Top .223/.308 Combos for TSHTF
billj 02.17.14
After this year’s SHOT, I’m on a new kick: pairing up the best AR-10 and AR-15 single-maker combos that I can find in order to build a truly ridiculous SHTF arsenal. Yeah, it’s overboard and impractical, and there are definitely smarter ways to spend prepping money, but you gotta admit that the idea of a safe full of 5.56 and 7.62 paired battle rifles is pretty cool.
Plus, right now the AR market is really soft. Guns are selling on auction sites at some 20 to 30% off of list. With the market as soft as it is, now is the perfect time to fill up your safe with whatever you’ve been pining for.
I’m starting with my existing collection as a base, and specifically my pair of LMT ARs: I’ve got the LMT LM8 in 5.56 and the LMT LM8MWS in .308 (more info in this pdf). Building on this theme, my requirements are roughly the following.
- The rifles should be battle proven and in use by one of the world’s militaries.
- The rifles don’t necessarily have to be AR-format rifles. They just need to shoot 5.56 and 7.62.
- The rifles should have some amount of modularity and parts interchangeability.
- This last requirement is probably redundant to the first one, but they should be high-end, high-quality, no-expenses-spared awesome.
Here are some .223/.308 rifle pairs that I fantasize about adding to my safe to keep my LMTs company, in roughly the order that I’d like to add them.
H&K MR556 and MR762
I know that you probably already know these two guns, but for the noobs, here’s the quick lowdown: the MR556 is H&K’s piston-driven “evolution” of the AR design. It’s also the civilian version of the 416, made famous as the gun that Seal Team Six used to deliver a bullet to Bin Laden’s brain. The MR762 is the MR556’s larger-caliber brother, and it is currently in use in a number of roles by various SWAT units and probably some military groups that I don’t know about.
Depending on who you talk to, these are either two of the finest rifles ever made, or they’re overpriced German gimmick guns that have been loaded down with a bunch of proprietary nonsense. I think they may be a little of both. Either way, I’m a buyer, mainly because I’ve never known anyone who owns one to do anything less than rave about it.
LWRC M6A2 and LWRC REPR with Spiral Fluted Barrels
I’ve you’ve not yet handled an LWRC REPR or M6A2 with a weight-saving spiral-fluted barrel, then consider yourself lucky. You get to go to sleep at night and not dream of the piston-driven, blinged out awesomeness that is LWRC. (If you like the picture above, there are more here.) What can I say? These guns just push all my man buttons.
I could actually consider replacing the 5.56 part of this pair with one of the Six8 designs chambered in 6.8 SPC, just to add some caliber flexibility to my collection. The Six8 is a semi-auto civilian version of the gun that LWRC is producing for the Saudi military.
FN SCAR 16s and SCAR 17s
Controversy! Is the SCAR 16s a plastic and aluminum solution looking for a problem, or is it the ultimate successor to the venerable AR platform? I don’t have the answer, but I want to get my hands on one of these bad boys. And if I hate it, or if the reciprocating charging handle breaks my thumb, I can always flip it on Gunbroker.
There’s less controversy about the SCAR 17s. It is by all accounts one of the very best ways to send .308 ammo down the two-way range. To be honest, this is one pair where I’d pick up the .308 gun first, then move on and maybe circle back for the 5.56 once my collection is done.
In fact, what I’ll probably do is pair the SCAR 17s with the IWI Tavor. I know it doesn’t really fit the theme, but that’s realistically what is most likely to happen with my collection.
Alright, that’s the contents of my dream AR safe, circa 2016. Now I want to know what I’m missing. Is there another 5.56/.308 dream combo out there that fits my requirements? The LaRue PredatOBR in 7.62 and 5.56, perhaps? What say ye?
