Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

[rusty815]

Hey everyone, I want to get into building my first AR, and I'm a California resident (Please, no comments on how terrible a state CA is for gun owners, trust me, I know).

Now I know I'm going to need a bullet button and an OLL, but that's about as far as I am in buying parts now, as I am very indecisive as to where to go from here, even though I've done a lot of research and have been looking through these forums for a while trying to get an idea where to go after buying a bullet button. For the OLL, i want to build something in .308, and i can find an OLL that specifically states that it can accept .308 magazines, can someone tell me whether regular OLL's will do the job, or point me to one that can accept .308 magazines such as G3 or dpms mags?

pretty much, I'm looking for input as to what parts to buy since I'm new to this, though i have a lot of experience building bolt actions (mostly work with savage rifles). I would love to keep it under $1000, though my budget is $1500, any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

This is all you will need to know.
http://www.jdmachinetech.com/index.html

http://www.jdmachinetech.com/762.html

 

[rusty815]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

Thanks for the links Mechanic, I like what i see, but the prices are a bit much. Do the lowers come with a bullet button?

 

[koodbe]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

+1 on JD, finished my custom on their upper/lower combo. Just wish it would have only cost me $1000 or even $1500. Add in the Lilja,NF,JP,etc I learned there is no end however the JD team is great to work with
Bullet button and all parts are available thru JD

good luck with your build
Mark

 

[GoBig]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

I shoot POF and they use DPMS style mags in 308. I am most happy with 20 rnd. (10 round blockers) Magpul mags. There are plenty of other CA legal 308 OLL lowers out there as well that accept DPMS mags.

 

[BCP]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would love to keep it under $1000, though my budget is $1500, any input would be greatly appreciated. </div></div>

1k not gonna happen, 1500 is possible though. If you've built a 223 AR a 308 is no different. Calguns.net would be a good place to start. As a side note I've seen a few 308 AR's selling on calguns over the past couple months as people are hard up so you could probably get something that way as well.

 

[neal0124]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BCP</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I would love to keep it under $1000, though my budget is $1500, any input would be greatly appreciated. </div></div>

1k not gonna happen, 1500 is possible though. If you've built a 223 AR a 308 is no different. Calguns.net would be a good place to start. As a side note I've seen a few 308 AR's selling on calguns over the past couple months as people are hard up so you could probably get something that way as well.
</div></div>

This. Actually $1500 is kinda on the low side of the scale. I spent $800 after tax and dros on a mega ma10 matched set/parts kit. You don't need a bullet button on the receiver to purchase it if it's stripped. Go to calguns for all the legal info you need.

 

[rusty815]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

Well its a low budget build, but I was also planning on swapping out for better parts later down the road. This is mainly to build one cheaply and once I get the hang of it, i will go with the high end stuff.

That being said, thanks for the input guys, anyone got some "budget" options i can go with in .308? The reason is i have too many 5.56 guns and not enough .308 guns

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

About 10 or more years ago I made the conscious decision to sell almost all of my low end firearms and swap them out for a lesser amount of quality firearms. I think it was a good decision. If you have to many 5.56 guns why don't you trim some of them down and start a quality build .308? At the least you could go quality on the lower and its attaching parts (stock, trigger, etc.) and then try a less expensive upper that can be sold after you have run it a while or can afford a quality upper and components.

 

[Bruiser_Joe]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

quality over quantity is always a good choice until you have too much quality and then only 2-3 get shot out of a safe full of expensive stuff...

 

[Onemoretime]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

Look up a Prince50 mag kit... IMO it's much better then the bullet button mainly because I can simply take the screw out and run it just like a non-modded AR. No need to switch out the whole button if you attend a class or competition outside of CA.

Oh and... +1 on the quality/buy once, cry once crowd above.

I get it if you wanna "put your toe in the water" to see if you like it. But if you buy quality gear and don't like it... 1) you'll be sure that it's not that you didn't like the quality and 2) you'll be able to get more for it if you don't like it and decide to sell.

 

[rusty815]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

All of my .223's are custom builds, one Weatherby, two Remingtons and a Savage, I love the caliber but I always wanted an AR in .308. Put a lot of money into them and they all shoot very well, three of them were custom builds for my brother and father, the only one thats "mine" is the Savage. Anyways, They're too good and too important for me to let go of, I'm sure you all understand, and they all started out the same as this AR is hopefully going to start out, cheap builds to improve upon later down the road slowly.

 

[The Mechanic]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

Than you should start looking for something used.

 

[rusty815]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

Yeah, that's probably the right move, i just wanted to start out with a custom build so I can have the experience.

 

[recce556]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

The "budget-now, upgrade-later" plan doesn't work. Don't be impatient, just save your money and build it right the first time or in the end, you end up wasting money going the upgrade route. Also, there's nothing to get "a hang of". A 308 AR works just like a AR15, it's just a bit heavier and larger (in general). There is no learning curve.

As for mag-locks, look at the RADDlock. It's much more convenient than the Prince50 or any other mag-lock kit IMO.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, that's probably the right move, i just wanted to start out with a custom build so I can have the experience. </div></div>
Are you planning on building it yourself (as in barreling it, installing the rail system, etc., etc.)?

 

[rusty815]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: recce556</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The "budget-now, upgrade-later" plan doesn't work. Don't be impatient, just save your money and build it right the first time or in the end, you end up wasting money going the upgrade route. Also, there's nothing to get "a hang of". A 308 AR works just like a AR15, it's just a bit heavier and larger (in general). There is no learning curve.

As for mag-locks, look at the RADDlock. It's much more convenient than the Prince50 or any other mag-lock kit IMO.


<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Yeah, that's probably the right move, i just wanted to start out with a custom build so I can have the experience. </div></div>
Are you planning on building it yourself (as in barreling it, installing the rail system, etc., etc.)?

</div></div>

I understand that building a .308 system is the same as a .223, but you can read in my first post that I haven't built an AR before, nor do I own one. I was planning on building it myself, but i guess ill get a used AR and build from there.

 

[recce556]

Re: Need help building an AR in .308 for a CA resident

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rusty815</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I understand that building a .308 system is the same as a .223, but you can read in my first post that I haven't built an AR before, nor do I own one. I was planning on building it myself, but i guess ill get a used AR and build from there. </div></div>
Ah, got it. Building an upper on a AR requires a little investment in a couple specialty items such as an upper block and certain types of wrenches. That just adds to the cost and unless you plan on building more or modifying your rig on a regular basis, it's kinda of waste of money especially if money is already tight. I'd agree with going the used route but make sure you're not buying some bubba'd 308 AR. Do a lot of research and stick with builds that use quality parts (Daniel Defense, Rainer Arms, BCM, etc., etc...)