James,
I live outside of Boise, [Idaho] on 40 acres with a deep well and have most
everything ready for a jump to my brother’s new ranch in Montana, if
(when) the SHTF.
While my place will be occupied by my friends that don’t
have anywhere to go and /or want to stay in the area. I will leave for a
better Bug Out Location where
I and my family can better survive long term. I only live here because it
is a good job and I can’t find anything even close to pay in the part
of Montana that my brother lives in. He is a doctor and can afford the remote
life style.
I would like your input,. My brother and I are getting ready to buy a
pair of .308 semiauto rifles and for the most part I like the Armalite AR-10 with
an ACOG scope.
This would be our defensive long range (250 to 500+ yard ) rifle. Any recommendations
as to something “better” than a factory model,
do you know of someone else building something with .308, reliable magazine
design. While rails and collapsible stocks are cool and I would like them,
they are
not necessary for the intended purpose. I have looked at [the] DPMS [AR-10]
but I also here a lots of complaints from people who actually own the weapon.
Thanks,
E.
JWR Replies: Aside for Eugene Stoner's relatively dirty gas
tube action (which can be mitigated with regular cleaning), the only drawback
to
most of
the AR-10s on
the market
is
the high
cost of extra magazines.
Most AR-10s use variations of M14 magazines
which can cost up to $40 each. However, a few brands of AR-10s use standard FAL magazines
which can often be found for under $8 each! So, with that in mind, I would
recommend the Bushmaster
AR-10 (now out of production) and the RRA
(Rock River Arms) LAR-8 A SurvivalBlog reader was recently told by a Bushmaster customer service representative that Bushmaster sold its tooling and rights for their .308 rifle about a year ago to Rock River Arms.
The AR-10 is a fine rifle choice for your circumstances. They can be quite
accurate, so they are ideal for open country--like the majority of Montana.
Just be sure
to get
at
least
one
of
your AR-10s set
up
for long
range
shooting.
Get a full length (20") barrel
and fixed stock flat top ("A4") model that will readily take optics
mounted low enough to provide a consistent cheek
weld. The ACOG TA-01 or
TA-11E would be good versatile day/night scopes. They are available
from
a number of Internet vendors including CGW.
(I noticed that they currently have the TA-01 .308 BDC scope
on sale.) But since you are planning on open country shooting, make sure
that at least one of your long-barreled .308 rifles is set up a with
an adjustable magnification Mil-Dot or ART scope
in its primary configuration, with perhaps an ACOG as a spare if you can afford
it.
