Good evening Hide! I'm currently shooting a 6.5CM for a hunting rifle. It's a heavier rifle and as I get older, the less I want to lug the bastard around. Now I'm searching for a much lighter AR base rifle. Should I be looking at the route of acquiring individual parts and doing an assembly or just buy something off the shelf? Looking for recommendations on either route.
-
Having trouble using the site?
Contact support
Rifle Suggestions
- Thread starter TLaude
- Start date
S&W and CMMG make a factory 6 mm ARC that is suitable for hunting. Even as a truck gun. Kyle at the Social Regressive did a series on his 6 ARC.
Here is the start of the playlist.
However, he has not posted anything in the last 9 months to a year. I don't know why.
If you want to stick with 6.5 Creedmoor, I recommend buying a complete rifle. This forum is littered with threads where people’s various large frame parts aren’t playing together nicely. It’s not impossible to build a large frame, but choosing to build is often choosing to tinker and troubleshoot.
Having said that, most large frame ARs are probably going to weigh more than your bolt action rifle unless the bolt gun’s bare weight is 11 lbs., or more.
If you go the small frame route, you should be able to build or buy according to your preference, and depending on attachments and the parts you choose, you could beat your bolt gun’s weight.
I'll give it a watch!
This gun will be deer. If I ever get around to hunting bigger stuff like Elk or Moose, I'll just bring the 6.5CM
Not partial to sticking with the 6.5CM. Actually thinking more of like a .223 type round.
Small frame AR + hunting deer, I think you might find 6.5 Grendel worth considering.
Grendel or 6Arc would be perfectly serviceable, but if you already have an ammo stock, and are not recoil shy, you could look into getting a lighter chassis system / rifle that still shoots 6.5CM
plenty of nice lightweight options out there now for chassis and carbon wrapped barrels, or even just moving to featherweight barrel profile and accepting the trade-off of potential shift if you need to take repeated shots
If weight was the focus, you could easily get a grendel SBR down to 5lbs or so using a KP15 monolithic poly lower, carbon wrapped barrel and a CF handguard, but some 6.5CM bolt actions can be in the 6lb range if you drop enough coin. (Proof does an off the shelf all carbon fiber job in the MTR: https://proofresearch.com/rifles/elevation-mtr/ )
plenty of nice lightweight options out there now for chassis and carbon wrapped barrels, or even just moving to featherweight barrel profile and accepting the trade-off of potential shift if you need to take repeated shots
If weight was the focus, you could easily get a grendel SBR down to 5lbs or so using a KP15 monolithic poly lower, carbon wrapped barrel and a CF handguard, but some 6.5CM bolt actions can be in the 6lb range if you drop enough coin. (Proof does an off the shelf all carbon fiber job in the MTR: https://proofresearch.com/rifles/elevation-mtr/ )
Alexander Arms has a sale right now, with an 18" complete 6.5 Grendel Hunter rifle for $1200. It weighs 6.4 lbs, and I've had good luck with their lightweight barrel on my custom build.
www.alexanderarms.com
6.5 Grendel Hunter Standard | Alexander Arms
www.alexanderarms.com
I wanted a lighter AR 10, so I built one, 308 6 lbs 2 oz ...lighter than many AR15s.
It's accurate and light.
It has a titanium bolt carrier, and muzzle brake, carbon fiber hanguard 1 oz, magnesium upper, Wilson Combat fluted 16" Recon barrel, adjustable gas block
Areo lower with 2 lb trigger, minimalist stock.
Shoots 168 ELDM at 2756 fps into 1/2".
Plenty of energy for deer and elk. Or the 208 gr .691 BC at 2442 fps for heavy game. Or 155 gr 2815 to 2900 fps.
And cheap LC brass...
For those who don't want to build their own, Roam has available in complete magnesium upper or complete rifle, with magnesium upper and lower, but they use a pencil barrel, mine has a bit heavier profile and fluted to get close to the pencil barrel weight, and surprisingly accurate over 5 shots...308 power 6 lbs, check them out, or build your own. One of my favorite rifles.
It's accurate and light.
It has a titanium bolt carrier, and muzzle brake, carbon fiber hanguard 1 oz, magnesium upper, Wilson Combat fluted 16" Recon barrel, adjustable gas block
Areo lower with 2 lb trigger, minimalist stock.
Shoots 168 ELDM at 2756 fps into 1/2".
Plenty of energy for deer and elk. Or the 208 gr .691 BC at 2442 fps for heavy game. Or 155 gr 2815 to 2900 fps.
And cheap LC brass...
For those who don't want to build their own, Roam has available in complete magnesium upper or complete rifle, with magnesium upper and lower, but they use a pencil barrel, mine has a bit heavier profile and fluted to get close to the pencil barrel weight, and surprisingly accurate over 5 shots...308 power 6 lbs, check them out, or build your own. One of my favorite rifles.
Attachments
I have many of those calibers...
No scopes attached.
308 AR 10 ultra light 16" barrel 6 lbs 2 oz.
338 RCM AR 10 special build 18" light fluted barrel 7 lbs 11 0z
AR 15 6 mm ARC 18" Proof rifle stock 8 lbs 14 oz
AR 15 6mm ARC 18" Proof carbine stock, 8 lbs 2 oz.
AR 15 300 Blkout 16" barrel 7 lbs 3 oz.
So AR 10 can be built lighter than many standard build AR 15s by alot.
If I chose the AR 15 it would be the 6 mm ARC.
My 224 Valkyrie is 24" heavy barrel and is too heavy, same with the others.
I would build a light weight fluted 18" 6 mm ARC, and add some additional light weight components.
But my 16" 308 6 lb is 100 fps faster with 168 eldm, than the 6mm ARC with 108 eldm in 18" barrel, ...which is two inches longer! And the bullets have similar BCs.
Plus the 308 runs on cheap LC brass found by the thousands everywhere, not to mention all the mags and components available in 308...and mine is set up for 1200 yds on the turrent.
It does have a bit more recoil, but if its too much the 6mm ARC is a very good candidate, when handloading, to get a variety of 6mm bullets, would be my next choice.
No scopes attached.
308 AR 10 ultra light 16" barrel 6 lbs 2 oz.
338 RCM AR 10 special build 18" light fluted barrel 7 lbs 11 0z
AR 15 6 mm ARC 18" Proof rifle stock 8 lbs 14 oz
AR 15 6mm ARC 18" Proof carbine stock, 8 lbs 2 oz.
AR 15 300 Blkout 16" barrel 7 lbs 3 oz.
So AR 10 can be built lighter than many standard build AR 15s by alot.
If I chose the AR 15 it would be the 6 mm ARC.
My 224 Valkyrie is 24" heavy barrel and is too heavy, same with the others.
I would build a light weight fluted 18" 6 mm ARC, and add some additional light weight components.
But my 16" 308 6 lb is 100 fps faster with 168 eldm, than the 6mm ARC with 108 eldm in 18" barrel, ...which is two inches longer! And the bullets have similar BCs.
Plus the 308 runs on cheap LC brass found by the thousands everywhere, not to mention all the mags and components available in 308...and mine is set up for 1200 yds on the turrent.
It does have a bit more recoil, but if its too much the 6mm ARC is a very good candidate, when handloading, to get a variety of 6mm bullets, would be my next choice.
