lightweight Ar build

[imyomama]

I've had leftover parts for a while and i was watching a shot show 2022 video and ran across a cool lightweight handguard so i decided to order one and see how light i could make my 20" gun that still slings pills over 3000ft/s.
Handguard is made by fostech and it scaled at 5.5 ounces with barrel nut ! 3.3 ounces by itself .. and that's a 13" long magnesium alloy handguard.
sling point on the front as well as a small rail section.. that's all i need.

barrel is a 20" faxon pencil 1/8
vg6 gamma brake
aero precision lower
upper receiver ?? not sure of brand... no Fw assist though.
minimalist stock
low mass bcg
standard buffer (could save an ounce or two with silent captured spring from another gun in the safe... might do that)
bad lever
ext charging handle

total comes to 5.3lbs ! not bad for a 20" gun

add to that optic ... trijicon rx01 amber triangle and we're at 5.8lb all up

I could have saved a couple of ounces there going with my holosun , but i like the tritium fiber optic nonsense and qd of the rx01.. it rocks!

grip is a hogue and fairly heavy , but i really like the way it feels , so for now it stays!

now that it's finished , i just need to shoot it again and see how neutral it shoots... i had installed a few different brakes on it before to find the most neutral one but now the weight balance has changed a bit, so we'll see .

here is a video i did before swapping out the stock and handguard .. it didn't move much before..

ATN Shot Trak HD Rifle test - YouTube

[Fordnandez]

Nothing wrong with that man!

[Draco]

That is light. Do you know how much more would come off with a carbon receiver?

[imyomama]

Originally Posted by Draco

That is light. Do you know how much more would come off with a carbon receiver?

should be easy to calculate , but i really don't think it would be worth it..

[hog_down]

very nice build!

[imyomama]

Originally Posted by hog_down

very nice build!

thank you!

[MadHatter]

Now put in a magnesium alloy buffer tube, titanium pins, and titanium castle nut & plate .
Love some lightweight ARs

[imyomama]

Originally Posted by MadHatter

Now put in a magnesium alloy buffer tube, titanium pins, and titanium castle nut & plate .
Love some lightweight ARs

frankly the cost and little amount of returns to get it even less is probably not worth any more time or efforts ... it feels really good as is right now ..

can't see it lose much more .. couple ounces at most...

[MadHatter]

Originally Posted by imyomama

frankly the cost and little amount of returns to get it even less is probably not worth any more time or efforts ... it feels really good as is right now ..

can't see it lose much more .. couple ounces at most...

True, it's like trying to get another 1/10th second out of your car in the 1/4 mile.

[imyomama]

Originally Posted by MadHatter

True, it's like trying to get another 1/10th second out of your car in the 1/4 mile.

exactly , as it stands it points like you're just holding a stick ... i think it's going to make transitions super fast .. shaving an extra ounce or two back may not be noticeable .. we'll see what recoil is like ... i might have to do some tweaks to get it where i want ... we'll see

[MadHatter]

Originally Posted by imyomama

exactly , as it stands it points like you're just holding a stick ... i think it's going to make transitions super fast .. shaving an extra ounce or two back may not be noticeable .. we'll see what recoil is like ... i might have to do some tweaks to get it where i want ... we'll see

A AGB coupled with a JP SCS system and you can find that sweet spot fairly easy.
Based off previous post, I'm confident you already know this .

[imyomama]

i've built a few ar's ... 556 , 300blk , 9mm , grendel, 6.8spc , 338 specter , 7.62x39.
some short , some long ..

they all have their little corks ..

i've tested half a dozen muzzle brakes on my 16" to find the one that keeps the dot moving the least during the cycle process.

rifle gas length systems are not as finicky as mid or pistol gas systems .

i'm really interested to see how this will perform as an ultralight 20".

i have another lightweight 20" i built years ago with a round carbon fiber handguard
and an aimpoint ... that gun doesn't move at all either and has similar components based on what was available back then... made a video back then from a heli .. forward to 3:06 to 3:30 and you can see that gun doesn't move at all when fired ... the camera is on the gun itself and stays planted perfectly..

pretty much what i'm trying to recreate with this one

Operation Gunsmoke III - YouTube