Mk-11 vs. SR25 DMR style rifle

[Joelski]

Not to instigate a war, but this place needs a discussion. :flashbang: :)

So, beyond caliber and obvious distance, what the advantages/drawbacks of each? Which would, or did you build and why? Post pics, extol your bias and sell me my next build!

[Slippers]

My sr25-fu isn't the best but isn't the mk11 just an sr25 with a shorter barrel?

[gatordev]

I'm confused. The MK11 is (basically) a SR25 ECR. While my ECR has an URX 3.1 rail, there are others out there that have the 2.0 rail (Operation Parts has a few on sale right now) that are still basically the ECR with the "old" rail. So what are you asking? The MK11, by definition is a 20" barrel, so when you mention "SR25 DMR," are you referring to something other than 20"?

[UWone77]

Not to instigate a war, but this place needs a discussion. :flashbang: :)

So, beyond caliber and obvious distance, what the advantages/drawbacks of each? Which would, or did you build and why? Post pics, extol your bias and sell me my next build!

[Joelski]

I'm learning. See, I thought the MK 11 was an 18" 5.56 and the SR 25 was a 7.62. I was referring to both loosely as DMR's. I'm sure purists are having seizures and gushing shit out of every orifice. :)

I'm clearly not striving for period correct, museum quality or any other word that basically means not used. I want to know what people that shoot guns consider the nicer pieces in the vein of what I asked about, but I'm not putting fake scratches on it, they're going to be real.

[DutyUse]

I'm sure you don't want to hear this... But it really depends on what your intended use is. If it's just something for 2nd kind of cool id say the 762.

I'm not picking on you, but you really need to establish what void in your arsenal needs attention and going from there. If not you'll wind up with a lot of guns that all do exactly the same thing but look slightly different.

[Slippers]

18" 5.56 would be the mk12. There are several variants which use different stocks and handguard systems. If you want something that is very close to the "real" thing, Monty at Centurion Arms sells a mk12 mod 1 upper receiver group. All the reviews I've ever seen for it are excellent.

If you want to roll your own you can save a lot of weight by using a different handguard than the mod 0 PRI tube or mod 1 KAC RAS.

Off the shelf barrel choices I would consider:
WOA 18" SPR
Noveske 18" SPR
BCM 18" SS410

Or go crazy and get a Krieger, or Shilen, etc.

Find a nice scope, scope mount and your favorite trigger, and the rest of the parts are just filling in.

[Dstrbdmedic167]

18" 5.56 would be the mk12. There are several variants which use different stocks and handguard systems. If you want something that is very close to the "real" thing, Monty at Centurion Arms sells a mk12 mod 1 upper receiver group. All the reviews I've ever seen for it are excellent.

If you want to roll your own you can save a lot of weight by using a different handguard than the mod 0 PRI tube or mod 1 KAC RAS.

Off the shelf barrel choices I would consider:
WOA 18" SPR
Noveske 18" SPR
BCM 18" SS410

Or go crazy and get a Krieger, or Shilen, etc.

Find a nice scope, scope mount and your favorite trigger, and the rest of the parts are just filling in.

That's until we shoot my 17.7" hanson barrel...

[Joelski]

Good stuff! I can only read so much before it all muses together.

I'm looking for longer range, but I have no delusions of "precision" targeting at long distance (call it 800-900 yards). I'll be tickled to hear the gong. That doesn't mean I want to slap together a shit rifle, or spend a fortune, either. I. Probably leaning toward 7.62, upper mid-grade stuff with a really nice trigger, bolt and optic. My SBR and carbine will be completed following upgrades of the optics and rails. Everything else is top shelf, so that's how I want to do this up

[Slippers]

It's hard to hear hits at 600+ with 5.56, even on free swinging plates. 7.62 generally no problem though.

Also keep in mind your ammo. You'll need to use 175 gr smk or equivalent for reaching past 700. 168s start to tumble around there depending on the velocity.

[Joelski]

Another consideration is that realistically, I'll be at a 400 yd range far more often than anything I consider super long, with the exception being friends who own farm land and don't mind some long distance shooting on ocassion. I still want the capacity for some longer shots, again without killing my bank account. Is there a magic number on distance where you cross into insane, cubic dollars to reach the target reliably?

[Slippers]

It's not that expensive to get out to 1000 in 308. Something like a bone stock savage 110 with federal gold medal match 175s will do it no problem.

Doing it with a gas gun costs a lot more simply because the rifles cost more.

[UWone77]

It's not that expensive to get out to 1000 in 308. Something like a bone stock savage 110 with federal gold medal match 178s will do it no problem.

Doing it with a gas gun costs a lot more simply because the rifles cost more.

My buddy used to have a Savage 110 in .338 Lapua. That thing was a tack driver at 1000. I think he only paid about 1k for the stock rifle.

[gatordev]

Slippers, you keep mentioning 178 SMKs, but 175 work just fine. I know you know this, but at the end of the day, picking the grain of the bullet should also relate to the twist rate.

Regarding the CA MK12...It's awesome. I wrote up a small review here in it's own thread. I haven't seen his MK12s in stock for a while though because the KAC RAS rail isn't made anymore. Supposedly another batch will come out in December, but KAC doesn't apparently have a contract for them right now, so it's not worth their time to make them for the civilian side. I think Monty still occasionally has the barrels for sale, though.

Joelski, if you're interested in something close to a SR-25 for not a ton of money, I'd grab a Mega matched billet set in .308, then buy your barrel of choice (a 1/11.25 is the "spec" and will love 175 SMKs), grab your other parts and send them all off to Rainier and have them build it up (or build it yourself if you have the tools). The Mega MATEN matches the SR-25 form and standard (slant cut rear receiver, but DPMS mag and barrel compatibility). Here's an old pic of my Mega lower (it's on a SR-25 upper back when I lived in a place that didn't allow SR-25s in the state):



If you had a matching Mega upper, it wouldn't have the bulge by the receiver extension (if you care about such things), but you'd have a nice rifle for not a ton of money. I've debated selling a M1A Scout I have and using the proceeds to make a .308 carbine with my Mega lower, which could be another option for you.

Or you could go to Operation Parts and grab one of their government resale ECRs for ~$3500, which is a SCREAMING deal for a SR-25 ECR.

[Joelski]

Okay, I think I confused some recent talk about barrel flop and longer barrels impacting accuracy (don't see anything more than math affecting my accuracy), so that's where I got the 18" because that was suggested as the sweet spot between length for accuracy vs. barrel resonance. What's your opinion on this? Like I said, I'm not shooting a raisin at 1,500 yards, so much beyond 1,000 will be no-no land for me. I just don't have a sniper's process for calculating that kind of stuff. I'm way more of a open space plinker than a rifle range guy!