The Guns & Ammo Network

Building the Best Long Range AR

by J. Guthrie • August 26, 2011 • 18 comments

In this clip from Modern Rifle Adventures, Dick Metcalf and J. Guthrie have built what they think is the best long range AR. Guthrie finished his ultimate project with the Zel Custom .338 Lapua upper and some other quality components he was able to compile.

Use it for hunting, target practice or precision military sniper work, and you’ll find that it will do the job for any of your long range needs.

Does it get any better than this gun?


In Hunting, Rifles, Video • Tagged , , ,
  • http://WWW.nuzulamir_32.COM NUZULAMIR

    Best Long Range AR

    Miedium size. Sir?

    Best Long Range AR

    Very Big Have For War.

  • http://JohnRiggin JRLutz

    The rifle caliburs I posted well they speak for themselve, except that I need to say this about the 7.62 x 39mm, in grain bullute I have 37 Grain ( over 4000 FPS), 80 Gr., 112 Gr., 122-125fmj,SP.HP. and 150 Gr. SP Bullets, so there is a wild range of velocicties and distances

    • Brian

      What barrel twist rate stabilizes a 37grain projectile at 4000fps and a 125grain projectile at 2200fps? I doubt it's possible.

  • CGrove

    One should be able to pronounce Lapua correctly if one is going to have a rifle in 338 Lapua. Pronounced Lopwah.

  • ar10

    First off love the show. I love the AR platform. I was a little disappointed in the long range episode when the 308 was barely mentioned. Little energy was the reason but if you look at Hornady ammo and the heavier bullets it is absolutely a long range cartridge. The military has been using it for decades. I would like to see more shows with the 308 and long range shooting (300 yards is not long range in my opinion). Knock down an antelope at 500 or 600 yards with the 308 and shoot some targets out to 1000 yards.

    • Ron

      I love the show too. I must aggree that when it comes to target shooitng 300 yards isn't a long shot by any means. When you have to hit the vitals of a living animal a missed wind call can mean the difference between a humane dispatch or a painfull lingering death with a long track for the hunter. so in that respect, 300 yards is kind of out there.

    • Ron

      I love the .308 cartridge too. It doesn't have punishing recoil but has enough thump to put the smack down on anything you have the balls to chase. Out to 250 to 300 yards I would have no problem taking a 308 after the biggest baddest grizzly in North America. a 180 grain acubond going 2650 fps at the muzzle and a well placed shot equals dead bear.

  • ntrudr_800

    I don't consider this an AR. It's a bolt action. I am thinking Sniper Rifle. It is based on an AR lower, but it's not an AR. It's not even semiautomatic.

    Nothing wrong with it–I like it. But it's not an Assault Rifle.

    • Ron

      An AR15 isn't an assualt rifle either. The AR in AR15 stands for Armalite rifle not assault rifle. The fact that you can but a bolt action .50 BMG upper on and AR15 lower shows how flexible the AR platorm really is.

      • ntrudr_800

        AR also mean Assault Rifle. I did not know that about AR15, but if I say AR I mean Assault Rifle, if I say BR I mean Battle Rifle.

        I am not going to storm a castle with a bolt action, but I will with an autoloading rifle.

        .223 is an AR caliber. .50BMG is not an AR caliber–neither is .308. .308 is a full-power cartridge. 7.62×39 is an AR cartridge–it's lower power.

        An assault rifle, from my understanding, fires a lower power cartridge (smaller caliber or less velocity) than the Battle Rifles of WWII that shot .30 caliber full power rifle cartridges. 2700 fps. The .223 shoots fast but is tiny compared to .308. .308 is about 3x the size! This way the .223 rifle shoots fast yet is more controllable than with using full power .308.

        That's nice that you can put a .50 BMG upper on an AR15 lower–but you are changing the weapon type by doing that.

        • Ralph

          AR stands for armalite, the original manufacturers
          not automatic rifle not assault rifle.

  • Al

    Thanks for that correction Ron! I can't believe a 'gun' person would cal an AR-15 an Assualt Rifle. With all we go through to set the pols and the anti-gunners straight we have to see that here?? Maybe the intruder is just that?

    • ntrudr_800

      I never previously mentioned 'AR15'. I typed AR which means ASSAULT RIFLE. BR = BATTLE RIFLE.

      'Armalite Rifle' was fully automatic by the way…

      You're being sarcastic right? Explain to me how the AR15 is NOT an Assault Rifle. It must be a sporting rifle right? Look at the design. I don't know who you're trying to kid, but you ain't fooled me!

      Where I'm from, when someone types AR they mean ASSAULT RIFLE–like in the title of the video.

      • kennethmterry

        It continues to amaze me the ignorance of self proclaimed Firearm enthusiasts. Mr. Stoner who designed the Armalite Rifle in the 1950's.
        "The first rifle created by the fledgling company was the AR-1 (Armalite Rifle number 1), based on a design of Sullivan and his brother-in-law, Charles Dorchester (who later became the plant manager fro the new company). The two had actually started working on the rifle in 1947, so it quickly completed once the new company started operation. The result was Armalite's Parasniper Rifle, a scoped bolt-action sporting rifle that could double as a military sniper rifle."

        AR-15/M16 Sourcebook, Duncan Long; Copyright 1992

  • Brian

    Great idea to plug a bolt action upper to a AR lower. But, I have to ask, where is the 308win? As some of the other comments have suggested, I too am a fan of the 308win. All cartridges are compared to the 308, it really is the benchmark.

    And why is it so difficult for people to stop using the word assault rifle. In retrospect why don't we start calling bank loan officers- loan sharks. Or start calling your stock broker a bookie. Bottom line is, it's a rifle period.

    • ntrudr_800

      Assault Rifle is a certain design. The Armalite and Colt designs are designed to be Assault Rifles. You cannot change history. Now if you buy it in .308 instead of .223 it is now a Battle Rifle, or maybe a hybrid? It is of military origin. It is what it is. Lying about it is not getting us anywhere. Trying to paint an Assault Rifle as ONLY a sporting rifle takes some real creativity and maybe some Duracoat.

      I am not against assault rifles. The media can kiss my a$s. How has America survived to this day? In a part thanks to our Assault Rifles and other weapons systems. If owning a Colt AR15 style rifle is not against the law, than the media needs to stop painting Assault Rifles as if they should be against the law.They are not qualified to do so. Firearms are very technical systems, and to try to rally against something they do not understand is foolish. If we did not have guns, people would be killing with swords. Would the media try to ban swords then? Yes. But times are more modern than that.

      I think that the media would call a bolt action hunting rifle an assault rifle… :D

  • ErikS

    Why? AR triggers are not as good as bolt triggers unless you spend tons.

    I own bolt and AR weapons, served and hunt. I have experience with both.

    • ntrudr_800

      The trigger on my Ruger bolt action is like heaven. I was wowed!