Just edited my OP...to include ANY AR10 "type" Rifle without the long lag time of the LaRue ... and between $2700 to $3,000.
vs. the FN SCAR 17s
Got in late on this thread, but I'd skip the Scar 17S.
I handle one when I went thru this drill way back when, and while the Scar is nice and light the proprietary & expensive mags killed it for me.
I wanted a 7.62/.308 rifle on the AR10-pattern that was *relatively* light but which took the SR25-type mags, e.g., Magpuls, which are readily available and reasonably priced (as of this post, anyway).
Within your stated price range, and as I had experience with LMT's 5.56mm MRP system, the choice became easy: the
MRP LW8, which is the "light-weight" version of the MWS. Both will shoot accurately and run reliably with either commercial .308 or surplus 7.62, and perhaps a confidence builder along the way was the fact that the Brit military chose the 7.62 MWS for general issue over several competitors. By the way, there was no "time lag" when I ordered it, other than shipping time.
As ordered, my LW8 came with the 16" C/L barrel, but I also ordered the 18 SS tube (w/ 11.25 twist) because it was available at the time and I saved a bit on shipping.
Pic below is from a Precision Rifle course. I had it set-up in SPR mode with the 18" barrel, a Leupy Mk6 1-6x 34mm scope in an ADM mount, and a CTR w/ RISR cheepiece. Though not in the pic, a Harris bipod on an ADM Q.D. mount was also part of the configuration. In this set-up it's not light, trust me
, but between the Leupy 1-6x and the Giesele SSA-E trigger, I got awesome accuracy out to 300yds, the farthest I shot it.