Chief Instructor – LRPR-II
During the most recent Long Range Precision Rifle Course –II (LRPR) – The ASW308 rifle was used by students (JW& IM) throughout the entire LRPR II course 11-13 Oct 2013. The student and his spotter were the “Class Top Shot” Graduates of the Course. IM also serves as an Assistant Instructor at D.R. LRC. JW had very little difficulty adjusting the chassis to his body makeup. Using the tool-less length of pull & cheek piece adjustments, he quickly made this rifle his own for the weekend with no black shadows in the day optic and a clear field of view . . .
They zeroed the rifle at 100 yards, slipped the zero on the Mark 6 with ease and pressed on through the many target exposures with much success. It was obvious, from the Instructors view, this team was going to be very successful using this equipment. This rifle system made alternate shooting positions much easier as well. The recoil was very light enabling the shooter to see splash on targets and/or quick second round engagements.
This rifle engaged targets from 100-1116 yards with ease, placing sub ½ moa accuracy on target with a team that understands rapid wind calls. Our Instructors fired the rifle and each was extremely impressed with the Surgeon action, trigger and overall feel of the rifle platform. The impression was a lasting one. I absolutely fell in love with this rifle and will highly recommend this as a proven platform that gets the job done in a very accurate fashion. The TACT3 Tripod Kit is an outstanding piece of kit, keeping the spotter low profile, stabile tripod with rails for LRF’s, lasers, etc. We are Dealers for APO. – Ron White, Jr, Chief Instructor
Staff Instructor
The weekend of October 11-13, while instructing a long range rifle course for D.R. Long Range Concepts, I had the opportunity to get my hands on a new Ashbury Precision Ordnance ASW308Precision Tactical Rifle. My first impression right out of the case was that it’s a great looking rifle! From the carbon fiber forend to the muzzle brake, the rifle was sexy.
The Quattro carbon fiber forend not only looks great, but adds functionality and weight reduction. As we began to manipulate the rifle, I noticed more and more that I liked it a lot. The folding shoulder stock is really nice and makes it easier to transport. The adjustable cheek piece and shoulder stock are a must for a quality precision rifle. Having the ability to adjust the rifle to the shooter with little effort is great. As we know, everyone’s physical make up is different from facial structure to their length of pull, so each rifle can be customized to the shooter.
The rail system allows the shooter to add any “cool guy gadget” you can think of, from lasers tonight vision. The detachable box magazine is another plus in my book. Having the ability to carry five or ten rounds in one magazine gives the shooter the ability to engage multiple targets quickly without reloading. The fluted barrel looks great, but also adds to the functionality of the rifle.
So the rifle looks great, I think we have established that, now let’s talk about performance. I picked up this rifle in which I had never even laid behind and achieved a first round hit at 650 yards. As the first shot broke it was definitely a surprise. The trigger was super smooth without any drag. I had shot several different custom rifles that day, owned by students who were attending our course, and this was by far the smoothest trigger.
I ran the Surgeon action and readied myself for the next target. The action performed with the smoothness it’s known for. The oversized bolt handle makes manipulation very easy to find and run. I continued shooting targets out to 870 yards with first round accuracy on targets as small as 12 inches. Having the Leupold MK6 scope with the Horus reticle made shooting hold offs a breeze. At the end of the day I was completely impressed with this rifle. I would honestly say this is the best and smoothest running 308 I have ever fired. Anyone with questions about this system should have no apprehensions about quality and out of the box accuracy. – D.R. Long Range Concepts, Senior Instructor (B.D.)
Student / Long Range Precision Rifle-II
My first impression once we zeroed the weapon was it was VERY accurate. I fired a three round group easily in the same hole just over 1/4 moa. The H58 reticle on the Mark 6 was awesome; I never touched the dials once through the entire three day course with known and unknown distance shots out to 1100 yds. Once I got a few rounds down range and acclimated to the two-stage trigger, it was just as consistent as the Jewell on my personal rifle. This was a surprise to me, and I almost came to prefer it, which I would have never guessed would happen.
The folding chassis was awesome for transport, and fit perfectly in my Eberlestock pack as well as being pretty lightweight for a precision rifle. Alternate shooting positions were no problem with a sling. The length of pull adjustment with push buttons was fast and easy.
I didn’t have a single misfire or light primer strike during the entire course. I was shooting 175 SMK’s hand-loaded by a friend. We were getting about 2650fps muzzle velocity which was a surprise to me, as the ASW308 barrel length is 20 inches.
The only negatives were the cheek piece was a slight pain to get adjusted initially (seemed to have points where it didn’t want to hold and would jump up or down). But once I got it set it never moved after that. The other I’m not going to 100% blame the gun yet at this point. About 25% of the time it was real hard to unlock the bolt and I had to forcibly hit the bolt up. This was an annoyance and would be an issue if in concealment. But even still, they always ejected. It could have been the ammo being used, as it was hand loaded for my partners DTA with used brass, so that may have had a factor. I wish I had some good factory ammo to use as a baseline so I could have compared apples to apples.
Overall I am very impressed. The ASW308 was enough to propel our team to Top Shot of the class! Even though the final tiebreaker shot was made with my partners .300 Winchester Magnum rifle due to the windy conditions and it being able to buck the wind better vs. the .308. One of the other teams had a 300WM Surgeon (it was a three way tie initially), so we figured it would be a wise choice. However I would have had absolutely no hesitation to have taken the shot with the Ashbury rifle. In fact I kind of wished I had! But a team win is a win. – D.R. Long Range Concepts Student (J.W.)
ASW308 20A3 MOD-1 Details
Caliber – .308 Winchester (optional .223, 6.5CM, 300WM, .338LM, 50BMG)
Action – Surgeon 591-II (optional SABER SX)
Chassis – SABER®-FORSST® SSA-A3 MOD-1
Shoulder Stock: PBA-H Folding w/Tool-Less Ergonomic Adjustments
Barrel – 20″ Pinnacle™ Series 416R SS 5R barrels
Muzzle Brake – AAC Blackout 51T (optional 7.62SD suppressor)
Trigger – Huber Tactical Two Stage trigger set to approx. 3.5 lbs.
Scope Rail – 20 MOA MIL-STD 1913
Scope Rings – SABER EO Scope Rings 6-Screw Top 34mm
Magazines – A3 10rd detachable box magazine
Hand Grip – Magpul M1AD grip set
Weight – 20˝ Rifle 12.4 lbs (approx.)
Accessories
Long Range Accuracy Bipod
TACT3 GP Tactical Tripod kit
For more information about Ashbury Precision Ordnance Mfg and, and precision long range shooting equipment, please visit the APO Welcome Section of our website, Facebook page,YOU TUBE Channel or visit The Armory, APO’s online store. For more information about D.R. Long Range Concepts Long Range Precision Rifle training visit their website and, and Facebook page.
Details? I didn’t see ‘cost’ in the details. I have an idea that the cost is quite a bit. Leupold Mark 6 with a Horus reticle is an awesome scope, “reasonably priced” at around $2800 with a mount from LaRue Tactical.
Ashbury Precision Ordnance has some ready to ship listed on their website. For the .300 Win Mag you can get the $17,500.00 package or the $16,500.00 package. But that does include a Leupold scope and a nice rifle case. 😉
Damn! Guess I’m gonna stick with my LTR .308 until I hit the lotto.
Pass. I’d rather have two or three 50BMG’s for that price.
Thats funny, for a second I thought you said $17,500.
You know, a down payment on a house. Obviously you must have misspoken.
For that amount of money, one should be able to purchase an accurate rifle that doesn’t look like hammered dog crap.
Alas, this rifle goes out of its way to be ugly. This is what happens to a rifle when someone holding the Ugly Stick is really mad, and beats on a rifle until all intrinsic beauty has been beat out of it. Plastic everywhere, four-way wanker rail for a forearm, bipod, unipod, poseur brake… the list just goes on and on.
http://www.ashburyprecisionordnance.com/asymmetric-warrior-asw308/?expandable=1 $7, 700 basic rifle price
That looks like a handy rifle, only 5.5kg, is that with the scope?
Good looking gun and I take the review to mean that it was 1/2 MOA accurate but for $7700 I need more, a lot more. I guess there is a market for these high end guns but not sure where or what that market is. Barrett said he would not have made it nor be in business today if it were not for the consumers buying his guns. I dont even know of a range in NC where you can shoot a 338 Lapua much less a 50 BMG so there’s not much of a consumer market here for Barrett. The last MRAD type gun one of my LGS’s sold came back and is on consignment even with every other car around being a BMW or Mercedes. So the money is here, just not the market.
The government, or contractors to the government.
If you see a company HQ’ed somewhere around DC, making items that appeal to the defense industry with an rather high price, and you’re wondering who they’re made for… well wonder no longer. They’re made to appeal to the desk jocks of the DOD, and the price is made to pick money from the taxpayers’ pockets.
This is sort of like you joining in a poker game and wondering who “the mark” is at a game filled with card sharps. If you have to ask… the mark is you.
Agreed!
To the US government and sub-governments (State, county, city), “Frugal” and “Tax Dollars” don’t belong in the same sentence. It is not their money, they are not earning it in any way, shape, or form. They do not supply any consumable product or any useful service (that would be more efficiently and of greater quality supplied by private industry). No one is ever fired or layed off and no pensions are ever removed only created. If they run out of money they tax something (like recently – cigarettes or lack of health care) or borrow from China. They are the universe’s most inefficient machine – consuming resources as if they were limitless and providing nothing useful at all.
Awesome review! I love these field reports the most of all you guys publish. While we cannot ignore the political side, we cannot let it divert us from the gear and training that makes shooting sports so worthwhile.
Sounds like yet another rifle made for the enrichment of yet another group of Beltway Bandits.