Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus

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16 years 2 months ago #337 by crux
Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus was created by crux
Finaly assembled the AR-10 I've been working on for months.

The upper is from Armalite, a discontinued SASS Carbine 16" with match barrel and aluminum free float quad rail. Armalite wasn't satisfied with the adjustable gas system on the 16" uppers so they put on a regular gas system, and surplused them for $850. Not a bad deal I figured.

The lower is also from Armalite, with a multi-position stock. The folks at the store it was shipped to all agreed, that mechanically it was excellent, of surprising quality for an off the line factory run lower.

Added was a PWS compensator, foregrip, and EOTech holo. All told it weighs in at just under 11lbs empty. Not too bad considering the heavy barrel and metal rails.

So now it's just a matter of getting it to the range, and breaking in the match barrel, something I plan to follow the Armalite manual to the letter on.

Will post again with the performance results. Now, what to name it?

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16 years 2 months ago #341 by mlotziii
Replied by mlotziii on topic Re:Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus
Very nice work! I would not want to be staring down the barrel of that carbine.

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16 years 2 months ago #343 by crux
Replied by crux on topic Re:Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus
Thank you. And lord willing no one ever will.

Rifles for me are like the japanese sword and the bow, part of a martial art. Like many folks who practice martial arts, I'll be thankful if the skill is never actually needed.

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16 years 1 month ago #391 by crux
Replied by crux on topic Re:Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus
First Day at the Range.
I had limited time to put two of the first break-in rounds through the rifle today. An associate and I were doing low-fi performance testing with some of the various defense ammunition available, and decided to each take a turn at the rifle before packing up.

Sort of a surreal experience, I've never had a similar experience with another rifle.

Frequently I fire a Mosin Nagant at the range, so I'm used to a kick. I've also had a chance to fire a pair of AR-10Ts, and while their kick was less than the M91/30, it was noticably more than the AR15s and AK47s.

I braced myself accordingly as I prepared to fire the first round through this machine. Firstly I'd like to say that the assessments from the folks at the gun store about the trigger were correct, it was clean and crisp, awesome for an off-the-line factory lower. I had expected something interesting from the PWS FSC based on the stability it seemed to give systems in their promotional videos. I wasn't sure what to expect however.

Boom!

It was as loud as I would have expected a large rifle, and there was certainly a blast similar to what I'd expect from the Mosin Nagant, and I braced for the recoil. It never came. I jerked, overcompensating for motion that did not occur. I just sat there for a second trying to reconcile the phenomena of a large rifle shot but not having felt anything more than what my compensated AK delivers, possibly less. It also didn't jerk around at all.

I needed a second opinion so I cleaned it, loaded it up again and had my associate try it. Same experience. He expected a large reaction but, receiving none, overcorected.

Both of us thought favorably of it. While I know there are those that wouldn't like the blast, both of us agreed we'd much rather have the stable/low-recoil platform. I suspect getting used to the blast (which really isn't much worse than the M91/30 delivers) and not overcorrecting for recoil will take some time getting used to, but both of us thought very highly of the stability and shock reduction afforded by the PWS. I still can't believe how little it seemed to push.

Next step is to get the thing strapped down at the range to check the raw mechanical accuracy. I'll let you know how it goes.

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16 years 1 month ago #392 by bigwheel
Replied by bigwheel on topic Re:Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus
an eleven pound 308 is not going to have much in the way of recoil. You will find if you spend some
time getting rid of your flinching you will enjoy shooting a lot more. I suggest this: go to the range
with your friend. without you watching let him load one round and hand you the gun hot and on safety.
every second or third round at random he should hand you the gun cocked but empty, (without your
knowing whether it's loaded or not ) When you pull the trigger on an empty chamber you will clearly see your flinch through the scope. The gun should not move at all. hope this helps,

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16 years 1 month ago #449 by crux
Replied by crux on topic Re:Finally Built: Armalite AR10 16" from SASS surplus
Range Report:
Finaly had some time to do more work with it at the range, and now 20 rounds into the breakin cycle. The thing is every bit as much the tackdriver I expected it to be. While sighting it in at 50yards all shots were overlapping or otherwise touching each other. I'm quite pleased and impressed.

I'll include a target photo as soon as I remember to bring a camera with me to the Range.

Now the one thing I did notice, is that there is definately a fleeting moment of obscured vision as the shot goes off. Not sure I wouldn't see this with the A2 Flash suppressor instead of the PWS compensator though. Still, its rock solid stable on each shot, with very low recoil. Coupled with it's accuracy, I can't be anything but pleased.

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