Best MD Legal .308 battle rifle

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  • TheGunnyRet

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 27, 2014
    2,234
    Falling Waters, WV
    Must have :beer:

    Anyone have any idea when these will be available or which local dealers will have them ?

    Industry Partner-Atlantic Firearms has them on B/O for the 762/39...

    EuroOptic has 4 of 5 posted for sale, never dealt with them out of PA...

    Primary Arms...will ship w/o mag...

    I will take it either way 308 or 39 because I use both calibers.

    Only issues I see is the Mag Restriction...
     

    lkenefic

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 19, 2011
    3,778
    Pardon the resurrection of a zombie thread, but I'm thinking of either a 300BLK for my next build, or use that money to fund a semi-auto .308 instead. I didn't get an M1A or an FAL before the 2013 Bill, so... other than what's already been stated (looks like an AR-10 of some configuration) is there anything new? oh... that's MD compliant!
     

    Racer Doug14

    Thread killer
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Feb 22, 2013
    8,003
    Millers Maryland
    I like the Aero Precision M5A1 enhanced. Ar10 in dpms pattern. You can build it or buy complete from them. It been discussed often here. Ar10s are legal in MD, no barrel restriction.
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    Love my ace. Just replaced the hand guard with the Midwest industries 10”.

    1c195734942c2f4cad9e6fb307414f91.jpg
    c3e87395a00b81670eab38f5e316b897.jpg
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,673
    I like the Aero Precision M5A1 enhanced. Ar10 in dpms pattern. You can build it or buy complete from them. It been discussed often here. Ar10s are legal in MD, no barrel restriction.

    That is the route I am going. Basically anything made since early 1990s in .308 is MD legal. Galil Ace, SCAR, AR-10 (okay, that isn’t new), Vepr if you can find one, PTR I think is legal, CENTME appears to be (I see it gets debated sometimes).

    AR-10/AR-308 doesn’t have nearly the parts comonality that the AR-15 has. That said, there is something like 1/3rd parts compatibility across all of them and if you stick to one sub category, like DPMS or armalite, then it is more like 90+% parts commonality.

    Like the Aeroprecision M5e lower appears to be parts common with basically all DPMS high (determines if it uses a high or low handguard rail height, only difference) AR308 rifles with the exception of the take down pins (actually I think just the front one).

    Also many have several parts in common with the Ar-15. For the lower IIRC the bolt release and mag catch is different and take down pins. I believe everything else in the lower is the same (some use large trigger pins, but many like the Aeroprecision lower use standard AR-15 diameter pins, so it can take AR-15 trigger groups).

    Also they take the same buffer tube, stock and handgrip.
     

    dreadpirate

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2010
    5,521
    Cuba on the Chesapeake
    That is the route I am going. Basically anything made since early 1990s in .308 is MD legal. Galil Ace, SCAR, AR-10 (okay, that isn’t new), Vepr if you can find one, PTR I think is legal, CENTME appears to be (I see it gets debated sometimes).


    PTR is not legal - it's a G3/HK 91 clone which are both banned. Cetme might be ok. I know because I got one before the ban.
     

    smdub

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 14, 2012
    4,642
    MoCo
    PTR32 (7.62x39) is legal. The others aren't.
    Well, a proper PSG1 clone should be legal (BCG is different than G3)
    A HK21/21E passes muster too;)
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    The ace shoots wonderfully. I have not had a chance to shoot with the new rail on it, but it feels much better. Lighter and more stable than the factory rail.

    The comp it comes with does a great job of minimizing recoil without being too obnoxious.

    Recoil is surprisingly mild in general. I haven’t shot for pure accuracy as I want to keep it light and maneuverable. With a red dot I have no problem repeatedly ringing an 8” gong at 100yds.

    It feeds and ejects everything so far. Only issue I had was a zqi case ejected back into the action. Zqi is pretty lightly loaded and the gun was new at this point. Otherwise it has been utterly reliable.

    It makes anyone who shoots it grin.
    I haven’t and probably won’t suppress it. I like it better than the ruger sr762 I had. I do wish it had an adjustable gas block. If it did I think it would be the clear choice for anyone contemplating this question.
     

    mtbiker

    Member
    Dec 31, 2016
    94
    SoMd
    The Midwest hand guard looks great on there, I didn't know they were making them for the ace. Was the install pretty straight forward?
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    It does not take regular ak furniture.

    There are three options for aftermarket hand guards RS Regulate which are never in stock and took a couple years to develop and is a whole saga you can easily find on the web, MI industries, and an altered magpul plastic one.

    The RS Regulate one is pretty sweet too. A bit more expensive and the anticipation over 2-3 years for it will keep it hard to get from the small manufacturer. The magpul one isn’t bad, but is plastic.

    The MI one is in stock, lighter than the standard one that came with it, offers a much longer area (a longer one is available as well), and was very easy to install. Just a few screws. Took longer for the alcohol to dry after degreasing the screw holes than to actually install it.

    It feels rock solid and is a huge improvement over the stubby and bulky plastic rail that can with it. I didn’t opt for the longer one (obviously) as I don’t need one any longer than what I have and wanted to keep weight down a little, especially towards the muzzle. The rail also offers qd attachment points for a sling, and endless configurations for gadget rail hangers.

    This isn’t a super heavy gun, but anyone that has handled an ar 308 knows that after optics and everything you can easily be pushing 10 lbs. This set up is lighter and way more balanced than the ruger sr762 which I found to be front heavy, and little more ammo finicky. I also became irritated at the inability to remove, clean and inspect the piston transfer rod on the ruger. It is pinned under the hand guard. Ruger says it is good for the life of the rifle and removing it shouldn’t be done by mere end users as the spring is captured by the roll pins.

    The sr762 was accurate and the adjustable gas block allows it to easily run suppressed. Some ammo (zqi) I tested through it requires the gas block to be opened to the widest position to function. Granted I didn’t shoot it a ton and there was some breaking in yet to be done, but the proprietary parts, weight once scoped, and ammo related issues turned me off. It did come with a great stock trigger.

    I have none of these issues with the ace. It is a different system all together so not the best comparison. The fact that it has already been tested as a combat arm, it has proven reliable through many rounds, is pretty accurate and well balanced won me over. The folding stock is a bonus. The trigger on the ace isn’t great, but not bad either.
     

    Jollyllama

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 9, 2012
    1,457
    Carroll county
    When this question came up for me a couple years ago I did a lot of research, as I tend to overdo. Didn’t want to spend Scar money, and scar mag money. Vepr/ m77 seemed ok but a little rough around the edges, and again the mags. Not impossible to find but tend to be expensive. Certainly not your magpul variety buy anywhere type mags.

    Shot some ar 308s and they always felt too heavy once properly equipped, or didn’t work completely. Plus the lack of commonality in parts.

    Settled for a while on the sr762 as I really wanted an adjustable gas block and i have had good success with ruger and feel that they will be around for a while if I needed them.

    To get the most out of the sr762 it really needs to be scoped, and becomes the weight of a benchrest gun. Plus (and i didn’t really put it through all its paces) it was a little ammo sensitive even after a good cleaning and lube.

    Had a c308 for a while but it was just cumbersome and I never trusted it. Just didn’t speak to me.

    Everything else is illegal or heavy.

    I decided that a bolt gun would be better than an adjustable gas block and for distance shooting. And something else would satisfy the semi auto role. I was pretty close to the m77/vepr purchase since for the difference in cost for the galil I could buy a lot of mags. But then that is another specific mag to stock and source.

    I held the galil and it was all the things the vepr/m77 wasn’t. It felt a little more balanced, reportedly had a little better accuracy, smooth cycling, robust milled receiver, accepted sr25 mags, came from a company that will likely stand behind the product. I honestly don’t know about molot and their CS, it might be great, who knows.

    The galil isn’t light, about the same as the sr762, but it feels lighter. It ejects brass with authority (not great for reloading), has proven reliable so far, is easy to clean, has tight tolerances where they count and the reliability of the long stroke piston. It feels perfectly equipped with a red dot, and the irons are great as well.

    It is a little pricey, but no more so than a nice ar308. It is generally lighter. If you need more accuracy than it delivers, you need a bolt gun.

    That was my thought process and story and how I came here.
     

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