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.

Great looking rifle, wow what a great prize to win.  Please let us know how it shoots.

I've put some rounds through a DS 10B.  I will admit I wasn't crazy about the aesthetics of the front of the magwell, but after shooting it off sandbags, the front of the magwell really digs in and makes it stable.  There are some good uses of that checkered, extended area other than a hand hold.  

I will absolutely report back how it shoots! Just a matter of when...
Most of January is probably not going to happen due to weather and my schedule, (I go to midnights right after Christmas, and trying to shoot a precision rifle after pounding coffee all night just so I can stay awake seems counter productive), but it will happen eventually!



It surprised me as well. I thought it looked funky and wasnt wild about it at first. But it's grown on me. The rifle really is well thought out and well made and it shows the more time I spend handling it. I can imagine how much more I'm going to enjoy shooting it!

I'm looking for Back Up Iron Sights for this rifle...

I have some preconceived biases that I'm willing to be talked out of, but they are currently affecting my choice of sights.

Currently, I'm leaning towards these two:

Wilson Combat Quick Detach sight set

and

GG&G Spring Actuated Front and Rear sight

I'm leaning towards the Wilson Combat sights because they are shorter when stowed.

My bias about BUIS is pretty goofy, I like the ability to put night sights on them later if I desire to do so...am I REALLY going to do it with this rifle? I dont see that as an actual thing. But I could easily decide I dont need/want BUIS on this rifle and take them off and put them on another rifle where I do want to be able to install night sights on it and having the flexibility is nice IMO.

Thoughts?

Do you guys even run BUIS on your 308 AR's?

I wound up ordering a set of these on amazon: YHM Q.D.S.® Same Plane Sight System  Which are the made by YHM for Wilson Combat and they dont say Wilson Combat on them. Got them on Amazon for $154 shipped. Also ordered a rail mounted QD sling mount and a magpul MS1 sling for it.

Looking forward to getting this up and running.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

The YHM sights did not fit under the scope....sigh. The rear sight was in direct contact with the rear of the scope, so I ordered Magpul MBUS pro's for the gun. Rear fits perfectly. Still waiting on the front to arrive since the company I bought it from sent me a Mag coupler instead of the front sight....sigh.

Got the magpul MBUS Pro front sight finally. Took some wrangling with amazon, but I've finally got it.

I want to reload for this beast, but know next to nothing about reloading, so I called my Dad, (who's been reloading since before I was born).

He came over and brought his Overall Length Measuring gauge and we determined the chamber was 2.78 inches long, and the Magpul PMag's would accept up to 2.81 OAL rounds.

Does 2.78 seem short for this rifle?

No idea how many (if any) people are reading this...I'm still just posting away in case someone else is curious about this rifle...


Went with some buddies on a road trip to go shooting.
I live in St Louis and we drove 2 plus hours away to the Big Piney Sportsman's Club. First time I've been there and I was impressed with it. I just wish it was closer so I could go more often.

They have a 600 yard range, but I didnt get a chance to shoot that far with the Star 10b. I only took it out to 200.

The rifle is surprisingly soft shooting. I've got my Gunsite Scout Rifle in 308, but I also used to own an FN FNAR in 308 (Sold it to buy the GSR and a Leupold scope for it), and IIRC it had more recoil than the 10B. That's obviously subjective though and it's been several years since I owned and shot the FNAR.

The CMC trigger is sweet! I feel it is too light for a patrol/duty rifle, but perfect for a precision rifle. Shooting my Colt 6920 afterwards with the stock (and particularly heavy) trigger was an eye opener. I'm now going to have to replace the trigger on my Colt because of this...

I dont have any pictures because I was just trying to zero the rifle and get things sorted out, and I kinda goofed in doing that.

I didnt bring all the ammo I thought I did, so I'll be spending some more time at the range here shortly to get it perfected.



TLDR, this rifle shoots great, and it will be costing me more money in the future as I buy a better scope for it and then spend money on reloading equipment so I can feed this beast.

my LR-308-style carbine buffer for my Aero M5 is also a shorty 2.5".  highly dependent upon buffer tube inside length (7.0" nominally).

agree, funky-looking mag well.

good summary.

Thanks.

What optic are you using on your Aero?

Took the rifle out again today.

Shot at 100 yards again and shot the following ammo through it:

Winchester 150 grain soft points
Winchester 180 grain soft points
Federal 165 grain Gold Medal Match
Federal 165 grain Deer Thug


The 150 grain put 4 rounds in just over an inch.
The 180 grain patterned 5 rounds in something like 7 inches. Not really surprised since the barrel is has a 11.25 twist.
The 165 GMM didnt do as well as the 150 grain Winchester which was disappointing.
The 165 grain Deer Thug did 5 rounds right about an inch with a vertical string, which tells me I need to watch my breathing more.

Pics of targets will follow.

Targets from last week.

I AM NOT A STEELY EYED SNIPER !!!!! i DRINK TOO MUCH COFFEE !!!!

All groups were at 100 yards from the bench

150 Gr Win Power Point (Soft point hunting load)



180 Gr Win Power Point - Since the barrel is a 1/11.25 twist, I'm not surprised by these results



168 Gr Federal Gold Medal Match - Disappointing to say the least. Neither of my 308's particularly like this round, (other 308 is Ruger Gunsite Scout with 1/10 twist barrel)



165 Gr Federal Deer Thug (soft point hunting load) Yes, they are vertically strung which is a breathing/trigger control issue.

5 rounds :



Best four rounds :



Still need to do alot of work and spend time with my trigger control and breathing.

I've been a using a craptastic rest that is actually kinda broken....need to get a good rest for load development etc.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Are Lead Sleds worth it? Or just a gimmick? I'm conflicted because I see how the the Lead Sled removes the human element for load development, but then I need to get behind the gun and learn to shoot it well later.....meaning the with the Lead Sled, it's not really me doing the shooting. Sure, the gun can shoot whatever sub MOA load, but can I?

I purchased a 10 round Pmag hoping it would fit this gun, and it doesnt. There is a small rim that runs around the Pmag and that gets caught up in the extended magwell this gun has.

So I cannot use Lancer mags, and I cannot use 10 Rd Pmags.

The normal 20 round Pmags, and the LR118 Pmags work fine as do the ASC magazines I have.

I just had abdominal surgery, so it's going to be a bit before I get this out to the range again.

Went to the range with my dad. Brought my Star 10B and his Arma-Lite AR10T. His AR10 is the old style that takes the modified M14 magazines.

Dad wasnt having the greatest day at the range since his extractor broke on his AR10. The gun only has about 60 rounds through it, so this was unexpected.

I shot the following ammunition through the Star 10B for groups. All groups are 5 rounds at 100 yards. It was hot and humid so that might some effect, I'm more inclined to blame the shooter than the gear.  All measurements posted were taken after I took the pics...I wasnt thinking.

Hornady 165 Gr SST Superformance (This load groups about an inch in my Ruger GSR)
It shot 2.72 inches edge to edge.



Federal Vital Shock 165 Gr Sierra Game King
It shot 3.37 inches edge to edge.




PNW Ammunition 175 Gr Sierra Match King, (Sniper load according to the box) Dad shot this group. His AR10 usually shoots this load very well, but had just broken the extractor and I figured he could shoot mine so his day wasnt a total waste. He called the fourth shot as a flyer.
It shot all 5 rounds, (with flyer included) at 2.66 edge to edge. Removing the flyer brings the group down to 1.48 edge to edge.



Dad's handloads for my GSR. These usually shoot 0.75 inches at 100 in my GSR. Not so much with the Star 10B.
Nosler 165 Gr ballistic tip, 45 gr Varget, CCI 200 primer, OAL of 2.830.
Shot 2.44 inches edge to edge.



Finally a decent group.
Federal 150 Gr Fusion MSR.
Shot 1.29 edge to edge. Subtracting 0.3 for the width of the bullet and we finally get to see something that is MOA.



Based on what I'm seeing, my gun doesnt like heavier bullets. I might start looking at the 150 gr loads from here on out.

Finally, the trigger is very light. Almost too light.
The reset is heavier than the break. I'm used to much heavier triggers in an AR.
Anyone know if CMC triggers are adjustable? I'd like to make it heavier. It feels like it's about 2-2.5 lbs, and I'd like it around 4 lbs. This is a single stage trigger.

Excellent review, very fun to read about this rifle.  Any clue as to why Double Star put the slower twist on the barrel?  It seems somewhat self defeating.  I guess you could shoot 155gr Palma bullets in it.

Thanks for the reply. Sometimes it feels like I'm just posting for myself, so it's good to see someone else getting something out of it as well.

From what I've been reading, the 1/11 twist barrel is optimized for 168 gr Sierra Boat tail rounds.
The 1/10 twist is a holdover from 30.06 barrels and was optimized to shoot the 220 gr round nose loads.

If you read this article: https://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/doublestar-star10-b-custom-grade-308-ar-full-review/ (which is the same one I posted in the OP), the test gun shot Sig 168 Gr Match loads and the Remington Premier 165 Gr accutip loads just fine.

I just think I havent found the load this rifle likes just yet.

I emailed Double Star about the rifle and the trigger. Once again, their customer service was exemplary.
I asked about the trigger pin size and explained the trigger was too light for my taste. Doug stated the gun had small pins (0.154 diameter) and the trigger was supposed to be 3.5 lbs. He offered to replace it with another 3.5 lb CMC trigger if I wanted and apologized for not having a heavier trigger, but that was they had for the rifles.

I thanked Doug for the offer, but I wasnt angling for a freebie from them, I was just trying to figure out what the options were.
I ordered a Timney trigger pull tester, (the 1-25lb pull version) because I want to see if the pull is too light, (IE less than 3.5 lbs) or if it's just me since I'm used to military triggers on my AR's.
I do have a LaRue MBT trigger on my BCM, and I just purchased and installed a Giessele SSA Large Pin for my Colt 6920, but I dont have alot of trigger time on either of those triggers.
I do have a spare LaRue MBT that I bought when they were on sale recently that I was intending to install on my Colt, and then I discovered that the term "Large Pin" didnt just mean front take down pin like I assumed.

I installed the spare LaRue MBT (which is a small pin trigger) into the Double Star 10B and discovered the trigger did not function in the DS10. The safety interferes with the disconnector, and prevents the hammer from being released. When I purchased the MBT from LaRue it came with a TAC, (Trigger Action Chassis) which basically is a heavy duty plastic assembly that looks like half or more accurately a third of an AR15 lower receiver. You cant insert a magazine in it, buffer tube, or even attach an upper to it. It literally exists to show how the trigger, disconnect, and hammer function in an AR15. Reinstalling the MBT into the TAC shows that it works fine, and I didnt install it incorrectly, it just doesnt fit in the DS10 properly.

Both the LaRue MBT and the Geissele SSA are supposed to be two stage triggers with a 2lb first stage, and a 2.5 lb second stage. The LaRue has a heavier hammer spring which will increase the pull to 6 lbs. I'll wait until I get the trigger pull tester and see where things are what I really like with the triggers I have.

I'll most likely end up replacing the trigger with another CMC trigger, this one will likely be a two stage with a heavier pull.

Timney trigger gauge came in.

My Giessele SSA trigger measured at 6lbs.
My LaRue MBT measured at 4-& 4.5 lbs, so I installed the heavier trigger spring and now it's at 6lbs like the Giessele.

Double Star 10B CMC single stage trigger measured between 3 & 3.5 lbs.

I measured each trigger 3 times.

I'll be getting a heavier two stage CMC trigger. I'm trying to decide if I want 2 & 2 lb or a 2 & 3 lb trigger. I dont think it's necessary to go heavier than that for a semi auto that is supposed to be a precision rifle.

Thoughts?
Suggestions?

I went with the CMC flat 2 stage trigger, with a 2 lb first stage, and a 3 lb second stage.

It arrived today and I just installed it. I've only dry fired it, but it is an improvement IMO. I dont mind a nice light, crisp single stage in a bolt gun, but I'm not comfortable enough with one in a semi auto. Not judging anyone else who has one, that's just my personal preference.

Using the Timney Trigger Pull gauge, it depended on where I put the gauge on the trigger. Down low, farther away from the receiver, (more leverage) and it released the hammer at 4 lbs. Up high, closer to the receiver, (less leverage) it released the hammer at 6lbs. Right in the middle, (where I place my finger), it released at 5 lbs.

I'm happy with the difference, and look forward to seeing how it performs at the range.