So I've had a 14.5" 308AR for five years now that I put together myself; Black Rain billet set, 14.5" BA carbine barrel, DD Lite Rail, Syrac adjustable carbine gas, and AAC 51T mount/suppressor. It's OK, but I'm just not feeling it like I think I should be. Keeping it running without adjustment going from unsuppressed to supressed is hit or miss; it seems either undergassed without the silencer or way overgassed with it... and it's fairly finicky when it gets dirty. I've tried a 14.5" midlength on it and the dwell was just too short to get running well. Slash heavy buffer, lighter buffers, different springs, tubbs carrier weight, PRI fat gas tube, regular gas tubes, two different high quality BCGs, etc...
I'm thinking of either migrating to something else entirely or maybe changing out the barrel assembly on the AR for a 12.5" and trying to make it 100% reliable.
Metrics in order of importance to me:
Suppressor Use - Easily accepts the use of a suppressor without lots of tinkering.
Reliability - Both suppressed and unsupressed.
Longevity - It's getting an SBR stamp, so I'd like it to be very robust.
Optics Options - I'd like to reasonably be able to put a LPV or CQB type optic on it easily
Accuracy - Being an SBR, it's probably only going to ever shoot <500yds... so anything under 2MOA is fine.
Weight - I'm not too hopeful any are going to too light, lol.
User Servicability - How hard are they to work on from home?
I'm leaning towards the 11" or 13" SA58, but I know very little about FAL type rifles and they are a tad bit pricey. The PTR is about $1100ish. And I could probably get away with modifying my 308 AR for <$400.
DSA SA58 11" Pistol with added Para Folding Stock and 51T Brake
https://www.dsarms.com/p-16595-dsa-sa58-fal-pistol-11-barrel.aspx
DSA SA58 13" Para Elite with long FH swapped for a 51T Blackout
https://www.dsarms.com/p-12491-dsa-sa58-16-para-elite-edition-rifle-pinned-barrel.aspx
PTR K3P PDW 12" Pistol with added HK telescoping or HK fixed stock and 51T Brake
https://www.atlanticfirearms.com/component/virtuemart/shipping-pistols/ptr-k3p-pdw-308-pistol-w-paddle-mag-release-detail.html?Itemid=0
Keep my Black Rain 308AR Billet set. Swap 14.5" barrel out for a 12.5" Ballistic Advantage. Install a suppressor-friendly adjustable gas setup or, if available, some kind of piston conversion(?). Maybe even drop a LaRue, HiperFire, or Geisselle trigger group into it to breathe some life into it. My current 14.5" 308 setup and what it might look like with a 12.5" barrel:
Attached File