.308 Winchester, By the Numbers
.308 Winchester was introduced in 1952 as the commercial version of what became 7.62x51 NATO, and it has been the reference short-action .30-caliber cartridge ever since: the round most match ammunition, most factory loads, and most AR-10 rifles are built around. It is the cartridge the DPMS / LR-308 pattern was designed for, so a .308 barrel is the baseline every other large-frame AR barrel is measured against, and it shares its bolt, upper, and magazines with the 6.5 Creedmoor and 8.6 Blackout barrels in the MATCH-X line.
A 1:10 twist is the standard for a .308 precision barrel: it fully stabilizes the 168 and 175 gr match bullets and the 180 gr hunting loads at 20″ velocities and handles 147 gr ball and 7.62x51 NATO. Twenty inches is the length the cartridge is best at, giving up only about 50 to 75 fps to a 24″ while balancing far better in an AR-10, and it is the length most .308 match ammunition is developed around. The 168 gr ELD Match leaves Hornady’s 24″ test barrel at 2,700 fps and still carries 1,364 ft-lb at 500 yards.
Hornady factory data — .308 Win 168 gr ELD Match, 24″ test barrel
| Range | Velocity | Energy | Drop (200 yd zero) |
| Muzzle | 2,700 fps | 2,719 ft-lb | — |
| 100 yd | 2,530 | 2,388 | +2.0″ |
| 200 yd | 2,366 | 2,089 | 0 |
| 300 yd | 2,209 | 1,820 | −8.2″ |
| 400 yd | 2,057 | 1,579 | −23.5″ |
| 500 yd | 1,912 | 1,364 | −47.1″ |
Source: Hornady published ballistics from a 24″ test barrel. Expect roughly 50–75 fps less from the 20″ MATCH-X Target.
What You Need to Build It
DPMS / LR-308-pattern upper and barrel nut, a standard .308 bolt carrier group, and SR-25 / DPMS-pattern magazines. .750″ gas block and a rifle-length gas tube. Headspaced with a .308 Win go/no-go gauge. Not compatible with Armalite-pattern uppers.
What Every MATCH-X Barrel Shares
416-R stainless bar stock, drilled, reamed to 32 Ra, honed to 8 Ra before the rifling button goes through, 5R button rifled, stress relieved at 1150°F, contoured, chambered, then lapped back to a uniform 16 Ra from throat to crown. Bore and groove air-gauged at three points, honed finish read on a profilometer, borescoped, chamber verified on a CMM, magnetic-particle inspected, nickel-Teflon extension torqued to 150 ft-lb, pinned, and headspaced. Exterior left as bare stainless blasted with S110 media. Made in Greater Cincinnati, Ohio, backed by the Faxon Lifetime Guarantee. See the whole MATCH-X line and the process video ›
MATCH-X .308 Winchester FAQs
What upper, bolt, and magazines does this barrel need?
A DPMS / LR-308-pattern AR-10 upper and barrel nut, a standard .308 bolt carrier group, and SR-25 / DPMS-pattern magazines. It is not compatible with Armalite-pattern uppers or AR-15 receivers.
How do I tell a Faxon .308 from a 6.5 Creedmoor?
By the muzzle. Faxon's AR-10 .308 and Creedmoor barrels look identical on a bench and share a bolt and magazines, so the Creedmoor carries two rings behind the muzzle threads and the .308 has a plain shoulder. No rings means .308.
Does it shoot 7.62x51 NATO?
Yes. The .308 Winchester chamber is SAAMI-spec and runs 7.62x51 NATO as well.
Do I need an adjustable gas block?
It is worth having on a .308 AR-10. Large-frame ARs are sensitive to gas volume and buffer weight, factory loads vary from 147 gr ball to heavy match, and many end up suppressed. The Faxon .750″ adjustable block meters the port to your load and can.
