Recommendations on a light AR upper

[DeepSouth]

Anyone know of a complete upper that’s fairly light. My wife seems to like my AR, she definitely likes it more than me, but she complains a little about it being heavy. So I was thinking I may just buy a lighter complete upper without the forward assist, maybe a 14.5” barrel with pined flash suppressor and a few other “make it light” things but I can’t seem to find such an animal, maybe my google foo just isn’t working. Just something that sheds a little weight to help her out, I’m not expecting extreme weight reduction.

I just want a fairly light complete upper, I do not want to build anything.
Anyone have any recommendations?

 

[SamT1]

If your not looking for anything special a DPMS Oracle is super light. You can buy a whole gun for $399 local here.

What’s making yours heavy? Some handgurds are super heavy. You may just need a lighter one. 10 or 20 round mag to make your a better feel.

 

[LoonWulf]

Lightest, cheapest option, would be to build what you want. Smooth side joebobs spartan upper, pencil barrel, light handguard, and light weight bcg, micro adjustable gasblock would end up around 350-400.

The Oracle @SamT1 sugested, is a good choice. brownells list just the upper here
https://www.brownells.com/rifle-par...eceiver-oracle-barrel-assembly-prod81878.aspx

PSA also has this
http://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-...il-profile-freedom-upper-w-out-bcg-or-ch.html

https://www.righttobear.com/RTB-Complete-Lightweight-Bolt-Carrier-Group-Blac-p/sbn16-lw.htm Ive got that bcg in my "lightweight" upper and its been solid, but an adjustable gas block is probably a good idea with that one.

Honestly best weight reduction is from a shorter pencil weight barrel, it not only reduces weight, but brings the balance back closer to your body which makes the whole thing feel lighter.

my most recent build weighs in a 6lbs 1oz with a 20rnd Pmag unloaded. ive got a plastic upper and lower, but weight savings there is only about 4 oz, and I added that back on with the heavy rubber pad on my stock. Could probably get it down sub 5 .5lbs by just removing that, the flash hider, and going to a lighter stock

 

[Hokie_PhD]

What barrel length, handguard etc do you have?

Also have you considered putting one together?

You could pick a light weight barrel and other parts and not spend a lot.

As an aside PSA has a killer deal on a 16” upper. It doesn’t have a BCG or charge handle and it’s not free float but for the money it might be worth looking at

 

[DeepSouth]

If your not looking for anything special a DPMS Oracle is super light. You can buy a whole gun for $399 local here.

What’s making yours heavy? Some handgurds are super heavy. You may just need a lighter one. 10 or 20 round mag to make your a better feel.

I guess I should have mentioned all that. It’s a bone stock M&P sport 2. It isn’t that’s it’s heavy (it’s not) my wife is just weak.


And yeah I feel sure building is the cheapest/lightest way to go. I just don’t care for ar’s, building it would be more of a chore than just slapping an upper on it. In short, I’m lazy.


I will look into the recommendations.
Thank Y’all for them!

 

[Corpral_Agarn]

Hard to beat the PSA ones for the price point.

 

[Riomouse911]

I used a DPMS "pencil barrel" upper on one of mine. Really a lightweight piece compared to the h-bars.

 

[imashooter]

Unless you do some assembly, you'll be hard pressed to go lighter than what you have now. Or you could get her a M&P 15-22 and tell her it's an AR. Very light.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Unless you do some assembly, you'll be hard pressed to go lighter than what you have now. Or you could get her a M&P 15-22 and tell her it's an AR. Very light.

And cheap to run

 

[Varminterror]

Doesn’t get much lighter than an M&P Sport II without 1) building and 2) spending quite a bit of money. Getting lighter isn’t so hard, getting notably lighter would be.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Doesn’t get much lighter than an M&P Sport II without 1) building and 2) spending quite a bit of money. Getting lighter isn’t so hard, getting notably lighter would be.

And weight also impacts recoil,
So OP has to be careful that he doesn’t trade the weight issue for a recoil one.
So he really has to think about what parts he uses and how they work together

 

[DeepSouth]

Yeah, maybe I just need to man up and build something specifically for her. Although I do like M&P 22 idea, she probably wouldn’t like it though. Well she would like it, she’d just still want something else.

Surprisingly, recoil doesn’t seem to bother her much, obviously to a point. But she HATES heavy triggers and doesn’t really like heavy guns, but like I said her idea of heavy is basically any long gun.

Maybe I’ll just tell her to use the bow flex more and the gun will get lighter.
.
.
Then again that may not be in my best interest.

 

[Varminterror]

I wouldn’t normally give any consideration to recoil for a 5.56/.223 AR. My son turns 5 next month, he shoots a “lightweight” SBR. Holding it is the hard part, managing the recoil isn’t. In general, in instructing new shooters, I have noticed 5 reasons a 223/5.56 has “too much recoil” for a shooter: 1) terrible stock fit (I.e. stock slapping a poor chin weld on a high optic), 2) excessive blast and lacking hearing protection, 3) poor technique/instruction, 4) lacking interest or fear of firearms such complaints of recoil is a means to convince whoever is coercing them to shoot to let them stop, or 5) a mental toughness which falls short of physical toughness, somewhere on the order such wearing a wool sweater is felt to be physically too painful to tolerate...

4 is a lot more common than most might think, especially for female companions. 5 is exceedingly uncommon, but I have met a few which qualify. One guy claimed he couldn’t even hold his pistol because the grips hurt his hand - he also had trouble carrying his range bag because it hurt his hands so badly... with an XD and 50 rounds... Absolutely blew my mind - no idea how he carries grocery bags or even ties his shoes without screaming in pain... nice enough guy though...

 

[Varminterror]

I think it would be very easy to find someone to put together a lighter upper for you, in lieu of building it yourself. Shoot me a PM if interested.

 

[Hokie_PhD]

Yeah, maybe I just need to man up and build something specifically for her. Although I do like M&P 22 idea, she probably wouldn’t like it though. Well she would like it, she’d just still want something else.

Surprisingly, recoil doesn’t seem to bother her much, obviously to a point. But she HATES heavy triggers and doesn’t really like heavy guns, but like I said her idea of heavy is basically any long gun.

Maybe I’ll just tell her to use the bow flex more and the gun will get lighter.
.
.
Then again that may not be in my best interest.

If you’ve never put an AR together it’s fun, you might enjoy it and get hooked. Or if you were near, I’d gladly do it for you as I enjoy it.

I’d advise not getting the Mrs mad. You know the adage about keeping Momma happy.

Recoil isn’t a big deal on an AR, but I liked my old rifle more than my carbine as it basically had no recoil. My new one is setup for virtually no recoil, so go figure. I guess when we get spoiled!

You can get some nice triggers for not a lot of money. It’s just a matter of shopping wisely. But be careful, that too can lead to becoming a trigger snob. Lol

 

[Everready73]

Faxon sells a 14.5 pencil barrel with pinned slim flash hider. You can take the gas block off without removing the fh . Aero slick side upper receiver with your choice of a light weight handguard. Right to Bear BCG sa linked above and you have a nice setup that won't break the bank

I have had John Thomas at Retro Arms Works put together a few uppers for me and he is one of the best in the biz. $30 I think is what he charges for an upper assembly if you don't feel comfortable doing it.

 

[Hasaf]

I mentioned my carbon fiber Windham AR in the past, it is pretty light. As another plus, my daughter, the other shooter in the house, assures me that she feels less recoil with it. It might be due to the nature of carbon fiber, but it is my lightest AR.

 

[Demi-human]

If you build it,
she will...

... shoot it a lot and love you very much for it.

I think I saw that in a baseball movie once.

Many sites list the wieght of the product. Shuck the bucks, she's worth it.

 

[MistWolf]

Take a close look at the Colt 6720.

 

[mcb]

Bushmaster Minimalist (available as a completer rifle or upper) uses a pencil barrel and the hand-guard is pretty light weight and very comfy in the hand.

 

[Coal Dragger]

You want light weight and factory built?

Here you go: https://www.vsevenweaponsystems.com/14-5-lr-enlightened-ar-15-rifle/

Sold as a complete rifle or as a complete upper.

 

[Demi-human]

Now that is an awesome AR! I have some of their titanium parts in my Valkyrie. Many things titanium that are Brownells branded are Vseven. Very good stuff.

 

[Everready73]

Take a close look at the Colt 6720.

If not a build, this would be my choice for a reliable lightweight option

 

[BSA1]

What a timely question. I am just completing a light(er) weight build myself using the following parts;

Anderson Lightweight Sport Stripped Upper – No Forward Assist, No Dust Cover. Has Brass Deflector - 6.88 oz.

Del-Ton 16” Lightweight 1x9 Moly Barrel. Includes installed barrel nut, sight tower, sling swivel and front sight parts - 32 oz.

Delta Ring Assembly includes Spring and Snap Ring - 2.5 oz.

A-2 Flashhider - 1.9 oz.

Crush Ring - .16 oz.

BCG Full Auto Black Nitride - 11.52 oz.

Charging Handle - .95 oz.

Magpul MOE Carbine handguard - 6.8 oz.

Magpul MBUS Rear Sight - 2.0 oz.
=======
Total weight - 64.71 oz. (4.07 lbs.)*

I would reconsider not building the upper receiver yourself. While it will not be cost effective to buy over $100.00 in tools just for one build the only part that needs a special tool is tightening the barrel nut. A gunsmith can do the barrel install in 5 minutes.

In addition I am adding a Mission First Tactical Minimalist Stock that weighs 6.0 oz.

*Disclaimer - I have not personally weight any of the parts as I do not have a digital scale. I have got the weights from the manufacturers and venders websites and the Internet.

 

[Mosin Bubba]

What a timely question. I am just completing a light(er) weight build myself using the following parts;

Anderson Lightweight Sport Stripped Upper – No Forward Assist, No Dust Cover. Has Brass Deflector - 6.88 oz.

Del-Ton 16” Lightweight 1x9 Moly Barrel. Includes installed barrel nut, sight tower, sling swivel and front sight parts - 32 oz.

Delta Ring Assembly includes Spring and Snap Ring - 2.5 oz.

A-2 Flashhider - 1.9 oz.

Crush Ring - .16 oz.

BCG Full Auto Black Nitride - 11.52 oz.

Charging Handle - .95 oz.

Magpul MOE Carbine handguard - 6.8 oz.

Magpul MBUS Rear Sight - 2.0 oz.
=======
Total weight - 64.71 oz. (4.07 lbs.)*

I would reconsider not building the upper receiver yourself. While it will not be cost effective to buy over $100.00 in tools just for one build the only part that needs a special tool is tightening the barrel nut. A gunsmith can do the barrel install in 5 minutes.

In addition I am adding a Mission First Tactical Minimalist Stock that weighs 6.0 oz.

*Disclaimer - I have not personally weight any of the parts as I do not have a digital scale. I have got the weights from the manufacturers and venders websites and the Internet.

I have a Del-Ton Sport Lite, which is this exact build minus the MOE handguards in a factory gun, and I am very happy with its weight.

Delton offers custom-made uppers on their web site, where you could probably build this exact setup for $450-$500. Not really a screaming deal, but it does get you a custom upper delivered to your door without needing a gunsmith or any new tools.

EDIT - $439, without a rear sight.