Let me make sure I got this AR thing straight.

[Ray Cover]

First off let me say that like GB I have had no previous interest in an AR rifle.  I am more of a handgun shooter and bolt action rifle man.

I also in light of the current situations think that or goment will be pissing on the Constitution again soon so I have thought about getting myself an accurate semi auto .223, a super accurate long range 308, a saiga 12 shotgun, and some sort of 50 bmg rifle.

Again all of these except the 308 sniper rifle are outside my realm of previous experience.

While reading on here I think I had an epiphany.  Let me see if I get this right or if I am totally misunderstanding how all this works.

IF I am understanding what I am reading, I can in theory,

Buy an AR style varmint rifle in 223 and................
buy a 50 cal. conversion that I can use on that same lower
buy a 308 upper to use on the same lower

......in order to have a three in one system with interchangeable rifles as a cased set sort of like a TC contender in principle.

IS that right or am I way oversimplifying what I am reading?
Are the uppers that easy to change that it could be done in the field?

Ray     

[burntmuch]

My interest in ARs is rising as well. All I would want is the .223. I cant imagine shooting a .50 cal on an AR lower. OUCH

[Graybeard]

I think you are misunderstanding at least from what I've learned so far. Now you might do it but only as single shots on the .308 and .50 BMG.

The AR15 platform is limited as a semiauto by what can feed thru the mag well and cartridge over all length can't exceed that of a .223. I think one of the guys said you could tho put a single shot upper on for the longer rounds.

The AR10 platform works as a semiauto with .308 length rounds. I really think if you want to get a .50 you need to look at a dedicated rifle for it like the Barrett.

[darrell8937]

you can use a ar lower with some kits, but why.. why would you want to disable you ar to shoot the 50 bmg. These are of course bolt action.. which is the only way possible with a ar lower. a complete bolt action is the way to go. considering the price of 50 BMG rounds you surly can't afford to shoot it like a machine gun.even in civilian legal semi auto. Mama Duece is very exspensive to feed.. More that a dozen gowing boys for sure. Plus have you ever Lugged A M2 Heavy Barrell Machine gun...It will seperate the men from the boys. Semi auto versions of the m2 are available for the wealthy amoungst us as are the full auto class III for the mega wealthy with a extra thirty grand in their pocket. Many kit are available using surplus barrells.

[Totenkopf]

With the AR you can change out the upper in the field in 20 seconds. I have a conversion in 50 bmg. It has the recoil of a 30-06. In the last five years AR conversions have won the long range 50 competitions over the dedicated 50 platforms. The aluminum AR lowers have been tested to hold up to over 40,000 rounds in the 50 bmg with no wallering of the two pins.
 The closest thing to 308 energy offered by the AR-15 platform are the wssm chambers, the 6.5 Grendel and the 450 bushmaster, 458 socom and 50 Beowulf. All are 7 round mags in the AR 20 rd size mags.
 The 6.8 sps is the only one that takes the same capacity as a 223 but is above 7.62x39mm energy with much better trajectory. Still far under 308 energy.

[45-70.gov]

if  you want  50 BMG  upper for  your AR-15  lower

just  order  it

no  rules  no paper  work

it  is  not even considered a gun   ..only  the  receiver  is

your  AR  lower  is  the receiver  that  is technically  THE GUN
it  is  the  trigger  and  hammer[i think]......they  are single shot bolts

that  is the main  reason  for  them  i think
no  paper work  to trace

[Ray Cover]

Thanks fellas,

Your input is a big help as to what I need to buy.

Ray

[Default]

Ok Ray here goes heh ,

   The AR 223/556 nato lower can be switched to 6.5 grendel , 6.8 SPC , Ruger 204 , Russian 762x39 , Russian 5.45x39 And a couple of wild cats like the 6x45 ( basiclly a 223 necked up to 6mm) and the 7 TCU i believe it is..Can All be used with the 223/556 nato lower reciever ...Oh and through 9mm luger/para in there if you want a carbine in pistol caliber ..And of course the new BIG Thumpers 458 SoCom ,450 bushmaster and 50 beowulf

   If you favor a 308 you will have two main choices since these use a stouter lower reciever for them , Either DPMS or Armalite makes the most common ones.. Armalites being the AR10 and DPMS being their LR 308 series .. I have the DPMS LR308 AP4 in 308 and love it .. you can get uppers for this bigger AR lower in of course 308/7.62x51 nato , 6.5 creedmoor , 243win , 260rem , 300 rem SAUM (short action ultra mag)
 and 338 federal ..

   Now i have spied that 50 cal upper a couple times in the shotgun news mag and as stated it is just its own rifle other then the lower being the trigger and hammer as for lock up to the lower i dont know ... Seems 45-70 has more knowledge on those then me .. And as far as to which lower it lugs up to i dont know that either

        Hope that clarifies some of the enigma that are ARs for ya Ray     ,

            Default

[Lloyd Smale]

only thing ill add is that you dont have to buy a varmit barreled ar to get accuracy.  the little 16 inch guns will shoot into an inch. Ive got a colt that will do half that with loads it likes and have shot bushmasters, stag arms, dpms and remintons that will do the same. I recently picked up a 50 beowulf. Ive shot the buddys and its a ball. I havent got loading components yet for it so cant say how mine shoots but his shot into a inch at a 100 yards.

[emsemt911]

I am not shure if this was posted or if an answer was given.

If you buy a .223 (5.56mm) lower which is the ar15, you can get some of the specially made uppers
that will shoot out of the ar15 lower.  Examples are the .458 socom, .50 Beowulf, .450 Bushmaster.  You may  have to get new mags, but one or two will shoot out of the standard AR15 mag.  You also have other rounds that will nicely fir and perform great on the ar15 platform.  I love my 6.8 SPC upper from RRA that shoots on my ar15 lower.

If you want to shoot a .308, you have to have a completely differnt lower which is the ar 10 platform.
 

[Lloyd Smale]

thats why its done that way by some people. No paper trail if they ever come to take it away.

if  you want  50 BMG  upper for  your AR-15  lower

just  order  it

no  rules  no paper  work

it  is  not even considered a gun   ..only  the  receiver  is

your  AR  lower  is  the receiver  that  is technically  THE GUN
it  is  the  trigger  and  hammer[i think]......they  are single shot bolts

that  is the main  reason  for  them  i think
no  paper work  to trace

[SharonAnne]

while you can get accuracy with the short barrel you will not maintain that accuracy out to 600 yd. the long (24") barrel will start with a much higher velocity and that velocity is required to launch the long (69-80gr) bullets that have the high ballistic coefficient needed for long range accuracy. Those 16" barrels that shoot sub MOA at 100 yd with 55gr ball will not keep sub MOA at 300 yd and beyond.