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Posted: 3/20/2010 6:14:00 PM EDT
| Are these rifles any good without the forward assist, cartridge deflector, and dust cover. Are the receivers much thicker and clunkier looking? Are they more problematic with reloaded ammo because of no forward assist? Thanks for any first hand experience with them. PH |
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0.7 posts per year! Gotta be a record. The dust cover and case deflector are a matter of personal preference, but the forward assist is useless on a 308 and can cause problems. The 308 has much more surface area than the tiny 223, so pounding on the FA can pretty much assure a jam with improperly sized/dirty ammo (cheap foreign mil surplus). Be prepared to spend time slamming the butt plate on the ground trying to clear a jam if you use the FA. BTDT. The extrusion dies for the A3 and slick side uppers appear to give similar wall thicknesses. The thing I don't like about the current slick side is the tall rail height. When DPMS first released the LR308, there weren't a large selection of extra high scope rings, but that isn't a problem any more. I find it curious that DPMS chose to continue with the high rail slick side upper instead of the low rail slick side. |
| Thanks for the response-yeah I don't use much of your band width here. The site is so big it becomes unwieldy. I am looking to trade for a DPMS 308 of some sort-is nib but owner doesn't know if it is a slickside or a FA model. I have Ar15s in both configurations and my Sportical .223 hasn't given me any problems but I like the 'looks' of the FA models better. I guess the tall rail height is what makes the receiver appear so big/thick etc. Although the higher rail height ought to simplify scope mounting without special rings. I use riser blocks on my ar 15 rails. Any way he is supposed to send a pix so I can see which model he has. Trading a Browning 45/70 1885 even up if I like the DPMS. PH |
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I go to General Discussion for comedy (its a mixture of freak show and train wreck). But I spend time here in the tech forum or hometown forum. It simplifies life. The 1885 is a fine BPCR rifle. I have one too, but if I had to choose between the 1885 and my AR in 308, I'd keep the AR. The upper receiver can be swapped out easy enough. Just remove the gas tube, handguard and barrel and install them on the new receiver. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=784553 |
| The slab sided LR-308 was designed as a heavy bench shooter. Built for purpose. Smooth accurate shooter though (if you put a better trigger in it). As for ammo, I only shoot accurate handloads in mine. For field shooting, I bring my LR-308C and shoot factory loads or surplus stuff. |
| You'll never need that stuff. Mine worked great without it. The only thing for me was checking the chamber and not having a forward assist in the case that the cartridge didn't fully seat. Even the slight pull and release to check the chamber were enough to re-seat the bullet. I have on occasion while in the dark just pushed forward on the indentation of the bolt carrier to be sure that it seated. You won't need it. |
My .358 HDH is on a DPMS LR-308 slick sided upper. I don't find it any more bulky than the normal "A3" style upper that I have on my .500 Phantom and .470 Rhino. The forward assist on them makes the upper wider , 2.375 inch versus 1.713 inch, than the slick sided upper. The wall thickness on both uppers is the same at .270 inch. Is the slick sided upper more stiff than one with the FA? Cannot prove it by me. If it is more stiff I think it would be because of the thicker top rail, not because of the small hole for the FA. 
.470 Rhino |
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