Home Forums Hunting & Shooting AR and Tactical Rifles What is considered “light” in a 16” AR?

I weighed my light house gun after swapping the rail and it’s 5 lbs 14 ozs without a mag and sights. Faxon pencil, ALG 12” rail and Magpul fixed stock.

I am not after ultralight, just curious where this is on average, it feels good as it sits.

I would consider that a reasonably light rifle but not ultralight; I'd say ~ 6 lb with an empty mag and sights is a medium light rifle. That's a fairly easy weight to achieve with common components, as yours is. IMO that makes for a nice handy rifle that should still be able to shoot well if the barrel is decent.

Under 5 lb is achievable without too much work, even with a red dot mounted. If you go full out, under 4 lb is possible, I've seen a couple right around 3.5 lb (not scoped) but that requires a lot of custom work and lightening every component possible.

Then again, some guys are used to 15+ lb rifles and anything under 10 lb is considered light weight to them. It's all about perspective.

I have one that's about 5.5 pounds and another in the 4.7-4.8 pound range. That's with irons.

The heavier of the two has an old-style (when they still did .625 gas block journals) Daniel Defense CHF 16" barrel, ALG SCB, 13" Bravo Company KMR (the original magnesium alloy, before idiots forced them to switch to full aluminum), full mass BCG, carbine buffer, MFT stock, standard forged lower and forged upper without forward assist.

The lighter is a faxon 16" pencil, ALG 10" v2 handguard, Syrac adjustable gas (before they went craptastic and folded), AP custom Rhino lightweight BCG, carbine buffer with weights removed, forged upper and lower (same non-FA upper), a2 pistol grip.

Both rifles wear a DD fixed front sight and troy fixed rear. No polymer lowers or polymer LPK crap either.


a fella could probably find himself under 4 pounds by incorporating carbon fiber and titanium in more areas, as well as utilizing the 2A armament lightweight billet receivers.


My block I M4 clone is about 7ish pounds with red dot and the KAC drop-in rails. My SOCOM Block II FSP build is probably in the upper 8 to low 9 pound region cause it's got a B5 sopmod, Eotech 553, and a SOCOM barrel profile with DD RIS II.

And then there's the mk12 clones, the SEAL Recce clone, the varminter with a 20" white oak, and my MATEN with a 16" barrel that's about 10.5 with SS10X in ADM mount.


Weights can run the gamut, and it's pretty easy to get from under 5 pounds all the way to over 12. Whatever floats yer scrote.

There's a price to pay for everything you do. Start with a Colt 6720 at a little over 6 lbs, it's useable as is but then you start adding optics. You can shave the FSB and install a free float rail to remain lighter weight or you can go full ultralight compromising on durability.

Most guns will run 7-8 lbs with optics.

Hmm. A really light weight AR setup doesn't have to compromise durability, if you know what you're doing. Some parts certainly can (like aluminum bolt carriers for example) but that's not true for everything.

Yep,

Then add about 1 lb for a magazine of ammo, and maybe another 1 lb for a Harris bipod. Very easy to get into the 9-10 lb range.

'Lightweight' really isn't the AR platform's strong suit.

8 lbs, 13 oz, with 18 rounds in the mag. 14.7" govt profile bbl.

You want light? Get an H&R Handi rifle and turn down & cut down the barrel!

"Light" is just a relative term anyway.

Some hand guards will take more abuse than others, do you want BUIS's? Durable scopes don't fit into the light weight category either, nor do mounts. It all depends on what you want to end up with.

They knew a good bit about making the platform light in the '60's.
Most things since have added weight.

Yes, some will take more abuse than others, but there's not a great correlation between that and weight. Plenty of the heavy parts available for ARs won't handle any more abuse than quality light weight parts.

I can't agree with that. Yes, it's easy to end up with a heavier rifle if you're not paying attention to weight, but it's just as easy to end up with a very light rifle if you do pay attention to weight. The pic of yours doesn't look like you prioritized light weight when you chose the parts; nothing wrong with that but don't assume that's a good representation of what an AR has to be. Along with that, one doesn't have to choose heavy scopes or keep a bipod mounted all the time.

If a guy wants, you can build a light weight AR easier than most other rifle platforms, there are a lot of good options out there right now. When 3.5 to 4 lb complete rifles are out there, it's hard to claim that ARs aren't good for light weight setups.

Does the 3.5-4 lb complete rifle include optics, a magazine full of ammo, a bipod, and a sling?

Seriously? Light parts are not geared for taking abuse. I'm not talking about Crapco vs KAC.

Irons only is a light option but a compromise in low light or with older eyes. Micro red dots are light but dependent on batteries and prone to electronic issues. Leupold makes light scopes but will they hold zero?

I'll stand by what I wrote. "There's a price to pay for everything you do."

I'm not meaning to come across as argumentative. I'd like to hear more about a complete AR-15 that tips the scales at 3.5 lbs. I'm interested in how it shoots, etc.


This little piggy weighs 7lbs/5oz as it sits with a full 20-rd magazine.

I believe this would qualify as light.

I don't like the handguard at all and I bet that was not cheap to assemble.

Shane, my post was not directed at you, it was to Yondering who argues with nearly everything I post.

There's nothing wrong with a light AR, my comments were simply to say you give up things to get below 6 lbs. Depending on what you want, it might not be a big deal but to me, performance trumps light weight. That's why even my Kimber Montana wears a SWFA 3-9 instead of a lighter scope.

Yondering definitely knows how to build one light.

Case in point, on Shanes pistol above, replace the carry handle with a DD A1.5 and replace the FSB with a low profile adjustable gas block. Change the hand guard to a carbon fiber tube and use a front sight on it. Change the upper to one with no dust cover or FA. Remove the brace. Use a JPE light carrier and buffer system and trim the barrel down.

That would shave weight but would you be happy with the changes?

I had to do some google-fu to see what's up with the ultralight AR stuff. I'm completely out of that loop.

I have to say I am surprised how light they can be built nowadays.

For my personal taste/use, I prefer to stick reasonably close to the more standard patterns.