Originally Posted by
MistWolf
Parts, such as the upper & lower receiver, receiver extension, BCG, buffer, spring and lower parts are what they are and weights are not going to vary much. That leaves you with three places where you can save weight on your AR-
1) Barrel. Cutting it short will lighten it a little, but profile is where you'll see real weight savings. A short fat barrel will weigh more than a long thin one. Simply whacking an inch or two off a fat barrel is a waste
2) Furniture. Some handguards and buttstocks can be unnecessarily heavy. Find furniture that's light and suits your needs
3) Crapola. You've already addressed this one, but it bears repeating- Don't install or store anything on the rifle that's not needed to meet the mission at hand. Keep spares in a pouch, don't load the rifle with an AFG, foregrip and bipod, don't install lasers, compasses or other crapola you have no use for. Keep the accessories that you do install as light as practical
It will do little good removing BAD levers or changing out the lower or upper until weight is excised from the barrel, furniture and crapola