I had an Armalite AR 10 in 243. Loved everything about it but one thing,,,,the weight. With scope and bipod it was around 10 lbs. Was my main antelope gun for several years. Sold it to a guy that just has to have it. I doubt I'll buy another just for the weight issue. Been spoiled by a Rem Alaskan Ti.....
Why is the AR-10 not more popular?
- Thread starter Falcon642
- Start date
shooter_john
New member
Since DPMS is being thrown around a bit here, I thought I'd throw in some data, informal as it may be. I'm an instructor for my LEA's Police Marksman/ Observer School. Last month we hosted a school and one of the attendees was shooting a DPMS LR-308 (26" fluted bull model). I was quite interested to see how it held up in the school (we average 500 rounds in a week, and some pretty grueling time in "the field") and how it performed all around.
I will preface all of this with the fact that the shooter's knowledge of the rifle and how to fight it were basic at best, and it probably wasn't the best choice that he could have been made for a rifle. But, he could shoot it well enough, and it held 1 MOA or real close to it all week. The only other malfunctions seemed to be magazine related, an may be because all of his mags (and the rifle) were lessthan a month old.
I personally have the same rifle that I described above, but I've never been real hard on it, and that is why I was so curious about this guy's rifle going through our course. I have been exceptionally pleased with mine, and it is as accurate as any of my bolt guns.
Sorry for being longwinded, but I hope that helps!
I will preface all of this with the fact that the shooter's knowledge of the rifle and how to fight it were basic at best, and it probably wasn't the best choice that he could have been made for a rifle. But, he could shoot it well enough, and it held 1 MOA or real close to it all week. The only other malfunctions seemed to be magazine related, an may be because all of his mags (and the rifle) were lessthan a month old.
I personally have the same rifle that I described above, but I've never been real hard on it, and that is why I was so curious about this guy's rifle going through our course. I have been exceptionally pleased with mine, and it is as accurate as any of my bolt guns.
Sorry for being longwinded, but I hope that helps!
Lloyd Smale
Moderator
love mine. Its insanely accurate but i hunted with it all last season and found the weight to be a big downside. If they could get one down to around 7.5 lbs it would be about the ultimate whitetail gun.
madcratebuilder
New member
Cost is the big factor on the 7.62 platform AR's. Even a used base DPMS is $900 or so used. Ammo cost is not to bad, lot of good surplus on the market. Any of the brands can have problems or have rifles that are trouble free, a lot depends on the operators experience level.
The big AR's are heavy, even the 14.5 inch models can be a lot to pack around hunting. My 21" Noveske is only suitable for bench or prone work, I would not want to carry it more than a mile.
My 6.5G is as accurate and has almost as much stopping power and can probably reach out further and it's much lighter. My M1A's are lighter, same power levels and almost as accurate. The AR10 is still my favorite rifle, when the newness wears off my 21" I well build a 14.5" as light as possible.
The big AR's are heavy, even the 14.5 inch models can be a lot to pack around hunting. My 21" Noveske is only suitable for bench or prone work, I would not want to carry it more than a mile.
My 6.5G is as accurate and has almost as much stopping power and can probably reach out further and it's much lighter. My M1A's are lighter, same power levels and almost as accurate. The AR10 is still my favorite rifle, when the newness wears off my 21" I well build a 14.5" as light as possible.I just took a quick look at Remingtons website.A 700 bdl msrp is $985 and they weigh in about 7.375 lbs.My free floated flattop 18 in bbl DPMS LR308L weighs 7.9 lbs and cost $1200.It groups as well as a good bolt production rifle.
I agree,bull bbls make the AR's pretty heavy,but who wants to carry a bull bbl Rem 700?
I have no desire to run down the M1-A/M-14,I respect it.I do not think many of them sell for less than $1200,and I don't think many are in the 8lb zone
Actually,I think if you compare the Rem 742,the old Win 100,and the BAR sporting semi autos,they do not come in lighter,either.
Some of the posts here seem misleading.
These rifles will not be as common as the 556/223's,for a number of reasons,but,up till recently,they have been made of unobtainium.As more mfg's ,configs and offerings such as receivers,bbls,mags(Magpul is making P-mags in the SR-25/DPMS pattern)forends,tools,7.62 scopes,I think popularity will rise.
I agree,bull bbls make the AR's pretty heavy,but who wants to carry a bull bbl Rem 700?
I have no desire to run down the M1-A/M-14,I respect it.I do not think many of them sell for less than $1200,and I don't think many are in the 8lb zone
Actually,I think if you compare the Rem 742,the old Win 100,and the BAR sporting semi autos,they do not come in lighter,either.
Some of the posts here seem misleading.
These rifles will not be as common as the 556/223's,for a number of reasons,but,up till recently,they have been made of unobtainium.As more mfg's ,configs and offerings such as receivers,bbls,mags(Magpul is making P-mags in the SR-25/DPMS pattern)forends,tools,7.62 scopes,I think popularity will rise.
UpstateGlocker
New member
...because anyone who wants a reliable, reasonably accurate, easy to clean, proven for decades by many experienced buyers in .308/7.62...
buys an FAL.
buys an FAL.