Light weight AR build

MikedaddyH

MikedaddyH

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I was working on gun builds yesterday and had a bunch of extra parts I found so I put together most of a gun. Buttstock to the barrel extension, lower is done. Upper needs a barrel , handguard and brake. Plastic upper and lower. Going to get a pencil barrel And a plastic handguard.
Goal will be. Sub 6 pound AR.
This is a parts bin gun , I have no money in it !
Out of pocket cash will be under $200.
 
Here's a Pic of one of the light weights I made from Tennessee Arm's 80% blem's.

It has a Primary Arms red dot and weigh's 5lb 8.8oz.

One of the others has Midwest Industries Iron sights and weigh's 5lb 10oz.

Tennessee Arms Company, LLC/80% 15 Receiver

80% AR15 Style Polymer Lower Receivers
www.tnarmsco.com www.tnarmsco.com
 

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I used a New Frontier lower.
I have an AR with this lower and have had no issues with it. I have also used Plum Crazy lowers in the past on several builds.
 
I used the TN Arms because they were cheap, As an added bonus they have brass inserts for the buffer tube to screw into. Nice thing with the light weights is you can carry them all day and not notice. The one in the pic when it's loaded weigh's right at 7lb 9,2oz with a 30 round mag.

I ought to make one as a rifle with the 20" barrel and fixed stock.
 
I started to use a birdcage flash hider. One of my buddies was building one at the same time so "I" decided to use just a muzzle nut to shave off weight and really under cut his weight. It did a little. Also makes using the Sparrow suppressor easier.
 
Joebobs outfitters has the Konza and Matrix that are cheap and light.
 
You know, I think Stoner might have been onto something until the jarheads got ahold of it.
 
serger said:
You know, I think Stoner might have been onto something until the jarheads got ahold of it.
Click to expand...
Technically, Stoner designed the AR-10. He had left ArmaLite before the AR-15 project began. James Sullivan was the one who scaled down the AR-10 to what was to become the M-16/AR-15.
 
MikedaddyH said:
I was working on gun builds yesterday and had a bunch of extra parts I found so I put together most of a gun. Buttstock to the barrel extension, lower is done. Upper needs a barrel , handguard and brake. Plastic upper and lower. Going to get a pencil barrel And a plastic handguard.
Goal will be. Sub 6 pound AR.
This is a parts bin gun , I have no money in it !
Out of pocket cash will be under $200.
Click to expand...
For the sub-6 lb goal, consider a lightweight gas block and adjustable stock. A pencil barrel is perfect for weight savings. Great job keeping costs low!
 
clairedivas said:
For the sub-6 lb goal, consider a lightweight gas block and adjustable stock. A pencil barrel is perfect for weight savings. Great job keeping costs low!
Click to expand...
Thanks for joining the forum and participating by posting! When you get a chance, please write up a quick “introduction” (or RE-introduction if you were a former MGB forum member) of yourself over in the Introduce Yourself! section. Tell us about yourself, your building experience, and how you found the forum.

Jump into other threads, too! Come on in... the water's fine! 😊
 
The pencil barrel profile is probably the best way to shave the most weight off the rifle in one part. For cost and weight, use the plastic CAR-15 furniture. Then just stick to iron sights. It is gonna look like it was made in the 1980's... but so what. It will make your weight limit, which is what the original carbine was suppose to do... be light, cheap, and simple to use.

In hindsight, the fixed A1 stock might be lighter than the carbine stock by an oz or so. I don't have one handy to put on a scale, but I seem to recall the A1 was lighter than both the Carbine and A2 stocks.
 
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