Lightest ARs out of the box....couldn't find anything with a search.

Blue Pilgrim

Blue Pilgrim

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Hey Folks.

I did a little search on the web and couldn't see anything besides a comparison of hand guard weights.

I am looking at purchasing a 10-12 inch barreled AR to add to the collection and was wondering who makes a lighter set up. Not looking for a poly set-up or a "Lighter=Cheaper" build, but a good solid set-up. I would like to stay away from pencil barrels. A DDMK18 or PWS M110 come to mind.

Also, would you recommend or argue against a 10-12 inch for 3 gun competition?

Thanks for your time and suggestions.

Mike
 
A 10-12" barreled AR is fine for 3 gun in Ontario, but you'll won't exactly be loved out there, SBRs make quite a bit of noise and percussion.

Personally, I find that the longer ARs are more standard in 3 gun shoots, but given that Ontario is mostly short range stuff, you'll be fine either way.

STI makes a very light 16" AR, but it has a slim barrel design IIRC
 
I just read an article about this on the latest 3 Gun Nation magazine - you can get a digital copy on their website. Discusses the trend of shorter barrelled AR15's for 3 Gun competition. Also gives examples of what some the shooters have transitioned to from the commonly used 18" barrel AR's.

Daniel Horner I believe uses a 10", but most of the shooters interviewed in that particular article mentioned that they would not go below 14".

Take a look at the article, can get ideas of what a lighter setup would be.
 
dquick said:
I just read an article about this on the latest 3 Gun Nation magazine - you can get a digital copy on their website. Discusses the trend of shorter barrelled AR15's for 3 Gun competition. Also gives examples of what some the shooters have transitioned to from the commonly used 18" barrel AR's.

Daniel Horner I believe uses a 10", but most of the shooters interviewed in that particular article mentioned that they would not go below 14".

Take a look at the article, can get ideas of what a lighter setup would be.
Click to expand...

Horner was definitely not using a 10" AR last time I saw him...quite the opposite, I thought he was shooting a 18 or 20" JP rifle
 
Thanks guys.

I have heard good things about the PWS, especially for a piston set-up.

Shooting in Ontario has it's limits for sure and I was hoping to capitalize on that with better movement and "quicker" set-up.

I have seen the 3-gun nation magazine and forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder and it appears the timing is perfect.

Keep the thoughts and knowledge coming folks the more the merrier..... (need ammo to explain to the wife why I need this)...... ;-)
Thanks.

Mike
 
I couldn’t tell you which is the lightest but I can give some general advice to help in your decision.

Some things are going to be rather constant in terms of weight and there isn’t much you can do about it. Receivers, unless you get a giant mag well flare or a carry handle upper, they are all going to be very similar. Small parts, BCG, buffer, you can look for something that runs a semi-auto BCG and a Carbine buffer but aside from that weight between these parts will be negligible. It only really leaves 3 things to look at: barrel, hand guard, and stock.

You don’t want a pencil barrel, and if you want a light firearm a medium or heavy barrel is out of the question thus you are left with government profile. Government profile is pretty much a compromise between a pencil and a medium contour and it’s what the military uses, probably for this reason. Finally, look at that hand guard chart you found, and I know there is a butt stock chart floating around, and you are pretty much there.

I have a build that I aimed to keep as light as possible. It has a 12.5” DD barrel, a DD MFR rail, and a Magpul CTR stock. I run a full-auto carrier and H2 buffer. With a set of LMT sights on it it comes in just under 6.5 pounds. I felt I was pushing it or over compromising with what I wanted to get it any lighter.

One thing I have learned though while trying to keep it as light as possible is to never fully trust a manufactures weight claims. They tend to be ball parks. Find someone who has actually weighed theirs if you can.

Edit: if you really want light forget the piston setup. It will add nothing but weight.
 
Blue Pilgrim said:
Hey Folks.

I did a little search on the web and couldn't see anything besides a comparison of hand guard weights.

I am looking at purchasing a 10-12 inch barreled AR to add to the collection and was wondering who makes a lighter set up. Not looking for a poly set-up or a "Lighter=Cheaper" build, but a good solid set-up. I would like to stay away from pencil barrels. A DDMK18 or PWS M110 come to mind.

Also, would you recommend or argue against a 10-12 inch for 3 gun competition?

Thanks for your time and suggestions.

Mike
Click to expand...

Do you want something light? Or something perfectly balanced to your shoulder so there is practically no weight on the supporting arm?
Tavors are pretty much as perfectly balanced as you can get in a quality assault semi package. I ask because you mention the 3 gun competition, balance is very very important in that, plus their fast reload, mag release with trigger hand, 18.5 inch accuracy in a short little package, just about everything rocks about that rifle
Just my 0.02
 
I do like the Tavor set up. Everything I have heard about them is positive. But, and I truly do believe this: I have years of use, training and thousands of rounds sent downrange on the AR platform. I am getting older and it may be harder to teach the old dog new tricks. So a Tavor for me may become a safe queen.

I looked on the PWS site and they said the PWS 110 is 6.2 lbs and Daniel Defense says the MK18 is 6.02 lbs. I'd like to see those two on a scale and see who's closer to the actual weight, or in a perfect world, get the lighter of the two and put a Troy TRX rail on it :)

Balance is important and I run a KISS set up. Just want a Shorter barrel balanced KISS set-up :)
 
Onagoth said:
Horner was definitely not using a 10" AR last time I saw him...quite the opposite, I thought he was shooting a 18 or 20" JP rifle
Click to expand...

I haven't seen any of the 2013 episodes, but according to the article he switched to a 10 inch SBR and has won the last 3 competitions in a row if I'm not mistaken. Because of this, all the 3Gun buzz in the pro series is about going shorter, lighter and faster.
 
cancer said:
FWIW, A skinny profile barrel on a longer gun can be lighter than a HBar on a SBR. It's finding skinny barrels that can be tricky.
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So true, a gov't profile 14" is much lighter than my HBar 11.5. As for 3 Gun Nation, one reason you may not see a lot of short guns is the extra tax stamp on anything under 16". I'll bet most of the 14" guns being used have a 2" flash hider pinned on.
 
You want the lightest but you don't want the lightest barrel? You say you want to stay away from pencil barrels but then you mention the DD Mk18. The DD uses a government profile barrel. Government profile is almost identical to a pencil barrel up to the FSB. The shoulder behind the FSB is larger but that's it, otherwise they're identical. The weight difference between a pencil 10.3 and a government 10.3 will be almost negligable.

LMT uses a sort of beefed up quasi government profile. Dimensions under the handguard are increase to .740 or so. It won't be the lightest setup though, not by a long shot.
 
Out of the box, I would say Daniel Defense makes some of the lightest (feeling) AR's on the market. I was really surprised with the weight of my DDM4 V3 when I first picked it up. It was one of those "I must have" moments.
 
Leg said:
LMT uses a sort of beefed up quasi government profile. Dimensions under the handguard are increase to .740 or so. It won't be the lightest setup though, not by a long shot.
Click to expand...

I believe it is called a medium contour barrel. Typical AR barrel profiles are pencil, government, medium, SPR, heavy, and bull.

Also, something to note, as someone else mentioned, how heavy something feels and how heavy it actually is can be deceptive depending on the balance of the firearm.
 
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