What are your thoughts on the "felt" recoil in the .308 or .243 in the AR rifles? I am looking at a .308 for fun shooting - 200 rounds per outing. Can you do it without taking a pounding?

recoil sensitivity varys from person to person. the recoil i feel from 308 ar is less than what i feel out of a bolt gun. depending on how long your outing is i would think that it would be no problem. of course if you outing is only an hour, that may be a problem

For strictly fun shooting the AR 223 is hard to beat.

No recoil, cheap to shoot, and long barrel life.

With the above being said the 308 is one of my favorite calibres.

I have shot more than 200 rounds in a day many times.

If recoil is an issue, for about the same money you can get an FN-FAL.
The adjustable gas system allows you to eliminate a good portion of the recoil. With mine, I can shoot 200 rounds in an outing with no problem....but then again, I've shot 400 in an outing with my steel butt plated, bolt action Mosin-Nagant.

Another option is to get a 7.62x39 upper, put it on an AR 15.

I got an Olympic Arms for about $450 I think. (look on Midway USA).

That is a great AR to shoot. Still reasonable recoil, but has some serious lead (3x the lead of a .223) small case so not too fast.

Good round and a god gun.

While the recoil of an AR-10 is more than that of a 5.56 AR-15, I don't think it will bother you too much unless you are shooting a lot of prone or something. After shooting an 80 shot match, you will be a little more worn out shooting a 308 than if you had shot a .223.

I don't think a .243 would be that noticeable compared to a .223 on anything other than your pocketbook.

I had one of the first AR-10T's some years ago and remember being surprised how much more it seemed to kick than the M1A's I shot then.

My first look at the AR-10's bolt carrier solved that mystery! All that reciprocating weight results in higher recoil energies and a very long recoil impulse.

It's still a 308, so it's not going to beat you but .. I was surprised way back then!

Mark