Any experiences with putting together an AR in .338 Fed?

BarrelNuts · 08-26-2015, 11:42 AM

Wondering if anyone on here has tinkered with turning an AR-10 from .308/7.62 NATO to .338 Federal. Seems that a barrel swap would be all that's necessary since the bolt face etc. are the same. Seems like it would be a pretty awesome set up for just about anything on legs in North America (where semi-auto is legal).

**LoneWolf** · 08-26-2015, 11:48 AM

I would message Jim at AGW. He's done a quite a few in 450 bush master. Imagine he would have some insight.

BarrelNuts · 08-26-2015, 03:11 PM

awesome, thx for the info

**earl39** · 08-26-2015, 04:42 PM

got one i just put together with one of Jim's barrels and was just fixing to post about it. Now not to cut Jim down but he done sent me the dangest thing here and now i am not sure what to do with it. On the one hand i could put it back incase i ever need a club and on the other hand i could shoot ticks off deer before i shoot the deer. Put 6 rounds thru it to sight in at 20 yards and with number 7 removed most of the feathers from one of our fine feathered friends at 100 yards. If i have it figured correctly i should be good out to about 225 yards for deer and pigs. Barrel looks great. Had it made to 16 1/4" with the .936 gas block and an .800 muzzle. Really good work and heavy enough to help with recoil (put no brake on it). Now for the record i have not put it on paper at 100 so no groups. I am using winchester 308 brass necked up with wolf magnum primers and 45gr of RL-15 under a 200gr SST with a light crimp from a Lee FCD. The biggest problem is i didn't do it sooner.

BarrelNuts · 08-26-2015, 07:07 PM

Yeah, I'm looking for a "brush gun" for walking up deer and/or close-in stand hunting piggies. I figure with a 5 round mag (legal here for deer) for hunting and a higher cap. for woods-walking and home defense (yeah... a dose of those pills will def. put Mr. Naughty man to sleep). I'm sure it will be heavier than an M-4 but with a short barrel and polymer hand rails would still be light enough to use for those tasks. 200gr SSTs will definitely put anything in the woods here on its backside post-haste if put in the right place

**earl39** · 08-27-2015, 08:16 AM

Guess i should add the specs incase you wanted to know.

1. Chambering :338 federal
2. SS or CM :ss
3. Finish - Parkerizing/Paint :natural
4. Contour :machinist choice with .800 muzzle
5. Gas Block Size :.936
6. Gas Block System :adjustable carbine length impingement
7. Muzzle Threads :none
8. Length:16.5
9. Crown:recessed
10. Twist Rate:1/10

This build was on DPMS. Got the lower for a steal when Brownell's had them on sale. I belive it was $145 maybe. It was insanely cheap. Free float rifle length handguard hides the gas block and keeps hands away from anything hot enough to burn you. I have 4 inches of barrel sticking out past the handguard. Maybe not what most would want but i like it. Kick with reloads is about the same as my 308 with factory 150's. More push than the 308 without the sharp kick. Still not a range gun for shooting a hundred rounds at a time tho. If you put a rubber pad on your stock maybe but diamond cut metal buttplate does dig in a bit.

Sidenote i did forget to tell Jim the gas block was set screw so he didn't put the divit in the barrel. One should decide on setscrew or clamp on ahead of time or just ask for the divit just incase.