Monday, November 14, 2016

DPMS Oracle AR-10 Build (Part 1)

I recently purchased a DPMS Oracle AR-10 which is somewhat of a budget model AR-10.  I'm not an incredible fan of tactical looking weapons but the capability and limited recoil of the AR platform is impressive.  My young son and daughter could shoot this without the complaints on recoil.  

I could have purchased a more expensive model but I don't particularly like the handguards on most ARs as they are too tactical.  With this particular model, I can upgrade it to suit my exact needs.  Additionally, I can select components which are as light as possible to make this gun easier to carry around.



The first upgrade planned for the rifle is to switch out the standard grip which is a hard plastic.  I removed it and weighed it on a small scale and it weighs 2.0 oz.  The plan was to find one better for the about the same weight (or less if possible).

I found a Magpul MOE K2 grip and ordered it.  Unfortunately, it arrived and I found it does not fit the back contour of the lower as I wanted.  The grip continues up the backside of the rifle and there is a gap.  While I liked that it weighs only 1.8 oz but it simply will not work.

I swapped the Magpul out of an Ergo grip which was on my AR15.  It fits much better so I put the Magpul MOE K2 on the AR15.  I weighed the Ergo grip and it is 2.2 oz.  It weights a little more than the stock grip but it is so much more comfortable.  I don't know that I could justify switching to something else now for .2 oz loss.

For reference, the stock hardware was .3 oz so I used the Magpul bolt as it was .2 oz.  Its crazy to weigh the bolt but I had it all out so why not.