When Bill Wilson and his crew set out to build a lightweight AR-10, they wanted to make it accurate, reliable, handy, and light. Moreover, this being Wilson Combat, they also wanted a design that would allow shooters to have it built with the options they want: finish, colors, muzzle devices, rail lengths and so on. The result is the Wilson .308 Project rife.
Uppers and lowers are Wilson’s BILLet-AR receivers, which are CNC-machined in-house from billet aluminum. The standard here is 7075 T-6, which is easy to machine, a snap to have anodized, and tough as you can get without going exotic. Rather than slavishly imitate the contours of a forged upper and lower, engineers took out weight from places it didn’t need to be and left aluminum in areas where it keeps the receivers strong. The result is a slab-sided but trim upper, with a built-in case defector and no forward assist. The upper also has a machined-in full-length top rail, MIL STD 1913, where you can mount the optics or accessories of your choice. As a bonus, there’s a spring-loaded dust cover to click shut on the ejection port—always a good thing to have. The top rail of the upper receiver is aligned with and level with the handguard. It’s called the Wilson TRIM rail, which stands for Tactical Rail Interface, Modular. It’s a slick idea and well executed. You don’t necessarily need or want rails all over the place. A rail-encrusted handguard is bulky, edgy, and heavy. Therefore, Wilson makes the TRIM as a base rail, a skeletonized cylinder with bolt-lines along three sides. If you want a section of rail at some point, you bolt on what you need, where. You leave the rest bare. It saves weight and bulk.
The gas system on the .308 is pure direct impingement, with a low-profile gas block held to the barrel with setscrews. I’m not usually a fan of gas blocks and front sight assemblies being held on by setscrews, but since the TRIM handguard fully covers the gas block, it isn’t going to be banged around. For as small as it is, and as protected, setscrews are good enough. Moreover, a more-secure method of attachment would be problematic, since it is underneath the TRIM rail.
The gas tube leads back to a chrome-plated carrier and bolt. The bolt and the forward half of the carrier are scaled-up to be .308 sizes, but the rear of the carrier is 5.56 sizes—a common setup for rifles of this kind. The gas key is staked, so there’s little worry of it coming loose.
There are four-barrel lengths available: 14.7, 16, 18 and 20 inches, fluted and non-fluted, in a variety of rail configurations and muzzle devices. The barrel on the Wilson .308 I received is 18 inches long and fluted, and it has a 1:10 twist. This rife came with the Wilson Accu-Tac fash hider, a three-pronged device that is given some extra sculpting to improve muzzle harmonics. You get first-class flash reduction without the “ping” you hear on every shot with other designs. Made of 4140 steel and surface-treated via the Melonite process, there’s no need to change this to something else unless you’re mounting a suppressor on the Wilson.
The upper and lower fit is snug but not so tight; you need a mallet to get the takedown pins moved for disassembly. One internal detail I noticed was that the lower has a bearing pad underneath the rear takedown lug that presses against the upper when closed. Curious about this, I took of the Bravo Company pistol grip (held on by a normal, slotted screw, thank you Wilson Combat for not using a wretched Allen-head bolt) to find there was no adjustment screw. Hmm.
I also found the rear takedown pin plunger and spring were held on by the pistol grip and not the rear plate, as is the norm on 5.56 rifles. I put it back together and looked at the lug again. It is a relatively simply elastomer plug, set in a recess machined into the lower shelf, and it bears against the upper’s lug to remove potential wobble in the ft. Very clever.
The Bravo Company pistol grip is the new and improved design, which I don’t like. I learned to shoot ARs a long time ago, and I admit I have bad habits. The Bravo Company grip fills the upper rear of the lower receiver, where the web of your hand rides, pushing the hand down. I like to choke up on pistol grips.
It is also at a sharper angle to the line of the bore, so your hand and wrist aren’t torqued as much when you are at Low Ready. The result for me is the pistol grip pushes my hand and arm into an angle I don’t like. If the rife were mine, I would have to get used to it or swap out the grip. The grip has a hinged cap, so you can store goodies inside, and the latch looks stout enough to last as long as you’ll be using the rife.
Inside the lower, Wilson has installed one of its TTUs (Tactical Trigger Unit), in this case a single-stage, four-pound trigger. The TTU is a unitized, or package, trigger assembly. There are no parts to install. It’s nice in that the entire assembly can be removed for cleaning and then simply reinstalled. One piece, with no muss, no fuss.
The TTU can be had in one of five different setups: single stage, two stage, 3 Gun, military/law enforcement and Paul Howe. The single-stage, two-stage and 3 Gun versions are all lighter because they’re meant for competition and hunting. The military/law enforcement version is heavier because it’s intended for people who are also likely to be using a handgun with a heavier trigger pull, and in these instances, it’s wise to have similar trigger pulls on both systems. Just imagine trying to transition from a pistol with a NY-1 trigger pull at 12 pounds to a rife with a clean, crisp, 3.75-pound pull.
The Paul Howe TTU is a two-stage trigger but with military-weight springs. This gives you a clean, crisp trigger pull that’s a pound heavier than the competition model.