Building an AR in 6.5 Creedmoor

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  • whbonney26

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    I have been hanging onto a lower for a few years now that I was going to build a .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor with. I have decided to go with the 6.5. Its been several years since I have built any AR-15 rifles and never one on the
    AR-10 platform. I am not sure who all the new players are on the market as far as parts go.

    Would love any pointers in the direction of websites that offer good AR10 platform parts such as LPK, Barrels, triggers, stocks etc.


    Thanks.
     

    thperez1972

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    I did a little looking before I built my first AR10 platform rifle. As I understand it, they are not as standardized as the AR15 platform. The AR10 has 3 "standards", Armalite, DPMS High, and DPMS Low. The High vs Low has to do with the height if the rail, if I remember correctly. So the rail on a high hand guard will not meet up with a low upper. And a DPMS upper or lower will not work with an Armalite lower or upper. IIRC, the Armalite pattern is a little more angled while the DPMS is a little curved. My AR10 is 90% Aero Precision. I wanted to get a matching upper and lower to make sure they fit together and just decided to keep going with them throughout the build.

    Here's a site that may have some useful information:

    https://308ar.com/ar-10-308-ar-compatibility-reference-guide/

    products-handguards-quad-rails-troy-trx-308-extreme-battlerail-7-2-black-armalite-dpms-hp-or-dpms-lp-4.jpg


    ar10-dpms-1.jpg
     

    whbonney26

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    Thanks for the tip. I have an Aero lower and will prob. do their upper and front hand guard. I did not see any LPK on their site so I was not exactly sure if any company would fit or not. I have not decided on which company to get a barrel from yet either.
     

    thperez1972

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    If you subscribe to Aero's emails, they usually run daily deals from 15-25% off a specific category like blems, uppers, receiver sets, etc.

    $50 - https://www.schuylerarmsco.com/wint...aero-precision-m5-308-lower-parts-kit-9933224
    $75 - https://www.graniteridgeoutfitters....-308-Standard-Lower-Parts-Kit-APRH100160C.htm
    $72 - https://www.armorally.com/shop/aero-precision-ar10-lower-parts-kit/

    You're likely to find a good upper combo and/or parts on one of those sites. I find Schuyler Arms somewhat difficult to browse but pretty good on prices. Arm or Ally wasn't the fastest for shipping. If you look for an upper/hand guard combo, you may want to consider their enhanced upper, the M5E1. It only works with a couple of their hand guards but if you like those, it's not a bad setup. The piece the hand guard attaches to is part of the upper itself and the barrel nut has external threads and screws into that part (see bolow picture). There are no timing issues with the barrel not and there's no real chance of not having the hand guard line up perfectly. I built a 300 blk with their M4E1 upper and an AR10 with the M5E1 upper. I also added their enhanced hand guard to an existing AR9 using their barrel nut. The enhanced uppers were much simpler for what I was looking for. But those builds were done with silencers in mind. The inner diameter of their enhanced and quantum hand guards is 1.78" and on all of those builds, the hand guard is about the same length as the barrel so the silencer will fit inside the hand guard about an inch or so for a more aesthetically pleasing look. I don't mind budget builds. If something works, it works. But I do like the Aero stuff. I think the little bit of extra money has a pretty good return in quality and features. I'm not knocking BCM or DD but I think the Aero stuff is a better value without sacrificing much, if anything, in quality. But I don't shoot precision. A few of my rifles are "farm guns" where pinpoint accuracy at distance are not a factor. Hogs and coyotes at closer to medium range are.

    apar308504a-m5e1-assembled-upper-receiver-3.jpg
     

    thperez1972

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    Thanks for the tip. I have an Aero lower and will prob. do their upper and front hand guard. I did not see any LPK on their site so I was not exactly sure if any company would fit or not. I have not decided on which company to get a barrel from yet either.

    Aero owns Ballistic Advantage. Arm or Ally and Granite Ridge usually have those barrels on sale at a pretty significant price below MSRP. If you haven't checked out gun.deals, you should give them a look. Just search for what you're looking for and you may find another store that has a lower price for what you want.
     

    Magdump

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    Perez is correct in that there is no true standard or ‘Mil spec’ version of the big frame AR, but the DPMS low profile is considered the standard rail height when it comes to free float handguards and sight height, etc. when buying handguards look for the choice of high profile and low or standard of you may end up with the upper receiver rail being 1/16 inch higher or lower than the handguard rail.
    I’m about to build one myself, only because I got a super heavy profile barrel for $70, finished upper receiver for $80 and a rifle stock lower for just under $200. Check Arm or Ally and maybe Delta Team Tactical for crazy deals like that. And maybe look for their Toolcraft twin ejector BCG in 6.5 creedmore.
    Be aware that some AR 15 parts will interchange with AR 08, but not many. If you plan on building more than one you may want to invest in a vise block that works with the big frame. The aluminum dual pin type is my favorite and works with the 15 as well. Also different barrel nut, so bigger wrench designed for that, most are 1 3/8 inch for free float barrel nuts, while the standard cog type nut is also bigger than the AR15. Hit me up if you run into any snags.

    b6e8db857826a440d00585db7f62ffd5.jpg

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    AZ2VET

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    Give a look at ArmorAlly (formerly Monmouth Reloading) they carry a lot of Aero stuff as well as other brands. I have bought from them several times and no problems.
     

    whbonney26

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    Thanks guys. This is the type of info I am looking for. I have built several AR-15's before and have had this lower for a while but never built one from scratch on the larger frame guns. Have always wanted either a .308 or 6.5 creedmoor.
     

    jdindadell

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    Good info in this thread!!!

    Anyone have a link to the correct length takedown pins for an aero 308 lower, the pa10 pins i have are too short, and I already have the rest of the lpk.
     

    Magdump

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    Good info in this thread!!!

    Anyone have a link to the correct length takedown pins for an aero 308 lower, the pa10 pins i have are too short, and I already have the rest of the lpk.
    Yeah J, the gen 2 lowers are scaled down to AR15 dimensions behind the magwell so the rear pin is a standard AR15. You just need to go with the standard DPMS parts kit. I’m not sure where to get pieces parts anymore except for Brownells or Midway. Brownells has been big on the retro AR scene as of late.
     

    Magdump

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    thperez1972

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    Those look cool. I did install their dust cover this morning on my build. Cool little snap in like a watch band pin. Just collapse one side and snap it in, spring is preloaded. A tad more than the standard setup price wise but worth it. The cover itself is polymer which might turn some peeps off tho...

    I see a couple of other SI parts in your pile of adult legos. SI is another company I like. They seem, to me at least, to be in the good quality for the money category like Aero Precision. Their charging handles are on a lot of my rifles. And I've used their polymer dust covers on one of my initial builds, a piston AR pistol in all FDE. I like their Enhanced Castle Nut as well. because it keeps the qd point from getting pinched by the stock when collapsed. I typically use that point and a point on the rail as close to the barrel nut as possible for my sling points. I get close to single point sling attachment control without the flopping around after transitioning to a pistol. The only issue I can remember having with SI is a stripped screw on their selector switch. I had initially installed it as ambi switch but I didn't like the way the ambi side felt on my shooting hand and the screw stripped when I was trying to take it off.
     

    Magdump

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    I see a couple of other SI parts in your pile of adult legos. SI is another company I like. They seem, to me at least, to be in the good quality for the money category like Aero Precision. Their charging handles are on a lot of my rifles. And I've used their polymer dust covers on one of my initial builds, a piston AR pistol in all FDE. I like their Enhanced Castle Nut as well. because it keeps the qd point from getting pinched by the stock when collapsed. I typically use that point and a point on the rail as close to the barrel nut as possible for my sling points. I get close to single point sling attachment control without the flopping around after transitioning to a pistol. The only issue I can remember having with SI is a stripped screw on their selector switch. I had initially installed it as ambi switch but I didn't like the way the ambi side felt on my shooting hand and the screw stripped when I was trying to take it off.
    I agree with the ambi switch. I shot someone else’s rifle with one and just couldn’t see the sense in it anyway. It was shorter on the ejection side but still got in the way of my trigger finger and my thumb knows where to find that switch. Trigger finger handles the loud button and mag release. I really don’t know how I could make the switch work from that side of the weapon anyway. I’d have to release my grip to do it..
    Another word for gimmick: Tactical
     
    Last edited:

    Magdump

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    Man, that looks sweet. Where did the barrel come from and what length?
    20 inch Ballistic Advantage that I shopped around for like a month or two back and paid like $170 I think. I’ll try to look up the site. I buy a lot of parts when I see them cheap because I’m usually building something a couple times a week. I had planned to use another barrel by Bear Creek Arsenal but did this one first.
    Many shooters are saying that 20 inch seems to be the best length for the 6.5, meaning the happy medium between bullet speed/accuracy and being able to carry the dang thing...
    So that’s what I been sticking to.

    By the way, are you Billy the kid?

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    c3b59c35996eef7218d04f948043e7ac.jpg
     
    Last edited:

    whbonney26

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    20 inch Ballistic Advantage that I shopped around for like a month or two back and paid like $170 I think. I’ll try to look up the site. I buy a lot of parts when I see them cheap because I’m usually building something a couple times a week. I had planned to use another barrel by Bear Creek Arsenal but did this one first.
    Many shooters are saying that 20 inch seems to be the best length for the 6.5, meaning the happy medium between bullet speed/accuracy and being able to carry the dang thing...
    So that’s what I been sticking to.

    By the way, are you Billy the kid?

    d0d49b044bf128569c29a478841e85fe.jpg

    c3b59c35996eef7218d04f948043e7ac.jpg


    Yeah, I have been seeing that the happy medium seems to be about 20 or 22 inch barrels. I'll prob. wait till after the gun show this weekend to order anything in case I see something there that I want as far as parts go.


    As for being Billy The Kid..... :draw:
     

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