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Posted: 3/31/2007 6:18:35 AM EDT
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Greetings I wish to begin a new AR project aimed at being light, as light as possible but still rugged enough to pass muster as a working gun. I simply don't have the time or money to research this stuff myself and frankly don't know enough about the available components to even know where to begin. I would like it as short as possible although I want to stick with a 14.5" barrel for the usual reasons (gas system length, sigh radius, velocity, no sbr hassles). I have read far to many threads containing user dissatisfaction with Carbon lowers to go that route. So lets see em and tell what they weigh and what componets where used! Thanks PS please dont hammer me with the "use the search button" line; Eukatae searched all about and there found nothing. |
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peeks out from under his rock... ok, my first post. i wanted to build the same thing, the lightest possible ar15 style rifle, but i was gonna use a 16' barrel. after mucho diggin, pricin, examining different rifles at stores and shows, book buyin and reading, and research here, i wanted a cavarms lower, and had decided to build up the rest. i didnt care for any of the collapsible stocks i had handeled. all were kinda wobbly. the cavarms wasnt available, couldnt find anyone w any in stock. then i stumbeled onto something... a NIB bushy carbon 15 r21. severly discounted at a gunstore i had never visited before. the heft and handling of this rifle reminded me of my childhood days w a daisy 880. i laid waste to the critter population w that 880. emailed bushmaster, and talked on the phone w them, and bought the rifle due to their great support and info. out of the box it shoots 1.5 moa @ 100yd w a cheap worn out k4 scope, and wolf ammo. im still lookin for a decent lower to build a rifle, but the price on this was impossible to beat, and even goin w bottom of the line components, by the time i bought the tools to properly build an ar15 i woulda had much more $$ involved. imho the timings terrible to build an ar if cost is a factor. but, then again, we may never get another chance. hinking.gif anyways im sure ill get a thrashin over this rifle, but u might want to go check one out somewhere anyways as part of your research into your build. itll give u an idea how light an ar15 can be. <scurrys back under rock, and dons fireproof suit> lear |
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My lightweight is an M16 upper receiver (original M16, no forward assist or brass deflector) with an AR15 carrier and Shaw 1:9 lightweight 16" barrel from J&T on a Essential Arms lower with CAR stock. I could have made it much lighter by going with a Cavalry Arms polymer lower, but I wanted a telestock. I haven't weighed it yet, but it's really light, easily under 6lbs. I could make the upper lighter by cutting the carry handle off in front of the sights, and it would be an irons-only rifle (unless I mounted a rail directly to the top of the receiver, but the rail would probably weigh more than the carry handle). Or you could go with a DPMS slickside A3 upper, but it won't have sights at all, or a ejection port cover. For the lightest barrel possible you'd need a lightweight or featherweight profile 11.5" barrel. I'm not aware of anyone who makes one, but you can buy anyones 11.5" barrel and have someone like AR15barrels.com turn it down to a featherweight and permanently install a (lightened) 5.5" flash hider. You can do the same with the 14.5" barrels since you want that extra velocity, but you'll trade a little weight. Try and find one with a .625" front sight base, otherwise you'll have extra weight under a .75" one. The Cavalry Arms polymer lower is very light, but only comes with a fixed stock, so your overall length will suffer. I played with the idea of getting a pistol buffer system (the old short kind from gunsmoke enterprises) and attaching an M231 stock to it. It would probably weigh a little more than the CAR telestock and be much less comfortable, but it would be about as short as you can go. |
| I have a CMMG 14.5 inch lightweight barrel with permanent vortex on an A-1 upper. I used a RRA lower with Magpul CTR stock. No fancy handguards, sights, or lights. With a 20 round mag, I believe it weighs in at a hair over 6 lbs. It has been dead reliable, and has become my favorite rifle by far. |
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I've built an AR with one of the dreaded Hesse carbon fiber (I know, it's NOT CF) uppers and lowers. This is NOT a rifle I would take into harms way but it is FUN! I used: Colt ,625 diameter 16" LW barrel Smith Enterprises ALUMINUM bolt carrier (LONG discontinued) Colt flattop upper with the forward assist milled off and a piece welded in place and re-machined CHEAP plastic recoil buffer (seems to be filled with shot) Colt collapsing buttstock Colt carbine handguards The weight at this point is UNDER 5 lbs! It has had over a 1000 rds through it and so far NO malfunctions! The only problem I've noticed is occasionally the charging handle will unlock when it's fired and I think I've figured out a "fix" for that. PursuitSS |
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Fiberlight 4-pos stock. No metal hardware in the body like the 6-Pos stocks. Use a standard buffer not H buffer or 9mm buffer. Colt AR15 bolt carriers. No M16, half circle or enhanced designs, they weight more. M16 upper. Not A1 or A2. Superlight profile Brl cut to 14.7" with perm attached A1 FS. Shave the bayonet lug off. Remove the front sling swivel and use a loop of paracord instead. CAR15 handguards and remove the heat shield from the upper one. |
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Off the shelf the BM superlight is a great starting place. I would be a troublemaker and ask what really is the pourpose of this? Obviously a lighter rifle is easier to haul around but if you carry it to extremes the ease of shooting well and reliability/strength could come into play. For myself with my crummy eyes and bifocals the carbines with Iron sights are ok for self defence but leave somethning to be desired for matches and target work. My carbines have gone over to optics/red dots for the most part and my "lightweight" is an old gov profile 20" 1/12. Thisn't isn't the lightest gun around but is still better than many carbines with heavy or "normal" profile barrels and has a great ballance going for it with the fixed stock. I like my BM superlight but in reality it is difficult to shoot well for me . |
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A box stock Colt R6530 Sporter Lightweight carbine (16" LW 1/7 barrel, A2 upper receiver, A2 stock) weighs 6.7 pounds. Replace the A2 stock with a factory OEM telestock (older CAR style) and the weight drops down to 5.7 pounds. It's a lightweight, no frills carbine that handles very, very nicely. Its beauty is in its simplicity! |
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It's sometimes hard for me to believe how light the production Superlights are. We have the Bushmaster Superlight on the rack, and it does feel a good bit lighter then the Bushmaster M4. You save a lot of weight with that pencil thin barrel. One of the guys in our shop is going for a Superlight with off-the-shelf components. He's thinking 9mm A3 upper (no forward assist), Colt Carrier, pencil barrel profile, etc... When last we talked about it, he had the scale out and was weighing folding rear sights to see which one would be the lightest. |
But someone already did this and listed all the weights on this website: www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=18&t=206233 |
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My superlight theory, take it for what it's worth, is this: Traditional build, no plastic lowers or carbon stuff. 14.5 still saves weight, either as an SBR or permanetly attached like mine. I like all my AR's with floating barrels, seems to me it would be even more important on a pencil barrel. A DD M4 rails should be comparable with hand guards with heat shields and related parts. I don't like a middy gas on a 14.5, so carbine it is. Besides, middy means more weight. Here's my work in progress, awaiting a detachable A1 carry handle from the group buy, a trigger group, and some more assembly. Mega, DD, CMMG barrel, SDI extended A2 flash hider, CTR, Miad, Denny's Super Duty bolt group. 
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