First of all, RIP Lucas’s shoulder. We have a few points to make, but in general, we look forward to getting the rifle (specifically the BCG) back in hand to understand where and why it’s weak points were exposed during this endurance test. We believe in continuous improvement and will be examining where we can keep developing on this platform. Our goal is to offer an affordable and reliable base for an AR10 setup. Whether that be for plinking, long-range shooting, hunting, SHTF, or other. This is a rifle platform we have been offering very successfully for years and truly believe it’s great for the vast majority of users. This is proven by the thousands of customers that are successfully and consistently running M5 configured rifles to date. With that being said, the rifle should be built to your specific use case. Our thoughts… 1. If you are building a rifle for extreme use, we would highly recommend getting the rifle in to it’s final configuration with whatever parts and components you prefer, testing it, and then securing that configuration. Items such as the bolt catch screw and handguard screws can benefit from blue Loctite, especially on the AR10 platform where there is much more force involved. We don’t generally do this from the factory as we aren’t offering a complete “out of the box” rifle and most M5 users are building from scratch, upgrading components, etc. Loctite can be your best friend and your worst enemy. 2. If you are shooting an AR10/M5 rifle suppressed, we highly recommend taking that type of use into account when building and selecting components. There are a couple different components that can and do help lower carrier velocity in the case of suppressed use. What this exact formula is will vary depending on use-case, but generally a rifle or A5 buffer system can greatly help on these large frame rifles. Adjustable gas blocks are another great solution if your use-case permits. 3. We specifically recommend PMAGs with the M5 platform. Through years of use, we have seen the most consistent success with PMAGs and the development of the lower receiver was done specifically with these magazines. 4. Maintenance is important. We understand the point of this specific test, but even military testing protocols require maintenance on this classification of firearm at round counts well before any critical failures occurred here. Specifically, if you run the rifle until it’s dry and fails to operate, you are introducing excessive wear on areas such as the BCG and shortening the lifespan of the part. We would not recommend shooting the rifle 2300+ rounds without maintenance. The BCG was also purchased as a standalone part where there is no lube from the factory as we do not lubricate BCGs that go into individual packaging. This means the rifle ran for 2300 rounds with no lube whatsoever. This point alone could have drastically changed the outcome with the BCG. 5. The BCG specifically is an opportunity area for improvement not just for Aero Precision, but for the AR10 platform in general. We utilize what we would consider the industry standard design for AR10/AR308 BCGs. We have been developing a more robust design that we are confident would perform better in this testing and we look forward to bringing that to market in the future. The current BCG offerings on the market, including ours, is suitable for most users. BUT, there is opportunity here. None of these are intended to be excuses, but rather are what we think about internally when we review this and consider how we would approach this testing from a “scientific” standpoint. We also are interested to see this testing conducted on competitor products as well. We had some great conversations with Lucas and team at Trex Arms, respect the hell out of them for this thorough content, and look forward to follow-up discussions on this platform.
I'm planning my AR-10 build. Several weeks ago, I was on Aero's website looking at uppers. I noticed that by default the BCG and Charging handle are sold separately. My question: is this more in-line with your, and I'm paraphrasing, "the customer will want to customize" mentality or do you not trust your BCG vendor? I realize this question sounds snarky. I realize you probably can't answer it exactly how you may want to. But a lot of people who have some experience in the world are gonna be thinking it. For the record, Aero's upper is still high on my list of consideration.
Do you feel that the bcg failure was "caused" by lack of maintenance or "accelerated" by lack of maintenance? Is that the failure you would predict? Pushing it to failure seems like useful info. Identifying areas that need extra care is important. I personally do not see their issues as anything that would cause me hesitation buying Aero. I did SMH at not using PMags!
I think that most people still respect the hell out of everything that Aero does, especially since most people won't shoot nearly that many rounds of .308 through their M5. Still, it will be interesting if any change has to occur due to the test that has unfolded. I am interested in seeing how other 1200-dollar Ar10s run through this torture test as well.
@@lhp2a that's a valid question. We trust our vendors or we would not keep a part in the market. It does make it more difficult for us to speak to right away though until we have the part in hand and can review. What we can say is that there are thousands and thousands of these BCGs in circulation and it is a rare instance that we would see a firing pin shear off. Additionally, we have BCGs with many more rounds on it than done in this testing, but we would never run one for 2000+ rounds dry. We can't speak toward how that would perform as that's never a test we would do. I think that plays a big role here. You would not run your car without oil as you understand that would seize your engine. We offer them separately from the upper simply because we cater to the builder, and we don't want to force someone's hand on having to purchase our part. We would obviously love for customers to use our parts solely, but we believe in supporting customers that want to truly customize every part to their liking.
The shot that stood out to me 38:27 is the one where the camera travels the whole length of the 700yd range. Then, we see the aerial cam and Lucas cam sync up with each other side by side in a way that I've never seen before. Really brilliant these guys are.
@@blantant Hm seems to me trex has return on investment on a lower priority. Companies that vaalue a greater empahsis on it would have gotten the gun sponsored as well as the ammo. Say they shot thousands of rounds followed by a shooting montage with maybe a change in shirt. Also since they want moree sponsorships in the future theyll say the ol "shot x rounds with no malfunctions! g2g!.. Also thank you to shadow legends!" que another montage of posing and rifle at different angles.
Found this video AFTER just ordering this exact M5 configuration. This video actually makes me more confident in my decision to purchase. 2300+ rounds dry before malfunctioning is impressive. As a former infantryman I can tell you, you get back from the Qualification range, weapon cleaning/maintenance, you get back from patrol....weapon cleaning/maintenance, it's 5pm on a Friday back in garrison.....you guessed it, weapon cleaning/maintenance lol. All at way lower round counts and CLP is slathered on from a commercial spray bottle. Screws backing off, I personally always blue loctite my critical component screws on my personal systems. Would love to see the same type of test on the Gucci AR10s like LaRue, LMT, LWRC, etc. And even some other budget minded models, like diamondback and similar. Only gripe I have with AERO is me wanting them to have ALL barrels they sell to be dimpled for easier gasblock installs, that's it. But that's purely a convenience complaint. Keep up the good work AERO.
I just got my M5 20" in this week. I would have liked if they continued the test with a different BCG to see if it is an issue specifically with AP BCGs.
Yeah, they're good deals. A lot of the issues he outlined will double the price-tag, if they're actually solved. Adjustable gas block for suppressed? Costs. JP Enterprises ultralight BCG and captured spring for reduced recoil? Costs. Criterion chrome-plated barrel for extended barrel life? Costs. People that talk crap about "gucci rifles" don't understand that some of them are actually superior... At a cost.
@@isaactrujillo76 He didn't state that. He said he wanted more from the same system. A manufacturer isn't going to add an entire new process to make something that costs twice as much, unless they think there will be a lot of buyers.
This is an incredible amount of data collection for an extremely common "off the rack" firearm. No boutique add-ons or modifications, no cinematic mud-test type of gimmicks. This is good science, setting up trials and running the tests. Man. It's such an inspiring sight to see that ya'll went through such a diligent testing curriculum, I hope the information collected is used to better develop this high-potential firearm.
@@Mygg_Jeager Yes for a military unit, sure that makes sense. As a consumer, no. Most of us are going to use AR-15's in 5.56 as a SHTF rifle. If you want an AR-10 as a AHTF rifle, most of them on the market are not the right choice.
@@MegaAndy93 For SHTF, mud is even MORE of an issue. Because you're not gong to have access to high pressure air hoses, hot running water, or a limitless supply of cleaning agents like we have in the military. Direct impingement can only go so far with CLP and lubricant. I doubt you'll get the full 8,000 round barrel life out of a direct impingement AR15 in a SHTF, because the housing, mag well, bolt carrier assembly, and trigger group will gradually fill up with so much dust, dirt, mud, sand, debris, silica concrete dust, bark chips, and carbon particles that the entire system will seize up eventually. Unless you're planning on literally never leaving the confines of your bunker or armored vehicle, which seems unlikely.
If only God would somehow standardize the round across ammo manufacturers. SAAMI spec apparently is increasingly becoming one of those "not really a rule, more like a guideline" things.
@the guy you know Sweetwater has a ton of good audio gear, which they likely use for videos and podcasts, and Isaac has mentioned them touring at Sweetwater to learn about their shipping and customer service (because they're known for their amazing customer service)
This is a whole movie. A documentary. I could watch this over and over. Lucas please give us more of this content. This is what the community wants. You’re in the top 3 best 2A educators EVER.
They don’t make money of TH-cam videos, all their TH-cam content is paid for by them and uploaded for free with no returns out of courtesy. Please be more considerate before demanding free 2 hour videos from someone.
@@ericfugal6648Duh he explained that. Lucas literally asked us if we liked this content or not, and asked what we wanna see. I’ve been supporting them since 2019. I’m even in Tennessee.
So glad I purchased all my build parts for my AR-10 M5 in 308 from AP. Their response to this video is top notch and makes me feel like this is an upper tier manufacturer. This will be my first build for an AR-10 and excited to match the pieces together and have a formidable weapon. I know this has been stated many times but, to run 2300+ rounds on a BCG with the kind of recoil experienced is impressive . Especially, straight out of the “ box” and not lubricated or minimally at best. Thanks for the video and looking forward to many more.🇺🇸
The fact that you guys as a company went to the lengths of making this video, especially on the monetary side of it speaks absolute volumes to why T.Rex is absolutely invaluable to this community. Thank you, seriously guys.
@@forkthepork That'd be the hope, but there are a lot of factors that make it a complete gamble from a business aspect. The primary gain of sale may very well go to Aero Precision, if anything. The pay off of the investment for T.Rex in making this isn't on their books, it's in bolstering the community.
Your ass Kissing doesn’t change the facts. It’s a DPMS LR308 NOT a Stoner AR10. He is comparing apples and tacos. He may sell a perfected DPMS high dollar whore. No one dumps 2800$ in consecutive rounds in an ordinary DPMS LR308 without cleaning lube care and breaking it in. Unless you are worth what this prick is and can Do whatever. This video sell more of his shit and solves nothing for the ordinary person but make them worry and rack up more credit card debt. Asinine all the way around. Aero is just fine.
I’m not gonna lie, You have truly now set the standard on what a “product review” should be. I would love to see more of these in the future if possible!
I absolutely want to see more videos exactly this one. The information and data created is not only extremely valuable to TREX and it’s followers, but all manufactures in general. From this video alone I would wager that at the very least Aero will make improvements, possibly even others. Lucas, if you’re reading this, thanks man. For this video and all the others and everything else you’re doing. You’ll continue to have my business whenever possible and always have my support.
I would like to see the PSA PA10 put through the same testing soon(ish) as it would be a good comparison of the two budget AR10s prior to branching out into other platforms.
@@PBRstreetgang88another brick and mortar sized manufacturer with their name on cheap garbage, hope you learned a lesson. Aero is a quality manufacturer, they do however take shortcuts in their accessories which can give a manufacturer a bad name.
Now THAT is how you do a product review! The amount of work and quality of said work on this is remarkable. The data collection, editing, production.. Thank you T.REX ARMS! I would really enjoy seeing more videos like this with offerings from BCM, S&W, even PSA etc.
I find it admirable that Areo is enthusiastically taking this data to pull as much as humanly possible from it, you don't see that often. Good to see I'm not alone in the multi thousand round tests that reveal the good and the bad. Great job guys.
I sent this to T.REX ARMS reply to my comment and it seems to have disappeared... so I am copy/pasting it here in hopes someone will notice. Have a wonderful holiday season FireArms community! "@𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃 𝙼𝙴👉 ±⓵⓽⓹⓵⓹⓶⓹⓹⓹⓼⓸ I replied to this and the comment seems to have disappeared? Strange... I don't have a phone ATM, and I offered you two Aero M5's with UBR stocks and Geissele SSA's... one has a CMV barrel, the other has a Stainless barrel, @ 140 rounds on the CMV 10 slow rounds on the Stainless. Was going to have the stainless nitrided at 60-80 rounds to test durability and accuracy/viability of stainless compared to CMV. You may have both M5's as well as two 1st gen RMR's 1 MOA and one Trijicon 1-8 scope with Bobro mount to add to your test weapons, so you won... send me a PM, all I ask is you pay for shipping... Have a wonderful holiday!"
I think the editors and the crew that supplements these videos need a hand of applause, too. You are the unsung heroes here. Thank you for making everything come together in a cohesive manner. You're the GOATS here.
@@Org80 everything on this channel is over dramatic ...lucas thinks his some sort of ace shooter , his actually very poor wit aim my kid would do much better vs lucas ...and whats wit his sf wanna be bs crash course ...cmon ..his a kid with to much money...he needs to go bach home to mummy to eat a few dinners also as it looks like his starved!!!!
This video has sold me on getting an Aero 308. The way this was handled solidified my confidence in your company and product. Thanks to both TRex Arms and Aero Precision.
@greyGG308 I can’t make it, but I can find parts and put it together, that’s what building rifles is. Did you really think you build all the parts? Lmao
I cannot stress this enough. This is the kind of content that is needed. I've put my money on t-rex before just on the principles you've shown. This cements my confidence. Nothing is perfect, gear, people, etc. But honesty and transparency is priceless, and nowadays it's in low supply. Thank you! ...Edit, would you guys be willing on doing the same test with an Aero Ar-15?
Exactly what I’d love to see. Got one of there m4E1s and it’s got about 2k on it right now. 🧐 not near enough… hopefully gonna change real soon though🤙
@@CookieMonster8C same her got 2200 rounds on my 16in m4e1 doesn't skip a beat and I'm not cleaning it after every shooting either... and also I think they probably used the cheaper phosphate BCG out of the nitride and nickel boron that they make but idk
I had the same question. Completely different set of stressors and function, IMO. (But, please. Lube the gun and maintain it. That’s what consumers do.)
These super long form and hard to make videos are precisely what the community needs right now. This is basically shows how one rifle would've performed throughout its lifetime and that type of info is invaluable. It's also exactly what creators should focus on. We don't need entertainment. We need quality content that provides usable information. This has that in spades. Good stuff T. Rex Arms. Hope you continue doing testing like this. I'd suggest testing a BCM upper with Aero lower combo next since that's what you typically recommend to us.
Purely from a production standpoint, the amount of batteries, storage, and clips that the video team would have had to go through is nuts, could not have been an easy job. Awesome job
This was the best most comprehensive consumer test available. You literally spent 65% of my yearly income to provide us with quality information. I would love to see more videos like this one. Would love to see more testing on something from LWRC or LMT
This, tons of respect here. This is what I want to see for firearms as well although the 2 hour vid should have an accompanying executive summary video. Love the anonymous buy, suppress or die attitude, and the endurance test. More of these please. An AR 10 is on my list, I learned a ton here. Can we get some ammo suppliers to help mitigate the cost here. Promote them and I’ll ensure to choose them if they are competitively priced.
He spent $3500 on a rifle, didn't bother to lube it, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and gave up 2/3 through the test. In what world was this not an embarrassment?
@@ped200014 by all means holier than thou internet expert. Please start your own channel and do your own impartial review so we can critique you. Until then, shut your anonymous paid shill ass up.
Everyone makes holsters, mag carriers, and belts. Even when TRex is out of the color or style that I want, I wait to buy your products because of your values. Not only do you constantly produce incredibly valuable content, but you also support life and liberty. Aero is also a class-act, and I love my M5. Keep rockin' guys.
Just based on the interaction you had and knowing Aero generally leans towards building your own gun based on your specific needs, I think I’m even more inclined to purchase Aero products in the future
Agreed. If that one lasted the full 5k without any serious or catastrophic failures, that would be impressive, and make it a little more arguable that the pricetag is worthwhile. Hope they decide on doing it sometime.
@hunter s You have a great point, I just use their lowers with quality parts and never had an issue! I have purchase PSA "microbest BCG, and I can say that thing is on par with solgw, bcm bcgs and lets not forget my old active army m4 carbine.
@hunter s And here is the I spend my life savings on one rifle so I'm better then everyone guy. Do you ever get sick of smelling your own farts? PSA and Aero are affordable companys with a good product for ppl that don't make as much money.
Lucas : "We're not gonna be mag dumping into trash. We're gonna be shooting like how you would be shooting." Me an Intellectual : "Now that's were you're wrong."
This video was very well done and I appreciate the hell out of it. I first watched it about 10 months ago and it began my journey of building me and Aero Precision M5. The M5 was the first rifle I have ever built part by part. The rifle is now done and I have really like it. Please make more videos like this, not many of us have time and money to figure this stuff out on our own. Be safe out there.
This is a company that is truly for the people, straight to the point , great knowledge, awesome products and top tier costumer service. It’s exactly why I will continue to buy their products and support their business!
For a fact. You wanna talk about mass produced and not a ton of thorough testing, doing a bcm vs psa would be a great comparison in wear, realiability, and accuracy
No joke especially considering you can pick up a PSA "blemished" for $750 with free shipping. Think of the wonderful optics you can buy with the $750 in savings. 🤣
Awesome video. Would love to see more content similar to this video on dd5 v3 or v4 and the sig 716i. As someone who works in the firearm industry,I am asked questions about the ar10 platform daily. Seeing in depth non biased content on these platforms is incredibly beneficial. Thank you trex arms for putting in the leg work. Looking forward to more of this content.
The DD5 would be incredibly interesting to see this test on. DD makes incredibly accurate barrels and durable bolts for their .223 guns in my limited experience. I would love to know if I can expect their same quality from a .308 or 6.5 platform before dropping $2500 on one.
This was very helpful for me to understand some aspects of the AR10 platform I had not considered in the past. I currently own a Springfield Saint .308 and have been looking for ways to improve its performance and realiablity. Seeing the results with the Aero Precision rifle has helped me understand the benefits and weaknesses of the AR10 platform and the parts used for testing. The depths of the video were well thought out and very useful. I hope to see more content like this in the future and continue to respect the contributions T.Rex Arms makes for the firearms community.
I'm glad the AR10 platform is getting some love. I built one a couple of years ago, it was fairly difficult and required a good bit of research in order to get parts that would fit and function together. As well as utilizing a non reciprocating, side charging upper receiver that just added another level of complexity. But I love it!
Palmetto State’s AR-10. I think their version of this rifle is in that every man’s obtainable genre. I am a fan of Aero and I’ve enjoyed every minute of time I put into watching this video. Thank you for making a high quality production video that was easy to consume for the almost 2 hours I watched it.
The pa10 is great, i have almost 3k rounds with most of that being steel case and aside from the rail loosening up it’s been great, zero bcg issues most likely because it’s a tool craft bolt
Great and informative video! My thoughts are... after writing them, I find that they center around the workload you put it through. Maybe not an unfair test, but it was pretty intense and, I would say, fairly extreme, minus mud baths... 1) Was a great pick for testing. It's a popular brand and model. 2) the duty cycle you put it through was tough. Though you cooled it off, it had to be running 'warm' most of the time. 3) 5000 rounds is a LOT of usage. that's 166 - 30 round mags. if a standard load out is 10 mags, that 16 battle days. That's a LOT of usage! If I were in a combat position where my life depended on this piece of kit, I think I would clean my weapon more often than never. If for no other reason, than to monitor it for potential failures. The amount of crud on your fingers during the bolt disassembly was very telling. 4) Zero maintenance, though probably realistic for many users is unrealistic from a longevity perspective. When you buy a new car, you don't plan on just driving cross country over and over while never having maintenance done to it. People who never do maintenance on their weapons should have no expectation that they will run forever. 5) I did think the video was a bit long, but it was also very informative. 6) I found the close up shots of the malfunctions to be poor and not very helpful. In particular, the shots of the bolt carrier breakdown didn't really detail what you were discussing. the broken pin was just a little glob of metal, even on my 50 inch screen at 1080. Thank you so much for taking the time to follow up with AP and telling us about it. That's important info and I'm glad you shared it. I, too, am a fan of AP and have been considering an AR-10 from them. I feel much better informed after watching the video!
Yea I agree with you regarding the maintenance schedule. I would say any consumer (civilian) level firearm owned by a reasonable person would clean and inspect the gun multiple times throughout a 5k round test. You can buy a rifle from Aero for $1,400, or buy one from LMT /sig for $3,500 or knights armaments for $5k+. Personally I would expect the military level weapons like those from LMT/KAC/SIG to fair far better in a 5k round test, but even the military would probably allow for a cleaning in that 5k round period. Finally, I’ve heard a lot of people build Aero AR10s and swap in JP bolt carriers because they are simply better.
I am speaking as a buyer that is not able to spend a few thousand on parts and accessories. So with that in mind I appreciate the transparency and layout of the video. You had multiple different brands of ammo used, you guys also did from what I can see a good torture test for the consumer. I would love to see more of these videos. Also side note we all say hi from wades guns in bellevue! ( you know who I'm talking about) I appreciate you all and have a great day!!!
Aero is an outstanding, and very under rated company. Their in my home state, and always takes care of my profession. They are always happy to get feedback, and takes criticism constructively. They were one of the first companies to make a one piece trigger guard with a rounded guard that’s easier on the middle knuckle when porting the weapon. That came from community feedback.
I haven't seen ONE comment stating the obvious ... that lead sled holder is going to transfer the force generated by the .308 into the rifle and cause damage because it is not allowed to recoil naturally. The force doesn't just disappear when you lock it in to that lead sled, it's getting transferred into the weapon. I'd like to see testing with just bipods and bags to see what overall effect that had on the components of the rifle. I don't know how many rounds were put through the system with that lead sled, but I would imagine it's impact on the rifle were not insignificant.
This is awesome. Shooting 150 rounds and then going on TH-cam and saying how great the rifle is does a terrible disservice the viewers. I notice how y’all usually say “this isn’t a review” in other videos. Now I know what you meant. Good stuff boys.
@@TREXARMS i wouldn't mind seeing a raffle for the test pieces after the projects are done to help recoup some of the costs. can't wait till your next product announcement.
Halfway through watching this, I just want to say thank you for this in-depth detail. I ensure all my friends and myself buy from trex because I can rely on quality products and customer service to take care of me. Thank you for this video, and I look forward to seeing others go through this torture test now time to finish the video :D.
Man watching this whole thing was a stretch but very informative. I’ve been in the process of building an Aero ar10 so watching this gave me some good tips and ideas of what to look into for it while building it instead of having to do this whole process myself. I would love to see a 300 blackout PSA pistol build put to the test like this
Love this content! Sadly, for the reasons you pointed out, there is not more videos like this. Please keep producing these and I'll do my part to support the work. I think it is pretty clear that the next contestant should be a Palmetto State Armory. They're Aero's biggest competitor in the entry level market.
@@bwillems1000 I personally think Aero is a bit higher tier than PSA and S&W. I would be comfortable placing some of Aero's stuff in mid tier. I would likely choose a different barrel and BCG though.
I know they have the ar10 but personally I’ve been eyeing that m1a 308 they sell… thing looks beautiful. While I like psa, I have a feeling they’d give no response about defective stuff. Would Just say to replace it via warranty, that’s it.
AERO PRECISION IS NOT AN ENTRY LEVEL GUN! As soon as I tuned the gas system on both of my m4's and my m5, I have had zero malfunctions over thousands of rounds sent down range! Point of reference... It is never a good idea too run any gun 2300 rounds before cleaning and re-lubing it! The lack of lube actually causes unessisary friction.
This was rad. As a little pet project, I’ve been seeing how far I can push a Aero BCG for 5.56. Currently I’m sitting at about 13K rounds without any parts breakage. Pretty impressed by that
@@warrenharrison9490 haha this is all since like 2019, and most of that was pre-Covid. I actually just rebuilt that gun, new barrel, gas block and tube, and a new BCG. I’m gonna throw that Aero BCG in a DMR build I got going on and see how much longer it lasts
Through the years of watching your videos I’ve always appreciated the excellent quality and detail. I’m glad to finally see some real professional product testing and hope to see more of it, it was a video of yours that sealed the deal for me to go with Glock for my first handgun. You’re a beaming light of truth in a sea of rubbish reviews.
Got a brand new M5 with the Lakewood facility's roll mark, and I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces, seeing how my newer post-T.Rex testing specimen handles. Keep up the good work, Aero Precision and T.Rex Arms!
I genuinely appreciate his honesty. You dont see anyone on TH-cam doing this level of video graphics and quality and being all self funded just to help out the gun community. So I for one will definitely help support this channel. Keep up the great content fellas.
Love this. As far as things to test out going forward - it would be great to see PSA and some more budget rifles (heck, would love to see their dagger run through its paces..) as many of the viewers of your channel are in the position of recommending first rifles to folks joining the community for the first time, and it would be great to see how some of those more "palatable entry rifles" perform.
It's awesome that Trex is in a position and is willing to do a test like this, both expensive and time consuming. I find it's useful in that it's not a 'ultimate-extreme-burndown-mud-freeze-lava-test' and that it's a consumer condition test, I'd love to see some more tests like this.
Daniel Defense AR10, I think, would be a great comparison, as it would (hopefully) be a great baseline for what a battle ready AR10 would look like that's still obtainable to the public.
One of the problems with 308/7.62 guns is the WIDE variety of ammo. Some of the 7.62 loads are quite weakly gassed and some 308 loads are screamers. I"d hate to be the guy deciding how to gas one of these rifles.
I had to bore out my gas port on my criterion barrel after messing with springs and buffers. Put an adjustable gas block on it and turned it to 2 clicks more open from failure to eject/bolt lock back. It was a pain before just boring that port.
@@lighlotus117 sketchy, but I've done it. I got an M&P10 as my first 308. As usual with the first gen of these.....They're undergassed at the port. Measured .064. A .075 bit, a steady hand, and a bore snake will take care of that.
Excellent content. I would love to see how the Sig 716i and the DD5 V3 stack up against this as they are also 16" .308 guns. Would be great to see how the Sig (a few hundred dollars more than the Aero) would do.
My sig 716 patrol gen 1 has about 8500 rounds all original parts. Had a issue when I first bought it, the forward assist pin kept catching the bolt and not allowing it to cycle. sent back to sig n they fixed it. Havent had a FTF(feed or fire) or a FTE since, even in -25°. Overall I've been extremely happy with it and its one of my favorite rifles. Usually only get to about 150 to 200 rounds before cleaning as I dont go out to just dump mags with that gun.
My biggest take away from this is Lucas has never broken a firing pin on an AR before. I thought it was pretty common thing when you get up there in rounds, and a part you want to have an extra on hand. For hardly lubing and cleaning the rifle, and then going suppressed I think it did really well.
@Souwth-bawston-is-fuh-luvahs or just buy a quality bcg and cry once lol. Always just as guuders that always have issues with your guns and need extra parts for range plinking lol
I love your guys view through the scope while your shooting. I have only seen that done in a couple other places. Really helps with get the perspective of what the reticle looks like while firing. This was a kickass video from you guys. I enjoyed the hell out of it. It also was very helpful, because I am currently gathering parts to build my dream AR-10 .308 and your content is going to be very useful in completing that build. Great job!!!
Would definitely love to see more reviews on the SOLGW 308 also the Barrett REC10 those are 2 that I have seen little to no data on. Awesome stuff guys I was completely shocked with amount of work and information you all put into this vid. 👏
Hello T. Rex. Here's my experience so far...... I picked up a completed 308 M5 build from a store/builder in Nebraska. First gun was a single shot! Changed a few parts, did not fix the issue. The issue being not a reliable functioning rifle. Might get through maybe 4 rounds at the most if lucky. And always failed to lock open on the last round. Sent it back to the builder. He said the gas block was not properly aligned. Keep in mind he sent it to me out of alignment if that was the case! The gas block and rod was one of the items changed! He ended up building me a new rifle, because he felt the first was kinda rough when all was said and done. He told me he shot 10 rounds through it, and it worked flawless. The new rifle arrived at my FFL where I picked it up a few days ago. And based on what he said about it working fine, I decided to go ahead and change a few things on the rifle. I put on a different pistol grip, added an Ambi safety, put in a LaRue MBT trigger, and this time when ahead and installed a muzzle break (This was not added to the first gun.) I did remove the hand rail and added a bi-pod M-Lock rail adapter and a M-Lock sling connector. I put the scope and the 45 degree mount with red dot back on the upper receiver. But I did not make any changes to the gas block or the gas rod, or the bolt. Took the new rifle to the range and it is a single shot just like the first rifle!!! When I say single shot, I mean the rifle will fire and eject the case (Sometimes will jam with a double feed, but these are rare), but the bolt will not move far enough to the rear to load a new round from the mag! I have to charge the rifle to load the next round And, just like the first rifle it will not lock the bolt back on the last round! This rifle has not had enough rounds through it yet to be considered broken in I know. But I'm a little hesitant due to all the rounds I fired through the first rifle without fixing the issues, and this rifle already showing the same issues!! I have sent a email to Aero, but have not heard any reply. I think the rifle is under gassed and that the gas port on the 416 BA barrel could be too small, but the builder stated it is the correct size. I really like this rifle and I really want it to work as it should! It is accurate enough. I did zero the first rifle out to 300 yards. Kinda wishing I had just went with a PSA 20" 308! Update: Contacted Ballistic Advantage and explained what it was doing. They agreed with me that it sounded under gassed. They told me what size the gas port should be and what drill bit size I needed. I disassembled the rifle and tried to insert the drill bit in the gas port, it would not fit. I put a cleaning rod in the barrel, put some oil on the bit and around the hole and drilled it out. I cleaned the barrel and made sure there was not shavings in it. I put all the upgrades back on the rifle and took it to a local range. It worked as it should. I fired a full 20 round mag without any issues! I know It needs more rounds down the pipe, and that will happen when I re-zero the rifle at 300 yards. One Shot (Literally)... One Kill!
Thank you for this video! THIS is the kind of content that the gun community needs to develop even further Really enjoyed watching this over the last couple of days and seeing how the gun developed and its flaws revealed Please keep this kind of amazing content up!!
Bought one of these in South Africa and started shootings it last year September. I had a ton of malfunctions. Handloaded some Hornady ELDM168gr in Lapua brass, using Somchem S335 or Vihtavuori N550 or N150. Hand the same issue. Running it with a ASE Utra suppressor as I set it up as a DMR. Battled a ton. 100 round 5-7 stoppages then on day 19 rounds 5 malfunctions. Mostly stove pipes and sometimes a double feed with a stove pipe at the same time. Cases end up turning around inside the ejection port with the BCG jamming it. Ended up with a Odin works adjustable gas block. Gas block was on its 1st click open and the rifle still cycled locking the BCG open after an empty mag. Ejection at 4 o clock. Opened it another 2 clicks and it seems good ejection at 3 o clock. So gas block is open 3 clicks out of 20 possible adjustments. Seems like this is a very over gassed rifle. Has any one had similar issues
I say that I still would recommend it. I've put alittle over a thousand through mine throughout the past year or so I personally haven't had an issue. I assembled it myself too.
Honestly I would say don't bother. I pieced together a build and ended up having to take it to the gunsmith because even though everything looked good on paper it was still having some issues. There are good semi auto 308 rifles they just cost a decent chunk of change. You might get lucky or you may end up taking it to a gunsmith like I did.
Mine is a 20” stainless HBAR. I haven’t put it through a test even remotely this punishing but I do have about 2,800 rounds though it. Only issues I’ve had were mag and ammo related. I did put aftermarket parts though. Lantac Ni bcg. Radian CH, rise armament trigger, heavier buffer spring and adjustable gas block. Had a night force on it but now I have the new eotech 5-25x vudu. Only thing I’d say is if you still want one to just build your own. Buy the stripped upper and lower and part everything else out so you can build it exactly how you want without wasting money on parts your just going to take off.
Great all around video and response from Aero. Definitely impressed. I would love to see more content in this same fashion or similar. Would love to see you test some of the ar10 platforms from other companies such as, PSA, Springfield armory, Alex Pro Firearms, and even Daniel Defense as a slightly more expensive option. I for one would be very interested to know how they stack up to each other, and how they compare against some higher end options.
Wow, an incredible amount of work on display right here.....this is the kind of content people want, and very few, if any are putting it out. Excellent work Lucas and team. Keep it pumping.
As much as it sucks to see an Aero product fail, you definitely gave it a fair shakedown. I have an ar-15 from them, so im hoping to not have any issues with it. Can't wait to finish watching the video, and love everything you do for the 2A! Edit- After watching the end, I am glad to see that Aero is willing to work with you guys to help create a better rifle. It reminds me of the Garand Thumb Psak-74 situation.
So something you seem to miss it that AR-308 rifles aren't the most reliable. Even the Daniel Defense super expensive AR-308 option has reports of it not functioning properly. Getting a 308 AR pattern rifle that works is a bit of a chore, but it's definitely possible if you buy one that is known to work out of the box or you put in the effort to make sure one of the cheaper ones works.
@@Osprey1994definitely. I built mine and getting it to cycle properly because of gas issues was easily the worst part about it. I love it right to death, but I’d rather build another 1911
This is the first 2 hour video I have ever watched on TH-cam, and I can say that Lucas was deserving of that honor. That said, I have some things to say. I built myself an Aero M5 using almost exclusively using Aero-branded parts amidst early COVID and Biden-related supply shortages and posted two videos including a shooting tests to my channel. My 18" M5 was not headspaced and was running a mil-spec trigger. I am not a long-range shooter and I managed a 0.7-0.8 MOA grouping with some terribly reloaded M80 ammo. Say what you will about that, and I admit your mileage will certainly vary. I did not have any malfunctions in the time I had the rifle, and I loved the quality for the price of the parts offered. I specifically selected a barrel directly from Ballistic Advantage, which of course, makes the barrels for Aero. Mine was a budget build, and it was extremely difficult to source parts for. Nonetheless, I was fortunate to find that I was able to get really solid groups out of crap quality M80-type ammo. I have since sold it, and am prepping a new .308 AR, but taking my time to find the parts for something that weighs less than 12 pounds. The lower and upper are both Aero. I am likely going to try to source a different BCG and barrel than was offered through Aero/Ballistic Advantage. I am a law student and do not have a massive budget, but I am damn sure I do not want to buy a rifle that will fail on me under hard conditions. I will say, Lucas did inspire some of that consideration, and I appreciate that T-Rex Arms took the time and expense to make this video. Regardless, I hope that you all do not write off Aero entirely. They are reasonable and workable for most of us, and I implore that you consider the expense against the requirements that you have for your firearm, which is ultimately a tool. Don't buy Snap-On for a job that a Pittsburgh could handle.
T Rex Arms = true patriots. 👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸. I’ve always loved this channel but in my opinion you guys have integrity and character that is uncommon in this day and age. This content is truly on another level and I believe you and Aero both handled a somewhat difficult situation like true professionals. I’d love to see more of this type of content. Thanks T Rex!! 👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸
I have to say Thank You to the entire team at TREX this type of content is so expensive and time consuming, but man as a novice shooter and avid consumer this was priceless information! I think a good video to do would be the same concept on an SR25 or that caliber of .308 rifle, let’s see where the rifles compare and separate. Whether you do that or not I still appreciate the team at TREX!
I didn't know I needed to sit down for 2 straight hours, but here I am at the end of a really awesome and REALLY well done ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ documentary. Not even for 7.62x51, but for 5.56 rifles as well that really addressed use, care, and expectations from any company's products. Everyone involved in this video, directly or indirectly did an absolutely awesome job producing this for all of us. Knowing how Aero responded is just more respect to them. That was great TREX ARMS, GGs.
One thing I noticed, that I didn't like, was the ejection angle. It looked like it was consistently ejecting between 1 and 2 o'clock, suppressed and unsuppressed. The reason it's ejecting at that angle could possibly point to a possible reason for some of the malfunctions. It could be gassing or buffering issues. Just something to consider.
I’m not even a gun owner. I was curious as to what would be a cool first gun that won’t break the bank. I have to say. You’re so in-depth and attentive in your videos. I actually learned a ton about guns just from this one video. Forget guns for a second. I like your business model and integrity. I think it’s honorable what you are doing. It’s clear you really do care about your viewers. It’s refreshing to see. Keep it up. You deserve every view and sub you get man.
a cool first gun that wont break the bank is a PSA AR15 (5.56). you can buy a completed gun, or an assembled Lower and match it with the upper you like from their lineup. Throw a Holosun red dot on it, get a few extra mags, and you're good to go for less than $800 ($600ish for the gun + $150 for the optic + $50 worth of mags). Then just buy a bunch of ammo and go to the range.
@@andrewsanders5774 just get a smith and Wesson m&p15 for like 600 for the base model lol. They actually work right out of the box and do t have to be sent back to the factory 3 times to get a semi functional rifle that’s still out of spec all over lol
All the respect to Lucas and Trex Arms for putting so much effort into this video and in depth review. I am currently building an Aero M5E1 .308 so this was very informative.
Literally building an M5 now from a builders kit, pretty stoked to watch this whole thing. As an editor, big props to whoever cut this up cause I imagine this was an epic project to scrub through.
Tha k you Lucas for taking the time and the resources to make this video. This will help me with my currently built and future AR308 builds in the future!!
I’m impressed with the time, money and effort you put into this. Few people shoot 5000 rounds in a lifetime, let alone one DMR 308 rifle. $7500 in match ammo, isn’t in most people’s gun budget. I value your data above all others. Would love to see a real PSA AR Test, not the puff pieces most TH-camrs do. You are the GOLD standard. Thanks to all the T-Rex team!!
Before I even got to the end of this video I was going to ensure I told you gods that this video was amazing and I cannot verbalize how appreciative I am that you took the time and money to do this. Needless to say I would love to see more of this content (as you are comfortable taking the time and effort to make it) more often
This is the content all industries need. Unbiased, transparent, and showcasing defects. Plus, super educational from a maintenance/repair standpoint. No one has videos showing how something broke, why it broke, and the solution for it. I learned a lot about the BCG from this video. Also huge props to Aero for being open to discussion. That’s the only way companies can improve which really highlights their humility. This was a monster video and feels like a turning point. Keep up the good work Trex 🤙
I built an AR10 in 308 with an Aero upper and lower. The only non aero parts are a cryptic bcg, radian charging handle, and geiselle trigger. It's been one of my favorite rifles. I've recently added a 3-18 scope to use it for deer hunting. Great video and I'm pretty impressed how far the rifle made it unlubed.
@@920WASHBURN .308 Winchester is the civilian designation of the military round 7.62 NATO. 5.56 NATO is the military designation of the .223 Remington. So an AR-15 shoots a .22 caliber bullet, and an AR-10 shoots a .30 caliber bullet. Sometimes AR-10 are in 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a .264 caliber bullet. So .30 > .264 > .22
One of the many reasons I always find myself purchasing from TREX, hope to see content like this that helps us learn more about the arms we like and want. As much as I would love to spend that much on ammo to shoot all the time, I can’t not like you guys. Thank you for all your hard work, information and time invested.
Veteran here, worked with the M4 quite a bit. Biggest tip with the fire pin malfunction, more than likely heat stress, never had an issue with it with my M4, but I also noticed your rifle is dry as a bone, with shooting that damn much definitely coat that interior with CLP, I’ve put couple thousand rounds through an M4 and never had any major malfunctions, did drop it on my acog once or twice though lol. Careful with heating and cooling quickly, strains the whole system
Awesome video. You don't see too many guys doing full 308 reviews and failure tests. I bought a Ruger Sr762 about six months ago. I'm still trying to find out what ammo groups best in it. My vote for the next video of this style is either the new Ruger SFAR, of the Springfield M1A SOCOM.
Great video. As an old school newspaper journalist, I appreciate how y'all approach and handle the topic. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to more videos of this type. Additionally, when I swing back around to rifle purchasing again, I will lean toward the Aero Precision brand. Seeing how well it worked, without "any" maintenance it held up pretty well IMHO.
I have a SFAR and love it .. only have a few 100 rounds but I don’t think it would live for many thousands of rounds … I could be really wrong but don’t think so.
@@23RO that’s just my opinion… hell it’s what I have been carrying while hunting in the NC mountains for a while…. I love it but don’t think it’s made as well as my Sig 716i tho
I would love to see you review the PSA platform for the AR-10; I think that’s one of the big budget options that people rely on and I think it would be really interesting to see.
i ran a firearms retailer for about 12 years. i will say, if you're going budget and want to be below aero, as i honestly think their value is outstanding, i would definitely say go with bear creek. PSA has honestly been nothing but issues for me, both personally and professionally, in comparison to many other vendors. Your mileage may vary, but for the slight price bump to Aero, their guns have Always been outstanding. Bear creek is really solid too, but i still think the Aero value trumps them
@@danielbryce4783 everyone's experience is different. However I have a pa-10 in 6.5 and a psak-47 gf3. They have both been awesome. I'm in a subreddit for ar10s and I'm constantly seeing aero precision m5s with not easily fixable issues like stripped out handgaurd screws or bolt problems. I don't see that from the pa10s. Pa10s are in my opinion great guns to mod the hell out of too. I can't speak of bear creek tho because I don't see much about them other then on TH-cam. Aero seems to make good ar15s tho so I may end up getting one of those at some point.
The time and resources put into this video is appreciated. Well done. Some comparison candidates I'd be interested in seeing would be the DD5 V4, Stag 10, Ruger SFAR, or the Springfield Saint Victor.
I really want to see this kind of review of the SFAR. Nutnfancy and MAC did a general test but nothing like this. Lucas is very very serious about his guns and this clinical approach is something I'd like to see more of.
Id like to see similar endurance tests for: 1. Popular 9mm/.45ACP pistols 2. Different $$$ ranges of AR15s. I feel like this type of video would really help people understand why the cheapest AR might not be the best idea. Seeing how specific parts wear or perform across the low, mid and high tiers. Thanks again for investing in the community. Ive learned a ton and look forward to learning more.
Absolutely love the style of video. I hope you can do it with more brands especially ZEV, Sig, Daniel Defense, Springfield, armory and all kinds of different calibers. Keep up the good work.
Hell, this is a glowing review for Aero as far as I'm concerned. Eating thousands of dollars worth of ammunition *running without lube* before needing a $200 BCG is frankly, impressive.
If you’re ever in the field without loctite, you can use a drop of new skin liquid bandage as a substitute for any bolts or screws backing out. You can also use a drop of super glue.
Outstanding format and very informative. I really like the idea of one rifle being presented in several configurations. My Aero Precision M5 has the Superlative Arms adjustable gas block and Geissele 2 stage trigger, Surefire closed tine comp. Shoots smooth and very controllable with the comp and adjustable block. I haven't tried it suppressed yet...that's coming later. Only a few hundred rounds into it, but we'll see. As I did all the assembly myself, I applied loctite to all screws (hand guard, bolt catch screw). So far, no movement, witness marks unchanged. As demonstrated, mags are a common cause of failure with these rifles, but so far no problems at all using PMAGs, no malfunctions. Having an extra bolt and firing pin could bring a dead gun back to life. Those can easily be stored in the handle or stock of many rifles, and is a good backup for M4's and M5's. As for running a gun with no lube, I can never understand that philosophy. These are mechanical devices that come from the mfg with recommendations for lubrication. Hot metal against hot metal produces severe friction and induces unnecessary stress and accelerated wear on parts. Deliberately running a dry gun as long as possible with no lube just to see when it chokes is akin to dumping all the oil from your truck and running it as long as possible just to see how long it takes to kill it. I wonder if having the adjustable block may decrease the wear on the BCG sufficiently to prolong the life of the parts that were killed in this gun. If Lucas or the T.REX crew needs another Aero M5 to run as a comparison, to see if these kind of issues are a fluke versus a feature of these builds, I'll volunteer mine for part 2 of this series. Kind of curious to see how long it takes for the screwed-on Superlative Arms gas block to work itself loose....
I didn’t think I could possibly respect T.Rex Arms as a company any more than I already did, but this video truly knocked it out of the park. I greatly appreciate that someone took the time and the massive amount of money that they did to perform this test for the good of the community. If possible I would love to see more tests like this in the future, specifically on the FN SCAR 17S, Colt LE6920, Colt LE6920SOCOM, or the FN 15 Military Collector M4.
@@dilldowschwagginz2674 Would it kill you to have a little optimism and appreciation? Of course he is going to make money from this video, if I remember correctly he said so himself. Nobody asked for you to respond to my comment, and if you are any kind of pleasant person to be around offline I’m sure you wouldn’t have replied the way you did in a face-to-face conversation. Nobody on here thinks you’re cool, smart, or funny for posting unprompted, snarky comments on the comments of other people who were minding their own business. Please consider this before you post a thoughtless comment next time. Have a nice day.
Great video, very informative, I just got into Ar-10, a year ago, while being at war (and still there), and got myself a Springfield Saint Victor "16. so far so good.
First of all, RIP Lucas’s shoulder. We have a few points to make, but in general, we look forward to getting the rifle (specifically the BCG) back in hand to understand where and why it’s weak points were exposed during this endurance test. We believe in continuous improvement and will be examining where we can keep developing on this platform.
Our goal is to offer an affordable and reliable base for an AR10 setup. Whether that be for plinking, long-range shooting, hunting, SHTF, or other. This is a rifle platform we have been offering very successfully for years and truly believe it’s great for the vast majority of users. This is proven by the thousands of customers that are successfully and consistently running M5 configured rifles to date. With that being said, the rifle should be built to your specific use case.
Our thoughts…
1. If you are building a rifle for extreme use, we would highly recommend getting the rifle in to it’s final configuration with whatever parts and components you prefer, testing it, and then securing that configuration. Items such as the bolt catch screw and handguard screws can benefit from blue Loctite, especially on the AR10 platform where there is much more force involved. We don’t generally do this from the factory as we aren’t offering a complete “out of the box” rifle and most M5 users are building from scratch, upgrading components, etc. Loctite can be your best friend and your worst enemy.
2. If you are shooting an AR10/M5 rifle suppressed, we highly recommend taking that type of use into account when building and selecting components. There are a couple different components that can and do help lower carrier velocity in the case of suppressed use. What this exact formula is will vary depending on use-case, but generally a rifle or A5 buffer system can greatly help on these large frame rifles. Adjustable gas blocks are another great solution if your use-case permits.
3. We specifically recommend PMAGs with the M5 platform. Through years of use, we have seen the most consistent success with PMAGs and the development of the lower receiver was done specifically with these magazines.
4. Maintenance is important. We understand the point of this specific test, but even military testing protocols require maintenance on this classification of firearm at round counts well before any critical failures occurred here. Specifically, if you run the rifle until it’s dry and fails to operate, you are introducing excessive wear on areas such as the BCG and shortening the lifespan of the part. We would not recommend shooting the rifle 2300+ rounds without maintenance. The BCG was also purchased as a standalone part where there is no lube from the factory as we do not lubricate BCGs that go into individual packaging. This means the rifle ran for 2300 rounds with no lube whatsoever. This point alone could have drastically changed the outcome with the BCG.
5. The BCG specifically is an opportunity area for improvement not just for Aero Precision, but for the AR10 platform in general. We utilize what we would consider the industry standard design for AR10/AR308 BCGs. We have been developing a more robust design that we are confident would perform better in this testing and we look forward to bringing that to market in the future. The current BCG offerings on the market, including ours, is suitable for most users. BUT, there is opportunity here.
None of these are intended to be excuses, but rather are what we think about internally when we review this and consider how we would approach this testing from a “scientific” standpoint. We also are interested to see this testing conducted on competitor products as well. We had some great conversations with Lucas and team at Trex Arms, respect the hell out of them for this thorough content, and look forward to follow-up discussions on this platform.
I mean, just the fact that the BCG ran for 2300+ rounds with no lube is mind blowing in itself.
I'm planning my AR-10 build. Several weeks ago, I was on Aero's website looking at uppers. I noticed that by default the BCG and Charging handle are sold separately.
My question: is this more in-line with your, and I'm paraphrasing, "the customer will want to customize" mentality or do you not trust your BCG vendor?
I realize this question sounds snarky. I realize you probably can't answer it exactly how you may want to. But a lot of people who have some experience in the world are gonna be thinking it.
For the record, Aero's upper is still high on my list of consideration.
Do you feel that the bcg failure was "caused" by lack of maintenance or "accelerated" by lack of maintenance? Is that the failure you would predict? Pushing it to failure seems like useful info. Identifying areas that need extra care is important. I personally do not see their issues as anything that would cause me hesitation buying Aero. I did SMH at not using PMags!
I think that most people still respect the hell out of everything that Aero does, especially since most people won't shoot nearly that many rounds of .308 through their M5. Still, it will be interesting if any change has to occur due to the test that has unfolded. I am interested in seeing how other 1200-dollar Ar10s run through this torture test as well.
@@lhp2a that's a valid question. We trust our vendors or we would not keep a part in the market. It does make it more difficult for us to speak to right away though until we have the part in hand and can review. What we can say is that there are thousands and thousands of these BCGs in circulation and it is a rare instance that we would see a firing pin shear off. Additionally, we have BCGs with many more rounds on it than done in this testing, but we would never run one for 2000+ rounds dry. We can't speak toward how that would perform as that's never a test we would do. I think that plays a big role here. You would not run your car without oil as you understand that would seize your engine.
We offer them separately from the upper simply because we cater to the builder, and we don't want to force someone's hand on having to purchase our part. We would obviously love for customers to use our parts solely, but we believe in supporting customers that want to truly customize every part to their liking.
Can we congratulate the camera team for creating there first full length movie with some badass shots!!! Great job TREX team
I know! The Cinematography performed by the Trex guys is simple amazing. All conducted in a hot range too!
The shot that stood out to me 38:27 is the one where the camera travels the whole length of the 700yd range. Then, we see the aerial cam and Lucas cam sync up with each other side by side in a way that I've never seen before. Really brilliant these guys are.
The background music was a great match for the progression.
Amen to that! Absolutely incredible!
The camera guy is the best shooter at T.REX
I hope people appreciate how much work goes into something like this... and they're putting it out there FOR FREE God Bless
We have even more material on this project on our site too
@@TREXARMS The People's people. Much love from MO sticks
Already am.
People don't understand return on investment
@@blantant Hm seems to me trex has return on investment on a lower priority.
Companies that vaalue a greater empahsis on it would have gotten the gun sponsored as well as the ammo. Say they shot thousands of rounds followed by a shooting montage with maybe a change in shirt. Also since they want moree sponsorships in the future theyll say the ol "shot x rounds with no malfunctions! g2g!.. Also thank you to shadow legends!" que another montage of posing and rifle at different angles.
Found this video AFTER just ordering this exact M5 configuration. This video actually makes me more confident in my decision to purchase. 2300+ rounds dry before malfunctioning is impressive. As a former infantryman I can tell you, you get back from the Qualification range, weapon cleaning/maintenance, you get back from patrol....weapon cleaning/maintenance, it's 5pm on a Friday back in garrison.....you guessed it, weapon cleaning/maintenance lol. All at way lower round counts and CLP is slathered on from a commercial spray bottle. Screws backing off, I personally always blue loctite my critical component screws on my personal systems. Would love to see the same type of test on the Gucci AR10s like LaRue, LMT, LWRC, etc. And even some other budget minded models, like diamondback and similar. Only gripe I have with AERO is me wanting them to have ALL barrels they sell to be dimpled for easier gasblock installs, that's it. But that's purely a convenience complaint. Keep up the good work AERO.
I just got my M5 20" in this week. I would have liked if they continued the test with a different BCG to see if it is an issue specifically with AP BCGs.
Yeah, they're good deals. A lot of the issues he outlined will double the price-tag, if they're actually solved.
Adjustable gas block for suppressed? Costs.
JP Enterprises ultralight BCG and captured spring for reduced recoil? Costs.
Criterion chrome-plated barrel for extended barrel life? Costs.
People that talk crap about "gucci rifles" don't understand that some of them are actually superior... At a cost.
@@manictigerI think he’s aware of the costs of ‘Gucci’ rifles. Dude wants to see a comparison based on those differences.
@@isaactrujillo76
He didn't state that. He said he wanted more from the same system. A manufacturer isn't going to add an entire new process to make something that costs twice as much, unless they think there will be a lot of buyers.
@@manictiger I’m referring to the original commenter we are commenting under.
This is an incredible amount of data collection for an extremely common "off the rack" firearm. No boutique add-ons or modifications, no cinematic mud-test type of gimmicks. This is good science, setting up trials and running the tests. Man. It's such an inspiring sight to see that ya'll went through such a diligent testing curriculum, I hope the information collected is used to better develop this high-potential firearm.
Mud tests aren't a gimmick though. They're a realistic test of how a fire arm will behave in field conditions, in worst case scenarios.
1:46:20 and tested with “no maintenance” 😮
@@Mygg_Jeager Yes for a military unit, sure that makes sense. As a consumer, no. Most of us are going to use AR-15's in 5.56 as a SHTF rifle. If you want an AR-10 as a AHTF rifle, most of them on the market are not the right choice.
@@MegaAndy93 For SHTF, mud is even MORE of an issue. Because you're not gong to have access to high pressure air hoses, hot running water, or a limitless supply of cleaning agents like we have in the military.
Direct impingement can only go so far with CLP and lubricant. I doubt you'll get the full 8,000 round barrel life out of a direct impingement AR15 in a SHTF, because the housing, mag well, bolt carrier assembly, and trigger group will gradually fill up with so much dust, dirt, mud, sand, debris, silica concrete dust, bark chips, and carbon particles that the entire system will seize up eventually.
Unless you're planning on literally never leaving the confines of your bunker or armored vehicle, which seems unlikely.
“SHTF” lol. None of you are gonna have retirement $$ if you keep dressing up and playing make-believe..
You shot 5,000 rounds of 308, grew stubble and began exercising. Truly 308 is God's cartridge
I couldn't even get to 5000 with this gun lol
@@TREXARMS so true
If only God would somehow standardize the round across ammo manufacturers. SAAMI spec apparently is increasingly becoming one of those "not really a rule, more like a guideline" things.
@@oscarleedefur You must've missed the joke.
@the guy you know Sweetwater has a ton of good audio gear, which they likely use for videos and podcasts, and Isaac has mentioned them touring at Sweetwater to learn about their shipping and customer service (because they're known for their amazing customer service)
This is a whole movie. A documentary. I could watch this over and over. Lucas please give us more of this content. This is what the community wants. You’re in the top 3 best 2A educators EVER.
They don’t make money of TH-cam videos, all their TH-cam content is paid for by them and uploaded for free with no returns out of courtesy. Please be more considerate before demanding free 2 hour videos from someone.
Yes being stupid enough to get flamed by the company is what I want to see more of.
@@ericfugal6648Duh he explained that. Lucas literally asked us if we liked this content or not, and asked what we wanna see. I’ve been supporting them since 2019. I’m even in Tennessee.
@@sancfireactual307 Elaborate??
Welcome to the club. Good to see a new comer
So glad I purchased all my build parts for my AR-10 M5 in 308 from AP. Their response to this video is top notch and makes me feel like this is an upper tier manufacturer. This will be my first build for an AR-10 and excited to match the pieces together and have a formidable weapon.
I know this has been stated many times but, to run 2300+ rounds on a BCG with the kind of recoil experienced is impressive . Especially, straight out of the “ box” and not lubricated or minimally at best.
Thanks for the video and looking forward to many more.🇺🇸
@AndreNUTZDEEZ what's even more sad is your ability to articulate yourself in written language.
@greyGG308that’s not a build
The fact that you guys as a company went to the lengths of making this video, especially on the monetary side of it speaks absolute volumes to why T.Rex is absolutely invaluable to this community. Thank you, seriously guys.
Won't they double their money with this vid?
@@forkthepork That'd be the hope, but there are a lot of factors that make it a complete gamble from a business aspect. The primary gain of sale may very well go to Aero Precision, if anything. The pay off of the investment for T.Rex in making this isn't on their books, it's in bolstering the community.
Your ass Kissing doesn’t change the facts. It’s a DPMS LR308 NOT a Stoner AR10. He is comparing apples and tacos. He may sell a perfected DPMS high dollar whore. No one dumps 2800$ in consecutive rounds in an ordinary DPMS LR308 without cleaning lube care and breaking it in. Unless you are worth what this prick is and can Do whatever. This video sell more of his shit and solves nothing for the ordinary person but make them worry and rack up more credit card debt. Asinine all the way around. Aero is just fine.
❤
I’m not gonna lie, You have truly now set the standard on what a “product review” should be. I would love to see more of these in the future if possible!
No kidding! I will never look at reviews the same way again.
*AKOU 4774 has entered the chat
Ditto
I absolutely want to see more videos exactly this one. The information and data created is not only extremely valuable to TREX and it’s followers, but all manufactures in general. From this video alone I would wager that at the very least Aero will make improvements, possibly even others. Lucas, if you’re reading this, thanks man. For this video and all the others and everything else you’re doing. You’ll continue to have my business whenever possible and always have my support.
100% we need more of this as a whole
100%. I've never seen anyone do this to a Wyndham Weaponry, not old bushmaster, and their rifles are sweet.
I would like to see the PSA PA10 put through the same testing soon(ish) as it would be a good comparison of the two budget AR10s prior to branching out into other platforms.
Yeah 300 black out PSA would be nice
Get a Thunder Guns LLC AR10. You’ll get it, it will jam every shot. . . And you’ll never hear from them again.
DPMS
Panther Arms AR-10
@@StuntmanPreciousDon't forget the Ruger SFAR
@@PBRstreetgang88another brick and mortar sized manufacturer with their name on cheap garbage, hope you learned a lesson. Aero is a quality manufacturer, they do however take shortcuts in their accessories which can give a manufacturer a bad name.
Now THAT is how you do a product review! The amount of work and quality of said work on this is remarkable. The data collection, editing, production.. Thank you T.REX ARMS!
I would really enjoy seeing more videos like this with offerings from BCM, S&W, even PSA etc.
I find it admirable that Areo is enthusiastically taking this data to pull as much as humanly possible from it, you don't see that often.
Good to see I'm not alone in the multi thousand round tests that reveal the good and the bad.
Great job guys.
I sent this to T.REX ARMS reply to my comment and it seems to have disappeared... so I am copy/pasting it here in hopes someone will notice. Have a wonderful holiday season FireArms community! "@𝚃𝙴𝚇𝚃 𝙼𝙴👉 ±⓵⓽⓹⓵⓹⓶⓹⓹⓹⓼⓸ I replied to this and the comment seems to have disappeared? Strange... I don't have a phone ATM, and I offered you two Aero M5's with UBR stocks and Geissele SSA's... one has a CMV barrel, the other has a Stainless barrel, @ 140 rounds on the CMV 10 slow rounds on the Stainless. Was going to have the stainless nitrided at 60-80 rounds to test durability and accuracy/viability of stainless compared to CMV. You may have both M5's as well as two 1st gen RMR's 1 MOA and one Trijicon 1-8 scope with Bobro mount to add to your test weapons, so you won... send me a PM, all I ask is you pay for shipping... Have a wonderful holiday!"
I think the editors and the crew that supplements these videos need a hand of applause, too. You are the unsung heroes here. Thank you for making everything come together in a cohesive manner. You're the GOATS here.
You aren't named Lucas by any chance are you?
@@Org80 if that's all you got of this video, you're probably a Daniel Defense guy lol
@@Org80 everything on this channel is over dramatic ...lucas thinks his some sort of ace shooter , his actually very poor wit aim my kid would do much better vs lucas ...and whats wit his sf wanna be bs crash course ...cmon ..his a kid with to much money...he needs to go bach home to mummy to eat a few dinners also as it looks like his starved!!!!
@@NoLimitHonky
There a many reasons why I regretted buying Daniel Defense. Sending rifles to banderites was the final straw.
AGREED! The camera guys and editors have done a great job
This video has sold me on getting an Aero 308. The way this was handled solidified my confidence in your company and product. Thanks to both TRex Arms and Aero Precision.
@greyGG308nothing wrong with Aero
@greyGG308 of course you believe that, you overpayed for DD
@greyGG308 I don’t need to spend that much for a “quality rifle” enjoy wasting your money
@greyGG308 since when are less expensive things crap? You over payed just for a gucci name, while I can build a better rifle for cheaper
@greyGG308 I can’t make it, but I can find parts and put it together, that’s what building rifles is. Did you really think you build all the parts? Lmao
I cannot stress this enough. This is the kind of content that is needed. I've put my money on t-rex before just on the principles you've shown. This cements my confidence. Nothing is perfect, gear, people, etc. But honesty and transparency is priceless, and nowadays it's in low supply. Thank you! ...Edit, would you guys be willing on doing the same test with an Aero Ar-15?
Exactly what I’d love to see. Got one of there m4E1s and it’s got about 2k on it right now. 🧐 not near enough… hopefully gonna change real soon though🤙
@@CookieMonster8C same her got 2200 rounds on my 16in m4e1 doesn't skip a beat and I'm not cleaning it after every shooting either... and also I think they probably used the cheaper phosphate BCG out of the nitride and nickel boron that they make but idk
I had the same question. Completely different set of stressors and function, IMO. (But, please. Lube the gun and maintain it. That’s what consumers do.)
@@robertdrawdy3749 no telling, time will tell. So far so good on my rifle. But ya never know
These super long form and hard to make videos are precisely what the community needs right now. This is basically shows how one rifle would've performed throughout its lifetime and that type of info is invaluable. It's also exactly what creators should focus on. We don't need entertainment. We need quality content that provides usable information. This has that in spades. Good stuff T. Rex Arms. Hope you continue doing testing like this. I'd suggest testing a BCM upper with Aero lower combo next since that's what you typically recommend to us.
I don't think BCM makes a. 308 upper.
@@AstoundLikesWoW Oh shit. You're totally right. Didn't even think about that.
Purely from a production standpoint, the amount of batteries, storage, and clips that the video team would have had to go through is nuts, could not have been an easy job. Awesome job
Videos like this are what TH-cam needs more of.
This was the best most comprehensive consumer test available. You literally spent 65% of my yearly income to provide us with quality information. I would love to see more videos like this one. Would love to see more testing on something from LWRC or LMT
This, tons of respect here. This is what I want to see for firearms as well although the 2 hour vid should have an accompanying executive summary video. Love the anonymous buy, suppress or die attitude, and the endurance test. More of these please. An AR 10 is on my list, I learned a ton here. Can we get some ammo suppliers to help mitigate the cost here. Promote them and I’ll ensure to choose them if they are competitively priced.
He spent $3500 on a rifle, didn't bother to lube it, couldn't hit the broad side of a barn, and gave up 2/3 through the test. In what world was this not an embarrassment?
@@ped200014 by all means holier than thou internet expert. Please start your own channel and do your own impartial review so we can critique you. Until then, shut your anonymous paid shill ass up.
@@___.___._____ Yes I'm the shill. Deep thoughts. Much smart.
@@ped200014 best you’ve got is “ I know you are but what am I?”
Everyone makes holsters, mag carriers, and belts. Even when TRex is out of the color or style that I want, I wait to buy your products because of your values. Not only do you constantly produce incredibly valuable content, but you also support life and liberty.
Aero is also a class-act, and I love my M5.
Keep rockin' guys.
Couldn’t agree more!
Class act customer service
Just based on the interaction you had and knowing Aero generally leans towards building your own gun based on your specific needs, I think I’m even more inclined to purchase Aero products in the future
They do make good budget ARs, certainly better then anderson and psa
@@zack9912000 They also manufacture for multiple ar builders also! Aero been in business longer then most ar manufacturers
It would be interesting to see how a high end 308 rifle that's supposed to be combat ready perfms after 5k rounds... like the sig spear.
Agreed. If that one lasted the full 5k without any serious or catastrophic failures, that would be impressive, and make it a little more arguable that the pricetag is worthwhile. Hope they decide on doing it sometime.
Or the Ruger SFAR
Or dd5v3
I wanna see the sig 716i tread
I'd like to see 5k rounds out of all the above mentioned rifles. I'm looking to buy one, not sure what to get.
I think doing a test like this with a PSA AR would be really interesting. Would probably be extremely beneficial to a lot of people
yes!!!
@@hunters6105 maybe. Either way it would probably help a lot of people.
@hunter s You have a great point, I just use their lowers with quality parts and never had an issue! I have purchase PSA "microbest BCG, and I can say that thing is on par with solgw, bcm bcgs and lets not forget my old active army m4 carbine.
@hunter s And here is the I spend my life savings on one rifle so I'm better then everyone guy. Do you ever get sick of smelling your own farts? PSA and Aero are affordable companys with a good product for ppl that don't make as much money.
@hunter s just saying, the PA-10's in multiple hands, are pulling moa shots consistently
This is gold! Thank you, Lucas and Trex Arms. The community needs more of this type of content.
Yeah, would love to see this done with more rifles to see how they stack compared to each other in a more objective test.
Lucas : "We're not gonna be mag dumping into trash. We're gonna be shooting like how you would be shooting."
Me an Intellectual : "Now that's were you're wrong."
😂😂
Hahaha on point. My current savings goal is to buy enough land to take a dozer and dig out a shoot hole so I can mag dump into trash with my friends 🤘
lol literally🤣
I'm a Navy vet and received firearms training (land and shipboard). I learned WAY more by shooting trash then I ever did in the Navy.
*me with an AR-10 and cinder blocks*
This video was very well done and I appreciate the hell out of it. I first watched it about 10 months ago and it began my journey of building me and Aero Precision M5. The M5 was the first rifle I have ever built part by part. The rifle is now done and I have really like it. Please make more videos like this, not many of us have time and money to figure this stuff out on our own. Be safe out there.
This is a company that is truly for the people, straight to the point , great knowledge, awesome products and top tier costumer service. It’s exactly why I will continue to buy their products and support their business!
I think it’d be worthwhile to do the same testing on some of PSA, S&W M&P sport, or more of the “budget” kind of rifles
Yes please.
For a fact. You wanna talk about mass produced and not a ton of thorough testing, doing a bcm vs psa would be a great comparison in wear, realiability, and accuracy
@@jarodwalker465 I fully agree
Yes please!
No joke especially considering you can pick up a PSA "blemished" for $750 with free shipping. Think of the wonderful optics you can buy with the $750 in savings. 🤣
Awesome video. Would love to see more content similar to this video on dd5 v3 or v4 and the sig 716i. As someone who works in the firearm industry,I am asked questions about the ar10 platform daily. Seeing in depth non biased content on these platforms is incredibly beneficial. Thank you trex arms for putting in the leg work. Looking forward to more of this content.
Ruger SFAR would be another I'd like to see
@Kilgor how many militaries have adopted this?
@@MajorBurns India has a minimum of 6 service rifles. if anything, this proves that the sig is the cheapest one around
Yes Daniel defense AR10
The DD5 would be incredibly interesting to see this test on. DD makes incredibly accurate barrels and durable bolts for their .223 guns in my limited experience. I would love to know if I can expect their same quality from a .308 or 6.5 platform before dropping $2500 on one.
The fact Aero is having an open dialog and not just with you but all of us and not being condisending says a lot about the company.
Kudos Aero
This was very helpful for me to understand some aspects of the AR10 platform I had not considered in the past. I currently own a Springfield Saint .308 and have been looking for ways to improve its performance and realiablity. Seeing the results with the Aero Precision rifle has helped me understand the benefits and weaknesses of the AR10 platform and the parts used for testing. The depths of the video were well thought out and very useful. I hope to see more content like this in the future and continue to respect the contributions T.Rex Arms makes for the firearms community.
I'm glad the AR10 platform is getting some love. I built one a couple of years ago, it was fairly difficult and required a good bit of research in order to get parts that would fit and function together. As well as utilizing a non reciprocating, side charging upper receiver that just added another level of complexity. But I love it!
It’s not an AR10. It’s an LR308. Huge difference!! Huge!!
Palmetto State’s AR-10. I think their version of this rifle is in that every man’s obtainable genre. I am a fan of Aero and I’ve enjoyed every minute of time I put into watching this video. Thank you for making a high quality production video that was easy to consume for the almost 2 hours I watched it.
The pa10 is great, i have almost 3k rounds with most of that being steel case and aside from the rail loosening up it’s been great, zero bcg issues most likely because it’s a tool craft bolt
I’ve got to believe that if your life depended on it, you’d never neglect a piece of equipment this way.
That’s exactly what I was saying… even the letter to aeroprecisionusa, is one sided, as they were never told about the neglect in cleaning
And didn’t they run it dry ?
I bet it would of last long if they actually took care of it
Nah, ARs are trash. AK all the way.
At a minimum even the most idiotic person would still spray the outside of the BCG with some lube.
Great and informative video! My thoughts are... after writing them, I find that they center around the workload you put it through. Maybe not an unfair test, but it was pretty intense and, I would say, fairly extreme, minus mud baths...
1) Was a great pick for testing. It's a popular brand and model.
2) the duty cycle you put it through was tough. Though you cooled it off, it had to be running 'warm' most of the time.
3) 5000 rounds is a LOT of usage. that's 166 - 30 round mags. if a standard load out is 10 mags, that 16 battle days. That's a LOT of usage! If I were in a combat position where my life depended on this piece of kit, I think I would clean my weapon more often than never. If for no other reason, than to monitor it for potential failures. The amount of crud on your fingers during the bolt disassembly was very telling.
4) Zero maintenance, though probably realistic for many users is unrealistic from a longevity perspective. When you buy a new car, you don't plan on just driving cross country over and over while never having maintenance done to it. People who never do maintenance on their weapons should have no expectation that they will run forever.
5) I did think the video was a bit long, but it was also very informative.
6) I found the close up shots of the malfunctions to be poor and not very helpful. In particular, the shots of the bolt carrier breakdown didn't really detail what you were discussing. the broken pin was just a little glob of metal, even on my 50 inch screen at 1080.
Thank you so much for taking the time to follow up with AP and telling us about it. That's important info and I'm glad you shared it. I, too, am a fan of AP and have been considering an AR-10 from them. I feel much better informed after watching the video!
Yea I agree with you regarding the maintenance schedule. I would say any consumer (civilian) level firearm owned by a reasonable person would clean and inspect the gun multiple times throughout a 5k round test. You can buy a rifle from Aero for $1,400, or buy one from LMT /sig for $3,500 or knights armaments for $5k+.
Personally I would expect the military level weapons like those from LMT/KAC/SIG to fair far better in a 5k round test, but even the military would probably allow for a cleaning in that 5k round period.
Finally, I’ve heard a lot of people build Aero AR10s and swap in JP bolt carriers because they are simply better.
I am speaking as a buyer that is not able to spend a few thousand on parts and accessories. So with that in mind I appreciate the transparency and layout of the video. You had multiple different brands of ammo used, you guys also did from what I can see a good torture test for the consumer. I would love to see more of these videos. Also side note we all say hi from wades guns in bellevue! ( you know who I'm talking about) I appreciate you all and have a great day!!!
Aero is an outstanding, and very under rated company. Their in my home state, and always takes care of my profession. They are always happy to get feedback, and takes criticism constructively. They were one of the first companies to make a one piece trigger guard with a rounded guard that’s easier on the middle knuckle when porting the weapon. That came from community feedback.
I haven't seen ONE comment stating the obvious ... that lead sled holder is going to transfer the force generated by the .308 into the rifle and cause damage because it is not allowed to recoil naturally. The force doesn't just disappear when you lock it in to that lead sled, it's getting transferred into the weapon. I'd like to see testing with just bipods and bags to see what overall effect that had on the components of the rifle. I don't know how many rounds were put through the system with that lead sled, but I would imagine it's impact on the rifle were not insignificant.
This is awesome. Shooting 150 rounds and then going on TH-cam and saying how great the rifle is does a terrible disservice the viewers. I notice how y’all usually say “this isn’t a review” in other videos. Now I know what you meant. Good stuff boys.
The next one is going to be even crazier haha
@@TREXARMS DDM4V7
@@TREXARMS SPOILERS haha, love the content
@@TREXARMS i wouldn't mind seeing a raffle for the test pieces after the projects are done to help recoup some of the costs. can't wait till your next product announcement.
Lucas, I really appreciate your approach to this review. I hope you do more long form in-depth reviews like this of other firearms. 👍👍
Halfway through watching this, I just want to say thank you for this in-depth detail. I ensure all my friends and myself buy from trex because I can rely on quality products and customer service to take care of me. Thank you for this video, and I look forward to seeing others go through this torture test now time to finish the video :D.
yeah watch a flood of Aero Videos hit the tube lol.
Man watching this whole thing was a stretch but very informative. I’ve been in the process of building an Aero ar10 so watching this gave me some good tips and ideas of what to look into for it while building it instead of having to do this whole process myself.
I would love to see a 300 blackout PSA pistol build put to the test like this
Love this content! Sadly, for the reasons you pointed out, there is not more videos like this. Please keep producing these and I'll do my part to support the work. I think it is pretty clear that the next contestant should be a Palmetto State Armory. They're Aero's biggest competitor in the entry level market.
That or the Smith & Wesson M&P-10
@@bwillems1000 I personally think Aero is a bit higher tier than PSA and S&W. I would be comfortable placing some of Aero's stuff in mid tier. I would likely choose a different barrel and BCG though.
I know they have the ar10 but personally I’ve been eyeing that m1a 308 they sell… thing looks beautiful.
While I like psa, I have a feeling they’d give no response about defective stuff. Would Just say to replace it via warranty, that’s it.
@@carsonhunt4642 garand thumb did a video on the psa ak and they responded pretty well
AERO PRECISION IS NOT AN ENTRY LEVEL GUN! As soon as I tuned the gas system on both of my m4's and my m5, I have had zero malfunctions over thousands of rounds sent down range! Point of reference... It is never a good idea too run any gun 2300 rounds before cleaning and re-lubing it! The lack of lube actually causes unessisary friction.
This was rad. As a little pet project, I’ve been seeing how far I can push a Aero BCG for 5.56. Currently I’m sitting at about 13K rounds without any parts breakage. Pretty impressed by that
13k with no repairs? That’s awesome, an ak bolt by then would be fried lol
The only thing that would break for me after 13k is my wallet 😂
@@warrenharrison9490 haha this is all since like 2019, and most of that was pre-Covid. I actually just rebuilt that gun, new barrel, gas block and tube, and a new BCG.
I’m gonna throw that Aero BCG in a DMR build I got going on and see how much longer it lasts
Why?
@@TheAcenightcreeper I bought the BCG when funds were tighter than they are now. Now I’m just curious to see just how long it will last
Through the years of watching your videos I’ve always appreciated the excellent quality and detail. I’m glad to finally see some real professional product testing and hope to see more of it, it was a video of yours that sealed the deal for me to go with Glock for my first handgun. You’re a beaming light of truth in a sea of rubbish reviews.
Got a brand new M5 with the Lakewood facility's roll mark, and I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces, seeing how my newer post-T.Rex testing specimen handles. Keep up the good work, Aero Precision and T.Rex Arms!
I genuinely appreciate his honesty. You dont see anyone on TH-cam doing this level of video graphics and quality and being all self funded just to help out the gun community. So I for one will definitely help support this channel. Keep up the great content fellas.
Love this. As far as things to test out going forward - it would be great to see PSA and some more budget rifles (heck, would love to see their dagger run through its paces..) as many of the viewers of your channel are in the position of recommending first rifles to folks joining the community for the first time, and it would be great to see how some of those more "palatable entry rifles" perform.
It's awesome that Trex is in a position and is willing to do a test like this, both expensive and time consuming. I find it's useful in that it's not a 'ultimate-extreme-burndown-mud-freeze-lava-test' and that it's a consumer condition test, I'd love to see some more tests like this.
Daniel Defense AR10, I think, would be a great comparison, as it would (hopefully) be a great baseline for what a battle ready AR10 would look like that's still obtainable to the public.
Wasn't the Danny $1000 more?
One of the problems with 308/7.62 guns is the WIDE variety of ammo. Some of the 7.62 loads are quite weakly gassed and some 308 loads are screamers. I"d hate to be the guy deciding how to gas one of these rifles.
And the lack of standardized parts between platforms
I had to bore out my gas port on my criterion barrel after messing with springs and buffers. Put an adjustable gas block on it and turned it to 2 clicks more open from failure to eject/bolt lock back. It was a pain before just boring that port.
Big farts!
@@lighlotus117 sketchy, but I've done it.
I got an M&P10 as my first 308. As usual with the first gen of these.....They're undergassed at the port. Measured .064. A .075 bit, a steady hand, and a bore snake will take care of that.
@@ImmaSaveUFromMe good lord. doing that without a drill press is sketch af. 😅
Excellent content. I would love to see how the Sig 716i and the DD5 V3 stack up against this as they are also 16" .308 guns. Would be great to see how the Sig (a few hundred dollars more than the Aero) would do.
POF piston no problem, would love to see same test with sig 716. There was a sheriffs office in Cali that tested pof to tens of thousands of rounds.
I can tell you my sig 716i shoots about 5 moa with M80 and 1.5 moa with federal 175gr GMM
My sig 716 patrol gen 1 has about 8500 rounds all original parts. Had a issue when I first bought it, the forward assist pin kept catching the bolt and not allowing it to cycle. sent back to sig n they fixed it. Havent had a FTF(feed or fire) or a FTE since, even in -25°. Overall I've been extremely happy with it and its one of my favorite rifles. Usually only get to about 150 to 200 rounds before cleaning as I dont go out to just dump mags with that gun.
Yeaa I'd be very interested in the sig 716
I’m also interested in seeing Lucas’s findings.
My biggest take away from this is Lucas has never broken a firing pin on an AR before. I thought it was pretty common thing when you get up there in rounds, and a part you want to have an extra on hand. For hardly lubing and cleaning the rifle, and then going suppressed I think it did really well.
I’ve had 10k rounds on my bcm bcg with no failures. Try getting a 158 steel bolt face and throw the poors bcg in the trash lol
@Souwth-bawston-is-fuh-luvahs or just buy a quality bcg and cry once lol. Always just as guuders that always have issues with your guns and need extra parts for range plinking lol
I love your guys view through the scope while your shooting. I have only seen that done in a couple other places. Really helps with get the perspective of what the reticle looks like while firing. This was a kickass video from you guys. I enjoyed the hell out of it. It also was very helpful, because I am currently gathering parts to build my dream AR-10 .308 and your content is going to be very useful in completing that build. Great job!!!
This channel is on a whole different level than the rest.. appreciate you guys!
Would definitely love to see more reviews on the SOLGW 308 also the Barrett REC10 those are 2 that I have seen little to no data on. Awesome stuff guys I was completely shocked with amount of work and information you all put into this vid. 👏
I have to say, I know it's probably super hard and expensive, but I LOVE these movie length videos
Hello T. Rex. Here's my experience so far......
I picked up a completed 308 M5 build from a store/builder in Nebraska. First gun was a single shot! Changed a few parts, did not fix the issue. The issue being not a reliable functioning rifle. Might get through maybe 4 rounds at the most if lucky. And always failed to lock open on the last round. Sent it back to the builder. He said the gas block was not properly aligned. Keep in mind he sent it to me out of alignment if that was the case! The gas block and rod was one of the items changed! He ended up building me a new rifle, because he felt the first was kinda rough when all was said and done. He told me he shot 10 rounds through it, and it worked flawless.
The new rifle arrived at my FFL where I picked it up a few days ago. And based on what he said about it working fine, I decided to go ahead and change a few things on the rifle. I put on a different pistol grip, added an Ambi safety, put in a LaRue MBT trigger, and this time when ahead and installed a muzzle break (This was not added to the first gun.) I did remove the hand rail and added a bi-pod M-Lock rail adapter and a M-Lock sling connector. I put the scope and the 45 degree mount with red dot back on the upper receiver. But I did not make any changes to the gas block or the gas rod, or the bolt. Took the new rifle to the range and it is a single shot just like the first rifle!!! When I say single shot, I mean the rifle will fire and eject the case (Sometimes will jam with a double feed, but these are rare), but the bolt will not move far enough to the rear to load a new round from the mag! I have to charge the rifle to load the next round And, just like the first rifle it will not lock the bolt back on the last round!
This rifle has not had enough rounds through it yet to be considered broken in I know. But I'm a little hesitant due to all the rounds I fired through the first rifle without fixing the issues, and this rifle already showing the same issues!!
I have sent a email to Aero, but have not heard any reply. I think the rifle is under gassed and that the gas port on the 416 BA barrel could be too small, but the builder stated it is the correct size. I really like this rifle and I really want it to work as it should! It is accurate enough. I did zero the first rifle out to 300 yards.
Kinda wishing I had just went with a PSA 20" 308!
Update: Contacted Ballistic Advantage and explained what it was doing. They agreed with me that it sounded under gassed. They told me what size the gas port should be and what drill bit size I needed. I disassembled the rifle and tried to insert the drill bit in the gas port, it would not fit. I put a cleaning rod in the barrel, put some oil on the bit and around the hole and drilled it out. I cleaned the barrel and made sure there was not shavings in it. I put all the upgrades back on the rifle and took it to a local range. It worked as it should. I fired a full 20 round mag without any issues! I know It needs more rounds down the pipe, and that will happen when I re-zero the rifle at 300 yards.
One Shot (Literally)... One Kill!
Thank you for this video!
THIS is the kind of content that the gun community needs to develop even further
Really enjoyed watching this over the last couple of days and seeing how the gun developed and its flaws revealed
Please keep this kind of amazing content up!!
At this point you aren't just pushing the standarts, you are launching them to space and I am totally here for it.
Aerospace precision ;)
Content like this for free!? The value, entertainment and quality is unparalleled. Great data
Bought one of these in South Africa and started shootings it last year September. I had a ton of malfunctions. Handloaded some Hornady ELDM168gr in Lapua brass, using Somchem S335 or Vihtavuori N550 or N150. Hand the same issue. Running it with a ASE Utra suppressor as I set it up as a DMR. Battled a ton. 100 round 5-7 stoppages then on day 19 rounds 5 malfunctions. Mostly stove pipes and sometimes a double feed with a stove pipe at the same time. Cases end up turning around inside the ejection port with the BCG jamming it. Ended up with a Odin works adjustable gas block. Gas block was on its 1st click open and the rifle still cycled locking the BCG open after an empty mag. Ejection at 4 o clock. Opened it another 2 clicks and it seems good ejection at 3 o clock. So gas block is open 3 clicks out of 20 possible adjustments. Seems like this is a very over gassed rifle. Has any one had similar issues
As someone who is familiar with the AR platform and looking to get into a .308, this is great timing.
I say that I still would recommend it. I've put alittle over a thousand through mine throughout the past year or so I personally haven't had an issue. I assembled it myself too.
Honestly I would say don't bother. I pieced together a build and ended up having to take it to the gunsmith because even though everything looked good on paper it was still having some issues. There are good semi auto 308 rifles they just cost a decent chunk of change. You might get lucky or you may end up taking it to a gunsmith like I did.
Mine is a 20” stainless HBAR. I haven’t put it through a test even remotely this punishing but I do have about 2,800 rounds though it. Only issues I’ve had were mag and ammo related. I did put aftermarket parts though. Lantac Ni bcg. Radian CH, rise armament trigger, heavier buffer spring and adjustable gas block. Had a night force on it but now I have the new eotech 5-25x vudu. Only thing I’d say is if you still want one to just build your own. Buy the stripped upper and lower and part everything else out so you can build it exactly how you want without wasting money on parts your just going to take off.
u can also get a 6.5 upper and swap them out in a bout a minute
Got a Daniel Defense DD5 I’m looking to get rid of
Great all around video and response from Aero. Definitely impressed. I would love to see more content in this same fashion or similar. Would love to see you test some of the ar10 platforms from other companies such as, PSA, Springfield armory, Alex Pro Firearms, and even Daniel Defense as a slightly more expensive option. I for one would be very interested to know how they stack up to each other, and how they compare against some higher end options.
Wow, an incredible amount of work on display right here.....this is the kind of content people want, and very few, if any are putting it out. Excellent work Lucas and team. Keep it pumping.
I hadn't even watched the video yet, just read the comment from AeroP and knew this video was excellent content.
They make some of the best lowers in the game. Glad to see aero looks after their customers!
This is amazing. Simply excellent.
You guys are pushing all the envelopes.
💯
As much as it sucks to see an Aero product fail, you definitely gave it a fair shakedown. I have an ar-15 from them, so im hoping to not have any issues with it. Can't wait to finish watching the video, and love everything you do for the 2A!
Edit- After watching the end, I am glad to see that Aero is willing to work with you guys to help create a better rifle. It reminds me of the Garand Thumb Psak-74 situation.
So something you seem to miss it that AR-308 rifles aren't the most reliable. Even the Daniel Defense super expensive AR-308 option has reports of it not functioning properly. Getting a 308 AR pattern rifle that works is a bit of a chore, but it's definitely possible if you buy one that is known to work out of the box or you put in the effort to make sure one of the cheaper ones works.
@@Osprey1994definitely. I built mine and getting it to cycle properly because of gas issues was easily the worst part about it.
I love it right to death, but I’d rather build another 1911
@@Osprey1994 You're totally right, i'm just not very familiar to the platform so this was very eye-opening to me.
@@Osprey1994 This is exactly why the SCAR breaks. .308 is a rough cartridge on Semi or select fire guns. And requires some TOUGH internals.
@@Osprey1994 If the same test was run with the 5.56mm model do you expect it to have performed better?
This is the first 2 hour video I have ever watched on TH-cam, and I can say that Lucas was deserving of that honor.
That said, I have some things to say.
I built myself an Aero M5 using almost exclusively using Aero-branded parts amidst early COVID and Biden-related supply shortages and posted two videos including a shooting tests to my channel.
My 18" M5 was not headspaced and was running a mil-spec trigger. I am not a long-range shooter and I managed a 0.7-0.8 MOA grouping with some terribly reloaded M80 ammo. Say what you will about that, and I admit your mileage will certainly vary.
I did not have any malfunctions in the time I had the rifle, and I loved the quality for the price of the parts offered. I specifically selected a barrel directly from Ballistic Advantage, which of course, makes the barrels for Aero.
Mine was a budget build, and it was extremely difficult to source parts for. Nonetheless, I was fortunate to find that I was able to get really solid groups out of crap quality M80-type ammo. I have since sold it, and am prepping a new .308 AR, but taking my time to find the parts for something that weighs less than 12 pounds.
The lower and upper are both Aero. I am likely going to try to source a different BCG and barrel than was offered through Aero/Ballistic Advantage. I am a law student and do not have a massive budget, but I am damn sure I do not want to buy a rifle that will fail on me under hard conditions. I will say, Lucas did inspire some of that consideration, and I appreciate that T-Rex Arms took the time and expense to make this video.
Regardless, I hope that you all do not write off Aero entirely. They are reasonable and workable for most of us, and I implore that you consider the expense against the requirements that you have for your firearm, which is ultimately a tool. Don't buy Snap-On for a job that a Pittsburgh could handle.
T Rex Arms = true patriots. 👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸. I’ve always loved this channel but in my opinion you guys have integrity and character that is uncommon in this day and age. This content is truly on another level and I believe you and Aero both handled a somewhat difficult situation like true professionals. I’d love to see more of this type of content. Thanks T Rex!! 👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸👍🇺🇸
I have to say Thank You to the entire team at TREX this type of content is so expensive and time consuming, but man as a novice shooter and avid consumer this was priceless information! I think a good video to do would be the same concept on an SR25 or that caliber of .308 rifle, let’s see where the rifles compare and separate. Whether you do that or not I still appreciate the team at TREX!
I know it’s expensive but this kind of review seems to be what many want. Awesome job! Do more like this with other guns.
I didn't know I needed to sit down for 2 straight hours, but here I am at the end of a really awesome and REALLY well done ̶v̶i̶d̶e̶o̶ documentary. Not even for 7.62x51, but for 5.56 rifles as well that really addressed use, care, and expectations from any company's products. Everyone involved in this video, directly or indirectly did an absolutely awesome job producing this for all of us. Knowing how Aero responded is just more respect to them. That was great TREX ARMS, GGs.
One thing I noticed, that I didn't like, was the ejection angle. It looked like it was consistently ejecting between 1 and 2 o'clock, suppressed and unsuppressed. The reason it's ejecting at that angle could possibly point to a possible reason for some of the malfunctions. It could be gassing or buffering issues. Just something to consider.
I’m not even a gun owner. I was curious as to what would be a cool first gun that won’t break the bank. I have to say. You’re so in-depth and attentive in your videos. I actually learned a ton about guns just from this one video. Forget guns for a second. I like your business model and integrity. I think it’s honorable what you are doing. It’s clear you really do care about your viewers. It’s refreshing to see. Keep it up. You deserve every view and sub you get man.
a cool first gun that wont break the bank is a PSA AR15 (5.56). you can buy a completed gun, or an assembled Lower and match it with the upper you like from their lineup. Throw a Holosun red dot on it, get a few extra mags, and you're good to go for less than $800 ($600ish for the gun + $150 for the optic + $50 worth of mags). Then just buy a bunch of ammo and go to the range.
@@andrewsanders5774 just get a smith and Wesson m&p15 for like 600 for the base model lol. They actually work right out of the box and do t have to be sent back to the factory 3 times to get a semi functional rifle that’s still out of spec all over lol
@@HatsuneM1ku01 haha awesome...get a holosun and shoot a couple thousand rounds haha
All the respect to Lucas and Trex Arms for putting so much effort into this video and in depth review. I am currently building an Aero M5E1 .308 so this was very informative.
The adjustable gas block is a must on 308.
Literally building an M5 now from a builders kit, pretty stoked to watch this whole thing. As an editor, big props to whoever cut this up cause I imagine this was an epic project to scrub through.
Tha k you Lucas for taking the time and the resources to make this video. This will help me with my currently built and future AR308 builds in the future!!
I’m impressed with the time, money and effort you put into this. Few people shoot 5000 rounds in a lifetime, let alone one DMR 308 rifle. $7500 in match ammo, isn’t in most people’s gun budget. I value your data above all others. Would love to see a real PSA AR Test, not the puff pieces most TH-camrs do. You are the GOLD standard. Thanks to all the T-Rex team!!
Before I even got to the end of this video I was going to ensure I told you gods that this video was amazing and I cannot verbalize how appreciative I am that you took the time and money to do this. Needless to say I would love to see more of this content (as you are comfortable taking the time and effort to make it) more often
This is the content all industries need. Unbiased, transparent, and showcasing defects. Plus, super educational from a maintenance/repair standpoint. No one has videos showing how something broke, why it broke, and the solution for it. I learned a lot about the BCG from this video. Also huge props to Aero for being open to discussion. That’s the only way companies can improve which really highlights their humility. This was a monster video and feels like a turning point. Keep up the good work Trex 🤙
I built an AR10 in 308 with an Aero upper and lower. The only non aero parts are a cryptic bcg, radian charging handle, and geiselle trigger. It's been one of my favorite rifles. I've recently added a 3-18 scope to use it for deer hunting. Great video and I'm pretty impressed how far the rifle made it unlubed.
What's the difference between 10 and 15?
That's basically exactly what I'm doing, but Wilson combat bcg.
@@920WASHBURN10 is usually chambered in a bigger round like 308 or 6.5 creed as apposed to an ar15 which is usually chambered in 556/223
@@bradenstackhouse1335 I see I see. 308 is bigger than 556? Huh.
@@920WASHBURN .308 Winchester is the civilian designation of the military round 7.62 NATO. 5.56 NATO is the military designation of the .223 Remington. So an AR-15 shoots a .22 caliber bullet, and an AR-10 shoots a .30 caliber bullet. Sometimes AR-10 are in 6.5 Creedmoor, which is a .264 caliber bullet. So .30 > .264 > .22
One of the many reasons I always find myself purchasing from TREX, hope to see content like this that helps us learn more about the arms we like and want. As much as I would love to spend that much on ammo to shoot all the time, I can’t not like you guys. Thank you for all your hard work, information and time invested.
Veteran here, worked with the M4 quite a bit. Biggest tip with the fire pin malfunction, more than likely heat stress, never had an issue with it with my M4, but I also noticed your rifle is dry as a bone, with shooting that damn much definitely coat that interior with CLP, I’ve put couple thousand rounds through an M4 and never had any major malfunctions, did drop it on my acog once or twice though lol.
Careful with heating and cooling quickly, strains the whole system
Clp is life blood
Awesome video. You don't see too many guys doing full 308 reviews and failure tests. I bought a Ruger Sr762 about six months ago. I'm still trying to find out what ammo groups best in it. My vote for the next video of this style is either the new Ruger SFAR, of the Springfield M1A SOCOM.
Your best Groups will come from federal gold medal match 168 grain. If you have a 1 In 10 twist.
@@___meph___4547 ruger and DD both testified saying the ATF should NOT be abolished and they play an important role if that changes your mind…
Great video. As an old school newspaper journalist, I appreciate how y'all approach and handle the topic. Thank you, and I'm looking forward to more videos of this type.
Additionally, when I swing back around to rifle purchasing again, I will lean toward the Aero Precision brand. Seeing how well it worked, without "any" maintenance it held up pretty well IMHO.
I think the Ruger SFAR deserves your test drive. Doing these reviews, this is where your youtube videos will get a boost in subscribers.
I think the Ruger is even more enthusiast oriented compared to the aero. I don't think it would stand up well through high round counts,
I have a SFAR and love it .. only have a few 100 rounds but I don’t think it would live for many thousands of rounds … I could be really wrong but don’t think so.
That’s a small frame AR10. Hard to compare it exactly to the more “standard” ar10 platform.
@@nataliedeyton6829 If it don't hold up, why would Ruger take manufacture cost to reproduce ? Its obvious that it holds testing.
@@23RO that’s just my opinion… hell it’s what I have been carrying while hunting in the NC mountains for a while…. I love it but don’t think it’s made as well as my Sig 716i tho
An EXCEPTIONAL video. Well done to Lukas and the production team for producing such a comprehensive review. Great work!
What up to 108 with a rifle change the color FM
I would love to see you review the PSA platform for the AR-10; I think that’s one of the big budget options that people rely on and I think it would be really interesting to see.
Or bear creek Arsenal
I was just thinking of saying this
i ran a firearms retailer for about 12 years. i will say, if you're going budget and want to be below aero, as i honestly think their value is outstanding, i would definitely say go with bear creek. PSA has honestly been nothing but issues for me, both personally and professionally, in comparison to many other vendors. Your mileage may vary, but for the slight price bump to Aero, their guns have Always been outstanding. Bear creek is really solid too, but i still think the Aero value trumps them
@@danielbryce4783 everyone's experience is different. However I have a pa-10 in 6.5 and a psak-47 gf3. They have both been awesome. I'm in a subreddit for ar10s and I'm constantly seeing aero precision m5s with not easily fixable issues like stripped out handgaurd screws or bolt problems. I don't see that from the pa10s. Pa10s are in my opinion great guns to mod the hell out of too. I can't speak of bear creek tho because I don't see much about them other then on TH-cam. Aero seems to make good ar15s tho so I may end up getting one of those at some point.
@@orrins7904 brokey, get your bread up.😂
The time and resources put into this video is appreciated. Well done. Some comparison candidates I'd be interested in seeing would be the DD5 V4, Stag 10, Ruger SFAR, or the Springfield Saint Victor.
I really want to see this kind of review of the SFAR. Nutnfancy and MAC did a general test but nothing like this. Lucas is very very serious about his guns and this clinical approach is something I'd like to see more of.
@@Vilkas2013I agree! I'm super interested in the Ruger SFAR
Id like to see similar endurance tests for:
1. Popular 9mm/.45ACP pistols
2. Different $$$ ranges of AR15s. I feel like this type of video would really help people understand why the cheapest AR might not be the best idea. Seeing how specific parts wear or perform across the low, mid and high tiers.
Thanks again for investing in the community. Ive learned a ton and look forward to learning more.
Absolutely love the style of video. I hope you can do it with more brands especially ZEV, Sig, Daniel Defense, Springfield, armory
and all kinds of different calibers. Keep up the good work.
Hell, this is a glowing review for Aero as far as I'm concerned. Eating thousands of dollars worth of ammunition *running without lube* before needing a $200 BCG is frankly, impressive.
If you’re ever in the field without loctite, you can use a drop of new skin liquid bandage as a substitute for any bolts or screws backing out. You can also use a drop of super glue.
I found some flat black and dang near flat OD nail polish years ago. Works to patch rain gear, cover wounds and knock down shine on metal.
Outstanding format and very informative. I really like the idea of one rifle being presented in several configurations.
My Aero Precision M5 has the Superlative Arms adjustable gas block and Geissele 2 stage trigger, Surefire closed tine comp. Shoots smooth and very controllable with the comp and adjustable block. I haven't tried it suppressed yet...that's coming later. Only a few hundred rounds into it, but we'll see. As I did all the assembly myself, I applied loctite to all screws (hand guard, bolt catch screw). So far, no movement, witness marks unchanged. As demonstrated, mags are a common cause of failure with these rifles, but so far no problems at all using PMAGs, no malfunctions.
Having an extra bolt and firing pin could bring a dead gun back to life. Those can easily be stored in the handle or stock of many rifles, and is a good backup for M4's and M5's.
As for running a gun with no lube, I can never understand that philosophy. These are mechanical devices that come from the mfg with recommendations for lubrication. Hot metal against hot metal produces severe friction and induces unnecessary stress and accelerated wear on parts. Deliberately running a dry gun as long as possible with no lube just to see when it chokes is akin to dumping all the oil from your truck and running it as long as possible just to see how long it takes to kill it.
I wonder if having the adjustable block may decrease the wear on the BCG sufficiently to prolong the life of the parts that were killed in this gun.
If Lucas or the T.REX crew needs another Aero M5 to run as a comparison, to see if these kind of issues are a fluke versus a feature of these builds, I'll volunteer mine for part 2 of this series. Kind of curious to see how long it takes for the screwed-on Superlative Arms gas block to work itself loose....
I didn’t think I could possibly respect T.Rex Arms as a company any more than I already did, but this video truly knocked it out of the park. I greatly appreciate that someone took the time and the massive amount of money that they did to perform this test for the good of the community. If possible I would love to see more tests like this in the future, specifically on the FN SCAR 17S, Colt LE6920, Colt LE6920SOCOM, or the FN 15 Military Collector M4.
For the good of the community??? Lmao. He'll make more money from this upload than you will all year. Get a grip. He's a professional larper
@@dilldowschwagginz2674 Would it kill you to have a little optimism and appreciation? Of course he is going to make money from this video, if I remember correctly he said so himself. Nobody asked for you to respond to my comment, and if you are any kind of pleasant person to be around offline I’m sure you wouldn’t have replied the way you did in a face-to-face conversation. Nobody on here thinks you’re cool, smart, or funny for posting unprompted, snarky comments on the comments of other people who were minding their own business. Please consider this before you post a thoughtless comment next time. Have a nice day.
@@epicsage16
That guy was wrong in how he replied. What he should have said is "grifter". Only grifters take money from anti-2A video game developers.
These are the videos that matter. Appreciate so much what you all do at T-Rex arms. More of this please!
Great video, very informative, I just got into Ar-10, a year ago, while being at war (and still there), and got myself a Springfield Saint Victor "16. so far so good.