I decided I was going to get in on the bush pig bandwagon, but being me I wanted something a bit different to your average .308 hunting rifle cut down and suppressed. After years of hunting with and shooting AR rifles in competition, I wanted something with more power but the same overall size and weight. There are no AR10 type rifles in the country at the moment, that come close to the weight of a basic AR15 carbine. Most of the ones I have handled have been pigs. Plus they are usually up there in terms of money. I had seen the MDT LSS chassis system on the Canadian gun boards, and had always been intrigued. I wasn’t quite sure what they would be like on a hunting rifle, but they looked like they would offer some of the ergonomic benefits of an AR such as a pistol grip and adjustable stock. So when I saw digit selling them cheaper than I could import one, I scraped some cash together and gave it a go.
I had a bog standard Remington 700 SPS .308 from an impulse buy, which turned out to be a very good shooting rifle, even with the shitty plastic stock and non floating barrel. I got it on trademe for $600 in basically new condition. With the 24” tube, I could get faster than book velocity and it stacked 168gr A max on one another with three different loads. Probably the easiest gun I’ve ever hand loaded for. I bolted it into my LSS when it turned up, and at full length it was a bit goofy, but still fairly well balanced.
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I had long decided to have the barrel trimmed to 16” though since I had intended it to be a bush gun, and I had always wanted a short .308. I sent it off to Darren at DPT to have it cut and threaded. I also bought one of his modular muzzle cans while I was at it. When I got it back, it was basically perfect. The build had turned out exactly how I wanted it too. The short barrel improved the balance and shed a significant amount of weight. It was now the same size as my M4, and at least as light if not lighter. I should give kudos to Darren who did a nice job with the chop and thread. The suppressor was also excellent. Well machined and very light.
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On to the chassis itself, everything about it is quality. I can’t find any blemishes in the machining or Cerakote finish. I got one of the packages from digit, which included the chassis, a Magpul MOE stock, carbine buffer tube, Magpul MOE+ grip, and one of MDT’s own 10 round AI type mags. The chassis magwell has a common AI/AK type release paddle. The mag snaps into place nicely, although it does have an amount of play when seated. However it does not seem to wobble and make noise while hunting, which would aggravate me. It is a very nicely made and economically priced polymer mag. If you have a platform that uses AI mags I would highly recommend them. Feeding is positive and smooth. It comes standard with a QD sling stud up front for a Harris style bipod, or an adapter for a Versapod which is what I am currently using. The Versapod adapters are heavy, ugly abortions and can upset the feel of a lot of guns, it does not seem to be so bad on the LSS though. MDT make a small piccatinny rail section to go in place of the stud, for the Atlas users out there. The top of the chassis handguard is also threaded for an EFR mount, which MDT also do, which will allow you to fit a Night Vision clip on in front of your day optic. Speaking of the handguard, it is probably one thing I’m not fully keen on, it is very skinny leaving little surface area for off hand shooting, though I understand it keeps the weight down. In the field I usually find myself holding the rig just in front of the magazine which seems to be the balance point. Perhaps MDT will revise the design, with an AR receiver thread so that the end user and screw on one of the many handguards available to suit their taste.
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After the chop, I decided to move to a 155gr bullet with a faster powder to try and get some speed back. I loaded some 155gr Nosler Custom Comp bullets into Lapua brass with some ADI BM8208. With a max charge I can get a hair under 2700fps, which I thought was pretty good for a 16” .308, but it shoots tighter around 2650fps. This leads to the next gripe. With the reduction in weight, and the skinny hard recoil pad supplied with the Magpul stock, recoil is fairly vicious, and after 25 odd rounds my shoulder was totally shagged. Luckily Magpul do a much thicker recoil pad for their stocks, which I have got as an upgrade. Other than the recoil, it felt very much like shooting and AR rifle. The DPT can performs great and is probably one of the quietest I have heard. I fired a few shots without ear pro and the “sting” I am used to with other cans wasn’t there. It is quieter than my AR’s which sometimes wear an older DPT muzzle can.
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I have taken the build hunting once so far and it carries great. Am yet to shoot anything with it, but it has turned out exactly how I envisioned it, which barely ever is the case when I have a crazy idea for a project.
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IMO these little chassis excel in short barrel bolt gun builds. With a 16” tube and the stock collapsed, it is small enough to strap to the side of your pack on a long walk if you are not hunting, such as on the way through Poronui Station. I think if you are an AR shooter that has a bolt action gathering dust in the safe, one of these would be a great way to liven it up into something that matches the feel of your black rifles but has a little more punch. Also have a think about it for other projects as well. If you are doing a target/LR build, and you want a good stock, and detachable AI mags, this might be a sensible option, as it has both of those features and might be cheaper than a premium stock + the AI mag kit . Well worth the purchase.
Cheers, B
