringent standards, and the factory LaRue rifles did not meet them.

    He replaced the barrels and BCG's of those rifles with JP parts, which allowed the rifles to perform up to their expectations. I think LaRue makes some good hardware. Specifically, I like their receivers, triggers, and their pistol grips. I think he tried to fix a problem that was not present with that XTRAXN chamber business. I remember the whole "field grade" barrel fiasco. I own a PredatOBR, and it is a decent rifle, but in this day and age, I can't fathom why they're still running quad rails. Between those issues and the chamfering job on Jake's bolt face, it's fairly obvious that they believe some of their ideas were/are "progressive," yet in reality, they simply don't work and have demonstrated a capacity to make the system more fallible.
     
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    Not trying to hijack the thread but how prevalent are issues with the earlier OBR's. Like around 2011 pre Xtran? I am going to look at one this weekend and not at all interested in paying that much for a problem. The seller isn't a shooter (and neither am I) so any detail he gives me on how it shoots is questionable.
     
    I'm interested in what it took to get the larue rebarreled - thinking of doing it to my tOBR, what does it entail?
     
    rbutcher said:
    I'm interested in what it took to get the larue rebarreled - thinking of doing it to my tOBR, what does it entail?
    Click to expand...

    Nothing special, you'll have to decide what barrel length and contour you want and then just send in your LaRue Bolt to Compass Lake and they will do the rest. You will need to buy another tOBR barrel nut and a adjustable Gas Block/Tube.
     
    Did you have any issues with barrel extensions, or did CLE take care of everything?
     
    When you put your new barrel in, what torque did you use? 40-50 like larue recommends?
     
    rbutcher said:
    When you put your new barrel in, what torque did you use? 40-50 like larue recommends?
    Click to expand...

    That's actually an interesting question, several years ago when I started rebarreling LaRue rifles I discovered that the barrel nut torque can and will affect accuracy and POI. I ran several test shooting groups with the barrel nut torqued down to various torque values.

    And oddly enough I found out that they generally group better on the lower end.

    My .308 FDE aka (PredatAR) has a sweet spot between 35-40 foot pounds. And my OBR preferred to be between 50-60 foot pounds. I was completely convinced that this had to to do with the receiver face not not being true and square, but both the receiver faces were GTG.

    If you have Compass Lake spin you up a barrel for your LaRue they use a barrel extension that is larger in diameter so it has to be thermo fitted, but this increases the rigidity of the complete upper provides, better barrel harmonics and keeps the upper receiver and barrel in sync with each other as they swell under heat.

    If you plan on using the old barrel as a bullet hose for surplus ammo and your new barrel for precision work obviously you'll need more of a slip fit so just make sure to remind them to turn the barrel extensions down a couple thousandths.

    And if you're a little apprehensive about doing this just send your upper receiver in with your bolt and have them assemble it for you.

    Another reason why I'd recommend you sending in your upper receiver is because some LaRue rifles have different feed ramps, The OBR does NOT have extended m4 feed ramps but the predatAR does.
     
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    I'll send you a PM so not to clog up the thread
     
    Just FYI this thread is not done, I just haven't had a chance to get to the range in a while due to VA appointments and surgeries. The last time I was at the range I retested the federal gold medal match 168 and 175 and confirmed my pet load for the 168's with 43.0grs of Varget and for shits a giggles tried 43.2grs but the SD shot up to the double digits so I'll be sticking with the 43.0grs with a SD of .06 with the 168's. Oh yeah!! and I can also show you what happens when you forget to insert your rear takedown pin...lol. Best part is it still shot sub MOA..lol

    IMG_20210701_121611915.jpg


    Now that The barrel seems to be completely settled and I have little over a hundred rounds of fire formed starline match brass and a solid pet load I plan on shooting a 5x5, I don't think she'll have any issue averaging sub-half MOA.
     
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    RUTGERS95 said:
    love me some 308! nice shooting

    my favorite caliber actually
    Click to expand...

    Thanks, I never thought I'd go back to 308 not after shooting those 6.5 wind cheater bullets for so long.

    Never in my life have I ever forgot to insert the rear take down pin before..lol when that first shot went high, I thought to myself there's no way 0.2grs of powder could cause the POI to shift that much so I sent the second round and it went high and right and there was a very noticeable change in the recoil impulse of the rifle, it felt like severe bolt bounce so I broke my cheek weld and and lifted my head off of the stock and well... "Here's your sign"!! Anyways I popped the pin in and drove the last three rounds almost in the same hole. I was definitely impressed that is shot SUB MOA even with a my Grade-A Fuckup though.
     
    bigjake83 said:
    Thanks, I never thought I'd go back to 308 not after shooting those 6.5 wind cheater bullets for so long.

    Never in my life have I ever forgot to insert the rear take down pin before..lol when that first shot went high, I thought to myself there's no way 0.2grs of powder could cause the POI to shift that much so I sent the second round and it went high and right and there was a very noticeable change in the recoil impulse of the rifle, it felt like severe bolt bounce so I broke my cheek weld and and lifted my head off of the stock and well... "Here's your sign"!! Anyways I popped the pin in and drove the last three rounds almost in the same hole. I was definitely impressed that is shot SUB MOA even with a my Grade-A Fuckup though.
    Click to expand...
    ha, it happens!

    6.5 is great, as is 270, 243 etc etc but the 308 does it all and well enough plus, it a big bang of Merica baby. I love me some 308
     
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