A lightweight Bushmaster,..the QRC.

It's just bare bones and comes in at just a hint under 6 lbs. I haven't got any optics on it yet so I haven't shot it, but I'm impressed with it's fit and finish considering that it's a base model. There's no grittyness in the bolt and the trigger was a nice surprise. It's not particularly light, but it breaks very clean.

The collapesable buttstock is a bit loose, but I never much liked them anyway. One of the very few changes I intend to do to it is put an Ace skeletal buttstock on it,..which will drop a few ounces of weight and provide a more rigid shoulder point. The Ace also comes with an optional 1" butt pad which should make the LOP more proper for my long arms.

Like I said,..it's just a toy. Except for the stock and a scope I'm going to leave it just like it is,..no geegaws. I want to see how well one of these ultralight AR-15 carbines can shoot.

I'm not a black rifle guy but I like the working mans rifle theme....

Good snag......



I just did something similar with a Tikka Hunter in 222....($499 +$25 shipping)
I'm a born tinkerer but I ain't gonna spend one thin dime on do-dads for this one.....

Very nice, are the AR prices falling? I so want one, bare bones.

They're fun

You can go thru a passel of .223 and grin the whole time

Caution tho B. You may get where you prefer the lightweight of tha ar vs the fal

You've been warned

Nice toy.

Bud has these for $589. The only one lower priced at his store is the DPMS Oracle,..and to tell you the truth I went there to buy the DPMS, but paid a few bucks extra for the Bushy. I doubt that there's enough difference to matter between the two. I just bought the Bushy because it didn't have the railed gas block like the DPMS and I wanted to go as absolutely light as possible.

Somebody who wanted the option of installing a front sight should get the DPMS. But I'm going with a scope.

lol,..

The FAL's started getting heavy a while ago. I still like them, but I don't want to have to lug one very far.

Good For You! Good way to start 2017.

I'll bet that's a shooter. Everything I've heard about Tikkas say they're accurate and the .222 has a very long reputation for accuracy.

Got one that shoots about an inch at 100 yards. Stock unit, right out of the box.

I think the quality of the barrel will be the main factor,..as it usually is. I wonder if Bushmaster rolled their own barrels for this model of if they contracted out for the barrels?

I've read that many base model AR rifles use Green Mountain barrels.

Those are really good for pigs. Wonder what the price would be if Hillie had been elected??

You can beat that price at PSA. I put together a PSA Freedom upper with a pencil melonite barrel, Magpul furniture, and blemished lower for about $500. It is around 6 pounds or less and shoots with the typical stupid good AR 15 accuracy of around an inch.

That's what this model has, but I'm not sure of the maker. I looked on Green Mountain's webpage and they do indeed manufacture a lot of AR barrels in various configurations, But they don't show any in ultralight configuration.

Of course that doesn't mean that Green Mountain didn't turn out a batch to go on the QRCs.

I have the same AR. I bought it back in August or September and I paid right around $580 for it.

I like it, I'm sure you will too.

Every time I think I want one, I talk myself out of it. A buddy of mine has two, and I can shoot one whenever I want, I just don't want one enough to buy one of my own.

His is an "okay" shooter (DPMS upper and lower, mid-length gas furniture, ACE stock, some other gadgets). The other one is a Rock River Varminter, which shoots better than most boltguns.

But every time I go to buy one, some boltgun or levergun catches my eye, and I forget about the ARs pretty quick.

I hate chasing brass anyway.

The prices on them got too low for me to ignore.

I built a basic A2 heavy barrel AR from a kit about 15 years ago and had a bit over $600 in it. It was quite a shooter but it was too heavy for a .223. I played with it for a while then sold it for about what I had in it. I always thought that if I got another one it would be a leightweight model.

Now, you can buy a new one off the rack for less than what it cost to assemble your own 15 years ago.

I'm not a big AR guy but they are pretty nice when they don't have M-4 contour barrels and a bunch of semi-useless crap hung all over them.

I don't like the M4 contour barrels either. Something about that ring cut around the middle of them just doesn't look right to me. I also don't like that big ass front sight on a flat top AR.

If you're going to mount a scope, that front sight gets in the way of your line of sight.

Both of those things are what steered me towards the Bushmaster QRC,...no M4 barrel,...no front sight,...and, light weight, of course.

Nice snag B.

They are fun and useful

How has that ACE stock worked out for you? Any problems?

I would like to get one and just use a Reflex sight on it.I have two RRA Varmints in 223 and 20 Practical for longer range shooting.

Nope I like it...that stock came factory on that Windham Weaponry varmint exterminator

Where in the fugk did you find that thing?




Dave

I have an M-4 with that Ace stock on it.

Works flawlessly.

This is my M-4, and all I changed is the forearm to a free floating one, and added a nice trigger that breaks at 2.5 pounds.

Weighs about 7 pounds without optics.

Every American should own at least one AR.




Dave

I bet it gives you zero problems.

What optic are you going to put on it?

I'd swap the buttstock for a mapul of your choosing.




Dave

And throw that little red dot sight that came with it in the trash...

http://www.eurooptic.com/JRTA311-Tikka-T3-Hunter-222-Remington-JRTA311-with-Rings.aspx

Even the ones born in Kenya....

I'm going to go traditional on the scope,...I'm leaning towards a Redfield 2-7X33.

I've been looking at the Magpull stocks. I like their friction lock feature.

AR's are like lay's potato chips. i started with a local parts gun and now have 6 ranging from 5.7 to 458.
toys they aren't. i use the 5.7 for clearing pasture rats. the 223 for coyotes, the 7.62x39's for deer, and the 458 for grins so far. Elk hunting next year.

I can't warm up to them for an actual hunting rifle. They are about as convenient to carry as a greased cat. There is just no place to grab one and carry it with one hand that balances well. They do, however, make great truck guns. Particularly now that they are cheap enough that you don't mind actually keeping one in your truck.

I've carried one for miles upon miles. I use a sling just as I would with any other rifle.

If I have it in hand, the pistol grip works well for one handed carry with the barrel pointed to the ground.

An AR is only awkward because one is used to a conventional rifle. In a short time, that awkwardness disappears and handling becomes easy.

You could hang this one from a belt loop.

I referred to it as a "toy" because it's just something for me to play with.

Guns have always been some of my favorite toys,....guns and motorcycles.

There is a reason the original one had a carrying handle right at the balance point.

I really want one of the Bushy uppers just like you got. I have plenty of lowers. I'm looking for light weight as well.

I did build a light weight AR with a Tennessee Arms polymer lower and a Del-Ton light weight carbine upper and I guess it's around 5.5 lbs with no sight. I also did a Del-Ton mid length light weight barrel on a Tennessee Arms polymer lower and it is only an ounce or 2 heavier than the carbine length rifle.

Alas, both now reside at my son's house. One for him and one for his wife. I really need to get them back and play with them some more.

You did good B. A 2-7 scope is about right if you want to keep it light weight. If you want to lose another ounce or two replace the flash hider with a thread protector. You might be able to find an aluminum one.

kwg

ER Shaw too.

I like the looks of that, Bristoe. Not sure if you are in the market for a scope, but I recently bought a Trijicon MRO for an AK, and I love it. I think that would be a perfect optic for a shorty AR.

EDIT: Sorry, just noticed that you are going to go with a normal rifle scope.

Now that you mention it, I recall that the A2 HB I built had an ER Shaw barrel on it. J&T Distributing used to use ER Shaw barrels on many of their barreled uppers. Maybe they still do.

Which mount are you looking to use?




Dave

I don't know yet. I like the looks of one made by Precision Machine.

Not Precision Machine,..."Primary Arms".

These:

http://www.primaryarms.com/MCategories+Scope-Mounts

Leopold makes a nice AR mount.

That is a good mount IME. I bought my Daniel Defense V7 some years ago as it, too, was light. Right around six pounds IIRC.

So tell me, since I'm mounting a traditional scope with about 3.5" of eye relief, will the standard Primary Arms mount get it in position or do you think I need to go with the extended model?

That'll work.

I predict that AR is going to run like a top but you may want to consider a heavier buffer if you want it to run perfecto. It probably came with a C but I bet it's a lot smoother with an H or an H2.

Whatever that's worth to you.




Clark

It will be fine.




Dave

Thanks,..I'll keep it in mind. I had no idea that there was various buffer weights.

I initially wanted to go traditional scope but I was pleasantly surprised at how well I shot with a red-dot.

A cheap chinese knockoff one at that.

Lots of people use red dots. I'm just too used to looking at crosshairs.

speaking of that, I have a new Trijicon wannabe in the box.

Tonight is a slow night, this thread has me in the mood to get my AR out of the safe

Yup.

Hook it up!

Give us a report.

Need a scope? I have a Sightron 1.5-6X SII that is just sitting in the closet. PM me if interested.

I wish my AR had a place to store an Allen wrench

I've got magpul flip up sights so any traditional scope would have to be small. Lots of fixed power scopes to choose from, not too many variable

I appreciate it, but I've got one in the works.

Thanks,..

I just put a Weaver 1x3 on my last one. I really like that scope.

I bought one of those shortly after they came out. (The V3 model) I like it on 3 but I don't like it on 1. It's fisheyed on 1.

I've wondered if they were all like that or if I got a bad one.

I haven't noticed any fish eye.

I bought a V3 maybe 8 years ago to put on a Marlin 30-30. No fish eye on 1x but it's kinda funky on 3x. Lives on my truck gun Mini 14.

Maybe I'll send mine back and ask them to fix it. The worst they can do is say "no".

Magpul covers that ground.




Dave

I had an Ace on one that went down the road. Kind of missed the feel which I liked but I didn't miss the sling mounts. I like QD sling mounts and your options at least at that time were limited. Even the receiver end plate which is on your carbine will be covered using an Ace and not allowing a QD end plate there.

I just saw one. Excellent

I prefer the extended as it will give you the most latitude especially since you will not have a rear sight on the rail. Primary Arms is good but I prefer an extended Aero Precision mount in 30mm as it is about the lightest strong mount. I use delrin split sleeves if I want to mount a one inch tube and still have the option of a 30mm scope.

Congrats - I bought my first one a long time ago, and they are fun rifles. Sometimes the light ones can be surprisingly accurate

I bought a light weight DPMS Sportical when they kinda first showed up in this area for cheap. Think I gave 600 bucks for it in Havre MT after the AWB ended.

Had a Holo Sight on it but the bleeding battery was always dead.

I put a 3x9 Redfield on it that I bought cheap, and mounted it in tall or extra tall Weaver rings.

Not sure how it could be any lighter, save for a smaller scope.

I like 10 and 20 round mags for weight too.

Good luck with yer new toy.

[b][color:#3333FF]Grab-a-Gun[/color][/b] has the S&W M&P-15 Sport II on sale for $525 today, haven't seen them that cheap before..

Don't get loaded while watching American Sniper.

Your rifle will look like this when you wake up.







Dave

Helpful hint for rattly collapseable AR stocks.

I pulled the stock off the buffer tube last night after marking where the front edge of it was positioned when in the extended position with a felt tip marker.

Then, I took some 1/2" wide masking tape and taped 4 thicknesses of it onto the buffer tube. Actually taped 4 thickness of it side by side right behind the mark which showed the front edge of the stock in its extended position.

You just have to loop the tape across the top of the tube and not cover the rail with the detents in it on the bottom of the buffer tube.

It may not take that much for some stocks,...maybe you can get by with 3.

Anyway, my stock is now much tighter on the buffer tube, and you can't even see the tape under there.

I think it's a worthwhile little modification.

I can still collapse the stock if I want to, but I have to give it a shove.

When it's extended, there's still a little wiggle to it but it doesn't rattle around like it did,....a big improvement.

I'm quite sure somebody has done this before. Basically, it's just a low cost shim and makes no permanent changes to anything.

I might just go with the stock that came on it now that I've tightened it up.

It cost about .003 cents and took about 15 minutes of fiddlin' to get it snugged up.

If you don't like it, you can always slip the stock off and peel the masking tape back off,....but I don't know why anyone wouldn't like it. You can't see it under the stock and it makes it fit much tighter.

,...just a thought.

These are really cool and very handy if/when you need it.

http://www.gerbergear.com/Collections/Weapons-Maintenance/Short-Stack_31-002997

I wouldn't. I'd either get the ACE like he plans (I have one and love it) or the new gunfighter butt stock from BCM: http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-GUNFIGHTER-s-Stock-Mod-0-Black-p/bcm-gfs-mod-0-blk.htm. I have two of the Bravo Company's butt stocks and will get more. Light and tight, no wiggle or jiggle.

I have a Rock River varmint in .223 and 308. Good shooters!!

Looks like a nice tool, I'll be looking for one.

FWIW.....Whittakers has em for $499

Sportsmans guide has the DMPS Oracle for $474

I'm good with the lowering price of AR's until they start selling them for food stamps.

That would cause issues.

Just purchased a lightweight carbine myself a couple weeks ago, Bristoe. I went with the Colt AR6720 with the pencil barrel.

It has a standard Front sight post and a MBUS rear sight, I have a Vortex SPARC II on the way from Cameraland to set on top for a quick handling rig.

I have a Rock River Arms ATH rifle for Predator hunting.......does well on Prairie Dogs out to about 400 yards.....

Nice acquisition, Bristoe. I have a RRA CAR-15 much like that, with an Aimpoint T1 on it. Very similar setup. I shot a 1-day (400 rnd) carbine class with it, and it did just fine. I predict you're gonna love it.

Great Flick... it pumps up the patriot in a fella!

My favorite scene...

They are getting cheap