Hey all-

I'm thinking of jumping into the AR-10 pool. The options are confusing. Gen 1. Gen 2? DMPS? SR25?

I would like to build it up in stages and don't want incompatible parts. Brownells has a stripped lower on sale now at a pretty attractive price. It won't be nearly as cheap if I buy a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit.

https://www.brownells.com/rifl...r_1=AERO%2bPRECISION

Would this be a good starting point? If so, what do I need to look for in parts to insure compatibility?

Thanks,

Bruce

There's an article in one of the recent American Rifleman or Shooting Illustrated magazines you should read before you begin.

It addresses your concerns in detail.

Thanks. I will pull my old issues of American Rifleman and look.

Bruce

IMO, SR25/DPMS is the way to go for a broader selection of parts. I would not go Armalite.

DPMS will give you a better set of barrels and an easier time with buffers: DMPS just uses an AR receiver extension and a special .308 buffer. As I understand it, there are like 3 different Armalite setups just for buffers.

I finished building my MATEN a few months ago. I had bought the receiver set before there was a G2. It wasn't really that hard to get the parts all squared away, just required double and triple checking vendor descriptions.

^^^ FWIW, Armalite does have four lowers listed on its website as being part of the "A Series". They're listed as "out of stock", but aren't the A Series lowers compatible with SR25- or DPMS-compatible mags?

OP, they completed a move from Illinois to Arizona sometime in the recent past, so in fairness the lead time on a lower from them may be longer than you want to put up with.

The AR10 is not nearly as plug and play for assembly as the AR15. They are much more picky when it comes to function. I would recommend you purchase a factory assembled AR10 variant.

My personal preference goes to the LMT MWS if you don't intend on primarily shooting suppressed. The MWS is a bit over gassed for suppressed use. That said, my old MWS functioned just fine with a Surefire 762 SOCOM RC. A friend had over gassing issues with his when using a SiCo 762 Saker. As an unsuppressed AR10 rifle, it really shines. It is accurate, reliable, battle proven by the UK MOD, well supported by LMT with good spare parts availability. And it is super easy to swap barrels and consequently, to swap calibers. The MWS is really great in my opinion.

As for compatibility in the 308 AR realm, there is not set "common" compatible configuration as is found in the AR15. I personally prefer the SR25/LMT MWS pattern over the DPMS or other configurations.

I have also owned a LaRue 762 OBR. A friend has the Colt 901. Another friend had a DPMS pattern Cross Machine and Tool 308 lower that he built out.

I currently own a KAC SR25 ACC and it is fantastic. Definitely my favorite AR10 rifle.

If you insist on building, I would go with an SR25 pattern lower and buy one of LaRue's SR25 pattern URGs. Definitely recommend you use the SR25 pattern receiver extension (not AR15 length), which is actually the same as the Vltor A5 length. This allows for a carbine length buffer and rifle length spring. Here's a hint - its what LMT, KAC, and LMT use in their 308s.

When I made up my mind to put a 7.62x51/.308 in the safe, I looked long and hard at the AR-10s. The frustrating lack of standardization ultimately drove me off the platform. LMT, LWRC, and KAC all seemed to be top of the heap, but the prices were hard to stomach.

I have put together three, 2 - DPMS and 1 - Aero which is designed as a DPMS pattern.

There is more stuff available for the DPMS models and that is the recommended way to go.

RNShooter,

"Shooting Illustrated", August 2018, p. 64,
'Big AR Is Better', by Steve Adelmann.

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
When I made up my mind to put a 7.62x51/.308 in the safe, I looked long and hard at the AR-10s. The frustrating lack of standardization ultimately drove me off the platform. LMT, LWRC, and KAC all seemed to be top of the heap, but the prices were hard to stomach.

Just out of curiosity, what did you settle on? H&K? SCAR? FAL? Something else? A buddy of mine is wanting a .308 semi-auto battle rifle and kind of fell in love with my FAL after putting a couple of mags through it, but he's also considering the AR variants.

quote:

Originally posted by Expert308:

quote:

Originally posted by ShneaSIG:
When I made up my mind to put a 7.62x51/.308 in the safe, I looked long and hard at the AR-10s. The frustrating lack of standardization ultimately drove me off the platform. LMT, LWRC, and KAC all seemed to be top of the heap, but the prices were hard to stomach.

Just out of curiosity, what did you settle on? H&K? SCAR? FAL? Something else? A buddy of mine is wanting a .308 semi-auto battle rifle and kind of fell in love with my FAL after putting a couple of mags through it, but he's also considering the AR variants.

I wanted a "modern" rifle in the sense that I wanted it to be relatively lightweight for the round, I wanted rail systems, and I wanted some measure of market support and general acceptance. That pretty much meant SCAR-17, and, price-wise, that was in the ballpark of the AR-10s I considered contenders. So, I went with the SCAR-17. I gave some consideration to the Sig-716g2 and the HK MR 762, but couldn't get comfortable with the sparse availability of market support.

I should add that I was more interested in a "battle rifle" and did not put a premium on precision accuracy, as I would seldom see myself doing any shooting beyond 200 yards, and typically ranges would be half that or less.

quote:

Originally posted by Oat_Action_Man:
IMO, SR25/DPMS is the way to go for a broader selection of parts. I would not go Armalite.

DPMS will give you a better set of barrels and an easier time with buffers

+1

RNshooter -- consider the following in your build:
- Budget for the entire build. Include magazines, sling, bipod, optics, muzzle device, suppressor, and whatever suits your fancy.
- Purpose for the build. Close range blaster, range toy, competition rifle. Include accuracy goals. Consider cost of ammo based on this purpose.
- Caliber. Not all AR-10s are built in .308 Win. Yes, there's a lot of 308 ammo out there, but the caliber is getting long in the tooth for some applications.

I pieced my AR-10 together over a couple of years. I was in no great hurry to build it, and budget constraints required a slow build. I still don't have the optic I want on it, however I expect to address glass with this year's normal black Friday / Thanksgiving sales.

I tried several and ended up with a scar 17. Best decision ever.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
I would like to build it up in stages and don't want incompatible parts. Brownells has a stripped lower on sale now at a pretty attractive price. It won't be nearly as cheap if I buy a bunch of stuff that doesn't fit.

An important part of an AR-10 build is to understand that there is no guarantee that one brand's upper will fit another brand's lower. As a result, I recommend buying upper and lower receivers from the same company -- maybe even at the same time.

I went with a Black Rain receiver set to start my build. I both the set together, splurging for the Norgard finish. A few months later I picked up a Black Rain coated BCG. A few more months down the road and I got a Krieger barrel. Ditto for Black Rain rail. Ditto for Magpul buttstock. Then a Wilson trigger. After some more months, the major parts went to a talented local 'smith, who added the small parts and put it all together.

Very accurate and completely reliable, shoots flawlessly suppressed or unsuppressed, I'll put my 6.5 Creedmoor AR-10 up against anything this side of GA Precision's GAP-10.

The only downside to my rifle is the almost certain need to use another Black Rain Ordnance upper receiver if I want a second upper. I've considered a shorter & lighter barrel, chambered in 6 Creedmoor, for run & gun competitions. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the quality of the BRO components, but I just can't be certain that another brand of upper (say, JP or Wilson Combat) would mate with my existing Black Rain lower.

You own't find better value than Aero Precision. Their machining is top notch, and they have a forged upper and lower (unlike many AR10s, which are machined from billet or an extrusion). Forged is stronger. I have also owned one from DPMS, and although it was accurate and reliable, fit and finish was terrible compared to to the Aero. The Aero costs a bit more, but well worth it, IMO. And it shoots as well as a GAP, at half the price.

If you decide to go Aero completely as they are great rifles. Just a word of advice there complete rifle in 6.5 with a 24” barrel was $1709. I bought their complete upper for $548 and their complete lower for $515. Both at different times and BCG/Charging for $189. All said and done everything built by them was well under their built rifle price.

Lots of good info here.

What pattern is the PSA offering?
Would it make sense to try a PSA lower (less expensive and lowers don't contribute to accuracy, really) and a higher quality upper? Which other company's upper would be compatible?

I'd like a rifle that is reliable and accurate at distances longer than my 5.56 AR's but I don't want to pay many thousands of dollars to make tiny groups at 1,000 yards.
Minute of man at 600 yards would be just fine.

Thanks,

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
Lots of good info here.

What pattern is the PSA offering?
Would it make sense to try a PSA lower (less expensive and lowers don't contribute to accuracy, really) and a higher quality upper? Which other company's upper would be compatible?

I'd like a rifle that is reliable and accurate at distances longer than my 5.56 AR's but I don't want to pay many thousands of dollars to make tiny groups at 1,000 yards.
Minute of man at 600 yards would be just fine.

Thanks,

Bruce

I have a 2nd gen PSA and a DPMS LR and for giggles I tried to mate them together and it was a no go.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
I'd like a rifle that is reliable and accurate at distances longer than my 5.56 AR's but I don't want to pay many thousands of dollars to make tiny groups at 1,000 yards.
Minute of man at 600 yards would be just fine.

Let's start with "minute of man" being an IPSC-ish target. 18" wide by 24" tall. 18" wide is 3 MOA. A svelte IPSC might be 15" wide. So at 600 yards this translates to 2.5 to 3.0 MOA capable. That's cheap ball ammo territory in an AR.

Your AR-15s should be more than capable of doing 2.5 to 3 MOA capable at 600 yards. If not, your AR-15 systems need an immediate review. But if 2.5 to 3 MOA is your metric for an AR-10, so be it.

With this accuracy requirement in mind, just pick a completed cheap rifle off the web and go with it. Don't try to build one, as it will likely cost you more money. Right now Palmetto has complete rifle 308 AR-10s with rails for $730. If you're looking for a more retro style with rails, they have one for only $630. Palmetto's uppers are listed at $300 to $500. They have lowers from $200 to $400.

Thanks, Fritz. PSA might be the ticket, for starters.
Later, in case I want something closer to 1 MOA, does PSA make any uppers that could do that? If not, is there another company that makes accurate uppers that would mate to a PSA lower or would it be a case of buying a complete (and spendy) rifle elsewhere?

Thanks again,

Bruce