• Watch Out for Scammers!

    We've now added a color code for all accounts. Orange accounts are new members, Blue are full members, and Green are Supporters. If you get a message about a sale from an orange account, make sure you pay attention before sending any money!

semi .308 shooters, lend me your ears

A

ACPjunkie

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Aug 11, 2013
139
5
N. Ga
I wish to know more than I do know in regards to semi auto .308 rifles.

What I want.
- must shoot MOA or better with either factory match or hand-loads.
- reliable, I do want to start shooting PRS type matches AND want to continue my sucking at the 3-gun, now with Heavy Metal.
- weight isnt so much an issue, I am a strapping young lad who humps a 240 on the weekends and loves it.
- price, this is the killer, I am neither made of money nor do I have rich relative who might die soon, sucks for me.
- barrel life, shouldn't be an issue, but it needs to be at least 10k before serious falling off in accuracy. Really shouldn't be an issue with .308 guns form what I've read.

What I am considering now with pro's/con's
LMT MWS, easy to upgrade, takes standard mags. I haven't heard of any reliability issues and accuracy goes from MOA to better depending on the gun. Seems like they are heavier than some. Also not the most expensive on the market and they have that nifty barrel change set up.

GAP-10. Yeah this is what I really want. probably not the most ideal for 3-gunning, the thought of hosing down cardboard targets with cheap ammo makes me cringe with this rifle. Standard mags and parts, same more or less as the LMT.

-POF. probably the least accurate of the 3 so far, I have shot one, it was around MOA with FGGM clone loads. probably good enough.


What else should I be considering, SCAR? DPMS? what.
Thanks
Rob
 
My suggestion:
Buy a factory dpms oracle for $1000. This will be functional at the start, but may not hit the accuracy goal. When you have the cash, buy a new barrel (black hole or rainier match for ~$325) and free float hand guard (jp enterprises for <$200) and find a buddy with the tools to put it together (free) or a local smith (I don't know the fee).
 
Dpms makes a "3 gun" 308 model also there is the cmmg cbr both of those are 1500-1700. Also theres the ruger 308 AR for 1600. If he bought an oracle and upped the trigger stock and handguards hed be at those prices anyways. If none thrill you then save your money for the LMT.
 
Order the Krieger M110 service rifle barrel, and build the exact rifle you want on that foundation. Highest accuracy, best value.
 
SCAR with a upgraded trigger is capable of MOA. I enjoy mine. You can feed them anything, always reliable, and you can hand load them to sub moa. Your talking $300 for the trigger and $2700 for the gun. LMT is another good choice. I desire a JP as my next large frame AR ($4000). The gun I want from JP will be for precision shooting exclusively with hand loads. My battle rifle is my SCAR, I love the ergonomics, easy to clean. Only downside in my opinion is the lack of companies making barrel kits for it. But it's a relatively new gun and there will be more stuff for it as time goes by.

We have so many choices it really depends how deep you want to reach into your pocket. Going the DPMS route and building on it later is the most economical choice and get something inexpensive to give you more $ for ammo practice. Going with a AR will give you the most customizing options later. If you are interested in a SCAR I will recommend it.
 
why would you want a semi auto AR .308 for a 3gun rifle? any precision MOA or better .308 AR is going to be a heavy SOB.... regardless of manufacture, even with hand loads, to consistently get anything under MOA is a good challenge to work forward with a .308 semi auto..... and I would personally not want anything less than a 3-15 scope on a sub-moa .308 AR rig...
 
If you have assembled a AR-15 from parts, you could always look at building your own AR-10 based platform. Of course I know you said money was an issue, but for my money I would save up for an LaRue OBR. :)
 
thumbs up here on the dpms I have one thats been awsome no compaints here. I take mine to 1000yrds. quite often but I have found a load that my gun likes.
 
I have a GAP-10 on order but before I went thru this analysis I considered all of the fore mentioned choices plus the S&W MP-10. In the end, I had the money and could afford the GAP. Now that said, before I made this decision, I was looking at the DPMS in a serious fashion knowing I would be upgrading the compensator, trigger, barrel, and bolt. (At this point I figured I would be busting $2000 and this ultimately drove me to the GAP) Then there is glass. For 3 Gun get a Burris MTAC in a PEPR mount. $500. For long range, you will start at $500 ($1000 for me with the Vortex PST 6-24 all the way up to S&B' in the $3500 price range. If you have young eyes and tweek the MTAC it may be OK out to around 400 yards depending on ammo.

For 3 gun I don't think you want to be carrying a PRS stock and a 20 inch bull barrel which is where you want to go with the GAP when you can run a lighter barrel and a lighter stock.

Guns like the Larue I view as unicorns. Not available inside of 12 months. When I ordered my GAP I was told 11 months and that was the biggest negative for me.

One choice not discussed is to call Triangle and see what they charge to build up a AR-10. These are shooter guns not safe queens. They are known for accuracy.

Buy what you want, good luck.
 
Last edited:
My vote is for JP. As accurate as a Gap, weighs a little less, fit/finish is like a work of art and they have the best customer service I've dealt with..... As previously stated they primarily gear towards competition and 3 gun rifles...If you order a rifle with their low mass bolt carrier group, silent captured buffer spring and adjustable gas block(Syrac would be my choice and they do install Syrac as an option depending on barrel profile) you will have an amazing low recoiling tack driver. I'd put JP and Gap as the two best choices.....buy once cry once.
 
Last edited:
On a budget you need one lower and two separate uppers. Don't ask one rifle to fill two completely different roles, and I definitely wouldn't be running multiple mag stages on a pricy cut rifled barrel unless you want to cut that barrel life in half. A 16" .308 with a durable barrel and lightweight forearm, and a 24" 6.5CM with a decent SS barrel would fill both bills nicely. Armalite, DPMS, doesn't matter as the new Armalites take P-Mags now as well, and there's budget and quality parts available for both. Get a good base level setup, save some dough for ammo, a good trigger, decent glass, and have fun.

I'll add though you'll likely gravitate to a bolt gun for the precision matches. They dominate for a reason.
 
I built a MEGA MATEN 308 for the same prices that are being mentioned. if does what you want, you can build it your way, exactly like you want it. you could use other upper/lowers and save a little. I think it was 1500ish. my last upper alone was 1100. im cheap, I bargain shop all this stuff, haggle when I can, find stuff here & there. the new upper is 8.5-9 pounds with no ammo or optics. seems pretty light, my other upper combo is almost 2 pounds heavier.

the reason he wants to carry a 308 in 3 gun is heavy metal division. single stack 45, 308 nato, pump shotgun. Introduction to 3-Gun Competition: Limited and Heavy Metal - Guns & Ammo
 
Well in regards to using it for 3 gun, that may happen 4 times a year, compared to shooting it on a regular range for accuracy. Is there any reason I couldn't just remove my optic of choice, pop up the BUIS and run it? And I promise you, weight isnt a concern. Not when the primary purpose is precision and the 3 gun thing is merely for my entertainment.

Cost, I would much rather buy a very capable rifle rather than build up. It might take me a few months to save up enough to buy something but I believe I would have a better rifle in the end. Or at least a CS department to bitch at if I don't. Which I wouldn't have if I did the rifle.

DMPS just leaves me cold, nothing against those of you who have one and like it, just not for me.

And I have a decent bolt gun, but shooting 90 degree barricade shots with a 300 wm is a not exactly a fun time.

Thanks for the help
 
Love my 14.5" POF P308 which I paid $2800 back in March. I have a Leupold Mark 4 in Nightforce Ti rings on it and best group I shot so far was 0.53" with FGMM 168gr @ 100yds. Its got the STR stock on it but I have a UBR arriving today. POF customer service has been great, called them up yesterday to see if I needed new buffer and spring for the UBR tube and they sent me the required spring and buffer because they "wanted the rifle to run properly with the UBR."
 
Last edited:
Consider a JP. They are big into 3-gun.
Give them a call, tell them what your looking for and ask if they have any in the build process that are not spoken for.
Also, Ask about their "Ready Rifle" program.
JP - Ready Rifle Program

After the panic this year they began building rifles without taking orders. Exact same spec as the rifles custom ordered.
Pretty smart if you ask me. GAP and Larue should take note.
 
Look into JP Enterprise and also look into GA Precision. The LRP-07 and GAP-10 are two of the best in the AR .308 semi-auto world, hands down. Larue Tactical makes a nice rifle but you will have to wait upwards of two or more years to get one and is no better than a JP or Gap.
 
odonnks said:
Consider a JP. They are big into 3-gun.
Give them a call, tell them what your looking for and ask if they have any in the build process that are not spoken for.
Also, Ask about their "Ready Rifle" program.
JP - Ready Rifle Program

After the panic this year they began building rifles without taking orders. Exact same spec as the rifles custom ordered.
Pretty smart if you ask me. GAP and Larue should take note.
Click to expand...



JPs are great rifles, for the above mentioned reasons.


And, you can get one this century.


I love mine. It's a couple of years old, bought the LRP -07 when it was fairly new to the market.

1-8x for Hurry Up, 3 or 4-15 or 16X for Way Over There.

Good Luck.
 
APC- I have a LAR-8 Varmint, shooting .5MOA once I got the right factory ammo going. I have a Nikon M-308 BDC on it (returns to zero) MOA turrets. Total about 2200.00. It impresses me every time out, shot the best group of my life last week, a freakish .1875 MOA 3 shot group at 200m ( yah,yah,yah I know) . Anyway these rifles have a small but faithful following. If you don't mind waiting for up to 9months for your rifle, you might check them out. Accurate doesn't necessarily mean expensive.
 
wel im not doing any 3 gun, but i just grabbed a pof .308 20 inch barrel for 2500$ out the door. and had an extra glass and front legs laying around i threw on there. and i love it, but is there any difference shooting steel casing over brass threw a semi auto rifle?
 
I went with the MK216 as well. 2600 for MIL/LE direct from PWS. Lightweight, less cleaning with the long stroke piston design. Suppressor ready.

This I'll Defend said:
PWS MK216..... uses MAGPUL pmag20s, $2600 though if you are seriously price restrained. medium profile barrel and only 8 lbs 9 ounces for more info go to:

MK2, Mod 1 Rifle, 16.1In Barrel, 12In KeyMod Rail, .308 Win, FSC30 - MK2 Series Rifles

Good shooters have gotten MOA or better. I managed 1.5 MOA with limited training and skill. I am getting better as I shoot more but .308 isn't getting any cheaper.
Click to expand...
 
Ignore most of whats said in here, as they are just rattling off what they own and not what you need/looking for.

Personaly, If your sticking to .308 and want a gas gun.... you cannot beat the SCAR17. A Gap10 may have a SLIGHT accuracy advantage, but will lose on weight, reliability, features, and even price.

SCAR makes the MWS and just about any other .308 semi obsolete. Truth is, if you really want to shoot competivley with a gasser, look into a different caliber such as .260/6.5C/6CM/.243. If you are 100% sure of .308. Plunk the money down for a SCAR17.

If you can't swing the price or save for it, The CMMG CBR is the next best rifle in the $1500-2000 range. The only thing it may need down the road is a new barrel, as its no Kriger/bartlien/brux..... eveything else is top notch and a great selection of componets.
 
no mention of the fnar? 1 moa out of the box and perfectly reliable. you mentioned that you dont want to build a rifle, thats the main advantage to the ar platform... i have a fnar and itll give an ar10 a run for its money in accuracy, any day. its never had a malfunction and everyone whos shot it, loved it. i cant find any faults.. well i guess the mags are expensive, but its a 308. im not draining mags like a .223, so i dont need a dozen on me. you can find one for around $1300 it seems, what would spending over 2 grand on a high end ar do for you that the fnar cant? not knocking the ar platform, i love them. but to me the main advantage is all the cool aftermarket parts and building it yourself. if your not into that aspect i cant see why the ar has an advantage?
 
I want to stay in the .308 crowd for a couple of reasons.
- Ammo availability, both in stores and in my basement
- component availability.

That being said, for something like a precision rifle, having two barrels or two uppers, one in .308 and one in 260, makes a lot of sense.
If you already load most of your practice ammo, reloading one more is only a matter of buying dies and other fiddly-bits
and stuff like .243 and .260 are both common enough that Walmart stocks them.

Accuracy; to me it doesn't make much sense in getting a rifle I know I can out shoot. Being limited by the platform is irritating and doesn't help me improve as a shooter. This is the main draw to a GAP-10, the rifle itself is a solid Sub-MOA gun, probably sub half-moa. Any groups that aren't, are my fault.
That being said, I have more or less set my accuracy standard at MOA or better, to improve I will have to shoot it farther and under worse conditions.

So the list is something like this, in no particular order after the GAP-10
GAP-10,
SCAR-17 w/ PMAG lower
MWS, w/SS barrel
JP .308

after that it goes to the second tier
POF
CMMG
PWS
Ect.
 
You ranked the scar higher than I would have. They are abusive on optics. I have a friend that shoots for FN and his scar has broke 2 of his optics. The bolt slamming back and forth is very heavy. This does make the weapon super reliable though.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
LR-308

DPMS LR-308 24" model = $1200 MSRP
Upgrade to a JP or Gieslle trigger = $200
Magpul PRS Stock = $210
JP Adjustable gas block (0.936 bore) = $90
JP Benny Coley Break = $90

Start with that and your accuracy and LR requirements will be met within your budget constraints. For 3gun it's too heavy and WAY too long. I like mine quite a bit. With the adjustable gas block and JP brake the rifle barely recoils, thus follow up shots are FAST (when needed). ;)

IMG_1761.jpg
 
For your purposes I think the LMT would serve you well. You could run a chrome lined 308 for 3 gun and a SS 6.5 for PRS. I had two MWS's with 16" CL barrels and they were extremely accurate.
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet, but what about a Armalite Super SASS? It's already loaded up and all the testing results are sub MOA. They come in around $2,500 retail, but I'm sure you could find one for slightly less. I shoot a LWRCI REPR, but I'd probably go with the SASS if I were to do it again since the price doesn't justify the performance!
 
I have a pof p-308. Working on 1.2 MOA with freedom munitions. Mostly me.

Scar-17. Wow. Love that rifle

Hk-91. Been carrying and shooting it since 1986.

The pof it's big and it shoots better than I can! I just like this rifle.


The scar 17. It's just cool. Modern ergonomics and dud I say it was cool?

The hk-91. It's old school and accurate. And it has the old ergonomics that go either anything German. But it's an old friend and I have shot a lot with this rifle.
 
The only POF I have had experience with is a buddies. It would not shoot submoa. Everything he tried, factory and hand-loaded was all at MOA or bigger. That being said, it is a sweet rifle and uber-reliable. Im not certain he has ever cleaned it other than maybe a snake through the bore.


I've read that the SCAR is hard on optics before, and then I've read that its not. Whats the Hides opinion here. I feel that any quality optic should be fine, but I don't know much so take that for what its worth. How or why is a SCAR harder on optics than any other reciprocating rifle, like an M1A, FAL, G3.
Thanks
and have a happy thanksgiving
 
My experience is primarily with bolt actions. However I found a Remington R25 for a reasonable price. While fairly light I was not satisfied with its accuracy Added a Krieger M110 barrel (needed to change the gas tube) and a Giselle trigger. While I am not as accurate as with a bolt sub MOA groups are not within reason.
The original R25 barrel ended up as a hunting upper which morphed into another rifle invoking curious stares from my wife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Tonsofguns
6.5 creedmoor gas gun to get
Replies
33
Views
1K
Jack_L
J
S
Recommend me an 18" semi-automatic 5.56
Replies
22
Views
1K
spofny
S
rothgyr
Looking For 6.5 Grendel Reliability Optimizations
Replies
21
Views
1K
Top O' Texas
Top O' Texas
7
Durable do-all .308 semi auto - which one to get?
Replies
21
Views
2K
msgriff
M
L
Buying a .308 semi. What do I have to consider other than a SCAR 17?
Replies
63
Views
2K
larcatdm
L
Top Bottom
Back