Most Accurate 308 Semi-Auto AR Pattern Rifle

[Sterling White]

Accurate for what? Does needing it for one shot make a difference? Does it having to run for 30+ rounds factor in?

Why would you answer a question with a question, Kyle? Seems like a legit question.

[bigbrowndog]

Kyle, its ok with me if you just BAN HIM!!! and give him a "special little snowflake" for participating in this discussion

Trapr

[Chucky]

I have both a 18inch GA Precision AR-10 on an armalite upper and lower and a 18 inch Larue OBR. Both of these rifles are 1/2 inch guns with match ammo but the OBR is the better of the two in my opinion. I like the hard chromed BCG and bolt, the Geisselle trigger, 2 position gas block and 20MOA rail. I have almost 6K rounds through this gun and it still shoots 1/2 MOA and I have no issues with it. I shoot mine a lot suppressed for work and in one day put probably close to 1,500 rounds through it mostly suppressed and the only malfunctions was twice I forgot to put it back into the non suppressed setting after taking the suppressor off and it didn't have enough gas to cycle the bolt.

[enroute]

I'd say that would be the old platform AR-10T from ArmaLite, when they still used the 24" barrel, drop in your Geissel TG, and away you go. You can certainly do the upgrade/services to the BCG, buffer tube stuff, yourself.

If budget is no consideration, the GAP.

I'm a little greedy that way: I'll save THAT budget and instantly apply it to a Pat Rogers class or a case or 3 of ammo..

[Mturnbull333]

I shoot a LWRC REPR that is very accurate, sub MOA, also having good results at a thousand.

[soflarick]

Resurrecting the thread. Out of the GAP, JP, etc rifles, what barrel length have you all felt is a good all-arounder? 18" or 20"?

[Chucky]

I really like the 18 inch for a .308 gas rifle. I have around 7k rounds through my OBR 18 inch and I can do just about anything with it. Out of my 18inch with M118LR I have a MV of 2527 and even after 7K rounds this rifle still shoots 1/2 MOA. I shoot a lot of suppressed and the 18inch still has minimal shift with my suppressor on it but I can shoot all the way to 1K with it as well.

[co-exprs]

I think that 18" is proly optimal for a 308 game gun for a few reasons. For an iron shooter like me, I get a decent sight radius and I can fit an iron sight on the barrel in front of a 15" hand guard. 18 also works out well for scoped shooters because an 18" barrel easily makes enough velocity for the larger bullet to match up to a 223 BDC pretty closely. For instance... My 155gr load runs 2675fps and I am in about the middle of the charge range. My 125 load runs 2950 and is low in the powder range. Both loads match my Meopta BDC really well all the way out to 600 and both loads are easy on the rifle and easy on the brass. With a 16" barrel you end up having to push all your loads to compressed to get the same velocities.

[Nick Weidhaas]

We have a GAP AR10 built on a DPMS LR308 upper/lower at work (got this before GAP came out with their own rifle). I spec'd this rifle through George when we lost funding for our tactical team and we needed to do something with our sniper rifles. GAP was very helpful in giving us a platform that would give us another tool beyond our Colt 5.56 patrol rifles. Our GAP AR10 wears a 18" Bartlein bbl, YHM titanium suppressor (highly recommend- only a 1/2" poi shift @ 100 yards w/ and w/o suppressor and it saves a ton of front end weight), fixed badger gas block, JP LE trigger, 1-4X optic. Qualifies as a .308 patrol rifle and not a sniper rifle. Easy 1/2 moa gun. Technically any officer could deploy it as all officers are P/Rifle qualified.

Regarding running a suppressor on a .308 gas gun...you will end up with more pressure from the can and bolt speed even though the suppressor sucks off a major amount of recoil/muzzle rise. We ran Hornady 168gr TAP and TAP Barrier and in our sniper rifles and when I tried it in the GAP I was blowing primers fairly often with both Hornady loads. Called GAP and YHM and we all agreed that I had to find a different load. Federal 168gr GM Match worked flawlessly with no pressure issues, no blown primers. We also run steel YHM suppressors on two of our 5.56 Colt patrol rifles (16" bbls) with Federal's 55gr LE NBT load. No pressure issues at all. If I had to spec the GAP gun again, I would have picked an adj. gas block and a 16" bbl. to save weight and the flexibility to tune the gun. Overall we are very happy with the GAP .308 build as well as GAP's CS.

[soflarick]

Thanks for the info. It appears 18" is an ideal length for my application.

If/when a scope were added to the rifle, what height rings, or style of rings, do you all use?

What scope brand/type would be the best bang for the buck under $500. I have a Nikon Buckmaster, and it's quite nice, but my scope experience is limited. More iron sight and holographic experience.

[michael1778]

Bushnell, Vortex, and Burris are optical brands that come to mind.

[co-exprs]

1.5" offset on the scope mount. Don't skimp on the mount or the glass. Buy once, cry once. Get a JP, Warren or Larue scope mount. Stretch your glass budget a few hundred and get one of the new Burris XTR2 1-5x.

[soflarick]

Dunno if this vendor is a supporter of the site, so I'll just post the link http://www.primaryarms.com/category-s/6034.htm?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Scopes+over+499&utm_content=Memorial+Day+Savings+at+Primary+Arms&utm_campaign=Memorial+Day+Sale+2014

There's a 15% off deal going on right now. The Vortex scopes are appealing. I receive a discount through Burris, but even with the discount, the cost on the XTR2 will be difficult to swallow.

[george995]

I have shot a lot of gas guns in 308 and 260, yes a bolt gun is more accurate by maybe 10%. but the ability to stay behind the gun, scope, with the same spot weld and see your miss or hit and adjust and simply pull the trigger again waaaaaaay makes up for any accuracy you give up, because I don't care how accurate your gun is you're gonna MISS.

My OBR 308, is a true 1moa gun out to 800,

My DPMS 308 was plenty accurate but not that good,

My JP LRP07 308, is hands down the most accurate 308 gas gun I've shot out to 800, beyond that the same gun with a 260 upper holds better accuracy.

The barrel on my 308 JP is also a .750 barrel so it does all it needs to without the need for a heavier barrel, it will routinely give 1/2moa groups out to 800.

I've owned or played with FAL's, SR-25's, M1A's, and the above mentioned guns, the JP holds its accuracy even after getting 30-50 rounds thru it, and getting plenty dirty.

Forgot to add that JP's customer service is second to none, can't say that about everyone else. A lot of makers are of the take it or leave it mentality. IOW, we made it perfect why would you want to change something!!!!!

Trapr

agreed, love my maten build. Everyone once in awhile I think about building another bolt gun but quickly forget about it. lol

[DocMedic]

I have both a DPMS G2 .308 recon and a GAP-10. The G2 Is still being set up for 3gun but for hands down accuracy the GAP-10 is a monster. But for the trade off when using a GAP-10 it's Heavy! yea. heavy.. Also its not fast on paper, this thing was design to win tactical precision matches, the bolt is slow and heavy and you could feel it taking time to load a new round when your trying to shoot paper quickly, you won't notice it when shooting actual rifle targets but with paper inside of 20yards its noticeable.

[Shooter116]

I have a JP and love it. They will literally pry it from my hands. Accurate as hell and very reliable. Everyone is right about their customer service and you will see John Paul at most major three gun matches these days which says a lot about where their head is in relation to supporting the sport.

[Shooter116]

Benny builds some scary accurate rifles too. Couldn't go wrong there either.

[Shooter116]

Benny builds some scary accurate rifles too. Couldn't go wrong there either.

[Nate]

Why not the .7mm-08? 162 grain Amax has super ballistics; better down range energy than a 30-06 at 1000. Runs great in an AR platform and is not a barrel burner.

[Graham Smith]

Why not the .7mm-08? 162 grain Amax has super ballistics;

It's a good caliber but it's just not "sexy" any more. The new young studs on the line are all 6mm and 6.5mm and the loads they are making for these are scarey accurate and very low recoil.

I'm not sure about loads for the 162 AMAX in a 7-08. I've seen the numbers on a 7mm mag and they are impressive as hell, but not on the 7-08. What's your load and what kind of velocity are you getting?

As to down-range energy, that may be an issue in hunting but not so much so for paper.

[soflarick]

6mm in an AR platform is supposed to be extremely accurate and effective. IMO, it'd be a heck of a cartridge for a lot of purposes. Low recoil, high energy, great accuracy. Not going to bother unless it went mainstream.

[Nate]

Graham, IMR-4064, just under 2600 FPS. It was used on game so I forget that most don't need down range energy. I always end up feeling like a bullet ought to be able to do something when it gets there. Super round for a young person. I seem to remember that the 162 is supersonic farther in 08 than a similar 180 grain in 300 win mag, but I could be wrong.

[JKSNIPER]

US Shooter is right...it is the Indian...not the arrow that matters.

When you say "long range" we need to qualify what you mean by long range. To some 200 yards is long while to others its anything over 400 yards.

Is it the grouping that is more important or the follow up shot capability that matters more?

GAP -10 George makes an awesome rifle. My son currently has one on order from George HOWEVER George himself would tell you that his bolt guns are more accurate over long range than his gas gun.

You can get the bolt gun in true long range calibers like 300 Win Mag, 7mm Mag, or .338 Lapua mag just be ready for sticker shock with the ammunition cost. We ordered some .338 for a customer who hunts in Hawaii with a .338 lapua mag and the 4 boxes of ammo were $500 without tax. They were $6.25 a round. We can get .50 cal cheaper.

If you want a true all around gun that can out perform the AK and shoot with 17% more energy than the .223 but can still do CQB with recoil not being an issue? Than go with the gas gun but get it in .300AAC Blackout You can use standard AR-15 magazines with it and if you want to switch back to the .223 you can swap out a few parts or just pop the pins and change out uppers.

It all depends on what mission this rifle is going to be used to accomplish....that will dictate the decision on which weapon is best for your needs.

FYI I have a bolt gun from George and an LMT in .308 and I love them both.

[Steve RA]

6.5 Grendel is pretty impressive !

[Graham Smith]

6.5 Grendel is pretty impressive !

That is an AR15 caliber rather than an AR10 so it likely wouldn't fit with what the OP wants. But it is a very interesting load if you put it next to other AR15 calibers. If you put it next to a 6.5 Creedmoor or .260 (which can use the same bullets as the Grendel), however, it looses the ballistics battle once you get past a certain point.

There are also a lot fewer builders who will build a Grendel so it gets tough to find one that is built as well (and as accurate) as even a .223 might be.