Am I just Lucky or is this For Real (DPMS Recon Scout .308!!!)

H

HOGTOOTH5R

Gunny Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Jan 25, 2011
1,156
2
DFW, TEXAS
#1
After some long research and looking around I finally decided on the DPMS Recon Scout 16" Stainless Barrel .308 from Cabelas. They had three in stock and I was able to Hand Pick this one from off the Racks. Reason being I wanted the most solid Upper/Lower Fit in order to use as a precision Semi Auto .308 foundation in case the factory setup don't work out.

But after taking this Beast to the Range I am Completely Sold on DPMS and confident on this rifle's capability which will be More Than Accurate for Anything and EVERYTHING I will Ever Need it for.

The Rifle comes with Free Floated Handguard Rail from the Factory, 16" Stainless Steel Factory Match Grade Heavy Barrel With AAC Blackout Flash Hider/Suppressor Adaptor. It also has Magpul BUIS and MOE Grip and Stock as well. I replaced the Grip with a MIAD and the Stock with a CAA Adjustable Unit I had laying around. The MOE parts will go on another build shortly (More reason to build another one!). Before you ask, I pick the tightest fitting rifle out of the Three and the upper and lower on this thing is TIGHT. NO Play or Gap AT ALL. The only complaint was the factory trigger which was definitely CRAP! I install JP Trigger with their 4.5 lb springs as soon as I could which fixed that problem. Other than the trigger the Built and Finish of the rifle is Top Notch! Definitely worth Every Penny!

Now for the Best Part! My goal for this rifle was an all around Hunt/Range/Scout/SHTF rig so I opted for the new Primary Arms 1-6 Scope with their new BDC Reticle. It's an Great Scope for the Money and the Glass and Reticle are Awesome Too! The only issue is the center dot is 2MOA Black Dot which making precision shooting a Pain. Not to mention it's only 6x at the Highest Magnification so definitely not a scope you shoot tiny little groups with.

On that note, I Mounted the scope with Burris XTR 30mm High Rings and went to the range to zero in yesterday. But the 50 yard lanes were closed already as it was towards the end of the day, so I could only use 100 Yard Lane. To my great surprise the scope was On Paper with the First Shot! I broke in the barrel with 5 rounds of some soft point hunting ammo I had laying around the proceeded with some Factory Federal Gold Match 168 Grs.

I could not for the life of me see the black cross lines on the target so I borrowed some Orange Sticker targets from a neighbor. It worked out a lot better and I had a spotting scope too.

I took two sight in shots to finalize my Zero and proceeded to shot for some groups. The first target is my Very First Five Shot Group with this rifle! I couldn't believe my eyes after I looked in to the Spotting Scope!!! For a factory right out of the Box AR this is like a Dream! I knew it was under MOA but I had no idea how small the group was until I got home. It's Less than 1/2 MOA!!! The second target was the second group I shot yesterday. I pulled the last shot because I was trying really hard to see the tiny holes on the target with my 6x scope. With the Stray shot it still came in right at 1 MOA. The first 4 Shots was definitely Under 1 MOA!

All in all this is Definitely a KEEPER. I Could Not be Happier on this purchase which was Way Cheaper than my other considerations. The $$$ I saved could buy another Gun and a Complete Reloading Kit and Some More AMMOS!

Thanks for looking and Happy New Year Everybody!

Cheers!

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#2
It is for real. "Haters gonna hate" but DPMS is pushing out some fine shooting rifles. My 24" bull barrel lr308 is a heavy pig, but it SHOOTS. My 223 oracle put 10 inside 1" at 100 yards, and that was with american eagle ammo. You can buy a lot of ammo with what you save not buying a name...
 
#4
Looks like you made out on that deal.

Seems like there is too much competition to have a bad product and survive. Maybe there are some that are better but at what cost. Sounds like you got some good cheap fun right there......
 
#5
elfster1234 said:
run it on the 30round shootout thread and you will know for sure then, plus it is loads of fun!
Click to expand...

LOL, I would except I'll need a better Scope for it. Maybe I can put the money I saved on some longer range scope! I am getting into reloading and can't wait to see what kind of performances it will do with some custom home brew pills!
 
#6
Pester said:
Looks like you made out on that deal.

Seems like there is too much competition to have a bad product and survive. Maybe there are some that are better but at what cost. Sounds like you got some good cheap fun right there......
Click to expand...

It ain't exactly "Cheap" but for the performance and compare to the Nearest Competitors (Which is around $500 Additional Piston Driven) I would say I got out like a Lucky Bandit! I also been snatching up Magpul .308 Pmags whenever there's a deal so I got 8 Pmags to go with it as well. It's a complete package and still cheaper than most on the market.
 
#9
AXEMAN said:
their new 308s are totally different. I would not be surprised to see quite a few bargains available in the old form
Click to expand...

Hmmm haven't heard anything on that. The new ones are different in what way? Just looks and parts or completely redesigned?

With all the new players and models storming the market its not a surprise that DPMS tries to make some changes too. I just hope their price point stays relatively the same as its one of the Biggest Advantages they have going for them in the .308 AR market.
 
#10
HOGTOOTH5R said:
Hmmm haven't heard anything on that. The new ones are different in what way? Just looks and parts or completely redesigned?

With all the new players and models storming the market its not a surprise that DPMS tries to make some changes too. I just hope their price point stays relatively the same as its one of the Biggest Advantages they have going for them in the .308 AR market.
Click to expand...

Completely redesigned upper, lower, bolt and barrel extension that results in a more compact, lighter design. They did not tinker around the edges. This is truly innovative.
 
#12
hlee said:
Effectively, a 308 win from an ar15 size platform...

DPMS GII // DESIGNED II DOMINATE MICRO
Click to expand...

Dam! Thanks for the Link! The new receivers looks Nice and Clean! I don't know if it's enough of a change for me to upgrade though depends on the pricing. The BCG is the most appealing part to me. I wonder if it's compatible with with the GEN 1 Receivers. If it is then it might be my next part upgrade for the rifle.

Thanks for Sharing!

HOG
 
#15
No, it has been known for a while that DPMS will shoot, but some other areas are not as up to snuff as other makers.

This rifle that I bought during the panic to screw around with, puts many other AR-longs to shame.

It is also heads above many other makes in the Arfcom 1 MOA all day challenge.

Here are some pics:





That little muley was shot from 577 lased yards out of the back of my pickup...one shot, DRT. The small crook in the corner of the two-track is where I shot from, and I took the picture from kneeling by the deer.



This elk was shot from 326 lased yards...two shots, both in the heart with pics of the rib cage.








And here is my "1 MOA all day" target for my official entry on Arfcom. I think it was .8something MOA, out-shooting many other rifles. Shot from prone position from a bipod, 168 A-Max handloads, in some-what of a "rapid fire" manner. You can see the effects of barrel heat with the groups opening up.



Here is the rifle, waiting on my damned Samson 15" rail for months now.

 
#16
I almost purchased a .308 dpms recon right before I went over board with my LMT MWS... I had it on order and ended up canceling it because I was able to get a LMT right away from Kentucky gun company (which I'm now glad I spent the extra cash)... regardless, the dpms recon is an amazing rifle for the money... you can not go wrong with this rifle! nice score!
 
#17
So what if they shoot well they are still DPMS's,,,,, I have 2 of them, a AP4 I rebarreled in a 18" heavy barrel and put a YHM hand guard on, and a SASS, I was searching for the LMT that elfster has with a 20" barrel but none to be had at that time. Both DPMS's shoot under MOA and are not too finiky on ammo. The original AP4 will be getting converted back to a 16 inch barrel as I want a shorty 308 for a shtf event. My other AR in 556 is a RRA, RRA is a very nice gun too.
 
#18
I have a plain jane vanilla 16"...think it is the Oracle. I think my wife bought it for me on a whim when she found it on sale at Scheels. Haven't done much to it, outside of the trigger (a must...the original was awful) and adding a rail for bipod installation. It is a pretty good shooter, especially for a non free-floated hunting rifle. Put 4-500 rounds down the tube and found it to be a reliable 1.25-1.5 MOA rifle. Really seems to like 165gr Hornady SST's over a mild load of Varget. Several deer and a variety of varmints do not seem to like this load at all.

I don't have any real complaints with the rifle, other than the fact that the barrel seems to pick up quite a bit of fouling. I have owned several DPMS products over the year, but this is my favorite from that manufacturer. Love that I can use my SR25 mags in it. For the price point, there is nothing even close out there.

The new GII looks amazing though! If it utilizes standard AR15 FCG (why wouldn't it?) and SR25 pattern magazines (again, why wouldn't it?) I would be game for one. Assuming at this point that the bolt carrier is totally different. My biggest complaint with all the current .308 AR platforms is the added weight...looks like this platform would solve that problem.
 
#20
Skg_Mre_Lght said:
No, it has been known for a while that DPMS will shoot, but some other areas are not as up to snuff as other makers.

This rifle that I bought during the panic to screw around with, puts many other AR-longs to shame.

It is also heads above many other makes in the Arfcom 1 MOA all day challenge.

Here are some pics:





That little muley was shot from 577 lased yards out of the back of my pickup...one shot, DRT. The small crook in the corner of the two-track is where I shot from, and I took the picture from kneeling by the deer.



This elk was shot from 326 lased yards...two shots, both in the heart with pics of the rib cage.








And here is my "1 MOA all day" target for my official entry on Arfcom. I think it was .8something MOA, out-shooting many other rifles. Shot from prone position from a bipod, 168 A-Max handloads, in some-what of a "rapid fire" manner. You can see the effects of barrel heat with the groups opening up.



Here is the rifle, waiting on my damned Samson 15" rail for months now.

Click to expand...

Very nice Kills Sir! Nice looking rifle too (Digging the paint job!). Please do post up a pic with the new rail! Thanks!
 
#21
I had a DPMS sweet 16 .223 .It came with a note saying something like . we have made rifles shot anywhere from 1/8" to 11/8".i was like ya right well it did 1/4". Shot better then my les baer. Thinking of getting It back. The crown wasn't that good to???? And loved AR-COMP 55 v-max & 53 v-max. Short stiff barrels Rock!!!
 
#22
+1 for the Recon! Mines all stock so far except for the Geissele SDE trigger I just installed this afternoon. Wow! That trigger is so amazing compared to the stock gritty, creepy four stage trigger. Now to save $ for optics. Only 200 rnds. through it so far and no feed or extract probs. Nice rifle for the money.
 
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#24
Yessir Hogtooth you done convinced me Im gone have to get one of the G2`s. Do you think Id be better off getting a AP4 and swapping on a heavy Krieger + Geissele? Or should I just go with a Recon and put a Geissele on? Either way its gonna get a trigger upgrade. But if I get the Recon I doubt Id be putting a custom barrel on it. Figure if I just get the AP4 Ill spend less in the beginning and quite possibly end up with a better shooting rifle than the Recon??

Thanks.
 
#25
I would definitely get the RECON especially if you're planning on using it for some precision shooting/hunting. The reason being although the DPMS factory barrels are not name brand but they do shoot and accurate enough for 90% of anything you'll need it to do. I've shot several Factory DPMS rifles and all of them impressed me. There's not a big price difference between the Recon and AP4 MODEL so I'd rather get the Stainless Match Barrel.

The Recon's weight/balance/barrel length is about perfect for what I would consider a all around .308 SemiAuto rifle. If the GEN II is as good as they say and as accurate as mine Recon is then I'd say you won't be needing a better Barrel for a while.

If you're goal is to swap barrel right away I'd wait and just get the GEN II BCG and Receiver Set instead and build your own from the ground up.

Just my 2 cent

jbhotrod said:
Yessir Hogtooth you done convinced me Im gone have to get one of the G2`s. Do you think Id be better off getting a AP4 and swapping on a heavy Krieger + Geissele? Or should I just go with a Recon and put a Geissele on? Either way its gonna get a trigger upgrade. But if I get the Recon I doubt Id be putting a custom barrel on it. Figure if I just get the AP4 Ill spend less in the beginning and quite possibly end up with a better shooting rifle than the Recon??

Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
#29
I received my DPMS Gen 2 Recon from Dales Gun Shop in Marengo, Illinois a month ago. $1400.

I have had ZERO feeding, firing, and ejection issues going through 500 rounds of Lake City M80FMJ to date.

It is indeed very light for a .308 AR. I replaced the factory quad rail with a standard AR spec Nordic Components 13 inch free float tube and it fits just fine.

Wanting to tempt fate, I installed a standard AR style ALG/ACT trigger set along with the JPS3.5 spring set. 100 rounds of M80FMJ without an issue with that dinky spring set. Amazing.

My brother's SIG 716 has numerous feed and ejections problems with the same batch of ammo, and it weighs a couple pounds more than mine. And my brother claims that my Gen2 handles and recoils much closer in feel to his SIG 516.

The charging handle is unique in length, so I had to install a Badger tactical handle instead of going aftermarket. I went with a 3/32" tension pin in lieu of the factory AR spec 1/16" tension pin.

The monolithic bolt carrier group is just the cat's ass.
 
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