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No option for ANY 6.5





Fail

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I would copy the ever lovin shit outta those turkish made 12s that are coming in and make them outta forged lowers and accept more AR parts like stocks and grips and rails etc.



You could make some bank.

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Long version, open with 5.56 (and no not .223 or .223 Wylde). Offer either chrome lined or nitrided (I prefer the nitrided barrels for increased accuracy, increased whole barrel corrosion resistance and longevity) barrels with a 1/7 twist, Mid length gas system. Use F-marked FSB assembles with a bayonet lug that is properly drilled with taper pins oriented the correct direction. Have the barrel made out of 4150 CMV steel. You could go with a government profile or light weight (I am looking to do a lightweight build for my next project) profile. M4 feed ramps and a properly torqued barrel nut. Use a T-marked 7075T6 forged upper that is type II Hardcoat anodized. Shot peened HP/MPI tested Bolts, etc, etc.

Short version, offer a top tier rifle built, tested and held to a well defined standard with quality components at a price that is affordable with great customer service and you will do well. If you come out offering Bushmaster, DPMS, Olympic Arms etc. level of quality, you won't be around long. There is a glut of "just as good as" rifles that aren't.  Quality wise you would want to be comfortably with in the BCM, DD, Spikes, Colt, LMT level of quality and slightly above the Bushy, DPMS level on pricing (really, it won't be that hard). Consider having an outside lab verify your standards. get your rifles out to people going to high end instruction/classes taught by respected instructors and tell them to run them hard. The unsolicited endorsements will speak louder than any snazzy internet marketing. That is how BCM got to be where it is. Built a reputation on no compromise with quality and customer service and the world will beat a path to your door. Shpw us you can handle the basics first, and do it well before branching out to "boutique calibers" no matter how cool 3 dudes on the internet thinks it will be. If you want a .gov contract build what they know, then after they see what you can do, think about adding some flavor to your line up.

Oh and I nearly forgot, keep away from garish logos. People should know they are handling your product based off of the quality and a small roll mark.

If you need a Beta tester, lemmme know.

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You just made me think of something - Design an AR lower with a "fattened" magwell that will fit a 2 3/4" 12 gauge cartridge (maybe machined to fit Saiga mags?), then machine up a 223/5.56 magwell block that fits in that 12 gauge magwell as an option so you can fit your normal 223/5.56 AR uppers onto it.

Back to the drawing board ......

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I'd switch the bolt carrier from a sleeved cylinder to rails, reduce the total contact surface and increase the tolerances slightly.

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Make a new caliber, somewhere between 5.56 and 7.62x51. Make it perform marginally better than 7.62x39 but claim its the greatest caliber ever invented. The world needs more calibers like that... OH! the ammo needs to be expensive and hard to get too!!

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More folks making .308 would be nice.

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'zactly what I was thinkin.

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AR-47 and AR-74 lowers that accept -47 and -74 commie mags.

I'd buy one from you.

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308. Make it very nice and charge about a grand for it. I just don't want to spend that much for a DPMS. There doesn't seem to be much between a DPMS and a Larue.

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Exactly! Need moar .308 ARs

 

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I think one of the new site sponsors has something pretty close - are you opposed to a piston 5.45 upper?

http://www.huldraarms.com/uppers/product_76b374d367d8/

I'm betting others have something in that genre and in that price range as well.

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As you stated its an already crowded field so i went with "other" meaning that you should come up with something that sets you apart from all the others.

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.369 Stank.

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you still got the schematics for the .369 Stank?

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No. Wish I could find that archived thread.

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Does anyone have the Reader's Digest version?  I am intrigued now .......

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A couple of years ago, Hero Gear in Winchester, TN hosted a focus group pending the rollout of their in-house produced AR15, the Hero 15. Arfcom Tennessee Hometown Forum members and members of Tennessee Gun Owners. I was lucky enough to attend, along with unit687, Hank, Kingpin_38506 and a bunch more. One suggestion was for proprietary calibers, even custom designed ones. That's when Joe Lundberg brought down the house with his comment, "You can design your own caliber, and we can build it as long as it fits the mag well. You could name it whatever you want, like... I don't know, .369 Stank."



http://../../../../images/smilies/anim_rofl.gif

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You stole my answer.  

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Thanks guys.  Got a good sample size here.

Some things that have popped out outside the poll parameters .......

1.  There is a HUGE hunger for more AR 308 designs and options

2.  Shotgun applications for the AR platform are limited (I think Safir's 410 is the only available option in that area)

3.  As for pistol caliber AR's, most seem to want the .45 with a mag adapter to use 1911 mags.

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You have to offer a rifle that shoots cheap ammunition right from the start; .223 Rem, 7.62X39, and .22 LR. Everything else will essentially be boutique rifles with low sales.



That's one of the reason I would favor a new caliber wherein the upper receiver is easily convertable into a cheap established caliber.  The chamber adapter (and possibly feed ramp extension) would have to be part of the bolt carrier assebly for rifle caliber conversions, but could be attached to a magwell block for pistol caliber conversions.  Someone mentioned making an AR 308 with a 7.62x25 conversion - I think that would rock!



Somehow you'll have to offer a rifle that is immune from the vagaries of fanboyz and gun writers, or you'll soon enough find your fine weapon relegated to the scrap pile of not tier 1 rifles, whether they can express a rational reason, or not.



Meh .... sometimes even luke-warm or controversial publicity is better than no publicity.



Frankly, I think there's some room for innovation in the upper receiver, float tubes, and butt stocks. You'll never get a consensus by polling a forum like this, in the end you have to configure a rifle then put your money at risk with a product. You'll have to be real smart to find something to set your product apart in a crowded field of very good rifles and accessories.



I like the idea of a semi-monolithic upper where the top part of the handguard tube is removable to access the gas block, gas tube or piston assembly.



You'll have to understand exactly why your rifle is better be able to articulate that reason, and be able to prove that with every example that leaves the shop.



Don't sell .22 LR conversions for uppers with .224 bore barrels with rifling that is too fast, that's just stupid.



I think most people know .22lr conversions are mostly for plinking and practice, although there was one guy here who was planning on using a .22lr conversion at a 3 gun match.