SmokyBaer

Using the standard spring.  Fella I bought the upper from could not find the heavy one. 

Mind blowing quantity of choices. :panic: Seems like the more I dig for my ultimate build the more options get dug up. The chart below does not show the new Wilson 7.62×40 WT offering either.

C'mon... Just got my first 458 together and shot it the other day. Piece o'cake!! Surprised me with not even a 308 level of recoil. However, I was laying down fire with mere 300 grainers. :pleased:

I been readin up on the Grendel also.  Pretty impressive for it's length.  Always heard the .26 calibers were hard to beat ballisticly.  May be going that way with one of my lowers too.  Just a matter of time. :up:

  I believe you guys have been spot to what the OP has asked.  "Which brand is better for his purpose?" 

  I sure do wish there were more options to go 45 in an AR.  That'd be my ticket.

DannyP, that's an excellent price on a 16 inch M1A.  Nothing wrong with a SOCOM in performance either.  Yep, very loud but a great shooter on anything inside of 200 yards.  Mine is the Go-To for coyotes and quick running 2 liter bottles!  In fact, I am selling a couple more rifles soon and i'd be hard pressed to sell the SOCOM.  Best performance I've seen with mine was from some Russian ammo.  I asked and found out their powders burn quicker.  I suppose because AKs have shorter barrels, maybe...  Live and learn, right?    By the way, the only proprietary part on your SOCOM is the gas lock/brake.  The brake is the gas lock instead of having two separate components.  The gas piston is the same as every other M14 out there but the barrel's port is a bit larger.  Nothing extravagant just different.  Don't hesitate to go shoot and enjoy it.    Congrats on your score!!  :up:   

There are two versions of Armalites using different mags...  not sure if the latest generation is the DPMS style mag tho.

  I knew there was more than the 16.5 and 20 but there's no 18, you'd have to cut and recrown.  The other lengths are longer, a 23 and 27.5 to really get the best burn out of the 308.  My 26 inch SSG has a totally different report than my 16 inch SOCOM.  No comparison.  Here's a write-up from back in January of this year but it's about the longer barreled VEPR.  That short VEPR looks wicked too.   Wow at the long one and a Bullpup!!   That platform could get as deep as my M1A/M14s, easily.  

viscera, that's a cool setup that you drew up.   I could see one of those in my herd... maybe two!   Not just to be different but I feel there is a huge difference in barrel length.  Like said earlier, it all boils down to your intended setup and desired range.  By all means, the red dot above is well suited for 100-150 yards and you are spot on with quick aim.  One of my favorite targets is dancing 2 liter bottles at a hundred with a red dotted 16 inch SOCOM.  However, a 308 short barrel's muzzle blast is sometimes pretty intense if you get next to a tree or something.  Your buds don't care for that when next to you either.  Russian ammo has faster powder that seems to help that somewhat, in my opinion.   For hunting with a 308 out to 300 yards, I am a firm believer in 20 inch or longer because the extra velocity makes a much flatter trajectory.   The 150 grainers average around 2800-2850 in a 20-22 inch.  That's 200 fps more than a 16 inch which is a lot when considering ethical hold over and terminal velocity on your whitetail.  In my book, pipeline and cutover hunting needs the longer barrel.  That said, my Scout's 18 inch barrel is very accurate and does not trade off a lot of velocity so it is the best compromise in handiness and getting the most out of the 308.    Most of the velocity is lost is between 16 and 18 and that's why I tend to hunt with longer tubes, 'cept for dang coyotes.  Have to be quick on those.  Anyways, that's my two cents to stir things up.  Just wanted to share.

I am in for two lowers.   Consecutives, if available.  THANKS!!

They accused him of selling the guns for profit but the more I read, it turns out he has sold very few and pretty much kept everything he built.  Good for him because he will win the argument hands down cause that in itself proves he isn't a dealer.   As far as selling versus owning, who knows?  Lawyers write up things with bigger words than I can decipher.  In this case, they are refering to how he sold rifles but he really has not because he still owns most of them.  No one would ever be able to tell how a gun-grabbing lawyer could twist that around to reflect how many you are allowed to own before being considered a dealer.  I, for one, want to see this case thrown out before it gets ugly.  

Didn't see it mentioned above but long ago, I had a Remington 541 that would shoot dime size groups at a hundred.  Being young, I sold it off because I was bored with it.  Man, I have paid a lot of "stupid tax".   Any rifle that shoots like that should be cherished and never let go of.   Live and learn, I guess.  

Once you get into it, the defendant is accused of being a competitor who builds rifles using their parts for the purpose of selling them for profit.  His "alleged" bad-mouthing is said to have steered customers away.  In that process, the discussion came up about what constitutes the difference between a hobbyist and a dealer.  If a determining number comes up in federal court and gets established as a baseline difference then we are all held to that number as a matter of legal record... Below that you are a hobbyist, above it you are constituted as a dealer.    That was the gist of the discussion which is not in the courtroom, yet.  Either way you go, it gives limits on how many firearms you will be allowed to own, unless you go the dealer route which legally requires licensing which the defendant nor most of the public has.    Hope that all makes sense.  :-\

In all my years of internetting and forum participation, I have never seen or heard of a case like the one in the link attached below.  The issue reaches far beyond just internet bad-mouthing a company's reason for delivery delays, it hits on how many guns makes you a dealer without an FFL.  Really big issues are getting thrown around on this one that will certainly affect our 2nd amendment rights in the future, if it goes to federal court like they want.    It's a sad day when firearm advocates are fighting each other instead of focusing on the other issues nawing at us every day.    Check it out... http://m14forum.com/tags/gun%20community%20backs%20jason/   http://m14forum.com/m14/145566-i-need-lawyer-served-sei-lawsuit-today.html

I know what you mean on checking every Wal-Mart.  You have to cause if you don't, the first thing you read is how big the delivery was while you was at the store!  The only Wally World i have not seen ammo is the one in Franklin.  There must be something going on there.  Everywhere else seems to get a trickle here and there.

For years and years, i've been an M1A/M14 fan who dabbles with an AR here and there.  Was just starting a new 458 SOCOM project last year about the time prices and availablility went nuts.  As we have all seen, ammo is starting to come back slowly and when i saw this ad for a forged 5.56 with Magpul furniture for less than 800, i knew all the gougers were cringing that their party may be over.  So is the craziness slowing down or is there something i am missing in the PSA deal?

i like it!!  wish they would post about it's accuracy capabilities.

We bought two early on and they have seen normal use.  Pretty accurate and repeatable.   Been played with a lot just showing off the disassembly and reassembly.  No issues on loosening up at all.  I believe that's the whole purpose of the chamber nut that you adjust to make it tight when snapped together.  Only one complaint...  The backpack itself is too short to leave the scope on the receiver.  I guess a scope with no bell would fit but I like my regular rimfire scope.  Had to install with QD rings to get around the short bag.  

    Not bashing by any means but I fully agree with robtattoo.   A 700 yard ethical shot requires a high degree of certainty which is not the norm for any joe-bag-of-donuts shooter like myself.   A 300 yard shot is a quick clean kill with meat in the cooler and a BIG proud smile.  I have found over the years that losing a deer from a poorly placed shot is very upsetting.  I don't like that feeling and as you can tell, I don't want any of you to feel that either.  Just saying, be cautious with the long shots.  They are not for everyone.

I may regret this but I have been flirting with the idea of selling my DW Classic Bobtail .45 because I never shoot it.  Bought it from a TGO member a while back.  Loved the feel of it so much I bobbed one of my homebuilds and been shooting that one.  Hardly ever get the DW out except to fondle and drool all over it.    The herd is about to be thinned again and the DW will be up for sale.  If you can make it over to middle TN, I will certainly wipe the slobber off for a clean inspection.  Once in your hand you will have to have it.  It's tight, feels right, shoot's straight and pretty too.  Like said, they don't make them like this anymore.

Get her into a nice bottle of blackberry wine before u tell her and she may just giggle with your news.  Maybe not... might swang yo head wit da bottle.  Daaang!

Here's a pretty good write up on the CZ97.  Looks like a cross between a Bren Ten and a Glock.  I'd actually like to play around with one and see what it can do. 

  That is so good to hear.  Congrats!!  :cheers:

One of my shootin' buds brings his King Cobra to the range and I shoot my dad's old Python.  Both are the straightest shooting pistols I've seen.  At 15 yards, there is often just a couple ragged little holes after a friendly round of competition.  Nothing but good things to say about Colt's snake guns.  :up: