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Posted: 11/18/2012 4:05:33 PM EDT
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I have a DPMS SASS in 308 ..
PROS love the 3outstanding ing accuracy none failures feeds all ammo I have tried from junk to hand loads that just fit in mag ( love my 178 a max load) CONS Its a pig for weight, 14.6 lbs with optics and empty mag bi-pod front bipod weighs next to nothing, I want to keep the gun and hope with the wisdom of poster here on the site can get a game plan to put this bad boy on a diet. I thought about dropping the barrel back to 14.5 / weld brake car stock carbon fiber fore grip.. Looking at the DMPS 308 hunter that rig is still just under 8 lbs, compare to mine that they claim 11 + want to use it more for hunting now then just punching paper. So am I just dreaming and dump the gun in favor of something else or is there a way to get this thing light enough to hunt with.. So those are my idea and I am sure some one here has used the DPMS gun and gotten the weight down.. I know I could start with other lowers and uppers but I own this and would like to make it more usable. |
Uploaded with ImageShack.us My Bushmaster. It is less than 10 lbs. If you went with a Moe stock and a lighter profile barrel from Rainer arms. You could get it down two that weight. The Bushmaster is basicly a rebranded DPMS. You might get a extra light weight upper set up for just hunting. Keep the SASS upper for bench shooting. Hope this helps. |
| I looked at the DPMS hunter that is under 8 lbs.. That is where this got me started.. I had thought about selling off the entire rifle , taking the loss and starting over.. maybe 6.8 or 300 blk out in a ultra light weight one size does all rig.. I know there is no such thing as the perfect rig.. but even at 10 lbs that is rather heavy for all day carry.. I am 100% open to ideas.. |
| One thing I notice is your in az like myself, which from my experience means a 300+yd shot isn't uncommon which means 300blk is out, so that puts you back into 6.8 or 6.5g territory or stay with the ar10 platform. Being a handloader opens the doors to any caliber but there is still a initial investment (dies,brass) I think the ar15 platform will get you to the 8lb'ish region easier and with off the shelf parts but still a feat. |
| I do hand load now so thats not a big deal, However the 300 BLK out non sub sonic data looks good.. Its not my 308 by far... That was the reason for the 308 in the first place. Have a caliber that can handle most things.. If I can get this gun down into a light weight item then it would be a really great all around gun. I have looked at a few brands of ar15 in 223 they have a few that are in the 5.5 lb range doublestar is one company.. I am not looking to go that light. But I cannot find any hard data of what some of the parts weigh. Like the carbon fiber hand guard, I may just buy another gun as I feel the cost to alter this one is going to be rather pricey ... |
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The barrel on the LR's is the majority of the removeable weight.
To lose weight elsewhere on the .308, you can put on a carbine stock, carbon float tube, and then evaluate your optic (if you have a big one with thick and heavy rings, you might opt for something else). Otherwise, it is time for a new barrel/upper. Check out the Sportical or Oracle uppers, which weigh 8.3 pounds complete without optics with the carbine stock. |
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I would just yank the barrel off and sell it on the EE. Buy yourself a Fulton LW chrome lined 18.5" barrel. At 2lbs it's lighter than most 16" barrels on the market. Make sure you have a LW handguard (not the DPMS quad rail). Get a Troy TRX Extreme or a carbon fiber tube. A2 or CTR stock and you're about as light as you can get. I have a Mono Mega build and it's right at 8.5lbs w/ no scope.
My Brother had a SASS w/ the same concerns as you, I built him the same setup as mine with the exception of a Daniel Defence Lite quad-rail, much lighter. Also, those lightweight skinny barrels are plenty accurate. I was shooting empty propane bottles on my elk hunt last week at 600yrds with ease. 
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I am 100% open to ideas.. SBR it. 
8 pounds 10 oz as pictured but with no mag. 10.5" barrel. Great balance. http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l569/cityboy172/guns/IMG_20120611_183633.jpg 
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Since you are open to all ideas, I think you should seriously consider a 16" 6.5 Grendel carbine. I just weighed mine, with magazine, ADM mount, and Vortex Viper PST 2.5-10x44 MRAD, and it is at 8.4 lbs, a joy to carry in the field. I don't even have the hunting lightweight barrel from AA either, just a medium-government contour stainless MLGS pipe. There are some Grendel hunters who have used Bushmaster Carbon fiber lowers, slickside or no Forward Assist uppers, double-fluted barrels, JP lo-mass carriers & buffers, with adjustable gas blocks, and gotten the weight down to around 5lbs
If you stick with the AR10-size action, your diet will include attacking the barrel first, getting one that is profiled much lighter. You won't want to go shorter than 16" for a hunting rig, unless you want to push the extremes at lower velocities and minimal shooter error for shot placement on game. Then you will probably want to get a lo-mass operating system, with JP's captive spring. In the end, the Grendel will let you do everything you want, coming well under the weight limits you're looking for, with a much milder-recoiling blaster that your family/kids can shoot and hunt with as well. The Grendel is also going to cost you the same as a 5.56 build, and mags are $15 a piece. I got my barrel/bolt combo for $269. You have 23+ factory loads, many of which are hunting loads with premium and affordable bullets, like the 130 Scirocco versus the 123gr Wolf SP, or the 130gr Nosler Accubond versus a 123gr SST. There is a nice line-up of Barnes TTSX, Nosler, Swift, Sierra, Hornady, and Berger to choose from for hunting with the factory loads, and well over 100 different projectiles to choose from if you hand-load. I've owned 5 different AR10's, and the only one I can justify owning is my custom .260 Rem for serious long-range shooting, like 800-1200yds where it really shines. The Grendel ruined any more plans for AR10 carbine projects for me. |
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I would just yank the barrel off and sell it on the EE. Buy yourself a Fulton LW chrome lined 18.5" barrel. At 2lbs it's lighter than most 16" barrels on the market. Make sure you have a LW handguard (not the DPMS quad rail). Get a Troy TRX Extreme or a carbon fiber tube. A2 or CTR stock and you're about as light as you can get. I have a Mono Mega build and it's right at 8.5lbs w/ no scope. My Brother had a SASS w/ the same concerns as you, I built him the same setup as mine with the exception of a Daniel Defence Lite quad-rail, much lighter. Also, those lightweight skinny barrels are plenty accurate. I was shooting empty propane bottles on my elk hunt last week at 600yrds with ease. http://i561.photobucket.com/albums/ss60/travisvgray/7B3D9460-64E7-4C47-ABFC-661449A8D4F3-4898-000007E14475C2EF.jpg I went into a local shop that had a DPMS 308 that had a few items swapped.. I have to say it was light, He made a decent offer on my rig.. But I have to say I really like your idea.. I love the 308 cal, its super easy to load for and even if I have to buy bulk ammo I am only a few miles from J&G so bulk blasting ammo is not far away. I am think going to a 16 inch barrel to reduce the weight as much as i can . I will give up some of the range of the round but I can deal with it.. I own other bolt guns for LR hunting.. I had a 6.5-284 bolt gun an that thing was a great rig.. I looked into the 6.8 as well.. At this point IF i can keep the lower cost wise it is a bonus to me. Ok I am not up on what EE is?? If I can get it to 8lbs without optics I am back in love with the gun!!!!!!!!!! I really want to thank those that have helped out.. Any idea on total parts cost??? |
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Any idea on total parts cost??? What you would need to swap yours out Barrel (if Fulton): $300 Gas Block (PRI Adjustable): $69 Gas Tube: $12 Handguard (TRX-308 Extreme 12"): $220 Total: $601 I went back and forth on the 18" or 16" for a long time. Turns out that the 18.5" fulton barrel is lighter than any other 16" that I could get my hands on. You could send the 16" out to ADCO and have them profile it down, but that's added cost. I also couldn't find a barrel w/ chrome lining which I wanted, and the rifle length gas system helps with reliability/cooler gasses/less impulse to the BCG. To deal with the added 2.5", I run a thread protector instead of my flash hider (save that for the zombie apocalypse). What I have into mine: Receiver - Lower: MEGA MATEN-$320 Reciever - Upper:Mega Monolithic-$669 Bolt/Carrier: DPMS-$195 Trigger:Geissele SSA-E-$200 Barrel:Fulton 18.5" LW-$300 Gas Block: PRI Adjustable-$69 Gas Tube: Ranier Arms-$12 Grip:Magpul MIAD-$35 Stock:CTR-$85 Charging Handle: BCM Gunfigher mod4-$55 Rear Sight: TROY BUIS- $135 Front Sight:TROY-$120 Flash Hider: Vortex- $70 Rear Sling Plate: Noveske -$25 Front Sling Mount: Wilson 10/2- $39 QD Swivel Mounts:VLTOR- $30 Sling: BFG VCAS- $50 Heavy Buffer/Spring: Slash CAR10- $154 Ambi Safety: Battle Arms- $60 Extended bolt release: Phase5 tactical- $54 Some Weights: 
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I build mine somewhat SASS look alike...I used a SASS barrel which is 3.5 pounds itself ( barrel alone ).
This is how the rifle sits when it was 14.5 pounds heavy...no mags 
The rifle is actually light without the optics and bi-pod but whats the fun in that 
Long story short I had the same dilemma as you after a few trip at the range...the damn thing was too heavy...so I change my barrel to a 20 inch Rainier Arms select barrel to save half a pound and my next mission is to start drilling some holes on the handguard to remove a few more ounces 
As of right now I have been going to the gym a lot and I started lifting weights so I wont have any problems carrying the rifle
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I build mine somewhat SASS look alike...I used a SASS barrel which is 3.5 pounds itself ( barrel alone ). This is how the rifle sits when it was 14.5 pounds heavy...no mags http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu204/vhmpyr/335271_283962928319596_100001176738020_788406_1884979935_o.jpg The rifle is actually light without the optics and bi-pod but whats the fun in that
Long story short I had the same dilemma as you after a few trip at the range...the damn thing was too heavy...so I change my barrel to a 20 inch Rainier Arms select barrel to save half a pound and my next mission is to start drilling some holes on the handguard to remove a few more ounces
As of right now I have been going to the gym a lot and I started lifting weights so I wont have any problems carrying the rifle Nice rifle,which railed hand guard is that? |
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I will suggest you follow this thread for some relevant tips:
308 AR My .308 AR is about 6.5 lbs w/o sights and magazine. |
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Quoted:
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I build mine somewhat SASS look alike...I used a SASS barrel which is 3.5 pounds itself ( barrel alone ). This is how the rifle sits when it was 14.5 pounds heavy...no mags http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu204/vhmpyr/335271_283962928319596_100001176738020_788406_1884979935_o.jpg The rifle is actually light without the optics and bi-pod but whats the fun in that
Long story short I had the same dilemma as you after a few trip at the range...the damn thing was too heavy...so I change my barrel to a 20 inch Rainier Arms select barrel to save half a pound and my next mission is to start drilling some holes on the handguard to remove a few more ounces
As of right now I have been going to the gym a lot and I started lifting weights so I wont have any problems carrying the rifle Nice rifle,which railed hand guard is that? Its actually a DPMS rail that I got from either Midway or JSE Surplus... I |
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