Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Ultralight Ultralight Rifles

Since there's a lot of interest here regarding lightweight gear, this might be interesting to some.

I've been building these straight-pull ARs for awhile now and really like them for mountain hunting. A lot of ability for essentially a BB-gun-weight centerfire. The lightest one shown is a 233 Wylde, the "heavy" one is a 300 HAM’R.

Have taken everything from squirrels to moose and grizzly with these, so far. Hardly ever use my other rifles anymore.

There's also a long thread under the same name on Rokslide.

You might get more traffic in Hunting Rifles.

@thegman,

Link?

I searched Rokslide for “ultralight ultralight rifles” and found nothing.

Not saying it’s not there. Just saying I can’t find it.

Here's a link to the thread. Surprised it didn't come up in a search(??)

https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/ultralight-ultralight-rifles.329402/

4winds, you're rght, I'm sure. Maybe I'll post it there as well, but figured the fellow weight weenies here would appreciate it most

I think the subject matter of "ultralight" format along with NOT an AR15 SEMI AUTO of design, holds a lot of merit and shouldn't be buried in "a bunch of similar guns" reflecting as preaching to the choir! My contribution here as further possible adaption to slide action without a lot of extra weight or complexity? All this is new to me and if portending a commercial venture maybe guidance from such "preaching" but potential customer input from the consumer crowd!
Just my take!
Best!
John

I didn’t read the whole 45 pages but the first 3 pages are interesting. Seems like the 300 HAMR is made for this application.

Have you tried the Kali Key?

https://kalikey.com/

That and a JP low mass bcg could shave a few oz, I’d think.

I have a 300 HAMR rifle I may try this on.

Interested in the side charging bolts as well, but I have a Kali Key and JP low mass in the parts kit.

Do you need the spring to keep pressure on the bolt? Or does it lock when forward and unlock when you pull it back without the spring to assist.

If yes spring, what do you replace the buffer weight with? Or, is the spring just in contact with the bcg?

Also, I see a bunch of fixed scopes with duplex reticles (at least in the first 8 pages). Did anyone solve the light scope with hash marks / reference lines problem?

Like under 10 OZ scope?

I've never looked into building a slide action, but it could probably be done. I think POF makes one, but it weighs quite a bit more. Weight (or lack thereof) is my primary goal. Currently working on a sub-3 pound 223. That's probably about as low as I'll go.

I've looked online at the Kali Key and gave that some thought. It's probably the best solution if you want the rifle to be as AR-like as possible.

The "problems" weight wise is that it needs a buffer and spring. The Solo upper clicks in with a ball detent to help keep the action in battery and doesn't use any springs or buffers in the stock (frees up stock design as well). Also, the left-side charging is very easy and very fast to cycle; much more ergonomic than using a charging handle in the rear. There are some pics and descriptions of the Solo bolt on the Rokslide thread. Somewhere in the 30s page wise, as I recall. Probably worth skimming through the whole thread to get a complete picture.

I was running a SWFA ultralight 2-10 originally. Those weigh under 10 oz but really aren't in stock enough to be considered viable IMO. Some guys are going to Primary Arms 5x MicroPrism which are sub-9, I think. I'll probably try one of those out eventually.

Damn, I shouldn't have read this...now i want to build a .350 legend!

Yeah, I’ve been on Wilson Combat and Solo morning.

Thegman,

How did you solve no gas gas block?

Also, I just hit up Tressa at Wilson Combat, and she said all the special run no-gas port 300 HAMR barrels have all been spoken for. I'm in the queue for when the next batch comes out.

I wouldn't be surprised if Bill works with Solo 300 to come out with a WC line of Lightweight Lightweight bolt action ar rifles.

On factory barrels, I use a reversed aluminum gas block to seal the gas port. Simple, cheap and effective. Most of the top portion can be cut away, if needed, to fit under a PCC type handguard. There's no gas tube, obviously, so PCC handguards work fine. I'm building my own handguards at this point which weigh less than 2oz for a 9" handguard. On a lot of 30cal and 350L barrels, the gas port fills with copper over a period of time. At that point, it takes very little from the gas block to keep the gas port sealed.

I do have a couple of unported barrels that were made for me as one-offs, a 300 HAM'R from Wilson Combat (the 300 HAM'R pictured above) and a 223 Wylde from Shaw (not pictured yet, but should be part of the upcoming sub-3# rifle). As this idea has gained popularity since the Rokslide thread started, Wilson and Shaw have been getting more requests for unported barrels and are considering making some unported barrels as an option, but haven't started that just yet, hopefully they will eventually.

When I first started building these the goal was to use off-the-shelf parts with little or no modification required. As their utility proved out, going with dedicated unported barrels became worthwhile for me.

Wow, that's great to hear about the Wilson barrels! Bill made a couple to try out the idea for himself and sent me one of them. At the time, apparently they were "considering" making a run as they were getting a lot of requests. I guess that time came and I wasn't in the loop. Great to know.

Might be worth contacting Shaw as well. They made a couple of unported 223 Wylde barrels and sent me one to test out. It weighs less than 18oz. Will start load work-up with that barrel today. They were planning on a run of unported 223 barrels. The more requests they get the faster it will most likely happen.

..., does that scale say 3.14 lbs...? (!)?

Thanks G.

Tressa said "I know there is a lot of testing going on for now, I do believe once that is done it is something we will bring to market. "

Walk me through lightweight folding stocks. I think one of those on one of these would make my backpacking rifle dreams come true.

Did you ever solve the hard extraction 6mm ARC issue? A rifle with uppers in 223, 6 ARC and 300 HAMR would cover lots of ground.

Again, I'm about 1/2 way through the Rokslide thread working front to back and back to front.

Another thought: If you want a quick summary of the idea, development and use of these rifles, there's an article on them in the last issue of Guns and Ammo AR. Worthwhile reading if you're thinking of going down this path. The big "3" on the cover is a reference to the article.

https://www.osgnewsstand.com/product/ar15-book1-2024

No, lighter still, 3 pounds 1.4 ounces.

That's awesome! I guess Bill has been tight lipped on that!

As for extraction, for now (unless primary extraction is solved in a lightweight way), cases larger than 350L probably aren't a great idea. I've not myself nor has anyone else had easy extraction with larger cases. If it ever gets its feet under it, the 6mm MAX may be an eventual option. For now, 6x45 and 6mm Mongoose seem to be the 6mm options (though the Mongoose really isn't available in any suitable barrels at this point).

I've not used a folder myself, but several others have used the Kidon folder. It only weighs about 6.5 oz according the the guys that have tried them and seems to work really well.

https://imidefense.com/product/kidon-folding-stock-adapter/

What barrel length were your 300 HAMR barrels?

What barrel length is the max allowable with a folder before it's not a pistol? Or is there?

Also, can you pm me info on this “I'm building my own handguards at this point which weigh less than 2oz for a 9" handguard.”

16" on all my barrels. I don't know about overall length/legal issues for a folder, but I've not heard of it being a problem (?). I'll bet the AR guys would be the ones to ask.

Well, this will free up my HAMR AR-15 to go back to house gun duty.

Red dot, 125s at 2450 FPS, suppressor. Easier to run than my shotgun!

Got an email from Solo today, said 16” 300 blackout barrels would be in tomorrow. I suggested I really need a legend for straight wall Ohio…