Project Featherweight

[Boss Hogg]

I recently saw this carbine. It's slick and GotM4 did everything he could to shave weight.

GotM4 built me an upper with a VTAC TRX 11" and CMMG 14.5" lightweight midlength with pinned Phantom. It's 5 lbs 9 oz w/o optics.

[Lumpy196]

That is an outstanding blaster man.

[JohnVassilakos]

Very cool. I think I might attempt something like this on my next build.

Did you look at the carbon uppers/lowers? I know BM used to build a carbon 15 that weighed around 4.3-4.5 lbs...not sure how well they hold up though.

[longrange18]

What about a Les Baer upper with no forward assist at all?

[gotm4]

Originally Posted by LonghunterCO

Weight ?

5.66lbs (90.6ozs)

Originally Posted by JohnVassilakos

Very cool. I think I might attempt something like this on my next build.

Did you look at the carbon uppers/lowers? I know BM used to build a carbon 15 that weighed around 4.3-4.5 lbs...not sure how well they hold up though.

I thought about those but haven't seen one that actually ran well. The barrels have proprietary barrel extensions so you have to use their barrels too.

Originally Posted by longrange18

What about a Les Baer upper with no forward assist at all?

I thought of using an upper that didn't have a forward assist but since I already had the flat top that I used which I had scavenged all the parts for another project. The ADCO forward assist plug was $5 IIRC.

[till44]

Very nice rifle. You gave me plenty of ideas for a "kid" build.

[QuietShootr]

My wife would still bitch about the weight.

[JohnVassilakos]

Originally Posted by QuietShootr

My wife would still bitch about the weight.

Paint it her favorite color(s).

Women tend to overlook something like the weight of a rifle if they like the looks of it (to a certain extent - obviously they won't care what color a .50 BMG is, they're damn heavy).

[BretShooter]

Originally Posted by JohnVassilakos

Paint it her favorite color(s).

A color match for shoes and purse?
j/k

[JohnVassilakos]

Originally Posted by BretShooter

A color match for shoes and purse?
j/k

Hey, whatever it takes to get them shooting.

I let my wife hold my KISS rifle earlier and she complained that it was heavy. It's a basic 16" gun with no bells and whistles, not even an optic.

Of course, it was right after she had been practicing dry firing with her Ruger LCP so ANYTHING would have seemed heavy compared to that.

[BretShooter]

It may seem counter intuitive, and it is easy to reverse, but try adding some weight to the rear, be it heavier stock, buffer, whatever. It can give the feel of a lighter rifle because it feels less front heavy.

And I agree. Whatever gets em shooting or at least letting you do it!

[El Mac]

I'm going to coat the barrel, both receivers, receiver extension and Troy tube in Norrels FDE and then Krylon everything.

I'm curious, why would you do it in Norrels and then throw Krylon on top?

[JSGlock34]

These lightweight builds keep drawing my attention. I keep thinking that one of the upcoming BCM lightweight uppers combined with the Troy TRX or the Troy/Viking Tactics version would be a great lightweight build...

[decodeddiesel]

Robb, have you thought about possibly replacing the X300 with a Streamlight TLR-3?

I have been using one on an M&P9C for a while now and have been impressed with it's small size and light output. Durability seems on par with the TLR-1 and such, but it only weighs 2.32 ounces.

http://www.streamlight.com/news_let/09_q2/tlr3.html

[HeavyDuty]

Is the TLR-3 tailpiece similar to the TLR-1? I can't find any back end pics after a quick search.

[decodeddiesel]

Originally Posted by HeavyDuty

Is the TLR-3 tailpiece similar to the TLR-1? I can't find any back end pics after a quick search.

Yes it is very similar, I will try to take some pics when I get a chance.

[HeavyDuty]

Thanks! I'm looking for a small LED weaponlight, and this is the first I've heard of the -3.

[Dan Goodwin]

GotM4,

Been mulling an ultralight AR for a walking varminter some time, but keep backburnering for other things/bills. With some decent lowers going for under $100 these days I may get off my butt.

My goal is a 20-in A1 profile with the lightest fixed stock available and a very light fixed 4 or 6X scope. A faster twist might be better though TSX bullets make heavier bullets not necessary.

While this could be pressed into service in a fight it is to be mostly a hunting gun.

What would your recipe/blueprint be to get something like that under 6 lbs.?

[gotm4]

Originally Posted by Dan Goodwin

GotM4,

Been mulling an ultralight AR for a walking varminter some time, but keep backburnering for other things/bills. With some decent lowers going for under $100 these days I may get off my butt.

My goal is a 20-in A1 profile with the lightest fixed stock available and a very light fixed 4 or 6X scope. A faster twist might be better though TSX bullets make heavier bullets not necessary.

While this could be pressed into service in a fight it is to be mostly a hunting gun.

What would your recipe/blueprint be to get something like that under 6 lbs.?

I think that would be pretty hard to reach. Most scopes w/mounts are going to be at least 1lb. You might look at a 18-20" ABS carbon fiber barrel to save some weight typically these are 1-2lbs lighter than a standard barrel. For a lower I would go with a Cav Arms lower (A1 length). JP LMOS carrier and LMOS rifle buffer and spring.

Originally Posted by decodeddiesel

Robb, have you thought about possibly replacing the X300 with a Streamlight TLR-3?

I have been using one on an M&P9C for a while now and have been impressed with it's small size and light output. Durability seems on par with the TLR-1 and such, but it only weighs 2.32 ounces.

http://www.streamlight.com/news_let/09_q2/tlr3.html

I did install a TLR-3 just last week. It's is a little lighter and a little taller than the X300. So you do see a tiny bit more of the light when using the iron sights. Not a big deal on this gun since it's primary sight is the Aimpoint.

[LonghunterCO]

The Cav arms lower uses a carbine buffer/spring setup.