Another day another 'which gasser fits my budget best' question

[Amatsukaze_DD]

Budget range is ideally 2-3k for the rifle, 4k is pushing it but can be done.

glass, looking to spend around 1-1.5k.

Priority goes to accuracy first, weight second, caliber and length 3rd. I shoot at a 700y range, with the range owner planning to push it to 1K, and have a 1k range about an hours drive away from me even if my current range doesn't expand. I shoot almost exclusively suppressed, so less gas to the face is always preferable. Use case is for DMR matches and punching as small a hole in paper as I can. Something sturdy enough to be considered a duty rifle would be a plus as well. Parts compatibility and interchangeability is whatever, since Ar-10 stuff is a mess of different standards anyways.

I'm currently looking at a PWS MK218 for about 1850 shipped, and then taking the extra money and looking to get something like a NF NXS. That would put me about bang on 3k all in for the entire rig. Thoughts?

 

[Hecouldgoalltheway]

Pws makes a fine rifle, the problem is that their barrels are proprietary. Now I'm not suggesting that someone out there hasn't figured this out and makes barrels for them (though I've never heard of them if they exist). So, your only options are factory barrels from pws, and I think they only make 4 or 5 offerings for their ar10 rifles, and you have to send your upper to them and let them do the barrel swap. They make amazing rifles, but you'll be crippled by the proprietary barrel/ gas system.

 

[Amatsukaze_DD]

Pws makes a fine rifle, the problem is that their barrels are proprietary. Now I'm not suggesting that someone out there hasn't figured this out and makes barrels for them (though I've never heard of them if they exist). So, your only options are factory barrels from pws, and I think they only make 4 or 5 offerings for their ar10 rifles, and you have to send your upper to them and let them do the barrel swap. They make amazing rifles, but you'll be crippled by the proprietary barrel/ gas system.

I assume the barrel being proprietary has everything to do with the piston system..that's a damn shame honestly. A piston system is very attractive to me because of the reduced gas blowback during longer strings of fire. I wonder if, hypothetically, PWS was to ever go out of business how the rifles and barrels would be supported then.

 

[Hecouldgoalltheway]

I assume the barrel being proprietary has everything to do with the piston system..that's a damn shame honestly. A piston system is very attractive to me because of the reduced gas blowback during longer strings of fire. I wonder if, hypothetically, PWS was to ever go out of business how the rifles and barrels would be supported then.

I'm not sure, but I had one, and it was amazing. Shot .5moa with factory gold medal match, and I killed coyotes with it beyond 300y. Ran perfectly suppressed, and stayed much cleaner than any di ar10 I've ever owned. But, only having 16" or 18" barrels available, and only chambered in .308 or 6.5cm, and then the hassle of sending them back to be swapped was the death nail for me. If I could have run any barrel I wanted to, I'd probably have 4 of them.

 

[Cgonz1982]

LMT.

 

[StaveyIL]

Build EXACTLY what you want. Save the rest for ammo or glass. It’s not rocket science.

 

[Amatsukaze_DD]

LMT.

This is the other one i was heavily considering. the MARS is kind of a chonker unloaded, but the quick change and supposedly repeatable accuracy on the barrels is pretty attractive.
The other thing is, for the price of just the MARS, I can get the pws w/good glass...and I'll be honest, I'm not currently better than a 1 MOA shooter. Looking to improve that of course but I'm not sure I would immediately be able to appreciate any accuracy differences, if any.

 

[Amatsukaze_DD]

Build EXACTLY what you want. Save the rest for ammo or glass. It’s not rocket science.

I hear that building AR10's is more annoying with dpms vs armalite pattern, and that getting things right like buffer weights and gas systems can be more annoying than ar15's. It's the only reason why I'm really considerding just a prebuilt. That and It doesn't really seem to be any cheaper to build than to buy. Maybe a few hundred bucks here and there but a parts built AR10 to high spec is still in the 1500-2000 range anyways, from what I've seen.

 

[Cgonz1982]

This is the other one i was heavily considering. the MARS is kind of a chonker unloaded, but the quick change and supposedly repeatable accuracy on the barrels is pretty attractive.
The other thing is, for the price of just the MARS, I can get the pws w/good glass...and I'll be honest, I'm not currently better than a 1 MOA shooter. Looking to improve that of course but I'm not sure I would immediately be able to appreciate any accuracy differences, if any.

fair enough, but look at it this way. the MRP/H system is awesome. so you can change barrels, versus.. building MORE uppers. ALSO D.Wilson can do barrel conversions also, so you could have even more barrels to change onto the platform is you want to drop some weight of the LMT barrel.

 

[thedude824]

For what you're looking for I would be very comfortable with PWS. The difference between DI and piston when using a suppressor is incredible. How many rounds does it take to shoot out a PWS barrel? I use Criterion or Colt chrome lined barrels in my gas guns and I dont know that I'll live long enough to shoot out one of those barrels. Especially with all the different systems most of us own. It was like $1300 for the 13" barrel assembly for my SCAR 17. I just bought another KDG rail, mototech regulator, and set that up as a 16" spare. Ill never shoot out one though. PWS is next on my list after the disappointing news on the Scar20 in 6.5 Creedmoor. Given how cheap they are Id buy two PWS uppers if you're that worried about it.

 

[346ci]

I like the PWS 223 rifles, haven't had one of their large frames but $1850 is a very good price for the 218.

I'd go with a Seekins SP10 6.5cm, make sure it has the updated gas system. You could get a used GAP-10 for that budget also, the one I had ran nice suppressed.

The NXS is a dinosaur, still a good scope though. I sold mine and replaced it with a Burris XTR3.

 

[WIVigilance]

I would look at Larue match grade uppers and put it together with a lower of your choice, they are lights out accurate and very affordable in my opinion.

 

[Jsp556]

Seekins, Daniel Defense, and Armalite all fall in that price range.

ETA: Don’t be scared of used, factory built, large frames from reputable manufacturers. Most haven’t been shot much.