What would be a better choice for a .308 semi auto rifle. Opinion welcome if you have a reason.
M1A
Hk-91
FN SCAR
AR-10 (which brand)
FAL
Kel-Tec RFB in .308
Other semi auto in .308
HK91/G3 rifles are in my opinion one of the best, if not the best platform for launching 7.62x51.
I am biased, yes. But I find the DRB system to be very accurate, soft shooting with the correct buffer and when properly set up and headspaced with the correct components utterly, infallibly reliable. Anything,everything anytime similar to AK reliability but much more accurate. Magazines are stupid cheap and indestructible as well.
My personal bitch about it is the lack of a flat top receiver for better optics mounting, mine sports a H&K quick release claw mount with a picatinny mount and see through base for use of iron sights incase the optic goes down.
Not to mention, a drop in auto trigger pack isn’t all that difficult to obtain and a bit less expensive than other options if that’s your thing.
Rheinmetall upgrades aren’t that expensive and are just sheer total badassery.
Shameless crappy picture plug
The options from FN get my nod.
Honestly what you want it to do could be important to the decision.
Without a specific role, I’d get the SCAR or a FAL for a general purpose 308 “battle rifle” or a LMT MWS for more of a precision rifle.
I 99% agree with Rhino
the AR-10 series of rifles need very serious consideration, but what it boils down to is budget. If I was on a budget I would look into the SIG716 and the Ruger 308 rifles. I’ve shot both and I find both of them effective. I like the LMT alot, one hell of a lot, accurate, and modular. I put rifles like the OBR in this same realm, but I would buy the LMT (I have a few of their 556 guns as well)
If the budget is of no concern then it boils down to two rifles, the SCAR and the 417. (if these two had a love child it would be perfection…minus the proprietary BS magazines)
The 417 is the more expensive of the two, the heavier of the two, but damn it is a sweet shooting gun. It is familiar, it feels right from the word go, and the manual of arms does not change. I can’t knock anyone for buying one.
The SCAR IMO is the best option if you have an extra grand to dump into it. Out of the box the SCAR is very effective, but honestly it is a bit crude at its price point. It comes with complimentary european over priced rare spare parts. But what you can do with that gun is far closer to being a 7.62x51 carbine than any of the others. The reason I like the SCAR the most is I have held and shot what the SCAR can be.
I am biased towards what Handl Defense is doing with the SCAR platform. I have shot their test beds with tuned gas systems and the recoil mitigation system. it feels like a 6.8.
Couple this with an aftermarket trigger, a Handl lower, and few other bits and pieces, and a 1x6 (luep mk6 IMO) and you have a very capable gun for 5m to 600m. Just be ready to pay for it.
ghjkl
Depends a lot on what you want to do with the gun.
If you aren’t going to mount optics, and a 3-4 MOA gun is within your precision needs, and don’t intend on buying match ammo, the FAL is a very strong contender.
If you want a modern “Heavy Carbine”, that will work with your AR accessories, is a 2-3 MOA gun with bulk burner ammo, and might be a 1.5-2 MOA gun with good ammo, the SCAR-17 is a solid choice. I have heard a lot more reports of sub-MOA SCAR-17s than I have seen in real life, and I’ve been around quite a few of them. The issue is that lots of folks will think that if you imply that their carbine isn’t a .5 MOA gun that you mean that the gun is useless. This is not the case. A 2 MOA gun can get good work done out to 600 meters, easy. Hell, mil issued M118LR has an acceptance criteria of 1.3 MOA out of a test barrel. I am sure that at least one person is going to have butt-hurt because of this paragraph, insisting that they have a (fill in the awesome precision potential here) MOA gun. While I generally doubt data that flies in face of established data with proven protocol for data gathering and management, it is also entirely possible that a single sample performs outside of the proven and accepted standards. There is nothing wrong with getting an aberration, the issue is when potential buyers suddenly discover that just because their buddy’s gun is a .75 MOA gun with specific ammunition and a single 3-shot group, does not mean that they will wind up with the same numbers when they go to multiple 5-shot overlaid groups; or to be even more simple, that even if their buddy’s gun is proven to be a .whatever MOA, doesn’t mean that they will get one.
If you want a dual-role carbine that can work as a heavy carbine or a precision carbine and transition seamlessly between the two, the AR platform is generally better, if only because it is more evolved and refined technology. There are a growing number of these that fall in various points in the precision/weight/reliability/cost balance, with offerings like the M&P10 that are low cost, low weight, moderate precision and moderate reliability, up to high end offerings that are pricey but max out the favorable characteristics of other performance criteria.
I am in a similar search for a semi auto .308 and have really considered the SCAR, as a matter of fact, I’ve narrowed it down to the SCAR or KAC SR-25. I’m surprised no one has mentioned the SR-25 yet. Am I missing something?
I try not to push product on here unless directly asked.
I have been shooting an SR-25 since 2012, first an EC, then an ECC, and now an ACC.
I’m guessing that not a lot of people are recommending the KAC offerings since the ECC has been discontinued, and the new line has not been commercially released yet.
I don’t think anyone here can legitimately accuse you of trying to push a product. With that being said, the SR-25 is at the top of my list. In your opinion, how does it add up to the SCAR or how does the SCAR add up to it? I am really interested in the ECC. When are the new ones coming out?
I was (and still am) a big fan of the ECC. The new line is, begrudgingly, superior.
I was not a fan of the URX 4/Keymod rail in comparison to the URX 3.1. The 3.1 was just one of those instant hits.
However, I can do everything with the 4 that I did with the 3.1, at a longer length, with some better options for accessory mounting and sling connection points.
The new gas system of the E2 line is way easier on barrels, and doesn’t marry the gas block and barrel. I didn’t like the new gas system at first, I’m one of those codgery guys that really likes to see taper pins on gas blocks, but it works.
What I really like is the light profile barrel of the ACC, with an overall weight of under 8.4 lbs with BUIS, 15" handguard, K2 grip, and STR stock.
The chrome-lined barrel and E2 bolt provide a lifespan of >10,000 rounds with appropriate maintenance.
Production is ramping up for the commercial release of the ACC, exact release date unavailable at this time.
In your unbiased opinion, is it gonna be superior to the SCAR?
All of your Points are great, I’ve been at this for over 30+ years, my dilemma was 30 years ago you had 4 options they were M1A (US surplus from Vietnam), FAL (hard to find), ARmalite AR-10 with the charging handle inside the carry handle (pain in the ass to fix and find mags), or a Hk91 (proud and expensive) . I don’t have a budget limit. I own a M1A National Match Heavy Barrel, I’ve scoped it and didn’t like it (sits too high) and now I’m looking into the 21 century to enlighten me. I’m looking at is it better to do a combat 308 or marksman 308, or what? I built a Marksman AR-15 that can hit anything with its Leopold Mark IV Scope, would the AR-10 be the way to go for its flat top?
Unfortunately, I do have some bias, but in my honest opinion; yes, it is a better carbine for what I care about.
ACC coming in under 8.4lbs?? When do you expect these will be available and what is the MSRP going to be?
Sorry, I work the .gov side, and can’t accurately answer questions about commercial dates and pricing without stepping on my crank too frequently to be advisable.
I am hoping for a 3rd quarter release, and a ~4k retail pricetag.
What kind of accuracy with match ammo do you get out of the ACC’s lightweight chrome lined barrel?
At 4k I have a feeling these rifles will be sold before they’re even manufactured, an 8.4lbs SR-25 at 4k is a definite winner!
Given that I am working with a prototype/pre-production barrel I prefer not to make precision claims until I have more data collected on production barrels.
I don’t want prospective buyers to make a decision based off of a small sample size, especially since the intent is to change-over to a CHF barrel for full production.
Another variable is wear-in, which is very hard to quantify. As the chrome lining is worked, performance increases; sometimes significantly.
As much as I would like to expound on that, it’s proprietary data that needs more fleshing-out before a true correlation can be drawn.
I am not being intentionally evasive, I just don’t want to make a statement that I can’t support with data.
ghjkl