MidwestPX

MWS got a 20" 6.5 Creedmoor barrel. No muzzle device as the suppressor for this one is a direct thread SilencerCo Harvester

Was your rifle dirty? I've noticed that as the actions foul, the guns get even more sensitive to gas levels. It's not too bad if you're just looking to run unsuppressed (which the majority of people are). An adjustable gas block or key with a heavy buffer should square most away.

I'm not goin' anywhere if SHTF besides the six minute drive from my house to my shop. Which is where 99% of my ammo is. I keep a few hundred rounds at home but that's it. At last count, I had 10K rounds of XM193I for the mk46, a couple cases of PMC, and a couple cases of PPU. Then three 40mm ammo cans of reloaded .223 plus components to load another 10K. I haven't inventoried my .308 lately but at last count, I had 2k AP, a few hundred TAP, a few cases of surplus FMJ, and components to load another 2K AP and 2500 TAP.

If it's like the LMT/KAC units, it's a rifle length spring.

If that doesn't work, you can also try changing out the extension for one of the LMTs and grab a H2 or H3 AR15 buffer. That's a cheaper solution than the 8.5oz buffer by itself. The 8.5oz is probably overkill but I did grab an extra one for a shop build that's being put together (full auto .308 AR).

Gas blocks aren't a consumable item so it shouldn't require replacing. I don't sell the heavy buffers as they don't wholesale them. Wish they would but that's the way the cookie crumbles.

Nope, haven't messed with 901s.

Colt what? Buffers? Springs? Need more to go on, man!

I have a new appreciation for what manufacturers go through in order to produce a .308 AR. Especially one tasked with operating both unsuppressed as well as suppressed without requiring adjustment to the gas system prior to changing states. I recently built a few .308 ARs using parts I stock and I suspect these large frame ARs will be increasingly popular going forward. One of them was for myself while the others were commissioned by customers. What I have learned is that in general, .308 ARs are severely overgassed. There are multiple ways to deal with it but troubleshooting can be frustrating and costly. I have primarily built AR15s in the past and my experience was that if you take quality parts and assemble them, the gun will run and run well. I thought this would carry over to .308 ARs and found this to only be somewhat true. The common problem seemed to be the amount of gas bled off from the barrel to operate the action. It was always excessive and led to carrier velocity being entirely too fast. It would occasionally result in a stovepipe malfunction when unsuppressed but once the suppressor was attached, stoppages became more frequent (every 3-5 rounds). I ended up spending in excess of $500 in parts trying to address this and figured I'd share my experience with others to save them some headache (both frustration and financial pain of buying parts without knowing if it would solve the issue). Each build that I've worked on used parts that I considered to be quality parts whether they were out of my store's catalog or sent in to me by the customer. Gas systems were either rifle or midlength. Both were overgassed without adjustment/tuning and ejecting between 1 and 3 o'clock. The more severe instances of being overgassed stovepiped every few rounds. To address this, I tried a number of things: 1. Adjustable gas block or gas key: This is a must-have, in my opinion. It will solve most users' issues. However, it is ammunition sensitive so if you dial your gas in with surplus or defensive ammo, it may not work when you change to a lighter loading. This sensitivity is most apparent when a suppressor is added and gas pressures spike. 2. Changing from a carbine extension to a rifle: The DPMS shortened buffer weighs about 3.0oz. This buffer allows the user to use AR15 extensions with their .308 BCG. The shortened rifle buffer is 5.4oz. To give you an idea of how important buffer weight is, the LMT MWS uses an H3 AR15 buffer that weighs over 5.5oz (more on using AR15 buffers next) 3. Using a MWS/SR25 receiver extension: The MWS and SR25 rifles use a different extension. It's slightly longer to accommodate the longer/larger .308 BCG but allow the use of AR15 buffers. This is neat because currently, there are more buffer options for AR15s than there are .308 ARs. This solution isn't too popular since it requires a specific extension which not many retailers carry (I do). 4. Ridiculously heavy buffers: I reached out to Clint/Slash at heavybuffers.com to get his thoughts on how best to achieve the goal of running a .308 AR both suppressed and unsuppressed with a single gas setting. His recommendation was to go as heavy as possible on the buffer. He makes a 10oz .308 rifle buffer, 6.5oz .308 AR carbine buffer, and a 8.5oz AR15 carbine buffer. His recommendation to me was to use the 10oz .308 buffer followed by using a MWS/SR25 extension and using the 8.5oz AR15 buffer. Basically, go as heavy as possible in the buffer was his recommendation. That would give me the wiggle room I needed with the adjustable gas key to dial in the gas setting that would allow the rifle to run reliably in both states. The downside to this is cost. 5. Tuned action springs: Wolff extra power springs are available and recommended by heavybuffers.com. I also found that the JP tuned springs (both rifle and carbine) helped .308 ARs run more reliably compared to generic kit springs. They cost more but they do have some impact. So the great takeaway from my experience building .308 ARs is that they're generally overgassed but that's typically easily resolved by adjusting the gas with either an adjustable gas block or an adjustable gas key. Shooting a few rounds and watching the ejection pattern is a way to see just how badly overgassed the system is. Installing an adjustable gas block or key will solve most users' problems provided they aren't trying to run the rifle with and without a suppressor. With an adjustable gas key on a JP low mass carrier, I had rifles that would run beautifully unsuppressed but a few rounds into shooting with a can on, would stovepipe and ejection went to hell. That's when the other methods of adjusting the reciprocating mass of the action come into play. Hopefully this is helpful in future builds. I'm happy to sell you all the parts you want but would rather you buy just the parts you need so you can get to shooting and enjoying your purchase.

Suppressing fire has its place especially when you consider that survivors of real SHTF situations have said groups of raiders were not uncommon. Closer to 600-800rpm. The AM15 .22LR I have is closer to 1200rpm. The minigun I will build eventually, well, that'll hopefully have a variable motor so I can dial it down to 1200rpm or all the way up to 8k rpm should the need/desire arise.

Size your stash for your needs. You won't need as much as I would but I have machine guns and beltfeds to feed. 1K rounds would be 10 minutes for a handful of people learning to control machine guns.

If they behave like other varmint bullets (which they should since the VMAX is designed for varmints and small game), less than ideal. Such bullets don't achieve much for penetration before they tear themselves apart. Here's a rather lengthy post from DocGKR, a terminal ballistics expert:

Please PM me so I remember to run an estimate for you on Monday when I get in to the shop.

Pretty good deal on the .50 cans. About average on the 40mm cans though. I like the 40mms more than the .50s since they have handles on both sides and fit about 2K rounds of loose 5.56.

PWS FSC30 is the only "NJ-legal" option in my catalog currently. I should really fix that and pick up more brakes, comps, etc. Oh and an angel gets their wings every time a PX lower is built up

I make a living selling gun stuff. I hate panic buying. Steady sales are what I would prefer. This feast and famine crap sucks. Especially when many customers feel like all dealers are taking advantage of a spike in demand and labeling us all gougers without understanding basic macroeconomics or that maybe, just maybe, we dealers are also paying more for whatever everyone is panic buying.

1: Yes. 2. There's been a lot of debate over it and it boils down to risk tolerance.

My .308 got some updates Blackout changed out for a Brakeout 2.0, added an IWC keymod handstop, and not pictured but a JP low mass carrier with RCA adjustable gas key. The recoil impulse is that of a carbine gas AR15 shooting hot 5.56. There's virtually zero muzzle rise and the recoil is nowhere near as harsh as that of a .308. This rifle recoils less than my SCAR 17. It didn't come cheap as I spent a few hundred on the brake, carrier, and gas key but it's worth it.

Customer commissioned MATEN build. Waiting on more BCGs before test firing and shipping it out. Weighs 7lbs 8oz as it sits now so should be around 8.5lbs with the BCG installed. This one's meant for hog hunting so weight was a concern as was accuracy. He opted for a Mega Arms barrel which has a <1MOA guarantee with match ammo. I might be building a couple more for another customer who had an issue with some hogs running off after being hit with a 55gr bullet out of an AR15.

Personally, I'd dump the collet neck sizing die, move the RT1200 to that position, then use an expander mandrel after it. I've found that the mandrel not only trues the neck but also cleans the freshly trimmed edge of the neck. I don't chamfer or deburr my brass after it gets trimmed because the mandrel does a pretty good job of cleaning the brass up for me. You'll need the die body as well.

Call a friend with a progressive press that has a casefeeder. Especially if they have an autodrive.

I don't seat and crimp at the same time. I prefer the crimp that the FCD applies over others. And you definitely want to crimp if you're loading for a semi auto. Neck tension alone is okay for manually operated actions.

I don't seat and crimp at the same time. I prefer the crimp that the FCD applies over others. And you definitely want to crimp if you're loading for a semi auto. Neck tension alone is okay for manually operated actions.

Depriming: Lee Sizing (.223 and .308): Dillon Sizing (6.5C): Hornady Sizing (handgun): Lee Powder drop: Dillon Bullet seating (all but 6.5C): Redding Competition w/ built in micrometer Bullet seating (6.5C): Hornady Crimp: Lee Factory Crimp

Sometimes, you'll get variation. My Dillon has about +/- .004" in variation but I don't sweat it. For 55gr FMJ with a cannelure, I typically shoot for 2.200" COAL as that puts the crimp on the cannelure. But I also load Hornady bullets and they place the cannelure on the bullet for a 2.200" COAL.