On Friday, Brandon Webb posted an article on SOFREP with a title that went something like this:
SEAL Sniper on Why the 7.62 NATO Round Is the Best Option for Civilians
I read that and thought, excellent!
And exactly why I chose .308 for my “money is no object on a budget gun.”
What does that even mean?
It’s the gun this guy threw all the money he had at.
Expensive in the grand scheme of things? Not hardly. Expensive to me? Absolutely.
Anywho… it is nice to get some validation from a professional like Brandon Webb.
For those folks living under a rock, Brandon Webb is a former SEAL sniper and Naval Special Warfare Sniper Course Manager, and is renowned for training some of America’s legendary snipers. So when this guy says .308 is the round … it is the round.
Brandon clearly states that 800m is about all your average shooter is going to get out of it. If taking big game at extremely long range is what you do on Sundays before breakfast, maybe .308 isn’t the choice.
But I’m a prepper and, as such, I am all about the availability of the .308 round even over the somewhat readily available 6.5 variants out there.
What I am not is either a sniper or a big game hunter.
Why even own a .308 then?
Because I’m a shooter. I am a gun lover and being able to explode milk jugs at distance is therapy.
It’s like golf, but for men.
Okay, but the round is only one decision when it comes to the platform we choose. I think the next question is: what’s the best action?
While a bolt gun may give a slight advantage over a semi-auto in that there is zero movement of the action as the round is traveling down the barrel, I am not the shooter who can take advantage of that level of hair splitting.
Me getting a bolt gun because it’s that fraction of a fraction more accurate is like me putting spinners on my rusty pickup so I’ll have game with the ladiez.
I went with the tried and true AR-10 platform, or to be more accurate (pun intended) the DPMS pattern rifle. I feel that having a magazine-fed gun would be handy for those “pandemic zombies” if it ever came to that.
So far we have a DPMS in .308, what’s the next decision in this money is no object build?
In my opinion, it’s barrel length.
Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty. What am I using this gun for again?
Right. What it’s not is a main battle rifle. I’m old, and – even though I’m pretty fit for an old guy – I am not swinging a .308 hammer on a daily basis. That job goes to 5.56.
I’m looking for range. After doing some research as to the best all around barrel length, I determined that an 18” barrel was going to be the sweet spot for this gun. And, again, because this isn’t a battle rifle, I didn’t feel like there was a need for a collapsible stock.
I had a plan and some money in my pocket. It was time to start spending it on a rifle I would name ARtemis the huntress.
I live in Tacoma, Washington, and always the guy to support local business, I went with an Aero Precision build. I got their M5 lower and their complete M5 upper with a fluted 18″ barrel, 1:10 twist in 416R stainless steel, and M-LOK ATLAS S-ONE handguard. Paired with parts like Aero’s nickel boron bolt carrier, a Radian Raptor charging handle, a Hiperfire Hipertouch 24E trigger set at a crisp 3 pound pull, a Magpul PRS stock, Magpul 45° offset iron sights, a Hogue overmolded beavertail grip, a VG6 flash hider, a Viking Tactics sling in Multicam Black, and an Olight Warrior X4 light.
ARtemis also has fully ambidextrous controls by Battle Arms and CMMG.
Here’s where not being the doctor my mom wanted me to be bit me in the ass:
Sitting prominently on the top is a good, if not fantastic, Vortex Viper 5-25×50 FFP scope. This scope may not be as crisp as its Razor brother, but again, anything better on this guy’s rifle is putting paint on a pig. This scope will outshoot my ability to use it all day long. The scope does have a killflash so hopefully, if I miss, said pandemic zombie can’t spot me easily and put a round through my glass.
Speaking of paint, I painted this rifle with Musou Black paint from Japan that absorbs about 99.4% of visible light. The paint is fragile stuff so when the rifle is used it effectively damages the light absorbing characteristics, but in turn leaves a cool mottled dark black appearance. But I’ll tell you this: the day I painted this thing, she looked like a shadow on the floor. That paint is crazy stuff.
Another sacrifice to the god of poverty was the bipod. As of now ARtemis has a pretty cheap Magpul bipod attached to the bow. This will eventually see an upgrade to a Harris whenever my ship decides to come in.
Now what do I need?
Don’t think I can’t hear every single one of you out there yelling, “TRAINING!!” and you’re not wrong.
What I truly need is some badass, ultra-skilled, massively talented (is flattery working, Brandon?) sniper instructor to take me under his wing and teach me everything he knows.
I could guarantee a wicked cool article about it here on SOFREP. If any of you guys want to read about a guy bumping his skills from about a confident 400m out to a confident 800m, drop our own BW a note and put in a good word for me.
Also, if any of you other Carlos Hathcock/John Plaster folks out there wanna school me on long range tack-driving, hit me up. I’m in the Pacific Northwest, but as the saying goes, “Have gun-will travel.”
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