My friend is looking to buy a general purpose 308 ar. Right now he’s looking at the 901, but it’s on the high side of his budget. Are there any other quality 308 di guns out there for a better price?
He wants something reliable that will reach out a little further. I think an 18" barrel would be ideal, but 16 should be fine.
The SW looks good but has a proprietary barrel. Are these generally good guns? What’s involved with adding a rail to one?
Side question: does the 308 barrel nut take a different wrench than 556? I’m assuming yes.
Your friend is probably best off waiting a few months to see what Daniel Defense is making in .308 and what it sells for. Chances are excellent that it will fill a currently large gap between the super expensive quality .308s (KAC, LMT, to some extent the 901) and the much cheaper but distinctly hobby grade .308s (basically all others).
For hobby or basic hunting type use the S&W would be a decent option. It’s a decent gun and has some nice features, particularly the ambi controls. The 4" long flash hider is not a great feature but is readily replaced - for example you could get a .308 sized A2 flash hider for around $10. I have a S&W and after some initial teething issues it seems to have become reliable. What I dislike is the clamp-on gas block, and the proprietary parts.
I have a 901 and like it pretty well, but it ALSO has proprietary parts, and the quadrail version is rather heavy, and now you have uncertainties about Colt’s future and future plans.
I have a gen 1 DPMS .308 (LR-308B) and it’s OK, but not something I can enthusiastically recommend. I was excited about the gen2’s but there seems to be a thread going about problems with them.
Armalite makes an OK product but last I knew they also had clamp-on gas blocks, at least in the flattop version, and in general nothing about them excites me much.
So like I said, wait and see what Daniel Defense offers, or get a Colt 901 if in a hurry and willing to roll the dice on its future.
Thanks. Yes, in between would be perfect and there seems to be a void and I thought I was missing something. I’ll have him wait. It’s not going to be a go-to gun, but you never know, and he won’t accept anything not dead - nuts reliable.
The convertible aspect of the 901 is cool, but useless for him.
I have the S&W & I’ve never had an issue with it. Mine was $1600, which I thought was tough to beat. Not sure what the current prices are though. Some say they do favor full power loads as the GP is on the smaller side; however, I haven’t had any problems.
Rail replacement is just like any other AR. He’ll want to get a new gas block though.
A standard barrel nut wrench works on the S&W.
If your friend is struggling to afford a Colt, by all indications he’ll be struggling harder for the DD.
I have three or four hundred rounds through the Big Smith and with the exception of under powered NATO ammo, it’s all been good. We’ve even mounted an Aimpoint micro to it and run drills.
Yes, ditch the heavy, bulky gas block and muzzle device for something trimmer and lighter, but that’s no big deal
The money alone isn’t the issue, it’s the fact that it’s not his go-to, and won’t get shot much, he’s struggling g to justify it. His wife just got a job as a veterinarian so maybe I’ll just tell him to save up some $ and go to the dd or get the sw.
I feel like the colt is wasted $ since he won’t use the conversion, and maybe heavier.
I’ll have him wait for the DD and see where it falls in on price and specs.
I know you mentioned DI, but if piston is not entirely out of the question, the Ruger and Sig offerings might be worth a look, and they seem to both be in the 15 - 17 hundred range as well. I don’t own either, but they have crossed my radar and I think the general consensus is “good enough for the money.”
Saw this in the “The great .308 Debate” thread by Briman1001
“The July-Aug 2015 Recoil magazine has a “review” or hands on with the new DD .308 rifle. They list $2,700 MSRP.”
Just be really careful what parts you buy. There are a couple different designs DPMS (Aero, Rainier, etc.) vs. SR25 (Mega Arms, LMT, KAC)
I bought my first LMT with chrome lined barrel for 2,500. Then I “built” (more like assembled) another LMT using a S.S match barrel, LMT upper and bolt with a Mega Arms lower for less then 2,000… it would have cost 3k+ if I bought it already built.
