Hello,

So I have been looking for some sort of .308 rifle for a while now. I'm thinking M1A or maybe an FNAR perhaps.. Anyway, today I checked out a used Armalite AR-10. Perhaps pre-owned is more like it. Stated less than 200 rounds but everything looks still brand new, no wear on the bolt, carrier, or receiver. Comes with two 20 round magazines and a cheap Barska high powered scope on it, maybe a 10x40.. Green furniture and it appears as new. $1200 out the door.

Buds shows the same rifle with one 20 round, one 10 round, no sights for $1287.00

I know nothing about the AR-10, wasn't on my radar for unknown reasons but now that I held it I am tempted.

I'm going back tomorrow to check it out again and I'd like the forums opinion on it as well. Good? Bad? Whats the recoil like on it? Accurate or a bullet hose? 200 yards is as far as my range goes so that's about as far as I'd be using it.

Thank you.

I don't have first hand on it but from my own research I would snatch one up if I could justify it since I have a SOCOM 16 and a CETME.

I haven't heard significant complaints about the Armalite. The experts will be along shortly.

great rifle,buy it;or give me the phone #

I own one. Great rifle. Not a fan of green, however. Fit and finish were very good.

low recoil, compared to a bolt.

1200 with a scope is OK, not the right scope, though. 2-8x M4 if a full size barrel, mid length get a aimpont on a larue mount.

AR's are great.

I really like my AR10 w/20" barrel. I just ordered a carbine (16") upper for it for hunting. I have had exceelent reliability (except when I installed the lo-profile gas block incorrectly, but she still functioned, albeit erratically).

I just put a Nikon Monarch 6-20X on, and at 50 yards shot one ragged hole with Fed 168 GMM--14 shots (On 9X). At 100 yards I'm doing an inch with the same ammo, 5 shot group minimum. Pretty good for me, but I'm improving.

Silhouettes out to 325 lased yards are boringly easy, so I keept the old scope at about 4-5X. The smaller gongs and steel animal targets don't offer much more challenge. Really just point and shoot.

I feel the M14 with irons and birch or USGI synthetic is lighter and better from field positions. The AR10 is heavy in 20", but the 16" carbine feels and handles much better for offhand. I can't wait to try it from field positions in this guise.

I liked the green, but they were all sold out so I settled on black. Go green!

When I first got it, with the plastic A2 stock, it slapped my face and kicked pretty hard. I neutered it by adding a cushioned ACR ARFX stock and PWS FSC30brake/hider. Quite the pussycat now. I can shoot several hundred rounds off in a few hours and be OK. Then I switch to shooting my other stuff (including an M14) for the next six.

I highly recommend it, and it would just edge out my M14 and M1A if I had to decide on one 308. Some parts interchange with the 556 versions. The new Gen2 mags are great.

I have a documented 1037 rounds (surp, commercial, match) through mine, although there may be a few more I forgot to record. I have cleaned it three times in two years, and have never scraped the carbon off of anything. I cleaned the chamber twice. Bore snake only on the barrel. Still runs great.

$1200 is an OK deal, that's about what my dealer pays new. (then I pay tax and $20 transfer). It's about what I see them go used for around here. My buddy got one a couple years ago for $1000, but that's the lowest I ever saw. If the used one is a good of condition as you observed, it's not much of a gamble.

It has the standard 10 and 20 round mag, not the two 20 round mags as earlier described. It's 16" carbine with telescoping M4 style stock. I also forgot to mention, it doesn't have a forward assist.

The real sucker punch is that he has crates of good mil surplus ammo laying around for it too.. I could be completely geared up with a .308 auto-loader all in one visit. And Armalite is having a mag sale to boot..

Damn this gun habit sometimes

Thanks for the information folks. I did pass on it today but if it's there tomorrow I'll be taking another look at it. I could probably get away with $1100 if I take cash with me.

If he won't take 1000.00 I'd look at FN myself.. prices are coming down..

I cannot comment on the AR10 because I have no experience. For the money I too would take a hard look at the FNAR.

FN was just giving ex military and related fields deals on one fN gun a year; when I looked 3-4 months ago, an FNAR was $1066 shipped--but I think people have reported higher price quotes now.

The reason I did not pick up an FNAR is because I am totally happy with my AR10. You can swap uppers for barrel lengths and different calibers easily.

I like the FNAR, but it's not even close to a combat rifle. After reading about other people's uses and XP on FN forum, and the outrageous mag prices (and availability) for them, and how it's closer to a sporting rifle (based off civilian BAR), with less modularity than an AR, then why? Especially when they weigh pretty much the same. The FN should not even be mentioned in this post, as it's apples to oranges.

Go get the AR10. Spend what you are happy spending and get a good rifle. I think $1100 is good for almost new used, especially with TWO $35 20 round mags. I just picked up my AR10 carbine upper from my dealer, and I paid $705.75 OTD (tax/transfer/shipping). So $1100 is not a bad price for a complete rifle.

By the way, my AR10 with the new carbine upper and unloaded 15 round mag, plus Zeiss 3-9x scope in aluminum rings, weighs in at 9 pounds.

Loved my AR10....I did sell it though. The only reason I sold it was for the sheer fact I "needed" another $1500 scope for it and .308 was just too expensive to stomach on a semi-automatic rifle. Still wish I hadn't sold it though.

Here's a couple of real old AR-10s for you.
Again, excuse the crappy pictures. I have to make some time to take some good shots:

Wow nice examples there Malysh.

I love the look of those vintage models.

Do you ever shoot those or are they strictly "collectibles"?

Thanks for you kind words. I shoot both rifles a couple of times a year, about 40-60 shots per range visit. I also have an ArmaLite AR-10B from the company in Geneseo, IL. which I shoot a lot more often. The AR-10B is a retro model which I read recently, is no longer made.

I got an Armalite 16" ar-10 earlier this year and have put a few hundred rounds of different ammo through it without a single problem.

125 grain ballistic point, 130 grain barnes x from cor bon, 147 grain surplus 7.62, 150 grain soft point, 150 grain fusion, 165 grain fmjbt, 180 grain soft point, 180 grain barnes MRX. All shot very well.

Mine shoots 1 MOA with the 150 grain federal fusion. I took it deer hunting this year, thinking it perfect for the dense trees in Northern Idaho (I like the bolt for the high desert hunting in the sage, where the ranges are longer). I gave her a 200 yard zero and she shoots pretty flat!

All in all, a great rifle. I love mine, and wouldn't trade it for the world. Is it the end-all-be-all-only-.308-rifle I'll ever own? No, but it certainly fits the bill great now!

I put a burris 3-10 eurodiamond on it with a larue mount. I love this optic.

My "new" carbine--I also just ordered the $80 Armalite FF aluminum tube kit and everything to make it a CAR stock. Shot it today and it had perfect function. Also, the scope I took off the 20" upper was sighted in perfectly on this upper, even with slightly lower rings.

I have an AR-10 carbine model. I swapped out the folding stock for a fixed stock, put a 3-9 Loopy on it, and I can hit golf balls pretty regularly at 100 meters. That's good enough for me.