Dreams of a 5 lb. Ar10

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captain awesome

captain awesome

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So like the title says, I have been contemplating if building one that light weight is possible for a quite a while. I have read about others coming close but haven't found one quite that light weight. There are titanium parts for some of the components available, and there are some purpose machined lightweight upper and lower receivers. Carbon fiber barrels, not sure if an aluminum skeletonized hand guard would be best, plastic or perhaps carbon fiber. Any ideas? Anyone heard of one that light?
 
First item to address would be the carrier. Next would be receiver materials. Don't forget barrel contour and/ or materials.
plastic handguard would be the lightest
 
Me, too!
You brought money, right? Like, a lot? Whew! Good. You're going to need it!

V-seven has some very nice things. Battle Arms, Leadstar, too. Start with titanium parts in a lithium aluminum receiver and give us an update around the carbon - fiber barrel.:thumbup:

Your wife loves you, right? Just checking.;)

Like camping, the less in it the more it is!
 
I add weight too centerfire rifles, not remove it. I like an 8.5-9 pound rifle.
This is light compared to my old muzzle loader.
 
I add weight too centerfire rifles, not remove it. I like an 8.5-9 pound rifle.
This is light compared to my old muzzle loader.
 
edwardware said:
.308 recoil is pretty tame. I can't imagine a 5# AR10 bring nearly as bad as a modern Ultralite bolt gun (Kimber Mountain Ascent, etc).
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There's a bit of a difference between a carry-a-lot-shoot-a-little hunting rifle and an AR range toy. Just because a given felt recoil isn't painful doesn't make it pleasant. I don't find my 8mm mag painful, but at nearly 50 ft/lbs with top loads, it's also not something I find enjoyable for leisure.
 
Chuck up the lightest barrel you can find and turn it down to 3/16 wall like a pencil barrel, except the gas port area. Use a .0625 wall aluminum tube as the forend. Take a normal upper reciever and mill the shell deflector off. Mill the forward assist off and weld the hole closed. And ditch the dust cover. Fashion a buttstock from 1/8" wall aluminum tube with a 3/16 flat plate welded to the end. Attach a rubber butt pad. Low pro gas block, carbine length. No flash hider or pic rails. Magpul plastic sights.


... hmm now you've got me thinking
 
Ar10 pistol might make the 5lb cut and be reasonably priced, but that’s cheating. The stock, barrel, and hand guard weight savings would be significant, but I’m not sure they would be enough to overcome the weight of a “brace”... and that muzzle blast would be awful.
 
captain awesome said:
So like the title says, I have been contemplating if building one that light weight is possible for a quite a while. I have read about others coming close but haven't found one quite that light weight. There are titanium parts for some of the components available, and there are some purpose machined lightweight upper and lower receivers. Carbon fiber barrels, not sure if an aluminum skeletonized hand guard would be best, plastic or perhaps carbon fiber. Any ideas? Anyone heard of one that light?
Click to expand...

Never seen one that light but a DPMS GII in the Compact Hunter configuration will be just under 7 lbs. I suspect you could shave another half pound off it with a lighter hand-guard and stock although you probably going to add it back with some type of optics. The GII guns are unique in that the bolt carrier is the same diameter as an AR-15. Helps keep the weight down and the size of the receiver.
 
BigBlue 94 said:
Chuck up the lightest barrel you can find and turn it down to 3/16 wall like a pencil barrel, except the gas port area. Use a .0625 wall aluminum tube as the forend. Take a normal upper reciever and mill the shell deflector off. Mill the forward assist off and weld the hole closed. And ditch the dust cover. Fashion a buttstock from 1/8" wall aluminum tube with a 3/16 flat plate welded to the end. Attach a rubber butt pad. Low pro gas block, carbine length. No flash hider or pic rails. Magpul plastic sights.


... hmm now you've got me thinking
Click to expand...

That won't save any appreciable weight. 3/16" wall on a .308 cal barrel gives you a .684" OD, barely thinner than a standard carbine profile. 1/16 wall Al tube also isn't gonna be any lighter than an extruded handguard full of holes, just weaker & uglier. As far as buttstock, aluminum is 2-1/2 times heavier than a dimensionally equal nylon part. Forward assist boss, shell deflector and dust cover amount to very little.

The best way to get a .308 AR down is a barrel .550" or thinner, 1mm wall carbon fiber handguard, carbon fiber tube & plate off the standard milspec diameter carbine receiver extension, Ti gas block and aluminum bolt carrier. That's the bulk of the weight which can be shed, everything else for bragging rights at high cost rather than an appreciably lighter gun.
 
Who said the Al tube couldn't have holes or slots? Plus the upper reciever mods will save ounces. Ounces turn into pounds. Any little bit adds up when you consider modifying 10 parts. The carbon fiber stuff is definitely lighter and prettier, but more expensive.

I wasnt aware you could get a .550 308 barrel, I was just guestimating off the dimensions of a thin barrel 257 Robert's I have. Come to think of it, that muzzle is under .500 diameter.

I was simply trying to go about it a different way than buying all the individual parts.
 
MachIVshooter said:
That won't save any appreciable weight. 3/16" wall on a .308 cal barrel gives you a .684" OD, barely thinner than a standard carbine profile. 1/16 wall Al tube also isn't gonna be any lighter than an extruded handguard full of holes, just weaker & uglier. As far as buttstock, aluminum is 2-1/2 times heavier than a dimensionally equal nylon part. Forward assist boss, shell deflector and dust cover amount to very little.

The best way to get a .308 AR down is a barrel .550" or thinner, 1mm wall carbon fiber handguard, carbon fiber tube & plate off the standard milspec diameter carbine receiver extension, Ti gas block and aluminum bolt carrier. That's the bulk of the weight which can be shed, everything else for bragging rights at high cost rather than an appreciably lighter gun.
Click to expand...
Is an aluminum carrier even doable? I mean wouldn't it gouge and crack under 1000 rounds?
 
Getting one down to 6 pounds would be doable. I hunt with the mountain ascent in 308. It only weighs 5 pounds. With a muzzle brake the recoil is not bad. The gas gun would further reduce recoil.
 
vkeith said:
Not mine, but how about a 4 lb .308 AR?

View attachment 817247

Link to thread (photo from page 96)
Click to expand...

Reading though that thread kind of makes me want to try a light build with a 16" 6.5 CM Faxon Gunner. The titanium BCG and lightweight upper/lower pairs really aren't as pricey as I thought. I bet I could cheapen up the furniture a bit and save a few hundred dollars, still coming in under 6lb. Not sure what I'd use it for, maybe hunting?
 
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