DPMS G2 LR 308 Recon. Initial review.

grubbylabs · March 16, 2014, 02:00 PM

I finally got out to shoot my new Rifle last night. It came in last Thursday. While at my gun Smith/FFL I had him mount my scope and bore site it. I am using a scope that I have had for a while on a 300 win mag. It's a 4-12 Vortex cross fire. I really like this scope. I did buy a new Nikon 223 scope mount. I am not sure which is a little out of speck but the mount only wanted to slide on so far. Luckily it's about right.

Initially I am quite impressed with the gun. Fit and finish seem to be rite on par with what one would expect from a $1400 rifle. The rifle is supposed to weigh 8.5lbs but I have not weighed it. It does not seem as heavy as the ones I have handled in the gun shops.
I got him did a cleaning and could not help my self I had to walk out to my pistole range and squeeze off a couple of rounds. It put a huge smile on my face. The trigger felt good and the recoil was very mild. Before I went out last night I installed a bi pod to make shooting from a bench a little easier.

I took it out last night to sight it in and get to know it a little. I started out about 25 yards was quickly moving it out to a 100 yards. I was using a load I developed for my 308 bolt gun, 165 grain Speer BTSP's over 43 grains of IMR 4064. As noted above the recoil is pretty mild.

One of the concerns I had going into this was the fear of excessive noise and muzzle flash. With the load I was using this was pretty much a non issue. The noise was on par with my other 308. I started shooting about a 1/2 hour before sun set and finished up a little after sun set. Since it was late in the evening I was expected to have some noticeable muzzle flash however, it did not become noticeable until the very last bit of light. I think that had I not been looking for it, I might not have even noticed it.

Accuracy was what I would expect from a quality 308 and hunting loads. I hope to be able to duplicate the results with some 175 grain SMK's that I bought for loading over BLC-2 and surplus H335. I really wanted some 145-150 grain bullets but I found these bullets at a really good price $130.00 per 500. They were so cheap because they are pulled bullets.

I will post a target after I do some load development with the 175's. I really wanted to post one with this, but it was my last target and after sighting in the scope it looked more like a role of masking tape than a target and would have been difficult to truly define a group.

All in all I have put 50 rounds down range so far and the gun has performed flawlessly. Not a single a single hiccup. The brass was piled neatly in about a foot and a half to about a two foot circle.
Here is a link to the gun http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/12-0138357

Sorry but I am having issues with my phone and the pictures so I will get the pics loaded as soon as I can.

Ibmikey · March 16, 2014, 08:28 PM

My LR-308 is a hoot to fire my buddy tried it today and could not believe it was so smooth and easy on the shoulder. I have a 16" carbine but use a Magpul rifle stock and standard buffer assy with a Veltor compensator. Mine will digest anything stuffed into a mag.

nadrepadre · March 16, 2014, 10:25 PM

I too have an LR-308. I went with the oracle base model and started slapping parts on it. The guy behind the counter kept trying to get me to buy the recon. I was impressed with it, but funds didn't allow it. Now it has the little magpul MOE stock, troy battle rail, nikon 4-12 and a bunch of other crap.

I am extremely impressed with this rifle. Great groups all the way out to 250. Never had a malfunction with it, but I've only put 500 rounds through it. Took everything from Wolf to Hornady AMAX 168s(great bullet btw). DPMS seems to have made a comeback with the LR-308

grubbylabs · March 17, 2014, 09:08 AM

I think I finally got a picture to up load.

Unlicensed Dremel · March 18, 2014, 10:58 AM

Looks like a strong piece of kit. Light is good.

But I wouldn't get that one unless I was going to shoot it with the suppressor all the time - those vortex-style (or straight-vortex-style in this case, if you will), snag branches going through the woods, I found, when I had one on an Rob XCR years back. Not a concern if you're not "woods-ing" with the rifle.

BluRidgDav · April 9, 2014, 03:24 AM

Any chance that a gunsmith with a lathe could turn-down the contour of the Recon's barrel and shed about a pound off the total weight?

Note: the G2 AP4 weighs only 7.25# with it's thinner barrel.

Or maybe carve flutes all along the barrel to reduce weight while maintaining stiffness and cooling?

The Recon's barrel is matte SS, so, there's no mil-spec finish to worry about.

Thanx, Dave.

Ibmikey · April 9, 2014, 07:31 AM

Most good gunsmith/machinists can flute your barrel, check Rainier or ADCO. Of course you will need to pull it for that type of modification, I had a stainless barrel fluted on one of my AR's and really like it. Milspec is just that..a military standard but not necessarily the BEST standard and since the Gunny is not going to yell at you make any desired modification and enjoy.

BluRidgDav · April 17, 2014, 12:59 AM

Can GII rifles accept "standard" .308 AR barrels as replacement parts?
Or are GII barrels proprietary to mach the redesigned barrel nut / barrel extentions and fit inside the new smaller GII receiver?

Thanx, Dave.

BluRidgDav · April 17, 2014, 10:48 PM

Called DPMS today to ask about GII barrel compatibility?
Answer: Only GII barrels will fit on GII receivers, due to the slimmer, redesigned barrel extentions, necessary to fit inside the smaller GII receivers.

Also, because the GII rifles are so new to the market, DPMS does not yet offer upper halves or barrels alone for custom builds. Only complete rifles for now.

The barrels on the AP4 and MOE models, forward of the front sight, are the same diameter as the old M16A1 5.56mm caliber "pencil" barrels, yet they have .308 caliber bores. This, along with the shorter receiver, is what gives the GII such nice balance and overall light weight. Most AR-15's that I pick-up are heavier than the AP4 and MOE.

I really like the feel of these G2 carbines!

BluRidgDav · April 29, 2014, 07:47 PM

I picked up a G2 MOE version about a week ago, and took it to the range for the first time today. My initial impression was very good! I started at short range to get it on paper, before moving farther out. Turns out that I didn't need to worry. My first 5 rounds at 25 yards went into one slightly oblong hole. It actually looked like two rounds touching in a figure-eight pattern, except that all five rounds went thru that same 0.3" spread, and it was centered in the black. Gotta like that! Moved the target out to 50 yards and put 5 more rounds into a 1" circle. Now, I'm felling really good about my new G2, considering that I was still only using the factory iron/polymer sights (GI front & MagPul BUIS rear).

Then I went over and picked up my brass . . . . . all ten cases showed two raised round bumps around the headstamp area, where the dual ejectors are located. It's as if the soft brass was being fire-formed and melted/flowed back into the dual ejector holes in the bolt-face. And five of the cases were missing their primers completely? They were just gone, with only blackened primer pockets left behind.

This was with Federal Gold Medal Match 168hpbt ammo, not some ultra cheap plinking stuff. I opened up the weapon to look for those loose primers, but, found none. Before giving up, I decided to test a different load. This time some Federal Premium 165 Trophy Bonded ammo, and fired two more 5-round strings at 50 yds. Both groups were also about an inch and at the same point of impact as the 168 GMM's. All of the 165 Trophy Bonded cases had their primers still flush in their pockets, but, the two raised bumps from the dual ejector holes were very evident around the headstamp area of all the cases. So, I stopped firing for the day.

Does my G2 have a headspace problem, or something else? I tried to call DPMS, but, due to the time zone difference, they were closed. I'll try again in the morning.

I've got kinda mixed feelings, now. Like the G2's light-weight, nice balance, accuracy, and sights that are dead-on right out of the box. But, these crazy fired-brass issues are worrisome!

Thanx, Dave.

BluRidgDav · July 11, 2014, 02:42 AM

DPMS was nice enough to send me a pre-paid shipping lable, so that I could return my "once-fired" .308 G2 MOE rifle back to the factory. But, now that was over 2 months ago, and they still have the gun. I called the factory to check on it a couple weeks ago, and was told that they are "waiting on new barrels". Don't they build the barrels that are used on their own rifles?

I bought my G2 in April, so, that I'd be able to get it ready for my daughter's youth caribou hunt in August. Now it's July, and it looks like I wasted $1400 and will need to get a back-up rifle ready!!!

What's the DPMS warrantee on defective rifles?

trapper9260 · July 12, 2014, 07:48 AM

I have a LR-308 and it came with the tack barrel and had a scope mount by my gunsmith and it was one he had on hand tat came from a gun he got in and bore site it and when I try it it was dead on.Then later he got one in that he bought from someone that sold it to him and he know I was looking for long range shooting and it was a barrel for that and call me if i like to get it and told me to bring my gun in to make sure the upper will fit the lower he had another scope on hand that would work for that barrel and what I wanted to do with it and he check it and all is good to interchange the uppers now I have a long range and regular uppers now.I been working on usen cast boolit in both barrels and sofar I got one that works that I had to come up with my own data.I like the gun and works great for me.I did pay less for the gun it self brand new then what the OP posted.

novamark · January 31, 2015, 10:53 PM

BluRidgDav
I am new to this forum and ran across your post on the DPMS G2. I bought the G2 Recon February 2014. It has shown the primer cratering and the ejector marks on the brass. Did you ever get an answer from DPMS?
Thanks
novamark

starlifter · February 4, 2015, 05:25 PM

I am in the market for a AR type .308/7.62X51. I thought this new DPMS GEN 2 was going to be my next rifle? When I read the first post on cratering and ejector marks I thought it might have been do to the short carbine gas system being over gassed. Then the second post came about with the same issue's in the Mid Length Gas system of the RECON. Guy's, please keep us posted on your findings. Thank You !!!

novamark · March 30, 2015, 08:34 PM

My dpms g2 recon has been at the repair facility for almost 2 months and they are waiting for parts from dpms. They say they are going to replace the barrel because of headspacing. I am hoping they will get my gun fixed and sometime soon.

March 16, 2014, 02:00 PM	#1
grubbylabs Senior Member Join Date: October 11, 2009 Location: Hansen Idaho Posts: 1,465	DPMS G2 LR 308 Recon. Initial review. I finally got out to shoot my new Rifle last night. It came in last Thursday. While at my gun Smith/FFL I had him mount my scope and bore site it. I am using a scope that I have had for a while on a 300 win mag. It's a 4-12 Vortex cross fire. I really like this scope. I did buy a new Nikon 223 scope mount. I am not sure which is a little out of speck but the mount only wanted to slide on so far. Luckily it's about right. Initially I am quite impressed with the gun. Fit and finish seem to be rite on par with what one would expect from a $1400 rifle. The rifle is supposed to weigh 8.5lbs but I have not weighed it. It does not seem as heavy as the ones I have handled in the gun shops. I got him did a cleaning and could not help my self I had to walk out to my pistole range and squeeze off a couple of rounds. It put a huge smile on my face. The trigger felt good and the recoil was very mild. Before I went out last night I installed a bi pod to make shooting from a bench a little easier. I took it out last night to sight it in and get to know it a little. I started out about 25 yards was quickly moving it out to a 100 yards. I was using a load I developed for my 308 bolt gun, 165 grain Speer BTSP's over 43 grains of IMR 4064. As noted above the recoil is pretty mild. One of the concerns I had going into this was the fear of excessive noise and muzzle flash. With the load I was using this was pretty much a non issue. The noise was on par with my other 308. I started shooting about a 1/2 hour before sun set and finished up a little after sun set. Since it was late in the evening I was expected to have some noticeable muzzle flash however, it did not become noticeable until the very last bit of light. I think that had I not been looking for it, I might not have even noticed it. Accuracy was what I would expect from a quality 308 and hunting loads. I hope to be able to duplicate the results with some 175 grain SMK's that I bought for loading over BLC-2 and surplus H335. I really wanted some 145-150 grain bullets but I found these bullets at a really good price $130.00 per 500. They were so cheap because they are pulled bullets. I will post a target after I do some load development with the 175's. I really wanted to post one with this, but it was my last target and after sighting in the scope it looked more like a role of masking tape than a target and would have been difficult to truly define a group. All in all I have put 50 rounds down range so far and the gun has performed flawlessly. Not a single a single hiccup. The brass was piled neatly in about a foot and a half to about a two foot circle. Here is a link to the gun http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/12-0138357 Sorry but I am having issues with my phone and the pictures so I will get the pics loaded as soon as I can. __________________ * (Swinging club) Whack! whack! whack! * Nope, the old nag's still dead . (Capt Charlie) Last edited by grubbylabs; March 17, 2014 at 11:17 AM.

April 9, 2014, 03:24 AM	#6
BluRidgDav Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 314	Any chance that a gunsmith with a lathe could turn-down the contour of the Recon's barrel and shed about a pound off the total weight? Note: the G2 AP4 weighs only 7.25# with it's thinner barrel. Or maybe carve flutes all along the barrel to reduce weight while maintaining stiffness and cooling? The Recon's barrel is matte SS, so, there's no mil-spec finish to worry about. Thanx, Dave. __________________ Watch your top-knot.

April 17, 2014, 12:59 AM	#8
BluRidgDav Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 314	Can GII rifles accept "standard" .308 AR barrels as replacement parts? Or are GII barrels proprietary to mach the redesigned barrel nut / barrel extentions and fit inside the new smaller GII receiver? Thanx, Dave. __________________ Watch your top-knot.

April 17, 2014, 10:48 PM	#9
BluRidgDav Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 314	Called DPMS today to ask about GII barrel compatibility? Answer: Only GII barrels will fit on GII receivers, due to the slimmer, redesigned barrel extentions, necessary to fit inside the smaller GII receivers. Also, because the GII rifles are so new to the market, DPMS does not yet offer upper halves or barrels alone for custom builds. Only complete rifles for now. The barrels on the AP4 and MOE models, forward of the front sight, are the same diameter as the old M16A1 5.56mm caliber "pencil" barrels, yet they have .308 caliber bores. This, along with the shorter receiver, is what gives the GII such nice balance and overall light weight. Most AR-15's that I pick-up are heavier than the AP4 and MOE. I really like the feel of these G2 carbines! __________________ Watch your top-knot.

April 29, 2014, 07:47 PM	#10
BluRidgDav Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 314	G2 headspace issue? I picked up a G2 MOE version about a week ago, and took it to the range for the first time today. My initial impression was very good! I started at short range to get it on paper, before moving farther out. Turns out that I didn't need to worry. My first 5 rounds at 25 yards went into one slightly oblong hole. It actually looked like two rounds touching in a figure-eight pattern, except that all five rounds went thru that same 0.3" spread, and it was centered in the black. Gotta like that! Moved the target out to 50 yards and put 5 more rounds into a 1" circle. Now, I'm felling really good about my new G2, considering that I was still only using the factory iron/polymer sights (GI front & MagPul BUIS rear). Then I went over and picked up my brass . . . . . all ten cases showed two raised round bumps around the headstamp area, where the dual ejectors are located. It's as if the soft brass was being fire-formed and melted/flowed back into the dual ejector holes in the bolt-face. And five of the cases were missing their primers completely? They were just gone, with only blackened primer pockets left behind. This was with Federal Gold Medal Match 168hpbt ammo, not some ultra cheap plinking stuff. I opened up the weapon to look for those loose primers, but, found none. Before giving up, I decided to test a different load. This time some Federal Premium 165 Trophy Bonded ammo, and fired two more 5-round strings at 50 yds. Both groups were also about an inch and at the same point of impact as the 168 GMM's. All of the 165 Trophy Bonded cases had their primers still flush in their pockets, but, the two raised bumps from the dual ejector holes were very evident around the headstamp area of all the cases. So, I stopped firing for the day. Does my G2 have a headspace problem, or something else? I tried to call DPMS, but, due to the time zone difference, they were closed. I'll try again in the morning. I've got kinda mixed feelings, now. Like the G2's light-weight, nice balance, accuracy, and sights that are dead-on right out of the box. But, these crazy fired-brass issues are worrisome! Thanx, Dave. __________________ Watch your top-knot.

March 16, 2014, 08:28 PM	#2
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	My LR-308 is a hoot to fire my buddy tried it today and could not believe it was so smooth and easy on the shoulder. I have a 16" carbine but use a Magpul rifle stock and standard buffer assy with a Veltor compensator. Mine will digest anything stuffed into a mag.

March 16, 2014, 10:25 PM	#3
nadrepadre Member Join Date: September 12, 2012 Posts: 27	I too have an LR-308. I went with the oracle base model and started slapping parts on it. The guy behind the counter kept trying to get me to buy the recon. I was impressed with it, but funds didn't allow it. Now it has the little magpul MOE stock, troy battle rail, nikon 4-12 and a bunch of other crap. I am extremely impressed with this rifle. Great groups all the way out to 250. Never had a malfunction with it, but I've only put 500 rounds through it. Took everything from Wolf to Hornady AMAX 168s(great bullet btw). DPMS seems to have made a comeback with the LR-308

March 18, 2014, 10:58 AM	#5
Unlicensed Dremel Junior member Join Date: February 13, 2014 Location: Flathead Valley, MT Posts: 2,187	Looks like a strong piece of kit. Light is good. But I wouldn't get that one unless I was going to shoot it with the suppressor all the time - those vortex-style (or straight-vortex-style in this case, if you will), snag branches going through the woods, I found, when I had one on an Rob XCR years back. Not a concern if you're not "woods-ing" with the rifle.

April 9, 2014, 07:31 AM	#7
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	Most good gunsmith/machinists can flute your barrel, check Rainier or ADCO. Of course you will need to pull it for that type of modification, I had a stainless barrel fluted on one of my AR's and really like it. Milspec is just that..a military standard but not necessarily the BEST standard and since the Gunny is not going to yell at you make any desired modification and enjoy.

July 11, 2014, 02:42 AM	#11
BluRidgDav Senior Member Join Date: October 13, 2001 Posts: 314	DPMS was nice enough to send me a pre-paid shipping lable, so that I could return my "once-fired" .308 G2 MOE rifle back to the factory. But, now that was over 2 months ago, and they still have the gun. I called the factory to check on it a couple weeks ago, and was told that they are "waiting on new barrels". Don't they build the barrels that are used on their own rifles? I bought my G2 in April, so, that I'd be able to get it ready for my daughter's youth caribou hunt in August. Now it's July, and it looks like I wasted $1400 and will need to get a back-up rifle ready!!! What's the DPMS warrantee on defective rifles? __________________ Watch your top-knot.

July 12, 2014, 07:48 AM	#12
trapper9260 Senior Member Join Date: May 29, 2010 Location: Iowa Posts: 119	I have a LR-308 and it came with the tack barrel and had a scope mount by my gunsmith and it was one he had on hand tat came from a gun he got in and bore site it and when I try it it was dead on.Then later he got one in that he bought from someone that sold it to him and he know I was looking for long range shooting and it was a barrel for that and call me if i like to get it and told me to bring my gun in to make sure the upper will fit the lower he had another scope on hand that would work for that barrel and what I wanted to do with it and he check it and all is good to interchange the uppers now I have a long range and regular uppers now.I been working on usen cast boolit in both barrels and sofar I got one that works that I had to come up with my own data.I like the gun and works great for me.I did pay less for the gun it self brand new then what the OP posted.

January 31, 2015, 10:53 PM	#13
novamark Junior Member Join Date: January 31, 2015 Posts: 4	BluRidgDav I am new to this forum and ran across your post on the DPMS G2. I bought the G2 Recon February 2014. It has shown the primer cratering and the ejector marks on the brass. Did you ever get an answer from DPMS? Thanks novamark

February 4, 2015, 05:25 PM	#14
starlifter Junior Member Join Date: February 3, 2015 Posts: 1	DPMS GEN 2 ejector marks I am in the market for a AR type .308/7.62X51. I thought this new DPMS GEN 2 was going to be my next rifle? When I read the first post on cratering and ejector marks I thought it might have been do to the short carbine gas system being over gassed. Then the second post came about with the same issue's in the Mid Length Gas system of the RECON. Guy's, please keep us posted on your findings. Thank You !!!

March 30, 2015, 08:34 PM	#15
novamark Junior Member Join Date: January 31, 2015 Posts: 4	My dpms g2 recon has been at the repair facility for almost 2 months and they are waiting for parts from dpms. They say they are going to replace the barrel because of headspacing. I am hoping they will get my gun fixed and sometime soon.

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