Posted on 02/12/2016 6:41:50 AM PST by w1n1
The Aero Precision M5E1 is a logical development from their more basic M5 .308 autoloading rifle. It is positioned as a firearm that's practical in the field, yet more accurate and capable of sustained fire than typical hunting or defense rifles.
The main upgrade is the strengthened receiver designed to give monolithic-rail effects without its logistical disadvantage, namely the difficulty of changing the forend. The area where the free-floated hand guard and the barrel attach to the receiver has been beefed up relative to the typical AR-10-style guns.
The mounting surface for the forend is machined into the upper receiver, so the free-floated rail attaches with just four pairs of screws and no need for additional rings or hardware.
The rifle I tested was a combination of all three variants offered by Aero Precision. It came with an adjustable Magpul CTR stock designed for the 16-inch carbine, a 15-inch forend for an 18-inch midlength rifle and a 20-inch barrel for a full-length rifle. The goal was to have a relatively handy weapon yielding maximum muzzle velocity. A variable-length stock allowed adjustments for various shooting positions and for body armor. Of the two colors available, I chose the flat dark earth cerakote, mainly to reduce the gun's visibility and its tendency to warm up in direct sunlight during hot Tennessee summers.
The edges of the receiver and the forend have all been carefully chamfered and smoothed, making gloveless handling comfortable. Extensively ventilated KeyMod handguards with a full-length Picatinny top rail proved well suited for field use, requiring only a short rail segment up front for the bipod, or a direct KeyMod bipod stud. The stock offered a quick-detach socket on both sides, and the QD rail-mounted receptacle for the front of the sling completed this field-ready rifle.
In cold weather, the all-metal forend would be insulated with rail covers, while in warmer weather, free air flow around the barrel would take priority. Due to the long barrel, the rifle starts out front-heavy, but adding a scope and a full 20-round magazine brings the balance to the front of the magazine well. Read the rest of this .308 M5E1 review here.
Thanks for posting this! Ive been poking around the ‘AR10’ market and this one gets very good reviews consistently.
Lovely.
Great hog gun. Some ammo testing required to reduce group size.
It scares me. It looks like it takes an automatic high capacity banana clip and would be easily modified to carry scary bayonet lugs. And a hand grenade launcher. And it is black (some of it...).
Oh, woe is me! I’m terrified. Someone get me my flannel pajamas and a cup of hot chocolate!
Looks like freedom to me, albeit very expensive freedom.
‘Looks like freedom to me, albeit very expensive freedom’
Yes! It will liberate many dollars from your wallet.
pinned
Nice rifle. 0.75 MOA with Prvi Partisan 175 grain match ammo is very nice for a semi-auto...and handloads should bring that down to about 0.5 MOA. For $1,300-$1,600 for a .308, that’s not bad at all. The barrel needs to be a bit longer (22” or 24”) to take full advantage of its long-range capabilities.
I wonder what it’d do with a Bartlein or similar barrel with an 11.25:1 twist ratio and 5R milspec rifling - that’s what the M40s use, and for good reason.
I do love the .308 cartridge... lot and lots of options when making up reloads. I stocked up on once fired 7.62x51 NATO surplus brass a few years ago before the military stopped selling it to people who were reloading using it. It is slightly heavier than standard .308 and very nice. Now apparently, the Obama administration only allows the DOD to sell it to companies who destroy and scrap it. It is a terrible waste of good brass.
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