I was very very lucky and won a
Double Star 10B rifle in the AR15.Com Team Member Giveaway in Sept of this year. I'm pretty ignorant regarding 308 AR's and AR10's, and had assumed they were all standardized like AR15's are. They are not.
This is a newer rifle and their really isnt much information out about it. I was able to find two online reviews, one is behind a paywall at Small Arms Review, the other is this one:
DoubleStar STAR10-B: Custom-Grade .308 AR—Full Review
(I believe that writer is a member here as well...not certain though).
I also managed to find a review of it in the Guns and Ammo Book of the AR15 2016 Issue No 1
It shipped in a nice nylon soft case made by TacPro Gear, four Gen 3 PMag's, three rail sections for the hand guard, a small bottle of Lucas Extreme Gun Oil, and of course, the rifle itself.
The case has two exterior mag pouches that each can hold two 25 round magazines and come with elastic bands to keep the mags in place. It appears that more than two mags can fit in each pouch, but I havent stuffed it to find out for certain. The zippers are smooth and pull easily. There is also a small document pouch in between the two magazine pouches. The bag comes with a shoulder strap that is pretty solid as well, using metal connectors. I have a few other soft rifle cases, (two Elite System's single rifle cases, a Voodoo Tactical Double rifle case, and a 511 Tactical covert M4 sling pack.... for those moments when you want to look like a snowboarder instead of someone carrying an AR15 with a collapsible stock), and this TacProGear case seems to be made very well.
The inside of the case has 4 large velcro straps and MOLLE-esque attachment points for the velcro straps. The straps are so secure the rifle and keep it from bouncing around inside the case.
NOTE - The scope and mount did not come with the rifle. I had a cheap Famous Maker 2.5 x 10 lying around and a spare LT104 mount, so they are on the rifle until I can afford to put a real scope on this beast.
Starting from the front:
The rifle has a DSC muzzle break they call the "bulls eye" attached to an 18 inch Wilson Air Gauged stainless steel match grade fluted barrel with a 1/11.25 twist. The barrel also has a rifle length gas system.
The hand guard free floating and is made by Samson. The top rail is continuous and the sides and bottom are smooth and have screw holes to mount rail sections where desired. I have experience with railed forearms, an AR 308 Odin works MLOK hand guard, and my father's Armalite AR10 Free Float tube...and IMO, this feels better in the hands than any of the others.
The mag well is longer than normal and angled. It also has some large grippy checkering on the front. It's not sharp, but does help if you're one of the folks who shoots holding the mag well. I dont have any 10 round magazines, but allegedly, they do work, you just need to push them pretty far to get them to lock in. Speaking of magazines, the gun shipped with 4 Gen 3 LR/SR PMags. It accepted a 25 round Gen 3 PMag no problem, but the single Lancer L7 308 magazine I had did not fit. The raised rib that encircles the middle of the mag keeps the mag from inserting. I have 20 round aluminum
ASC Magazines that fit with no problem. Since this is my first 308 caliber AR, I dont have any other magazines to try with it. I would eventually like to try some LaRue magazines, but they arent cheap, so that will take some time. Fortunately, Trump won, so I have some time to make that happen. I'm new to 308 AR's so other than ASC, DPMS, Magpul, Lancer, and LaRue, I dont know what else is out there, (That is DPMS/Knight compatible. I know that the AR10B from Armalite uses a different magazine and the RRA 308 uses FAL magazines). If there is another manufacturer out there for DPMS/Knight platform AR 308 magazines, I'm all ears.
The trigger guard is integral to the lower and is oversized.
The trigger is a CMC drop in single stage flat trigger. My experience with match triggers in AR's is pretty limited. I have a LaRue MBT that I installed in my BCM rifle, and it's very nice. This CMC is lighter, but more of a target trigger IMO, than the LaRue. I think the LaRue is better for a patrol rifle, as it's much much better than the mil spec triggers, but it's not as light as the CMC trigger. However, I can see how the CMC trigger would be excellent for precision shooting.
The pistol grip is made by Hogue. I think it looks goofy compared to the BCM Gun Fighter grip or the Magpul MIAD/MOE, but it feels good in the hand. I could easily get used to it.
There is no forward assist in this rifle. All of my AR's have FA's but that's most likely because I was issued rifles with FA's. I've used them in the past and not thought twice about it, but I can completely understand the arguments against them. I dont think they are needed on a precision rifle and am not bothered by it not being present on this rifle.
The charging handle is a Bravo Company Mod 3 (medium latch), which seems perfect for an AR15, but seems small for something this size. After mounting the scope on the rifle as pictured above, it definitely feels too small. This may be one thing I change about this rifle without having ever shot it.
The bolt and bolt carrier are Nickel Boron coated, (NIB-X):
Being used to an AR15 BCG, this feels MASSIVE...the bolt is enormous compared to what I'm used to.
Interestingly enough, the buffer is surprisingly small. I didnt take a picture of them together, but it was close to the same size as the bolt itself.
Are all 308 AR buffer's like this?
When I was in the Marines, we were issued M16A2's rifle with a fixed butt stock.
Since then, I've used the standard M4 collapsible stock, the Magpul CTR and MOE stocks, and the Vltor E mod and I Mod stocks. This rifle comes with the
Hammer Butt stock which is kind of medieval looking with it's spiked and squared off foot...but it is surprisingly comfortable. I have not moved the cheek riser, but it is comfortable. This is different than the LaRue RISR in that it doesnt move, where as the RISR does. So if you have the stock collapsed and the cheek riser up, you wont be able to work the charging handle of the Star 10B.
Having said that, this stock is SMOOTH! The literature says it has 5 ball bearings....might as well be baby oil coated glass, cause it's the smoothest functioning collapsible stock I've ever handled. Double Star says it's the toughest stock on the market, and I dont doubt it. I'm not going to be using that stock to beat down doors or anything, because I'm not that guy. But I'd be lying if I didnt say I'd love to watch Rob Ski and the AK Operator's Union guys beat the hell out of this stock to see what happened. Overall, I do like this stock, and I was not expecting that at all.
I have not shot this rifle yet. My plan is to use some FinalFinish rounds and break in the barrel, and then try to figure out what I'm doing with it. I'm not a Steely Eyed SEAL or a Camp Perry shooter. I'm a former infantry Marine who is currently a cop and I drink ALOT of coffee. I'm sure this rifle will shoot half MOA or better groups all day with the right loads and the right person behind the trigger. If I can get 3/4 MOA I'll be more than happy. It's been stupid cold here lately, so I dont know when I'm going to be able to shoot the rifle, but I'm already impatient to do so.
I'm already looking around to find the right scope for this rifle, but there is so much out there, and I'm so new to precision shooting, I dont even know what I dont know yet. I can already tell I'm going to enjoy learning about it though.
I know these are a new rifle and there isnt much out there about them, so I thought I'd post this up about the one I have. If there are other Star 10B owners out there, feel free to post and share, I'm very interested to learn more about it.
Finally, I need to acknowledge Doug from Double Star and mention that Double Star's Customer Service is top notch. This is actually the second Star 10B I've had. The first was a pre production test mule that some how escaped the factory and wound up at AR15.com in Texas. When I won the rifle, that pre production model is what I was first sent and there were some issues with it. When I contacted Double Star about it, Doug stepped right up and sent me the rifle and everything that you see above, (except the cheap Famous Maker scope and LaRue LT104 mount it's sitting in). Kudos to Doug and the Double Star gang. By virtue of the way they handled this, I will buy additional Double Star rifles with the confidence of knowing that if anything goes wrong, they'll make it right.