I picked up my M5 combo today. And while waiting for it to ship, I've been struggling with what direction to go with the build. The first question I asked myself, what will be it's intended purpose. And that's where I stall out.

I'm not a hunter or a bench rest shooter. Just a plinker from 25 -500 yds. I've built a Rem 700 .308 Tactical, 20" bull barrel, which lives in a MDT LSS chassis. That does exceptionally well at distance.  Built three AR's that fill the long, medium and close range need. And also have a Mossberg MVP Patrol that also lives in a MDT LSS Chassis. So, I have the bases covered nicely.

A thought I do keep having is a fixed,  open sight battle rifle. With low pro gas block, extended handguard (Midwest Industries or Rainer Arms), 16" barrel, six position CTR butt stock, K2 or MOE + grip, ALG ACT trigger if it will fit. And a few other things. But, I then get to thinking. Because it's a .308 it deserves to be a highly lethal long range rifle.

At some point I will have a 2nd upper but, it will be chambered for .22-250 (for some reason, always wanted a semiautomatic .22-250?) And will be match grade if possible. For the initial build though, I seem to be stuck at the moment.

Any thoughts, Suggestions, input, ideas would be appreciated and respected.

I bought a receiver set (not Aero, they werent available at the time) and built a 12" Ar308 pistol

I didn't even think about a pistol. Would be kinda cool!

A long range AR in 5.56 or .223 isn't even in the same category as an AR in 308. The .308 has a much further effective distance, not to mention the energy it carries over those distances is way more devastating than .223 or 5.56. Free float it, put some nice glass on it, and stretch it to 600+ yards.

My M5 set arrives on Wednesday.  Cannot wait to get started with my build.  a 12" SBR sounds awesome, but quite the handful.  I'll be going 18" Rainier barrel with good glass.  Want to see if I can shoot well at distance on mine.

Mine in various stages. Ran into some issues regarding the handguards using the Matrix Aero( Armalite pattern)  upper with a DPMS pattern barrel, so I had to use a free float handguard in the end.

A SBR would be cool. Last time I checked on the Fed stamp, it was an 8 month wait. Think I'll be installing a 16" barrel, and try to keep it as light and compact as possible initially. And when funds become a little more free, get my paper work in for a SBR upper.

Can't do much right now though. Still waiting for parts to be released. Hopefully Aero will be ahead of schedule with release times.

I would love a M5 set. As soon as geisselw puts out their 762 rail

Have you assembled the lower yet? I tried with a dpms lpk and the mag release is too short and the front pivot pin is too large to fit inside the upper. The shop that transferred said nice looking ar10 pattern I told him I ordered a dpms pattern. He said I should ask and with the issues I'm having I'm starting to wonder. I heard that they may have an ar10 pattern later but when I ordered it only dpms was available. Anyways let me know how the build goes for you

I'm having the same issues. It is a DPMS pattern upper and lower but it needs certain AR10 parts......very dumb.

I can buy m5 takedown pins but the shipping would be as much as the pins. I'll wait until I have a larger order. I hope they make their mag release available for sale. I'd hate to spend 90 on their lpk just to get the mag release . But I'll do it if I have to haha

My understanding is an AR10 mag release is slightly longer than an AR15 mag release so I am going to try that before I order a whole LPK from Aero.

You guys build and sell an 11 inch light weight barrel with fixed front sight or SLR adjustable block  pistol that comes with a Troy rail and I will cut you a check the moment you say they will ship.
To the original poster's question. I have a 14.5 inch 308 AR that is my go to / do everything gun. I put a LAW folding stock adapter on it and now it even fits in the (soon to be cliché) tennis racquet bag.

Negative. The DPMS uses a standard AR15 mag release. I installed mine (DPMS .308 kit from Brownells) per your instructions and the button is flush with the receiver making mag changes impossible. The AR10 mag release is slightly longer which is what I'm about to order. This should be stated in the M5 description as it is assumed that because it is a DPMS pattern that all DPMS parts will fit. (Unless you want to advertise the M5 as a DP10 pattern which is the name I just made up based on the mixing of parts)

California compliant model No bullet button needed.

I sold my dpms kit. Ordered the ap lpk. The mag release and takedown pins would have annoyed me. Oh well

Nope, I haven't yet. And in a way, I'm glad I haven't. With the little got ya's that are popping up. It's saved me some frustration.

Has anyone used the LPK from Aero yet? If you have, do all parts fit as they should?

Because the is no true standard for the .308 AR platform. It makes the build a whole different beast, when compared to the AR15. Lots of reading and research I am learning. And even then, that may not be enough. Especially with a new product, like the M5.

You have to basically just thread the catch onto the button like 2-3 times. It works, but looks really crappy with it only threaded on 1/4 ways. Only solution I've found is either:
A - buy the Aramalite AR-10 mag release.
B - Buy a mag release button that doesn't show the threads and just live with knowing it's only threaded on 1/4 ways. (Seekins for example)

Either option is, yet again, more additional money to spend on top of the DPMS lpk that was thought to work fine before all these popups.

I measured the takedown holes on my upper. The front hole is 0.020" smaller in diameter than the rear. Shouldn't they both be  0.275"? If so, the AP lpk I ordered today isn't the fix. The problem is with the upper. Are the M5 pins both 0.275?

Could one of you guys measure the front hole diameter and post the size?

Im about to FO on an AP lower and get that 18" Ares upper for $700.

I don't know FO means, but I'm gathering that you mean you're gonna pass on it. In all honesty man, the receivers are nice. They really are, and nothing I've came across comes close in price. My nagging just comes from having to buy all kinda of different stuff that pops up with every corner I turn building this thing because parts that I was under the impression would work don't. Or they do work - but look wrong. Had I known what I know now at the time I made my initial orders for parts, I'd have saved myself some headache and time. It's just annoying to not find out until you go to start assembling. Maybe it's just a downfall of being one of the first hand fulls of people to build off of them. I donno.

So far, issues I've experienced, or saw other come across with the Aero lowers are:
- The DPMS .308 pivot pin will be recessed in the hole when pushed in. It functions properly, but it looks weird and you have to buy Aero's .308 pivot pin if you want it to stick out like it should.
- The DPMS .308 mag release is too short for the Aero lowers. I talked about this a few posts up as to your options.
- If you get a BCM Gunfighter ch. handle, it may or may not work depending on if it's the old version or new version of the handle. Old version = gtg. New version = no go without modification w/ a dremel. This isn't really Aero's fault. You can read a little more about that in their industry section.
While none of it is really a huge deal, it's annoying when you've bought a lpk that is supposed to be gtg, only to start your build and see that stuff looks funky, etc on your $1200+ build...

FO is Arfcom slang for "im doing it.." So... yeah.

Basically this is gonna be a sub $1000 308, with a very nice trigger. Atleast thats the plan. Already have $1000 glass and a mount.

will do. thanks

I got my m5 lpk and stock kit today. The takedown pins fit as they should. The mag release only needs a few threads as mentioned earlier. No big deal. Just waiting for my upper to get repaired or exchanged and I'll be all set. Eager to see what their hand guards will look like.

+1 I have a handguard for both my SBR build and my 18" build sitting in their wrappers and boxes just waiting to see what Aero's handguards will look like if/when they come out. Come on Aero stop the pain and clue me in! I really don't want to spend $300 on a damn handguard, and your stuff is always quality and reasonably priced.