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308 build or buy?

MikeD

I'm Your Huckleberry
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For some reason I have had the idea in my head of building or buying a 308.

I bought a BCG during the Black Friday sales but after pricing out what I "want", it may be more cost effective to just pick up a bolt gun.

I even thought about just picking up a Rem 700 action and building up from there.

Just not sure what route to take, any suggestions/arguments on one path vs another?

I'm in no hurry, If I build I'll just keep picking up parts as I find them on sale.

If I take the AR route, it will definitely be based on the DPMS receiver configuration. There just seems to be a little more flexability there than the Armalite path.

This will be a range rifle more so than a hunting rifle. Does not need to be benchrest precision but would lime to have fun out to 600 yards or more if I can find somewhere to stretch it out.

I only have the one part so far so I am not really that vested in any option yet so any feedback would be appreciated.
 
I always wanted an SR25 style AR10. Just something about them.

But in all fairness, for what and how I would be using 308, a bolt action would make better sense for me. I don't 'ever get a chance to shoot more than about a hundred yards or so and my 308 fal sits in the cabinet more often than not. And that's not taking into consideration ammo cost.

I believe the DPMS uses standard sr25 mags, wheras the RRA uses fal mags. I may be wrong, but I do know that some brand rifles use different mags than others. So that is one consideration.
 
Just stumbled on a Mossberg Patriot in 6.5
Creedmore for around $340. I may need to explore that option and see how I like that round.
 
Build an SPR. Unless you want a target shooter, or to prairie dog hunt. Then build a bolt gun.
 
Build an SPR. Unless you want a target shooter, or to prairie dog hunt. Then build a bolt gun.

I sort of kinda want a nice target shooter. I've always been more of a wing shooter and a minute-of-a-deer rifle sbooter but recently I've been wanting to refine my rifle skils a bit. Not wanting to compete or go overboard just yet. Just snooping around the entrance to the rabbit hole

Really thinking about that Patriot. Its a small investment that will let me refine my shooting, reloading skills and test it out before making a bigger investment in a higher end gun, if I decide to push it that far.

As usual I will keep accumulating parts as I can for the LR.308. That can more quick and easily be upgraded, tweaked as I need, plus many parts are interchangeable with my other AR's.

Yes, I know I am a over the board, still kind of thinking out loud.

I still need to get access to a range over 100 yards. LOL
 
I sort of kinda want a nice target shooter. I've always been more of a wing shooter and a minute-of-a-deer rifle sbooter but recently I've been wanting to refine my rifle skils a bit. Not wanting to compete or go overboard just yet. Just snooping around the entrance to the rabbit hole

Really thinking about that Patriot. Its a small investment that will let me refine my shooting, reloading skills and test it out before making a bigger investment in a higher end gun, if I decide to push it that far.

As usual I will keep accumulating parts as I can for the LR.308. That can more quick and easily be upgraded, tweaked as I need, plus many parts are interchangeable with my other AR's.

Yes, I know I am a over the board, still kind of thinking out loud.

I still need to get access to a range over 100 yards. LOL
We're in the same boat...... Lol.
 
As I'm sure you're probably aware, bolt action will open up a lot more powder/pressure possibilities than you would have with a semi, in order to cycle the bolt and pick up the new round.

Your hands wouldn't be "as tied" with the bolt.

Just throwing that out there.
 
As I'm sure you're probably aware, bolt action will open up a lot more powder/pressure possibilities than you would have with a semi, in order to cycle the bolt and pick up the new round.

Your hands wouldn't be "as tied" with the bolt.

Just throwing that out there.

It also allows a larger range of pills and area to work with OAL.

I am thinking of testing the waters with a bolt gun and just keep LR-308 as a side project. As much as putting together another gun excites me, it may not be the best route for where I want to go with this project.
 
The compete lack of standards in the 308 AR world is really annoying. Almost every makers has their own proprietary upper/lower that will not mate with any one elses lower/upper.

I know this is a Mossberg Owners Forum but does anyone have first hand exp on the differences between the Ruger American and the Mossberg Patriot?
 
Why not look at a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor or the Howa Chassis rifle if you truly want to shoot to longer distances, precision rifle style. They have the cool AR black rifle look but are bolt action for better precision and come with a steel bottom metal/detachable box magazines which many bolt action rifle's don't.

If you build a bolt action based on a regular stock...go with the Remington 700 as your base gun and modify/trick out as you go. Way more options for the Remington 700 platform than any other gun. It's like the Chevy of rifles.

If you have to have a gasser and want to build it from scratch, look at Juggernaught Precision. Their complete upper is around $1000 AFAICR and the lower around $300. Nice looking, strongly built stuff.....billet aluminum. You can also do an 80% build with their stuff.

I have a .308 Bushmaster ORC but would love to build up a Juggernaught as a second AR-10. https://jtactical.com/category/1
 
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If you go Mossberg Patriot.....take a look at the Varmint model. Whatever you get, get one with a 24" medium bull barrel or bull barrel. Problem is...from what I see only the .308, 5.56 and .204 Ruger Varmint versions have the 24" barrel. The 6.5CM has a 20".
 
The basic answer is that I am cheap and I like to tinker

I'm lookng for a 1000 yard rifle for $500 that will rarely ever get shot more than 100 to 200 yards.

I honestly enjoy tweaking inexpensive guns more than buying really expensive ones.

Mostly its just for fun. If I had serious need for a long range rifle I would pony up for Rem 700 with a Kreiger barrel or a precision rifle. Or I would just rebarrel my Enfield deer rifle.

I just enjoy seeing what I can do with a cheap base rifle and some upgrades.

I actjally looked at a new Rem 700 today, it was gritty as hell the new ones are not the same as the older models.

That said, I'm kind of likeing the Savage now as a base. LOL
 
The basic answer is that I am cheap and I like to tinker

I'm lookng for a 1000 yard rifle for $500 that will rarely ever get shot more than 100 to 200 yards.

I honestly enjoy tweaking inexpensive guns more than buying really expensive ones.

Mostly its just for fun. If I had serious need for a long range rifle I would pony up for Rem 700 with a Kreiger barrel or a precision rifle. Or I would just rebarrel my Enfield deer rifle.

I just enjoy seeing what I can do with a cheap base rifle and some upgrades.

I actjally looked at a new Rem 700 today, it was gritty as hell the new ones are not the same as the older models.

That said, I'm kind of likeing the Savage now as a base. LOL

Savage is a solid rifle
 
The basic answer is that I am cheap and I like to tinker
I honestly enjoy tweaking inexpensive guns more than buying really expensive ones.

I can totally relate. I'm that guy also. I have to fiddle, tweak, improve, modify etc etc to satisfy my ADD. :p The only problem is, either way, it's going to end up expensive.

I have a .308 Howa 1500 with a 20" barrel that I bought new for around $570 and I was really keen on jazzing it up......making a long range precision rifle out of it....the whole reason I bought it.

Before long I had put approximately $1000 into the rifle, not including the worth of my labor....and NOT including the optics, rings, bubble level, Switchview lever, lens covers etc....and of course all the peripheral stuff I had to buy..... a Harris S-BRM bipod, a selection of rear shooting bags, shooting mat......of course reloading dies AND other stuff for precision reloading etc that I needed to add to my current mostly handgun reloading setup. Case prep center, Hornady Lock 'n Load comparator and seating depth gauge, concentricity gauge, case gauges, case trimmer and neck turning attachments, digital scale etc etc. Phew!!! AND components.......excellent powder, match bullets, good primers etc etc.


But I was happy, because it ended up shooting very well....especially for a $1500 rifle. I noticed improvements at every new upgrade I made.....the stock, trigger, bedding, muzzle brake etc etc etc. But here's the thing. A couple years later I bought a Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor...... and it is more consistently accurate than the Howa. I got it new for $999 and put a $60 APA Little Bastard muzzle brake on it. The Gen II RPR's now come with a muzzle brake and an improved hand guard for around $1200. If you were to put a true match barrel on the RPR like a Krieger, Bartlein etc etc.....you'd get a superb shooter for the relatively low outlay.

I'm glad I went the Howa route first though. It would have been cheaper and easier to go Remington because of the aftermarket parts availability and the RPR's were not available yet. But I still enjoyed the process and in doing so I learned a lot.....about working on guns and solving gun problems......and about long distance precision shooting.

It's food for thought though......to save up a little more and buy a chassis rifle like a Howa HCR, Ruger Precision Rifle, Bergara B14 BMP, Mossberg MVP etc and....... still be able to fiddle and tweak to perfection, just with a better starting point. They all need match barrels and possibly better triggers. Still lot's to do.....and of course very expensive optics and rings to buy.

Remembering all the time that these are still not true custom precision builds.....like a GAP, Surgeon, McMillan, Spartan etc etc where the actions alone might be $1200-$1500.:eek:
 
really dude?.....build no question, did they have you fixed while I was gone ?

Hey now, dont forget who got you started building!!

LOL

A build is always in the works no matter what else I try, its in my DNA!!!

Good to see you back!!
 
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