read the post here re "battle rifle" want. DPMS and palmetto state were spoken well of as options. palmetto gets mixed reviews here and everywhere. maybe gen 3 is GTG? reviews of recent palmetto AKs has gone up a buch over at ak operators (which reviews i trust a lot). i think DPMS is now part of remington which gives me way less than zero confidence. but maybe that has gotten better? DPMS does have one of the 2 "standard" AR10 dimensional configs. a recent bolt gun a neighbor bought seems to be doing well. any hands on experience with either recently?
- Thread starter mosin46
- Start date
Gen III has solved the biggest issue ( at its price point ) it had... the battering at the buffer tube threads.
I have been plenty happy with my PSA PA10's and PA65's
DPMS, has been sold out by Remington.
I have been plenty happy with my PSA PA10's and PA65's
DPMS, has been sold out by Remington.
I've discovered last week that anything new with the prefix "AR" in front of it is almost extinct. My dealer and gunsmith told me that they can't even find lowers. If you see something you like, you better get it.
DPMS G2 user here, after they fixed the oversized firing pin hole it has been solid. Changed handguard to a MWI and have enjoyed shooting and hunting with it. But as pointed out above things that go BANG are in short supply now.
OK, so here's what I found from my research over a year of looking to buy. DPMS was the "other" go-to for .308 rifles in the AR style. Armalite made the AR-10. DPMS made a clone. The visible difference is in the mating surface at the rear of the receiver. The Armalite has a slant cut of about 45 degrees at the buffer tube. DPMS on the other hand replicated the AR-15 pattern of a rounded mating surface at the buffer tube. I know Diamondback is an Armalite style. Most of the other producers followed the DPMS model. BUT- and this is key! THERE IS NO MILSPEC STANDARD IN .308 AR TYPE RIFLES!!! You can buy separate uppers and lowers, but you must insure they will mate, otherwise you waste your money. You can go to 308ar.com and there are some pretty good explanations over there. Some of the folks are abrasive, but a very good bunch overall and build a lot of their own stuff. The Springfield Armory Saint Victor .308 seems to be really hot right now. PSA has some issues, BUT they have a lifetime warranty and they are not shy about talking you through or fixing your product. DPMS and Bushmaster were bought out by Remington, who were then bought out by the Freedom Group, backed by apparent anti-gun investment companies. After building an entire new plant in Huntsville, AL and employing 2500 people they closed the plant and put DPMS, Bushmaster and TAPCO all out of business in April of this year without warning. So the lifetime warranty means nothing. I almost bought an Oracle but walked away. I ended up finding a new in the box AlexPro Firearms Armory in .308 for $800. AlexPro took up where DPMS left off when that company left Minnesota. Smoky Mountain Guns and Ammo had them, but are probably gone...Waiting on some match ammo to get her out and see how good a purchase I made . Armalite is recognized as the leader in .308 gas guns, they just run and you can fund a basic model for around $1100. The market just doesn't have as much support for accessories for the Armalite platform. Hope this help, YMMV...
Dragonscout25
Add Rock River Arms {RRA} to the non dpms compatible list.
Add Rock River Arms {RRA} to the non dpms compatible list.
The only real issue I had with my PA-10 was a compatibility problem with the Magpul SR/LR Gen 3 10rd mags. There's a band of plastic that interferes with the Rifle's mag well. It was a signature Lower (Space Gun...), and may have been configured slightly differently from the basic run if rifle lowers; owning only the one, I can't speak to that.
They fixed the mag well free of charge, and I love my PA-10.
I chose the PA-10 after building on a trio of PA-15 lowers.
The price was a huge consideration in both instances, but that was because I had intentions of doing some chosen upgrades (triggers, bolt releases, etc), and much of the fiddly bits in the lowers were going away anyway. I saw little point in doing that with a pricier setup. The goal was achieved without any issues.
I made certain both Upper (PSA Gen II) and Lower (PSA Gen III) were from the same source, and that approach proved successful.
Local news here in AZ suggests that Remington's bankruptcy (again) is being cited as attracting the interest of the Navajo Nation. Between PSA and Remington, only one of them enjoys expectations on a prolific future.
Remington's legacy may need to live on in the various 700 clone actions that proliferate in the smaller custom builders products. And then; what happens to the DPMS line...?
In such a light, I'm glad I chose PSA.
Greg
They fixed the mag well free of charge, and I love my PA-10.
I chose the PA-10 after building on a trio of PA-15 lowers.
The price was a huge consideration in both instances, but that was because I had intentions of doing some chosen upgrades (triggers, bolt releases, etc), and much of the fiddly bits in the lowers were going away anyway. I saw little point in doing that with a pricier setup. The goal was achieved without any issues.
I made certain both Upper (PSA Gen II) and Lower (PSA Gen III) were from the same source, and that approach proved successful.
Local news here in AZ suggests that Remington's bankruptcy (again) is being cited as attracting the interest of the Navajo Nation. Between PSA and Remington, only one of them enjoys expectations on a prolific future.
Remington's legacy may need to live on in the various 700 clone actions that proliferate in the smaller custom builders products. And then; what happens to the DPMS line...?
In such a light, I'm glad I chose PSA.
Greg
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thanks. this is all very helpful stuff. my decision thing is get an ar10,and i am aware of all the non standard issues,vs a 2nd quality ar15. i am deep in 5.56 and despite that am not a huge fan of it. i know and have researched ad nauseam and know it has offed many and still lacks what several other rounds have going on. but available and reasonable price matter. my absolute top $ is $1500 and should not really even go close to that. thus the search for info. seems that a mid level 10 will eat most of that + with mags,scope etc. thanks again and still looking for any input from experience.
Mosin, you can always look on Armslist and see if there are any decent deals within an hour or two of you. Pawn shops as well, but they usually are proud of what they have. When I was looking I found several, but wasn't fast enough to the deal. In one, the Palmetto State came with glass (decent) and 10 boxes of 150 grn PSP Federal ammo for $1000. The guy sent extra pics and we talked for about 20 minutes, but I couldn't get the time off and he had someone meeting him in two days that bought it. So you can find deals...Your handle of Mosin made me think of the ones in the safe. My last one came from an old lady who just wanted to get it out of her house. She was afraid to tell anyone she had a "commie" gun that a renter had left in her house decades before. I fell out when I saw the roll marks made it a 1919 Cossack 91-30. He had butchered the barrel tho. But it's in the safe anyway...Hope you find what you're looking for Brother.
yea was in C&R awhile. only cossack i ever saw was made into a 91/38 (59?) by reds. speaking of RARE guns,i just sold a sporterized arg 91 esquela (army version) that i got at a show right before the panic. also,had an all original stamped matched dragoon-izhevsk '09. long story but i really believe it was a northern expedition vet bring back. prob end up with a 2nd better class 15. few shows around here these days. ones < 50m mostly suck. pawn shops+ trahsed $400 rifle avilable at shop for $250 new. LOL.
Yea, I worked the KC gun shows for over 15 years for a friend. Good shows with over 500 tables about every other month. Thought when I got back to the South I'd be going all the time. There's been 2 and they were crap. Haven't been up to Atlanta, and you gotta park so far out, you'd get mugged 3 or 4 times before you got th the door...There are several very reputable dealers on Armslist that ship to your FFL. Hobby Motorsports in Boliver, MO down near Lake of the Ozarks is one that comes to mind. Check with one of those dealers if you want to see what kind of deal you can get. Also just a thought...Windham Weaponry is an awesome story. They were originally Bushmaster. When the owner was bought out, he watched Remingtom move the company out of Windham, Maine and the town almost died, Five years later he was asked about opening the plant back up since the plant, machinery and 95% of the original employees were still there. He did, within a year they were one of the largest producers of ARs in the market. They have .308s and also have a full lifetime warranty. And if you are a vet, or 1st responder, you get a 10% discount (same as Diamondback) and I believe they ship to your FFL. Anyway, just more info for your noggin...
