What is the lightest ar15?

[alpha6164]

I am looking for a ~10.5" ar15 with a piston upper. Which brand/model would be the lightest one?

 

[variablebinary]

Lightest?

Putting an ares retrofit under plastic HG's with a pencil barrel will be light.

 

[Tarvis]

A pencil barrel makes a huge difference. I just put together a light weight 16" kit from m-aparts.com and it feels like it's 3 lbs. It's probably upwards of 5+ but it makes a huge difference. With a 10.5" barrel you are losing a lot of weight over the 16" govt profile barrels, so either a light barrel or a govt profile should work fine. I wouldn't worry about which piston upgrade is lightest, as it can't be enough to make a huge difference. They all increase weight, and I'd rather have one that was more robust; but that's me.

 

[bmanrkg3]

might want to try the Cavalry Arms lower? I've heard good things... personally its a slight too short for my liking, but if you can fondle it before you buy it, go for it.

 

[MT GUNNY]

correct me if Im wrong but you would need a pinned muzzel thingy on the end of a 10.5 incher to make it 16 or more?

 

[Siderite]

MT GUNNY,
if you do a search on NFA SBR (national firearms act - short barreled rifle) you'll find that it is quite legal, it just requires some extra forms and waiting (signed off by local LEO), along with a $200 tax stamp. There are also a few states which ban certain types - for instance, Indiana allows short-barreled rifles, but not short barreled shotguns.

 

[greyling22]

bushmaster carbon-15?

 

[Wes Janson]

Or, if we're really serious...a piston retrofit to a Bushmaster Carbon-15 21S rifle, with barrel cut down. Dunno what weight would wind up being, but if it were left DI I'd guess something along the lines of 4.0 pounds unloaded.

 

[PercyShelley]

IIRC the 14.5" cavalry arms model carbine is 4.5 pounds or so.

Using one of their lowers and a 10.5" upper you could probably get a rifle with a 4 pound empty weight.

Now, if you mated a cav arms lower and a bushmaster carbon-15 pistol upper, you would have a seriously light SBR, say, 3.5 pounds or so?

 

[kingjoey]

Just FYI, a pencil barrel and a piston system are going to give you crappy accuracy. The piston is going to work against the gas block which makes the barrel flex every time you shoot. That is half of the accuracy problem on a Mini14. I would stick with the direct impingement setup and look at the carbon-fiber Bushmaster. If you took the barrel down to 10.5" you'd probably be at or under 4lbs

 

[Don't Tread On Me]

I am looking for a ~10.5" ar15 with a piston upper. Which brand/model would be the lightest one?

I hate to be a smart-a** ...but the solution to this problem is KRINKOV.

.223 out of a 10.5" barrel is terrible. If you want to keep it 10.5" ...this is SBR territory and if I went through the paperwork hassle, I'd rather get a Krink that will be vastly more reliable. It will also lauch a bullet less effected by lower velocity. If the 10.5" is meant to lower weight in conjuction with a 5.5" flashhider ...you lose a lot of potential effectivness due to velocity loss, add a lot of blast/flash, and still not gain anything in terms of compactness.

Sorry to totally recommend something you didn't ask for.

If .223 is a must, there's also the Kel-Tec which is a .223 pistol. Takes AR mags and has a very decent piston design. But it is not an AR-15, not a rifle, but it's light and compact.

 

[rangerruck]

kel tec slr 16 or plr 16, uses a piston drive, and a pencil bbl, the slr is a rifle, with a folding stock, the plr is a long bbl pistol.

 

[KaceCoyote]

yaknow a SU-16 is 4.7lbs unloaded, and is factory equipped with a gas piston system.

 

[cchurchi]

Carbon 15's are lightweight but no piston..