DPMS Panther LR.308 Classic? What do you think?

Looking to trade in my Savage 12BVSS .308 Varmint Bolt action tack driver for a semi-auto .308. I am looking hard at the DMPS LR .308 Classic. What does the peanut gallery think of this?

I want an Oh Crap gun and I am only considering the .308 round. Sorry, not going with anything else. What’s your pick for “Oh Crap” .308 gun?

DPMS makes a good firearm, and at a decent price.

I would rather have an M14 or a FAL as my .308 SHTF gun, but there is nothing wrong with a .308 AR15 that isn't wrong with a 5.56 AR15.

Try looking at the M14 SOCOM or the M14 SCOUT before making your decision. The M14 is a tried and true weapon with lots of available parts and aftermarket accessories.

To be perfectly honest, .308 might not be your best choice in a SHTF gun. I know you said you were not interested in anything else, and I won't push anything on you. I'm just saying, think about ammunition availability in situation-X.

Ammunition availability is exactly what I am thinking about. The most widespread usage bullet in our military is the 308 round. Snipers use it. Most vehicles and tanks come equipped with one. Almost every helicopter has them.

Everyone says, 223, but the bullet that will almost always be in our military is the 308 round. Heck, even the military itself is looking for an alternative to 5.56 right now. Solders are not having good success with that round in Iraq and Afghanistan.

That’s why I said .308, no exceptions. I know that round is going to be made until and used in the military until the day I die. I also know that it is an extremely efficient round and one of the best rounds for assault weapons range and effectiveness. I did not want to turn this thread into a debate about ammunition. I just wanted peoples thoughts on a .308 shtf weapon system.

Thank you very much for helping me.

I've heard and read nothing but good things about DPMS. They seem to be very undervalued like a good stock nobody knows is good. Sooner or later people are bound to catch on though and prices are likely to jump.

I'm looking into getting one this Spring/Summer but I can't decide between .308, .223 and 6.8SPC. I want it in 6.8SPC really bad I just hit a wall when I think about ammo availability.

I wouldn't hesitate to go DPMS for your .308.

Thanks for the comments, I agree 100%. Today I called the factory and then a gun store and went ahead and asked them to hold me one that they had in stock. I am going to go down there tomorrow and put it on lay away.

In my experience .308 is the round to go with. When I was a corpsman stationed with an Infantry platoon with the Marine Corps, I got a real good look at just what a .308 can do that a 223 will not do.

The current April 2008 issue of Guns and Weapons for Law Enforcement reviews a .308 AR style rifle from Patriot Arms. In the review, the author spends a good deal of time coving the most recent shortcoming of the 5.56 round being used in Iraq. Insurgents have apparently been studying up on what barricades work best against smaller calibers like the 5.56.

Concrete cinderblock walls are apparently offering good protection for the insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan from the smaller 5.56 caliber ammo. The streets of these war zones are basically becoming an arms race of sorts where everyone keeps switching to larger calibers and using more and more barricades and personal protection devices.

I say to heck with getting in the middle of that kind of limitations. I say trump them all and just go with .308. The round has more than proven itself in those wars gone past. You have to remember that the .308 round is used on all kinds of very important weapons platforms from tanks to helicopters. As well, the FN Fal (another 308 rifle) is considered to the true weapon of democracy because over 90 different countries adopted it for use as their standard military battle rifle.

Even today, our government is using almost every single .308 M14 that our government ever made for use on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. As it turns out, the M14 was the weapon that our troops should have stuck with. And as the Germans and the Americans learned in WW2, you really want your troops to be equipped with both long range and short range weapons. The Germans issued their sub-machine guns and so did we. But the average American in the Oh Crap scenario needs a weapons system and a caliber that does not limit his potential. In my view, a man guarding his family against many unknown possibilities in a war zone like N.O. during Hurricane Katrina should look at weapons like the M14, DPMS Lr 308, and the FN Fal as their first choice for oh crap weapons.

The 308 enables you to shoot straight through auto glass, concrete block structures, single sand bag walls, both sides of automobiles, standard body armor, standard helmets, large trees, thin steel poles, and much, much more. The 308 round offers an individual solder or citizen to maximize his combat effectiveness for range and penetration. Other rounds simply do not offer the same advantages verse their limitations.

The 308 round is here to stay in our military and other militaries around the world. In fact, it seems that our military is begging to switch more and more back to the 308 verses other smaller calibers for a whole range of military applications. This is partly due to the increased usage of new faster burning powers that enables a complete burn of all the powder in .308 ammunition in a barrel as short as only 18 inches. I believe that this is why DPMS’s Supper Sass version of their 308 rifle only comes in an 18 inch barrel. Faster powders and shorter barrels equates to shorter weapons with equal capabilities.

I believe that many people, military and civilian alike, are finding that the newer 308 weapons are perhaps the first weapons created that offers a single individual the ability to adequately cover all possible combat engagements with only one rifle and caliber. From room clearing to designated marksmen, an 18 inch barreled, accurate, .308, semi automatic firearm, like what DPMS has created, might just be the best of all worlds for the battlefields of today and the future.

reply to post by Hot_Wings

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My son has the same bolt rifle your going to trade. It's a fine rifle.

DPMS LRs are fine, I'd like to get the bull barrel, heavy I know.


Roper

I dont like DPMS. Our local SWAT switched to them a couple years ago, and the things have been nothing but trouble. I hate to say it, but you get what you pay for. Over the last 6-8 months I have been getting them Bushmasters to replace the crappy DPMS guns. As the budget allows they should have them all replaced by end of year. They make great "couple times a year" guns, but they are not tough enough for any kind of abuse. I dont like the .308 semi civi guns either. Heavy and cheap parts. Go to Rock River or Armalite..IMHO

I've been hearing good things about them.

What model are giving the trouble?

Roper

P.S. I didn't know RRA had their LAR's out for the public. They were having trouble getting into production, I think. So I went to AR-15.com to check it out and sho'nuff their they were. Saw a range report, looks very good.

4 to 8 weeks on delivery, oh well.

Roper

[edit on 2-4-2008 by Roper]

My buddy has the .308 DPMS and it is pretty awesome. The only problem he has had is trying to find decent lower cost magazines.

Also you are going to give us a write up and range report when you get the weapon won't you?

reply to post by Hot_Wings

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I would prefer the FN FAL using the 7.62 Nato rounds. The squirrels just don't come around anymore. Old tried and true shot.

I'll bet!

I'd hate to see what a 7.62 rifle round does to a squirrel, but I'll bet it's ugly

Saiga makes an AK variant that fires the .308, and it's only about 400 ameros... I mean dollars.

While not as accurate as the AR platform, if money is a problem you can get the AK a lot sooner.

Also, the Saiga will be as dependable as the day is long.

I’m holding off on the gun purchase. There is a lot of news coming out about possible military actions. I always thought that no one wanted to start fights in the desert during the summer time, but oh well.

When I eventually do get the gun I would be happy to give you a review, but I will probably post it on a web page instead of the forum because I can do a lot more with web space than I can in a post.

Have a good one and thanks for all the recommendations. Have a good one, and I hope that the New World Order doesn’t kill us all.

If I were you I would wait to the FN SCAR Heavy comes out this Winter. The FN Scar does not have all the problems of the AR system since it uses the same piston system of the AK. This is the Goldilocks gun I've been waiting for......reliability of an AK with the accuracy of a AR in .308

I was going to get the same gun you were talking about until I discovered the FN.

BTW: The FN SCAR was adopted by SOCOM recently I believe.....

Yes, the FN is a good choice.


Another similar option would be to go with the Ruger Mini 14 customized by Accuracy Systems.

They make a few variations GUARANTEED to be accurate to 1/2 minute, while at the same time being very easy to maintain, clean, cool, and reliable like the AK.


Many calibers available. .223, 7.62x39, .308, several others

That FN will be very nice.

checkout the M1A1/M14 socom, with a troy stock they are really nice like these





Best G3 clone going




www.ptr91.com...

This new Keltec .308 bullpup is coming to market anyday too

www.youtube.com...

[edit on 14-4-2008 by warpboost]

[edit on 14-4-2008 by warpboost]

Armalite AR-10.

But you're really better off with a 5.56mm IMO. Rock River were selling their M4 style semi with detachable handle and tactical 2 stage trigger (a $110 upgrade) for $799 at a local gun show yesterday - it doesn't get better than that.

I bought a DPMS Panther more of a collector than a shooter it's a number 2 of 10 20th anniversary or something like that. Nickle plated. It sure does look pretty but I wish I hadn't bought it. Maybe I'm just spoiled but it certainly doesn't feel like my Knights Stoner or Galil. I like the M-14, Don't have one but I think I'll put one on my list. Spend the extra money and buy quality.

I have to disagree with you there. For the price of custom mini 14 you can easily get a good ar15 that will probably shoot just as well anyway, a decent scope if you like optics and a crap load of magazines - which are plentiful compared to the over priced after market mini 14 mags.

Then again I am highly biased against ruger and wish I had never purchased a mini 14 and personally cannot fathom putting 6-700 bucks into a 4-500 hundred dollar jam o matic