I'm a long time shooter, own plenty of other style weapons, built several AR15s and have decided to let my M1A go to a friend (my only semi-auto .30 cal).  I'm interested in getting an AR10 since I already have several in 5.56 and 300 blk.  However this wonderful world of various parts and fits seems a bit annoying so I'm looking for a complete rifle.
After looking around I'm very interested in the Fulton Armory M110 Service Rifle.  However I can't seem to find much about them other than M1A builds and some sidecocking models of the 308.  Anyone able to tell me if they are a good choice? (Also feel free to offer alternatives)

Criteria:
Barrel: minimum of 20 inch, preferable medium contour or better (ie no lw)
Magazine: pmag compatible
Stock: rifle stock, prefer them due to my size
Handguard: prefer free floating to save later effort
Cost: under 2,000$

Just looking at the M110, I see some things that I personally wouldn't like.
Gas block outside the hand guard.  Don't like.
Quad rail.  Old tech.  Go keymod or better yet M-lok.  Lighter.
Stainless bright steel barrel.  The Zombies will see you coming.  I like black barrels.
A2 cage style flash suppressor.  You'll need to replace that with a muzzle brake or it won't be any fun to shoot.
Fixed stock.  Heavy compared to something like a Magpul CTR.  No QD swivels.
Worst thing is it's 10.85 lbs. My Aero M5 I just built is 7lbs and 12oz.  Granted, mine is a 16" barrel, but still.
You put a scope and mounts on that Fulton and you're going to have a 12-1/2lb rifle.

Just looking at the M110, I see some things that I personally wouldn't like.
Gas block outside the hand guard.  Don't like.

I prefer my blocks outside(and replaced with adjustable) of the handguard so when I shoot hotter ammo I can give a few clicks back, vs cheaper ammo

Quad rail.  Old tech.  Go keymod or better yet M-lok.  Lighter.
Fair point, but I prefer simpler things that don't require me to buy rail sections.  Weight also mitigates recoil better my Remington heavy barrel setup is pretty close to that weight.

Stainless bright steel barrel.  The Zombies will see you coming.  I like black barrels.
A2 cage style flash suppressor.  You'll need to replace that with a muzzle brake or it won't be any fun to shoot.  
Stainless is something I seem to also go with for my semi automatic decent range stuff.  My 18 inch SPR is SS as well as my 22inch Remington.  Easy to clean too.  Fair point on the flash hider but most rifles come with the same one

Fixed stock.  Heavy compared to something like a Magpul CTR.  No QD swivels.
Worst thing is it's 10.85 lbs. My Aero M5 I just built is 7lbs and 12oz.  Granted, mine is a 16" barrel, but still.
You put a scope and mounts on that Fulton and you're going to have a 12-1/2lb rifle.
main purposes will be bench and possibly hunting the odd coyote or white tail which is done basically off my back porch or a short distance into the woods.  I have a LW recon build in 300 blk as well as the obligatory m4gery that's plenty light

Thanks for the input, do you have any other recommendations for me to look at?

Fulton Armory makes excellent rifles and they will build you whatever you want. Their barrels have a target gray option if you don't want the shiny stainless.

If you want to build your own I would recommend a MEGA setup with RCA 308+ BCG. If you want it nice and simple get one of their MKM or M-LOK receiver sets. Use a MEGA 20" barrel and you'll have a setup that will go bang. Tier One arms has the MEGA Megalithic receiver set for $799, which is stupidly cheap. Not having to time a barrel nut is priceless.




-Stooxie


 

I don't know...building one wasn't that difficult. I spent a couple weeks on here and figured out the proper configuration then began buying/building. The only thing I had to return was a gas tube because I thought I was going to get a rifle length gas system.  When I finally got the barrel it was a mid-length..No biggie.

But I had no parts that didn't fit.

But buying a built one should take away the frustration of tuning it to work reliably.

I've been eying a build but the issue is barrel&bolts.  I see more threads about barrel and bolt issues between AR10s than AR15s.  I am located about 25 min from PSA here in South Carolina but their PA10s are new(ish) and iffy reviews still. I'd like something out of the box with a warranty.  I liked the armalites but the fact of the handguards non-free floating.  Plus the 1000000 options out there...

PSA is a small outfit but they put out good products that they stand behind. I had a premium AR upper for about 4 years. It shot decent but the midwest FF was not torqued properly and the barrel nut broke free after about a year. I shelved it and decided to try and fix it myself, ordered a wrench from them. I tightened the nut, took it back to the range and it shot all over the place, like 10 moa.. I think a range officer put a plastic safety flag in the end of the barrel and I didn't pull before I shot it but I'm not sure. I took it home, broke it down again, put it back together, looked for damage at the end of the barrel but couldn't see anything. I gave up and sent it back to Palmetto, explained about the barrel nut and how it was shooting, something like 4 years after I bought it... Well, I expected to have to buy a new barrel, instead they sent it back with a new fluted match barrel, nicer than the one I bought it with, all under warranty...including shipping.

Most recently, picked up their PA10 lower and a 18" parts kit. I did have to send back the upper before I even got to shoot it. But they fixed the issue, test fired the crap out of it and sent it back. Well, I finally got it to the range. So the PA10....which is basically set up like the Armalite Def 10....shot just as well as my DPMS. It appears to be a sub moa rifle with stand handguards and trigger and all for a grand total of about $650 delivered... As far as market support. The PA10 uses many SR25 pattern parts and is compatible with DPMS low rails (tons of aftermarket options).

I'm a big supporter of PSA. I did cringe about their 308 when I started seeing the issues but I think they are worth the chance based on their past support. I wasn't even worried about any issue with mine because I've seen them completely refund $$$ to people who have not been happy with the results on their 308.

No disrespect to PSA, but if the OP is not particularly cash constrained then why make a "project" out of a PSA 308? There's no need to suffer through their process of working out kinks, plus I believe I've read that their dimensions aren't exactly DPMS compatible.



Plenty of known good configs out there. If the OP has a ceiling of 2K then there are plenty of choices that will work without undue risk of having to send parts back.



That said, I suppose being 25 minutes away from PSA would at least make the return process easier.



-Stooxie

Yeah, I agree...he might just want to spend all $2k on a the rifle and get a KAC or Larue, lots of guarantees right when you open the box. My response was to the poster before me. The implication that PSA didn't stand behind their products. But if that is his entire budget, then a great shooting rifle for $650 would leave $1300 for a rail, good trigger, magazines, ammunition/components and an optic...

First off, welcome to the forum.  Fulton is a top-notch company in my experience.  They use premium barrels from Criterion and Krieger, have excellent quality control on parts, know what chambers to use for gas guns based on decades of experience with them, and their complete rifles are very solid, ready to go out of the box.

If you are looking for something that looks like the M110 in a service rifle configuration, Fulton is hard to beat.

The only alternative that I can think of that would fit the bill and still be under $2000 would be an ArmaLite Inc. AR10A.

Fulton uses the same types of receivers as DPMS, but the fit, feel, and finish have always been on the higher end side from them, and the barrels are in a different league.

ArmaLite uses forged receivers that I particularly like the fit, feel, and presentation better on, because they feel like larger AR15 receivers, rather than the different shaping used on the LR-308 or AP4 receivers.

Where I am personally at with AR10's and LR-308's is much different than you, after having owned 5 of them, and almost every one of my shooting buddies owning several of them.

This is the rifle the OP is referring to:

Knights if obviously a good system. Are they they that good compared to larue? Or something else? Or did the prices just skyrocket after they got the military contract?

My PSA 20" shoots 3/4 MOA at 550 yds with factory Fed 175 gr SMK as well as reloads 43.3 gr Varget and Hornady 178 gr BTHP in once fired LC M118LR cases.

This did have initial problems. The FF hand guard fell off after 3 shots. I reinstalled it correctly (tightened the Fn bolts)

I shot it again today with 8 different factory and reload combos for testing. Again, the same two mentioned above were excellent. AT 100 yds they both held less than 1/2", but that is 100 yds, not 550.

I have the Criterion M110 barrel with a Nickel Boron BGC from Fulton Armory.  They check the head space for me when order.  I wasn't out to build a service rifle M110(I have an AR15 service rifle). I just wanted a heavier barrel, then .750.  I'm very happy with the build! You can trust Fulton Armory to take care of your needs.

I would suggest for your purposes go Armalite. Do a Tac20 and don't look back as you will be very pleased. If you have to have stainless the do an ar10T from them but I think the tac20 is the best out of the box with what you are looking for. If you go 18" get their VSR rifle and have a little extra money left for mags and ammo. My Armalite shoots flat out amazing. My next one with either be a tac18 or tac20.

I have a Fulton 20" M110 rifle that i cerakoted up to look like a M110. Really happy with the accuracy. Made some consistent shots out to 900 yards with 175SMK. It is heavy though with a optic mounted. Not something I would want to hump around all day. I have the Daniel Defense lite rail.

I'm now building a 16" 308 AR on a Genesis 308 80 lower and upper. Looking to save save some weight in a more compact package.

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

It's been a hectic few weeks and I did manage to pick up my first "AR10" in this time.  I went to the range with a buddy who had a DPMS G2 Recon.  Despite my want of a 20 inch barrel this thing impressed me.  Recoil was not what I expected. Very gentle compaired to my M1A.  Accuracy was 1.5-2.5 moa with LC M80 ball from a rest.  Hornady 168 Amax handloads were managing .7 moa.  I was quite impressed.  And of course the 16 inch sounds like field artillery going off.

Reviews vastly seemed positive and I watched several long term reviews such as James Yeager's (I know...) So I looked around and, while I don't know about fate, I found one for sale locally and picked it up.

DPMS G2 Recon
http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Cam_Cain/20151026_155743_zps0z0msnch.jpg

Speaking of which, I am using a spare Holosight I had.  I was curious if anyone knew what the zero ranges lined up for.  I was wanting to say I was going to do 75/200 or something like that but I can't find it now.  

Range tomorrow hopefully and I'll write more on the experience.

Best,
Cain

What did you get?

He got a DPMS GII Recon.

Any plans to replace the handguard OP?

I'm confused, sounds like he's saying he held and shot a 308ar for the first time.

Yeah I got the G2 Recon.  The rail is fat as hell so I'm looking into the MI series of rails.  Pretty light for an AR10 as it is tho.

Those YHM rails make absolutely no sense at all to put on the GII.  They go against everything the GII was meant to overcome.

Maybe they are existing inventory, but those should have ceased production years ago.

It certainly keeps the aftermarket handguard business going though, as well as exposing how lacking the gunsmith pool is when they try to pull that AAC flash hider.

Remember to ensure that whoever removes your flash hider, to clamp the barrel in a vice with protective inserts, NOT the upper receiver.  Those flash hiders are commonly installed with Rocksett, and need to be removed following Rocksett recommendations.

SLR has their new GII handguards. Good quality, great prices too.

Yeah I gotta find a vice for that, as posted I saw SLR makes G2 rails as well.  I do like the weight and feel of the SLR rails but one issue I had on my SPR build was the rails don't match up exactly, the SLR rail has sharper cuts than the Aero upper had.  So when skidding something across the top you had to wiggle it around a bit.

Fortunately the weapon is scoped and the handguard only serves to hold my bipod.  I'd share pics but it seems I'm struggling with how to get an image to post.

You're gonna have that problem with just about any rail. It's almost impossible to get them exact. Sometimes they match up, but when company X makes the upper and company Y makes the handguard, they most likely aren't using the same bits, machines, or jigs.

That's why i ultimately went with Armalite on my AR10. The rail on the handguard matched up perfectly with the upper. They're truly made for each other.

Whereas other handguards for the LR308 platform adhere to general pic rail specs, they won't always line up perfectly. Same goes for the AR15.

Yeah, I started to see that after a couple builds on my AR15s.  However, of the ones i've used the MI ones are always the closest.
Anyone know how to post pictures?  the links aren't working from photobucket...
http://i1107.photobucket.com/albums/h394/Cam_Cain/20151026_155743_zps0z0msnch.jpg

I'm still under 50 posts, that explains it.

Anyways, I am looking around at a UBR stock as well, and eventually a 1-4 or 1-6 power scope for it.  Hopefully the G2 will prove itself to be reliable.  
If it proves itself to be accurate as well.