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AR-10 rifle. Credit: Vitaly V. Kuzman/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA 4.0

You can find AR-10 rifles that are very expensive, and you can find some that fit more modest budgets. But what are the AR-10 rifles that give the shooter the most bang for the buck? What gets you into a quality rifle for a reasonable amount?

There are some real winners out there, to be sure. The AR-10 in many respects is arguably the perfect modern rifle. It chambers a round that’s powerful enough to down all game in North America short of the great bears and a good many in Africa and elsewhere to boot. The .308 Winchester/7.62mm NATO round is also an outstanding long-range target round and it’s been used to great effect in wartime, too.

The AR-10 actually pre-dated the .223/5.56 AR-15 and the eventual M16 rifles; the army asked for a down-sized version to shoot an intermediate cartridge for a number of pretty good reasons. However, the AR-10 showed great promise.

For those who don’t know what an AR-10 is, it’s basically an AR-15 but for men. Ha! Just kidding. It’s for everyone.

The AR-10 was designed by Eugene Stoner for Armalite during that company’s initial existence. He simplified the semi-automatic actions of the day and developed a direct gas impingement system using exhaust gases to drive the rotating bolt back directly instead of a gas piston like basically everyone else.

The simplified action plus the plastic furniture made the AR-10 very light, which means it’s easy to handle. So long as you maintain them well, they’re very reliable. Accuracy ranges from pretty decent to scary good, depending on the model you buy.

Given the caliber – usually .308/7.62mm NATO but some AR-10 platform rifles are offered in other short-action rifle calibers – the AR-10 is really the most versatile rifle platform available.

So, what are some great AR-10 rifles for their price points? Here are a few that are well worth the look.

DPMS LR-308. Credit: dpmsinc.com

If you’re looking for a long-range gun, look at the DPMS LR-308. It’s a standard AR-10, with a 24-inch stainless steel bull barrel and an A2 fixed stock, much like the M16 of old.

Purchase price is $1,199, which may seem steep compared to some other manufacturers but what you’re paying for is a machined (rather than billet) receiver and a heavy barrel, which is best for long-range accuracy. You will need to get optics and/or sights for it, with a rail on the receiver and end of the billet aluminum handguard.

A tad expensive, sure, but it gets you into a quality long-range rifle platform hunting or target shooting.

Daniel Defense DD5v1. Credit: danieldefense.com

If you demand nothing but the best, one of the last stops before a fully custom rifle is Daniel Defense. Their DD5 platform is their AR-10 system, and they have two options to choose from, namely the DD5v1 and DD5v2. The former has a 16-inch barrel and the latter an 18-inch barrel.

Daniel Defense pours on the features, for which you will most assuredly pay ($3044 MSRP for both). But you will also get quality for doing so.

[buy_now link=https://bit.ly/302wRcf”]

The DD5 platform uses a free-floating match-grade barrel, ambidextrous controls, adjustable stock, aluminum KeyMod handguards, full-length Picatinny rail, and a Geissele two-stage trigger, among other features.

Daniel Defense demands much in purchase price, but you get great quality for your dollar.

Aero Precision AR-10s. Credit: aeroprecisionusa.com

For the DIY set, some of the best AR-10 rifles you can put together yourself is the Aero Precision M5/AR308 rifle platform. It’s quite customizable, so you can get many different specs made to order, such as if you want a MagPul M-LOK handguard instead of KeyMod, stainless instead of chrome-lined barrel, and so on.

While you may pay a little more for an Aero Precision compared to some other companies, you’re spending on quality manufacturing. That way, you get a really good rifle that you build yourself.

The upper is precision-machined, accepts all standard AR-10 components including magazines, and a full-length upper rail. You can expect a complete build to come out somewhere around the $1,000 mark depending on options.

Or you can buy a turn-key model for as little as $1500 for the 16-inch model.

Windham Weaponry SRC 308. Credit: windhamweaponry.com

Another excellent bang-for-the-buck rifle is the Windham Weaponry SRC 308. It has some great features, it’s well-made and isn’t ridiculously expensive. The SRC 308 is a carbine-length AR-10, with a 16.5-inch barrel. While you would think that wouldn’t make it one of the better choices of hunting rifles, it actually would be great for brush hunting if equipped with red dot optics instead of a scope.

The SRC 308 has a forged receiver and CMV barrel, with an adjustable stock and the classic tapered handguard of the AR family. It comes with a railed receiver and gas block, so you will have to equip it with the sights of your choice. It ships with some decent kit as well, including one 20-round PMAG, hard plastic case, a sling, and swivels.

Not bad for $1413 MSRP.

Bushmaster XM-10. Credit: bushmaster.com

The Bushmaster XM-10 is similar in many respects to the SRC 308. It has a 16-inch barrel, with the classic tapered forend and birdcage-style flash hider. The stock is also collapsible for easy transport or customizing the fit. The XM-10 likewise has no sights as standard, but you have fewer options when it comes to the optics.

Bushmaster’s AR-10 has a milled gas block instead of a railed one, so it doesn’t make installing iron sights terribly easy. The forend isn’t railed, and the receiver has two railed risers so they’re all but saying “scope only.”

Granted, that isn’t so bad; a low-power red dot scope is good for brush hunting if that’s what you’re after, or you can just install a variable power scope for longer-range shooting.

MSRP is $1249, but Bushmaster’s rifles are pretty decent.

Armalite AR-10 18″ Tactical. Credit: armalite.com

There’s nothing wrong with the original (sort of) and Armalite – the name being put back in business – happens to make a few AR-10 rifles themselves. They call it…the AR-10. The best bang for the buck is the AR-10 18″ Tactical Rifle. The 18″ stainless steel barrel length gives you a good balance between a compact form and a longer barrel, which makes it more accurate at long range than a shorter barrel.

Armalite packs on the features, with MagPul’s MBS flip-up iron sights and a full-length rail for installing optics. The collapsing stock is a MagPul STR stock, with a Keymod handguard and ambidextrous controls. The rifle comes with a 25-round PMag as well. MSRP is $2,099 which is definitely a bit steep, but with the features and build quality, it’s actually a solid value.

Disagree with these picks? Have a different AR-10 rifle you think is a better overall value for money? Don’t watch “Game Of Thrones” and have to tell us? Sound off in the comments.

[buy_now link=https://bit.ly/2saqsPJ”]

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92 COMMENTS

  1. I have a Lewis Machine & Tool AR10 (LMT) , decked out with a Loupoled sniper scope,,, with a 3 power magnifier ,a bit on the heavy side but extremely accurate. A bipod would be nice , but like I said, it’s already a bit heavy.

  2. Never seen a single episode of GoT.

    I went with Aero Precision matched upper/lower. Then selected some pretty good parts to complete the build in 6.5 CM.
    It’s a great shooter.

  3. After researching what was available in the AR10 I ended up building mine. The cost savings of building a AR10 with quality components is even bigger than doing the same thing with a AR15. One other thing is once you build/acquire a AR10 many of the alternative cartridges for AR15 become useless as most of them are trying to get past the power limitations of the 223/5.56 cartridge.

    • Best 308 that I’ve come across for the money is the ABC rifle company out of Vegas the tolerances are very tight comes with Magpul furniture and they are absolutely the best deal for the money go on the website it’ll blow you away This ex-army Ranger is an informed consumer!!

      • Hi Tim, I bought an, ABC10-TML, 15 Lu from ABC. in 2020. Great Rifle, W/ Luth-AR stock, 20″ stainless HBAR. Chambered in 308 Win. A real tack driver. Can’t say enough about Sam. Good people, Good Service.

    • Absolutely!

      Unless you’ve tried 6.5 Grendel…

      I delivers about a third more power than .223. It delivers it with significantly higher BCs, so it carries the much greater energy much much further. It delivers it with a 37% wider bullet. It has 25 versus 30 round capacity magazines, so you don’t loose much.

      Compared to .308, 6.5 Grendel is generally inferior, except lower recoil, higher magazine capacity, lower ammunition weight. It has similar maximum range (130gr low drag 6.5 Grendel with a 20″ barrel has a range at sea level of about 1100yds before going transonic. .308 with low drag 175gr and a 20″ barrel is also around 1100yds).

      If I were hunting or had some need to put the hurt on something, I’d likely reach for .308, but 6.5 Grendel certainly is no compromise.

      I still haven’t finished my AR-10 build, but I am getting there. I am hoping they aren’t like AR-15 potato chips or I am going to be a poor(er) person. Going 18″ .308 build. Targeting lighter weight parts, but not trying to shave every possible gram off. I plan to use it for hunting and some bench shooting, but my local range is 100yds and the best I can do is 500yds within a 2hr drive of me.

  4. “what you’re paying for is a machined (rather than stamped) receiver”
    Are you sure about that Mr. Hoober? Are you CERTAIN that some AR-10s have a “stamped”, as in, stamped out of sheet steel, like the AK, or AR-180 rifle is made?
    I’ve never seen, nor heard tell of, any AR-10 with any type of steel receiver, either upper nor lower.
    Please inform me as to which AR-10s you are referring to, when you say that the cheaper ones are made of “machined (rather than stamped)” construction. Really, I want to know. I want to buy an AR-10 with a stamped upper. Where is one available that I can purchase?

    • He won’t reply. Nobody at TTAG knows how to read any more. Knowledge left with Farago’s departure. Not that he knew that much about guns either, but at least he was willing to learn. Now, they just paste ad copy and call it articles.
      Can Hoober REALLY not know the difference between steel and aluminum? I think he does. He just didn’t take the time to bother to even read what he pasted. And he’ll never see these comments, because he’s way too busy finding some more ad copy that he will be paid to pretend he wrote.
      That is what is wrong with this site now. It doesn’t even really exist. It only pretends to. Everything about it now is a game of; “let’s pretend”. Let’s pretend we’re still about guns. Let’s pretend we don’t live in the corporate pockets that purchased us. Let’s pretend that we wrote this “sponsored content”. Now, let’s pretend that stamped steel is also aluminum. Somehow. Because chemistry……
      This is why I’m so disgusted with what this site has become. I’ve long since outgrown such infantile games. But the commenters still keep me hanging around. For now at least. But this too, must pass. Someday, there will be no articles left worth commenting on. Only basic, 5th grade level errors to correct. Like, aluminum is not steel, AR-10 and AR-15 receivers are made of aluminum, etc. The same basic errors that the libtards always make. Next up; referring to a folding stock as “the thing that goes up”?
      It doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to assume that they are what they act like.

      • I agree. I honestly think this Hoover fellow is half-retarded, given some of the moronic and easily identifiable errors that he makes. Oh well, they can’t even take the time to check the articles they publish for grammar errors. The golden days certainly have passed by.

        • Yes, but as you, yourself, stated a few days ago, you don’t work for TTAG. I can go find it for you, if you can’t remember saying that.

        • That’s why we still read your articles. It helps that you are probably sober when you are doing the typing. I think Sam has a problem.

          I understand the cut and pasted press releases for new products. I really don’t mind most of them. But articles like this one really hurt your brand. I’m guessing that these were all chosen for some monetary kickback which is also ok if it is disclosed. The authors just can’t make a bunch of really dumb mistakes about basic facts or obvious typos.

        • “I’m guessing that these were all chosen for some monetary kickback which is also ok if it is disclosed. ” It is unlikely the publisher read the article prior to the editor posting it. So no incentive was given to TTAG for what brands ended in the article. They were purely the author’s choices.

      • I echo your sentiments, for the most part; would part with you by saying that Taylor knows his stuff. Or at least, the stuff he knows is stuff I don’t, so he’s worth reading. I’ve been here since 2012, but have been fading quickly since the site’s sale.

        What threw me on this article, aside from that stamping controversy, was this in reference to the DPMS product: “but what you’re paying for is a machined (rather than billet) receiver.”

        Machined vs. billet makes no sense.

        A billet is a hunk of metal. It’s the form the metal comes in. Machining is the process of manipulating that metal through precision drilling and cutting. You machine down a billet to arrive at the final product. It’s like sculpting a statue from a block of marble. Comparing sculpting vs. block likewise makes no sense.

        I figure they meant to reference the difference between forging vs. machining, because that makes sense and is a valid point of discussion in lower fabrication. In any event, this is why one should always take what one reads on the Internet with a grain (lick? block? billet? ha!) of salt.

        Always check facts and use multiple credible sources. Failure to do so can result in repeating some very silly things and looking quite foolish, as a best case. Depending on the topic, relying on sketchy information can get you hurt or killed.

        • But this does not apply to JWTaylor, since he is quite adamant that he does not work at TTAG.
          ” avatar FedUp says:
          May 31, 2019 at 11:20

          Jon, do you still work here?
          Reply
          avatar jwtaylor says:
          May 31, 2019 at 12:51

          I have never been an employee of TTAG. I will continue to write for TTAG. I hope to have an article about the Kalashnikov USA KS12 out today or tomorrow.
          I just don’t have the time to write the kind of articles I want to write lately, and plus, there’s probably three people that want to read a 5,000 word article on the new Colt King Cobra and where it falls into the pantheon of snake guns.”

          End quote.

        • Billet vs Forged is the correct terminology, not Billet vs. Machined. That’s not because billet is really “right”, it’s because that’s what’s become the industry standard nomenclature. I’ve actually bought billets, and yeah, they are giant hunks of metal. Very few manufacturers are actually buying billets of metal. Still, that’s what these receivers are called. Just look up “billet vs forged”.

      • Ken, you said nobody at TTAG. I am at TTAG. No one that writes for the site, other than Dan, is an employee of TTAG, and I’m not sure about Dan.

        • Well, I guess it all comes down to what definition of “at” one choses to use. But no matter what what definition one uses, the TTAG website is not factual nor accurate any more.

  5. And no mention of PSA? You can build a PA 10 for around $550, or buy one complete for around $700 all the time.

    Mine is a free floated SS 18” barrel. Full rail. I dropped magpul stock onto it and a geisselle SSA-E. Topped with a decent vortex. It shoots better than I can.

  6. What, no PSA? You can get a pretty good AR 10 for less than $750. Often these are better than ones costing twice as much.

  7. I built mine. The upper is an Aero, but I opted for a Wilson Combat M-Lok fore end. The trigger is a Rise, and being in California, the stock is a fixed Thordsen. Barrel is a Bear Creek 20″, and I have a muzzle break as bird cages are illegal. All in, excluding a scope and a bipod, I ran a little over $1200 and 9 pounds.

    • That’s my dream rig too but it’s a proprietary lower (sort of an AR12.5) as I understand it. Mostly 15 but with a 10 magwell out of necessity. I’d love to shoot one this summer.

  8. $2200 Aero Precision enhanced upper and lower. Larue tactical MBT-2S trigger. Titanium BCG (12oz!). JP Enterprises buffer spring. Kyn shot buffer. Black Hole Weaponry polygonal rifled 18” barrel. M4-72 severe duty compensator. Magpul Mbus pro 45 degree offset irons. Primary Arms 3-18 ACSS HUD DMR scope. Punches as small as half MOA groups at 400 yards and kicks like a .223! BUILD DON’T BUY!

    • Meh, Kudos my man! Couple years ago on TFB I said the Black Hole Polygonal barrel would clean everyone’s clocks.
      My triggers are hand tuned by form military armorers that usually just build for DOD.
      (ADK near Chicongo) also their enhanced firing pins ( by request) same dude, and their Bionic Bolt, 9310 steel, 50,000 round warranty on the bolt, and hopped up springs.
      You’ll rebarrel long before you need gas rings or springs.
      These come qpq, they have Nib and choice of hues in titanium.
      I prefer A Doo-tay, for rock steady say hey! Aero Precision chassis, the only way, Aero is high profile, .210 tang, recent other builds in low pro saw THREAT OF LAWSUIT VS. MIDWAY, AR STONER is chit quality control, low pro? SOTA ARMS!
      Your polygonal is the key, rounded lands, no sharp edges, no bullet deformation and tight ass seal at ingition.
      Continue to kick butt Sir!
      I was banned from TFB when under my name, two years ago I told them and those brits, their mi6 poisoned the rooski double agent, and to add 2016 to 1776 and 1812 to the times the brit. gov. conspired to reign in us colonists.
      Then I blasted a crock article here, under another handle and badda boom, banned.
      This article is a choke n croak, I wonder what they smoke?
      Anywhoo– My money is on you and your gun, kudos. Btw, I like the Rogers Locking for tight n right on 16″ and that Moe longer adj., forget the number, on the 18″ for balance.

  9. Hell, I’m building my first AR10 pattern rifle. I’m about 40% completed and spent less than $230 so far. What is going to be the bigger hit to my build budget is the barrel/BCG combo and rail handguard setup. Then again, I had some spare parts to cut the cost of the build to begin with.

    I got a TM 10.2 combo set that they were selling at a low price last month.

  10. Ummm…Delton,S&W and PSA off the top my head. And I’m an AR novice. My buddy has an FN FAL clone(Century). Cheap and he said it works well…I really don’t scour TTAG for gun reviews. It’s politics,politics and more politics😏

  11. IF I were interested, I’d go for the DPMS…don’t need a rifle with a thousand bells and whistles, just a basic rifle, decent glass and off I go…I’ve done more with less…

    • DPMS LR-243, been in my possession a little over two years and never a regret, not even “stepping down” to .243 win. Great rifle and like you said, no frills to worry about.

    • This. RRAs start about 1300, less than most in the article and are great quality.

      But that said, what is the point of this article? Really? If the weapon in 7.62×51/.308 doesn’t excel at accuracy, just buy cheap and keep it lubed. 6 of one… as they say.

    • +1

      Good shooter, a bit heavy…hard on scopes – the recoil impulse has demolished two Vortex PST scopes. Vortex rebuilt the scope the first time and replaced with a new scope the second time…just waiting for it to crap out again and see what they replace it with next time (that model is no longer in production)…geez, what do you expect from a $1,000 scope?

  12. Oh, and for reasons stated above, and I’ve barely read, much less commented in a year or so, I think I’m all done with ttag myself.

  13. There is only ONE AR-10. Armalite hold the trademark on the name. No one else makes one (legally). They may be .308 caliber AR pattern rifles, but they are NOT AR-10’s.

    • This.
      And for all of you guys who got inspired by this commercial to build their own full size AR, cheaper, do your homework and study all the little differences between them. With AR15 you have to know your gas system length and maybe mil or commercial buffer tube. You can reasonably expect that any manufacturer’s AR15 part will fit into your build. The large ARs are not nearly as uniform as their little brothers.

      Very few companies (Armalite, Newer Bushmasters, and Rock River Arms) make stuff compatible with the Armalite AR10. Sam didn’t miss one. Most of them went to the DPMS pattern which they call LR-308. (Spikes Tactical, Mega, DPMS, Aero Precision, KAC, Windham Weaponry, CORE, CMMG, Black Rain, Christensen Arms, American precision, JP Enterprises, Larue, Les Baer, Kaiser Mil Tech, Mega Arms, Noveske, Matrix, Ruger, Remington, Sig Sauer, S&W, Sword Int., EDM, FD Defense, Detroit Gun Works, Salt Works, GA precision, DRD Tactical, Iron Ridge, Noreen, Poly 80, and more.)

      For incredibly low prices on build parts and kits check Delta team tactical.

  14. Better to build it. You can go cheap on what want and up the anti when you have the money or what deem more important

  15. AR10? Why? Hell if I know….. $1400.00 put a Springfield M1A with walnut stock in my gun cabinet, identical to the M14 I carried in RVN, there is not another semi auto on the market that is any more accurate and no rifle in 308/7.62×51 that can take the kind of punishment the M1A can and still perform… It may not be as pretty as those sinister looking black guns but I’ll put it up against any one of them under any conditions (in fact the worst the better) 20 round mags, night vision, and a sniper scope..
    There are at least half a dozen manufacturers that sell AR10s from a little over $600.00 up to $1000.00.. But if I was going to buy one I’d spring the extra cash for the Windham, they are the original Bushmaster guys that decided to get the band back together.. I have an original Bushmaster and two Windhams in 7.62×39 and 5.56 and they are all quality pieces…. Not a hater of the AR10 just like the feel of natural wood sometimes…

    • The Springfield M1A is not a particularly accurate rifle. If you would indeed like to bet on it, I’m happy to take that bet.
      I’ll send one of my AR10 platform guns (LaRue or Wilson Combat, you pick) and you send your walnut stocked Springfield M1A to Dan, the editor of TTAG. He’ll take it to the Range at Austin and have some professional shooters see which one prints the smallest 5 round groups off a rest. Both guns will shoot IMI’s 175gr SMK round.
      Winning rifle keeps the losing rifle.
      Deal?

      • +1

        If you spend enough money the M-14 can be made into a pretty accurate rifle. It just takes someone who really knows what they are doing and a bunch of cash. Then you have to spend even more time and money to maintain that accuracy. They need skim bedded every few thousand rounds. You also shouldn’t take the action out of the stock unless you have a really good reason to. A rear lugged action can help a bit, but that cost even more money.

        Scoping an M-14 is also a bit problematic. There are some good mounts but they tend to come loose.

        Contrast that with an AR pattern rifle. If you get a quality barrel and a good free float tube any moron can put the parts together and you won’t have any problems until the barrel is shot out.

        There is a reason no one really uses a M14 pattern gun in NRA or CMP High Power any more unless it’s a Vintage or special M1A match.

        The AR15 and AR10 are simply easier to make more accurate and they maintain that accuracy with almost no maintenance except for the occasional barrel replacement.

        I don’t have the hate some do for the M14. I think they are a beautiful rifle. Since it is basically a product improved M1 they are also very reliable. That being said, they never should have been adopted.

        A standard Springfield M1A is a nice rifle, but it has no hope of matching the accuracy of a premium AR.

        • The story of the M-1A is actually the story of the M-14, which is a sorry story indeed.

          At that moment in time, we could have had a completely different situation in infantry light arms for the next 50+ years. Instead of going with a 6.5 to 7mm bullet in the 120 to 140 grain range, we had a desk pilot shove the 7.62×51 round down our throats, and the M-14 along with it.

          A couple of years of experience later, the AR-15/M–16 comes in the side door, and we lost the US Armory system as collateral damage.

          All because of one officer in the US Army: Renee Studler.

          Such is how the fortunes of nations and armies turn on decisions by so few men.

  16. The problem with losing your credibility when publishing crap articles is that it is almost impossible to regain it.
    How can it be called “The Truth About Guns” when it has incredibly bad articles like this one?
    Unless, of course, you’re writing for Mall Ninjas who probably lap this crap up as gospel.

  17. I own a Palmetto State Armory Gen2 Ar10 308 and I love it. It can shoot better than I can. I originally was going DPMS 308, but when I saw PSA offer and price,I went there. If you can beat PSA bang for buck please let me know, as of right now my next rifle will be PSA.

  18. Who the Hell is Sam Hoober, are you from California or what. Have you never heard of PSA. This must be about money on someones part?

    • I doubt it since PSA is an advertiser on this site. (Also, I just bought a couple of their “stealth” stripped lowers. Hell of a deal.)

  19. If we’re talking the best bang for the buck I’m going to say that would classify as anything in the $1,500.00 and under range. That being said, I only agree with one of your picks which is the Windham Weaponry SRC 308. This excellent quality rifle can be had for as little as $999.99 depending on where you buy it. Moving on to my top 5 picks which also includes the Windham Weaponry SRC 308.

    1. Windham Weaponry SRC 308
    2. Smith & Wesson M&P 10 Sport
    3. DPMS G2 Recon 308
    4. Ruger SR762
    5. Rock River Arms LR-8

    All 5 of these rifles can be had for under $1,500.00 and are exceptional quality weapons.

  20. According to the comments from this article, TTAG needs some REAL writers…
    I’m willing to try my hand at writing some review articles, as long as I’m paid the same as this author gets for his submissions…
    I’m serious, I THINK I CAN DO A BETTER JOB AND I’M A HEATING AND AIR TECHNICIAN…
    JUST LMK WHEN YOU WANT MY HELP TTAG!!!! 😉

  21. the reason the windham and the bushmaster look so similar is, windham used to be bushmaster !!! the bushmaster company was located here in maine in the town of windham, then they closed up shop and moved out.. the former, local bushmaster employees and managers ended up buying the factory here and started making their own weapons.. hence, Windham Weaponry

  22. My advice about AR-10’s is much the same as AR-15’s: Put your money into the barrel, then the trigger, then the receiver(s) (the upper, particularly) and then the furniture, in that order.

  23. DPMS was excellent before the Freedom Group got a hold of them. Like everything they touch, they ruined them.

  24. You read these articles and you have to wonder if the author is writing from lack of brand exposure or from listening to all the good old boys down at the gun shop enlighten him with their vast knowledge. Now granted everyone has their opinion however if your writing it to be published I believe there should be some facts to back it up, but to leave off brands that the average shooter knows are great guns for the money is ridiculous. Most of the brands missed have been already mentioned so I won’t rehash those however I will leave you with one yet to be mentioned and I think is probably the best out of the box production gun, the Savage MSR 10 and you can usually pick one up for around $1200

  25. I agree with the AR 10 platform vs the AR 15. I’m old enough to have carried the M 14 & loved it, still do. I carried the Mattie Mattel M 16 for years & never cared for it, and still don’t. I built up a SASS from an Armalite AR 10 A2 & have less than 1400 total cost. I would not have bought the bse rifle had I known the mags were propriatary (sp) & not interchangable with DPMS, which I already owned (ignorance is not bliss, it’s just dumb. I should have done my research.) Anyway, after considerable searching, I’ve bought enough mags for both rifles to stand off the golden hoard. The DPMS, as stated in the article, is a fine weapon, but will not take the 7.62, .308 is just fine. I need to have the throat worked down just a tab.

  26. What a worthless list this is!

    First, the only “real” Bushmaster on here is the Windham. Windham sold Bushmaster to Remington, who also makes DPMS.

    The Windham 308 is a thing of beauty. Fit and finish is on par with rifles in the mid-2000 price range. Most, if not all Windham 308s feature a chrome-lined barrel, and all are built by Bushmaster’s original crew and founder.

    The DPMS and “Bushmaster” in this article are made to relatively mediocre specs by today’s standards. They’re merely shooters, and if you watch no reserve auctions, they hardly fetch wholesale on gunbroker.

    Second, as others have stated, there’s NO mention of Palmetto, who 100% offers the best BANG FOR THE BUCK in the AR-20 world, as well as AR-15 land…If this article is TRULY ABOUT “Best bang for the buck,” it’s way the hell off its mark.

    Palmetto had 308 uppers on closeout this week at a mere $299! This enabled people who jumped on that deal to order a COMPLETE AR-10 for under $500.00 . This is an unprecedented deal, and AR-10s twice the cost are honestly no better (unless you luck in to a deal on a Windham, LMT, etc.).

    I don’t know why I bother reading this crap blog anymore. Truth about guns my ass…

  27. Anyone have any information on the Daniel Defences 5 V4 compared to the CMMG mutant? I will take all information on both. I am in the market and am stuck between the two.

    • Well your question is a bit confusing. The CMMG Mutant is a 7.62×39 rifle that is built on a medium sized receiver that isn’t really compatible with either an AR15 or an AR10, hence the ‘Mutant’ label. If you want a 7.62×39 AR patterned rifle that takes AK magazines, it is the more robust option compared to the PSA AR pattern rifles that also take AK mags, but heavier and more expensive. Small Arms Solutions has a good video about them on YouTube if you are interested.

      CMMG does make several AR10 pattern rifles in 7.62×51 (.308) and I’m sure they are fine, but I don’t have any direct knowledge about them. CMMG is a quality manufacturer though.

      The DD 5 is an AR10 pattern rifle chambered in 7.62×51 (.308). Like everything else DD makes it is expensive, but high quality. I’m not a fan of their stock and grip, but they are a nice rifle.

      I’ve started to look at the AR10 more recently and bought a Aero Precision lower and a pile of PMags but haven’t progressed any further. I’ll probably build one eventually with a Criterion 18” barrel.

      The Barrett Rec 10 also looks promising, but there aren’t many reviews out.

  28. I like the looks and price of the S&W M&P Sport but never see it mentioned in these top 5 AR-10 articles. Anyone have an opinion on the S&W ? Thanks

    • . . . someone about half way up the page said they thought the M&P (AR10) was a “BEST BUY” for the money. . . I have a Rock River LAR8 (AR10) Operator and am completely satisfied with it, especially for the money. . . The only problem I have found is getting a Nickel Boron BCG in the NON-DPMS pattern for the Rock River LAR8. . . I have the FAIL ZERO Nickel Boron BCG’s in all my AR15’s including the 2 Rock River AR15’s, but the .308 seems a bit harder to find. . .I may have to send the original BCG off and have it coated with the Nickel Boron. . . They run so much cleaner with the Nib-X (Nickel Boron) BCG’s and can run as dirty as any AK47 and be way more accurate. . . It’s the best single upgrade for not too much money you can do to an AR.

  29. No mention of Seekins Precision, Primary Weapons Systems, JP, PSA, Wilson, 2A armament, you do get what you pay for in the ar308 platforms. But this article is pretty horrible. Where’s Jeremy S. at? At least he knows what he is talking about. Stamped? Really? Could you next write an article about ak15’s or ar47’s too? So terrible, have you ever held an AR10 or you just write about them like you have? 🤣

  30. ARMALITE IS THE FIRST AND BEST AR-15 OR AR-10 ON THE MARKET WITH ITS RELIABILITY, PRECISION CRAFTMENSHIP, TRIPLE CHROME BARRELS, STANDARD UPGRADES INCLUDED AND MATCH GRADE TRIGGERS. EVERYBODY ELSE ON THE MARKET ARE COPYCATS. SORRY GUN ENTHUSIASTS!! EUGENE STONER THAT MADE THE SNIPER SR-25 WHICH I PERSONALLY OWN IS THE KING OF 308…

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