OPTICS AND MOUNT
AMMUNITION OF CHOICE
Federal Match Grade 168 grain, boat tail hollow point
ammunition in .308; I could end this section on that statement
alone. Why? Because it flat out performs. The FBI snipers use
it, most every SWAT sniper unit that I have ever encountered
during my time as a Law Enforcement sniper uses it and I
have a little over 15 years of personal experience of using it,
including taking top honors in competition with it. We all use
it because we trust Federal Match Grade ammunition to do the
job quality precision ammo is meant to do, fly straight, group
well and efficiently destroy what it strikes. Are there other
loads and brands on the market that can do a great job? Yes,
of course, but in a personal ten load test by eight different
manufacturers, the Federal “Holy Grail of ammo” not only
outperformed the others out of the Devil Dog project’s Krieger
barrel during its break in time, it has time and time again
outperformed the others in my bolt action sniper rifle left over
from my LEO days. Good job Federal!
Holding just at ½ inch MOA in a 3 shot group and 0.7inch 5
shot group during the first 100 rounds fired from the Krieger
barrel on the Devil Dog project, I was quite impressed. The
weight of the barrel and solid billet construction of the
upper / lower seems absorb much more of the recoil which
allows your scope to stay on target more than its bolt action
counterpart.
FINAL TOUCHES
With the addition of a stable and fully adjustable bipod for
prone shooting, I decided to give the entire rifle project a
complete DuraCoat finish. This helps protect all the metal
surfaces from rust, dirt and damage as well as break up its
outline by blending into the Florida environment. By adding
a very comfortable Viking Tactics padded sling in MultiCam
pattern, the entire project seemed to tie together well.
To transport the rifle project to and from the range and
during long trips, I chose the NANUK hard case. This case is
sturdy enough to support a full size man standing on top
jumping up and down! (Yes, I personally tried it and no you
will never see my gorilla routine unless you visit us in Florida.)
Offered in Tan, Black and Green, I went with the Tan color
in hopes of it drawing less heat when left in our endless
Florida sun. Measuring just over 55 inches long, 17 inches
wide and 6.6 inches tall, this case easily fit our rifle with
scope mounted. With an empty weight of around 26.6lbs, this
case isn’t the heaviest hard case I own, but it does make you
appreciate the smooth rolling wheels on the bottom. There are
four stainless steel reinforced eyelets located around the case
to make it fully lockable and airline approved allowing me to
easily transport our Devil Dog project anywhere I wish for a
shooting event.
IT’S A WRAP!
With now having roughly three months under my belt
shooting the fully completed Devil Dog Arms .308 project
I have had to rethink everything I thought I knew about
precision rifles. With the help of all the great companies who
went out of their way to help this project come together, it
is clear to me the market is finally able to allow shooters to
build their own precision .308 rifles just as well as they have
been with the 5.56 platform. Based on my recent personal
experiences of building and shooting this project, I no longer
believe the sacrifices out weigh the benefits of a bolt action
over semi-auto precision rifle.
This rifle was able to be built for roughly half the price of
the industry semi-auto precision standard, Knights Armament
SR-25. In our staff’s experience, our build has actually been
able to produce better end results as well! It is needless to
say how impressed I have been with all components that
went into our build in order to produce the results we have
seen thus far. As with any rifle, every firearm has its own
preferences, even those of the same make and model. The
goal of this article was to show the end user what is available
on the market to be able to build the precision semi-auto rifle that
fits them. Feel free to contact us and share your builds with
us as well and please take the time to check out all the great
companies who made this article possible.
‘Til next time, Train Hard and Watch your Six out there!
For more information on all the options offered
please pay a visit to www.devildogarms.com
rms Pr
Next, what precision rifle would be complete without good
quality glass? For the Devil Dog Arms project, a scope would
need to comfortably handle being able to get the shooter on
target out to 1000 yards. I decided to go with the Viper PST
6-24x50 Front Focal Plane model from Vortex Optics. With
so many great options on the market for scope pick from, I
chose Vortex due to their perfect balance of quality, price point
and great service in my personal opinion. Taking all three of
these factors into account, I have never been disappointed or
regretted a purchase from them.
The Viper PST 6-24x50 offers the shooter CRS zero stop
tactical style turrets for fast adjustment while shooting. This
model comes with an illuminated reticle in 3 options of
configuration. My personal choice for reticle’s is the EBR-2C
(MOA) which offers a very fast shot hold over adjustment and
easy to use hash marks for distance and speed estimations.
The 30mm tube offers all the light needed to squeeze
off shots in very low light situations. Of all the scopes I have
owned in the past, the Vortex Optics Viper PST is one of my
favorite all-purpose utility scopes I have ever used.
Mounted to the rifle using a cantilever style American
Defense Recon series mount, the scope held secure without
need of adjustment after over 100 initial rounds. This mount
is built rock solid and perfect for the AR platform regardless of
chambering due to its forward design allowing for optimum
scope eye relief. The mounts are strong and easy to set your
scope into with the benefit of American Defense’s awesome
customer service and tech support.
pmcimagazine.com