Lightweight 2A Arms Xanthos 6.5 CM Build

[KYAggie]

First, I want to say this is ALL Breastroker’s fault on M14forum. I had not given the AR10 platform the slightest look of interest because they are as heavy as the M14/M1A and they are not standardized as far as parts go; why bother was how I saw it, so I continued playing with the M14/M1A platform. Yeah, right up until Breastroker came on the forum with his sub 6 pound AR10 and a list of manufactures that made the lightweight, but expensive, parts. I got busy shopping around for desired parts and with an Excel spreadsheet listing the weights of each part and the cost, I found out he was not kidding; it can be done and it can, or will, be expensive. The temptation was more than I could resist and I started buying parts, mostly the week of Black Friday, last year when I found them on a good sale; still spent about $2150……..please do not alert my wife. (Update for 2019, no more concerns about anyone alerting my wife.....she gone.....and the walls of this home have never experienced such blissful peace as now; yep I kept the house, my truck, and my guns) Finished weight is 6.46 pounds unloaded without a scope.

​

Upper/Lower set - 2A Arms Xanthos
Barrel - 20" Faxon Heavy weight fluted, 416R, 5R, nitride, Match
Handguard - 2A Arms Xanthos
Stock - MFT Minimalist
Buffer retainer spring - DPMS
Buffer retainer - V7
Buffer Tube - 2A Arms
Buffer + spring - Taccom
TriggerGeissele - SSA
Gas Block - SLR Titanium Adjustable
Muzzle Brake - 2A Arms X4 Titanium
Bolt Carrier - Tool Craft Titanium
Bolt - JP HP Enhanced
Charging Handle - Aero
Grip - Tactical Link PDW
Grip Screw - V7
Mag Catch Assembly - DPMS
Mag release button - Odin Works
Safety Selector - V7
Take down pins - 2A Arms Titanium
Bolt Catch - Phase 5
Trigger pins - V7
Port Door + rod - Strike Industries




The parts that gave the most weight savings were the following:

• 2A Arms Xanthos Receiver set; I bought a blemished one on sale
• 2A Arms Xanthos M-Lok handguard
• Tool Craft Titanium Bolt carrier – expensive but, the quality is unmatched. I wish they would sell only the bolt carrier without the bolt, but they don’t. I replaced their bolt with JP HP enhanced bolt so I would not have problems running the 6.5 Creedmoor. Now I have an extra bolt looking for another project…….
• SLR titanium adjustable gas block
• 2A Arms X4 titanium muzzle brake
• Taccom Carbine Recoil System - I know, they say in the instructions this is not made for an AR10, BUT, it weights 1.1 oz and with the lightweight bolt carrier and the adjustable gas block, it works great. Breastroker uses it as well, and I have over 100 rounds down range and no signs of wear and no problems. You must understand how the gas system works and start with it completely shut off and slowly, shot by shot, adjust it until the bolt locks back on and empty mag. If I opened the gas block up all the way, I guarantee something would get broke; probably the reason you don’t see this sort of thing in production guns going to the general public.

All of the projected weight savings kept me from having to buy a pencil profile barrel to keep the weight down; I could have dropped 4.9 additional ounces. I went with a 20” barrel because I wanted the overall length to still be handy for hunting, but not give up too much velocity. The barrel is a Faxon Match Series Heavy Fluted, 416R, 5R, Nitride barrel with 1 in 8” twist and I am very pleased with how its performing.

With my test scope, Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x44 Rapid Z-800, in Aero Precision lightweight mounts and a 10 round loaded mag, I’m right at 8.5 pounds. With a lighter scope I would be closer to 8 pounds. By now you might be thinking felt recoil could be a problem, but you would be wrong. It does not have a recoil pad and several days ago I put over 60 rounds through it and didn’t notice the recoil at all. Breastroker mentioned in his threads the combination of the lightweight bolt carrier, light weight buffer, good muzzle brake, and adjustable gas block makes for a shockingly light felt recoil impulse and he was correct; my experience is the same.

BTW….I was in Boise, ID in January, and was able to stop by 2A Arms to see their manufacturing facility. They are not really set up at that location for sales, but since I had called ahead, they did give me a great tour! Their machinery is state of the art and mostly automated; it was very impressive. In addition, like many smaller manufacturers, they are passionate about their products, they use them personally, and they can innovate without the headaches of a large bureaucracy. Their products are a made to the highest level of quality on the latest machinery; I highly recommend them.

https://2a-arms.com

 

[JeffLebowski]

Need groups to interest us.

 

[KYAggie]

Its did the copper equalization barrel break in procedure with Nosler 123 CC bullets handloaded in Starline SR brass. After that, I began doing OCW testing with Nosler 129 Accubond LR and Barnes 127 LRX bullets; I plan to use it on an upcoming pig hunt, so target round testing will have to wait till later. Below is a picture of my results with the Nosler 129 Accubond LR, Starline SR brass, Reloader 16 powder, and Federal Match AR primers. This is the first time I have ever done the OCW method. I'm thinking my OCW is between the bottom two groups in the picture. When you look at each 3 shot group, the black diamond below it was actually the diamond I was aiming at when I shot the rounds. The Barnes 127 LRX performed in a similar way. I can't wait to see what this thing will do with a Berger or Nosler RDF!

I know, I know, I need to do more testing and shoot some 5 shot plus groups, BUT, this appears to me, anyway, to be a good start and indicates it has good accuracy potential. The group in the bottom left of the pic had the following velocities: 2886, 2884, 2879. Most of the extreme spreads that day were in the low teens with a few like this one in the single digits.

 

[Birddog6424]

I live in Boise, I "used" to know the guys at 2A very well.

After they ran off the guy who got them off the ground and built them into what they are, I stopped having anything to do with them. Along with the gunshop I used to work at. We carried some of their very first stuff. But don't carry anything anymore.

 

[dinmax82]

I have a Xanthos set with BSF CF barrel I'm trying to get done in 308 though. Using the V Seven hand guard and titanium bcg to save weight, pricey.

It's a pain figuring out buffers for the ar10 without using an A5 stock.

 

[KYAggie]

Dinnmax, I agree, AR10 buffers can be a buy and try kind of thing. That's one reason I bought the 2A buffer tube, because it would work with a carbine spring and buffer. If you are buying a titanium bolt carrier, you really need to have an adjustable gas block to take advantage of the reduced mass, otherwise you would need to have several different weight buffers on hand to try when you first shoot it. Also, it's my understanding AR10's are notoriously over gassed to start with, so it's even more important to be able to adjust the gas entering the system at the gas block. In my case, being able to adjust the gas allowed me to use a very light buffer and so far, I have not had any issues with it. Here is a link to what I'm using for a buffer:


http://www.tacticallink.com/Taccom-Ultra-Lightweight-Carbine-Buffer-for-AR15.html

 

[KYAggie]

Birddog, I don't anything about their past, I just learned about their products last year. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience. What I do know, is that the products they make that I have gotten my hands on personally, are very high quality and very lightweight. I'm not aware of anyone else making a AR10 receiver set that weights 16 oz. For sure, a lot of what they make has a specialized purpose and may not be needed on a competition rifle where weight is not a huge factor. But for those of us who spot and stalk hunt with our rifles, weight is a big factor, especially in the mountains and this is where a lot of 2A's products really shine despite whatever sorted past got them to where they are today. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

 

[dinmax82]

V Seven recommended an H3 buffer and standard ones won't work with short tubes.

Going with an SLR 8 adjustable gas block on this build.

 

[KYAggie]

I will preface what I'm about to write with this: I am NOT an authority on what I'm about to write, the words are just my personal experiences and understandings, so please understand that.

I'm not surprised V7 recommend a H3 buffer as no matter how you run your gas block, you are less likely to damage something. They do this because most of the general public doesn't really understand how these guns work and they don't want to be blamed for recommending something that contributes to a damaged gun. I get it, BUT, if you are spending lots of money trying to build a lightweight gun, their recommendations are heavy, counterproductive, and unnecessary. However, you must understand how the gas system works to certain degree. The only reason you need a heavy buffer is because the system is over gassed. The way to cut down on the gas is to use an adjustable gas block. The heavier your buffer the more gas, i.e. energy, you have to run through the system which has the result of producing more felt recoil......something you want to avoid. All I know is this. Apparently, you really don't need any weight at all in the buffer as long as you have a lightweight bolt carrier, a good adjustable gas block, and you tune the system by first shutting off the gas entirely and working back slowly. I turned my SLR titanium Sentry 7 off then loaded a single round in a mag and shot it, turned the gas block open one click, and repeated one shot from a mag that only had one round in it until the bolt locked back on an empty mag. I have not had a failure to feed nor eject since in over 100 rounds. I'll let you know when I get to a 1000.

I know many will raise their eyebrows at this, but really when you think about it, it makes sense. Less gas + less mass in bolt carrier = less of a requirement for mass in the buffer which when all tuned together = less felt recoil. BUT, you must understand that opening the gas block all the way up, will likely cause damage to something, most likely your receiver when the bolt carrier slams into it at a high rate of speed.

What barrel are you using that requires a SLR 8? Sounds heavy.

Take a look at the buffer I'm using ........it technically weights .8 oz.

http://www.tacticallink.com/Taccom-Ultra-Lightweight-Carbine-Buffer-for-AR15.html

 

[KYAggie]

I took it hog hunting last week and ended up shooting three boars. The Barnes 127 LRX worked perfectly and I was only able to recover one bullet. That was on a 203# boar facing me about 12 steps away headed my direction. I found the bullet under the hide in front of the back left quarter.

 

[KYAggie]

Also, these things are good eating! I smoked some ribs and stuffed a top loin with Spanish chorizo, Manchego cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic, and chopped greens. I can't remember the last time I fixed dinner and no one complained about something. I've got some meat curing now that will be smoked this weekend for bacon. This stuff puts domestic hog to shame flavor wise!

 

[Bowhntr4life]

Your build sounds a lot like mine!!!
2A Xanthos upper lower
Carbon fiber Proof 22" 6.5 Creedmoor Barrel
JP Vmos and bolt
Silent capture gen 2
Luth AR Stock
2A titnium gas block adjustable
Slr titanium Break
2A rail
Titnaium take down
Ambi safety
Elfman trigger

 

[KYAggie]

Very similar indeed! How's it shooting? 2A makes some very nice stuff. Which Elfman trigger did you use and how do you like it? I looked very hard at those, but was afraid they would be too much like my Geissele 3gun which is easy to bump fire if you are not careful.

 

[Bowhntr4life]

Man I absolutely love it! Everything about it. It’s the elfman AR10 trigger. Not the 3 gun or match and yes I love it as well.

 

[SMTGWKD]

I love that you posted this. I literally just bought all the same parts excepting the trigger and barrel. I think I'll settle on a geissele sd-e, but I can't for the life of me decide on 20" vs 22" proof barrel. I shoot suppressed 100% so a 20" appeals to me but 22" seems like such a perfect ballistic compromise...

 

[KYAggie]

SMTGWKD, I had a similar dilemma when I was looking at barrels. A first I was going to buy the very heavy 22" JP Match barrel. Then Faxon came out with their 416R, 5R nitrided fluted match barrels and I was going to get one of theirs in 22". Then........Brownelles had a Faxon barrels on sale and I got another 10% off the sale price, BUT, they did not have the 22" one yet; only the 20"!! I looked again at the following test and decided for my application, I'm not a match shooter and my gun range is limited to 500 yards, 20" would be just fine.

https://rifleshooter.com/2016/02/6-...el-length-on-velocity-cutting-up-a-creedmoor/


As long as my rifle is, if I was shooting suppressed 100% of the time, I would not want over 20". However, if you are wanting to squeeze every last bit of velocity out of it 22" with definitely give you 30-50 additional fps.......or at least it should. My 20" barrel is what would I call "fast" as I'm getting 2925 fps with Barnes 127 LRX and Reloder 16. I did not expect it to be that fast, so I'm very pleased. I'll be testing it with 140 Nosler CC's and RDF's with H4350 in the future and I'll post back the results when I do.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[SMTGWKD]

Thanks for sharing this. I actually built a 6.5 Grendel with exactly the same barrel deal from Faxon. Shoots great so far - still trying to find a good reload for it though.

I think I'm settled on the Proof 20" Camgas setup with the JP VMOS BCG and heavy SCS. The BCG and SCS will cost me about 7 ounces in weight but after discussing at length with JP and running 99% suppressed I think it's the right way to go.

I have a friend with the same setup and a LMOS system that will be shooting for the first time tomorrow. That is the other setup I'm teetering on now...

SMTGWKD, I had a similar dilemma when I was looking at barrels. A first I was going to buy the very heavy 22" JP Match barrel. Then Faxon came out with their 416R, 5R nitrided fluted match barrels and I was going to get one of theirs in 22". Then........Brownelles had a Faxon barrels on sale and I got another 10% off the sale price, BUT, they did not have the 22" one yet; only the 20"!! I looked again at the following test and decided for my application, I'm not a match shooter and my gun range is limited to 500 yards, 20" would be just fine.

https://rifleshooter.com/2016/02/6-...el-length-on-velocity-cutting-up-a-creedmoor/


As long as my rifle is, if I was shooting suppressed 100% of the time, I would not want over 20". However, if you are wanting to squeeze every last bit of velocity out of it 22" with definitely give you 30-50 additional fps.......or at least it should.

Good luck with your choice.

 

[KYAggie]

Yeah, I have not shot my set up suppressed yet. I could do it by putting a AAC Brakeout II I have on the muzzle and removing the titanium brake. But I have not tried it, so I do not know how well my very light bolt and buffer set up would perform. Going with 7 oz more weight for a 100% suppressed application may not be a bad idea. My next build will be a 16" Faxon Gunner 308 barrel and I plan to run it suppressed at least half the time. I will try the same gas block, bolt carrier, buffer set up as this 6.5 and I'll definitely post my results, but that won't be till much later this year at the earliest.

 

[dinmax82]

Finished mine up and works great, recoil definitely more then my other 308s, probably due to the the sabertube stock but it cuts weight. 5lbs 14 oz without brake or scope.

2A Xanthos
BSF 16" barrel
SLR Sentry 8
V Seven Titanium BCG
V Seven Ultraligte handguard
Raptor SD Charging handle
Geissele trigger of some sort
6.5oz Heavy Buffer

Pricey but will be worth it for hunting with my Reap-IR at night.

Might try a lighter buffer later to try and reduce recoil if it doesn't affect reliability. Have it tuned with my Sandman L right now with no issues.

 

[KYAggie]

Man that is light! Nice job! You could cut another 5 oz with buffer I'm using, but you would have to start your tunning with the gas closed completely off. I should be building a 308 with a 16" Faxon Gunner barrel later this year; waiting for 2A to get to a certain SN lower. I'll have to check out the V7 handguards, they must be really light. Got any pics?

 

[jda2631]

I'm looking to build a lightweight 308 also. What is the weight of the JP LMOS BCG with the enhanced bolt? The titanium one's I've seen are about 12-14 ounces. Any issue with durability or reliability with a titanium BCG?

I wish I had known about the 2A Xanthos receivers before I bought the SLR-B30 set. Would have saved another half a pound... 16 ounces for a large frame receiver set is insanely lightweight.

 

[dinmax82]

Ripped this off of a guy on arfcom

Typical AR10 bolt about 3.5oz>
Fail Zero BCG 18oz
Toolcraft Titanium 308 BCG 11.80 ounces with ti firing pin
JP LMOS Carrier only 10.8oz
JP FMOS Carrier only 15.3oz
JP VMOS H. Carrier only 16oz
JP VMOS. Carrier only 14.4oz
JP aluminum VMOS H. Carrier only 8.7oz
JP aluminum VMOS. Carrier only. 7.1oz
V Seven Titanium BCG 12oz
V Seven Titanium Carrier & gas key only 8.5oz
DPMS Gen II BCG 13oz

 

[LA260]

Nice rifle! I originally started my Xanthos 6.5CM build as a lightweight setup but got derailed by the time i finished.
Everything is JP except SLR GB and Geissele SDE trig.

 

[dinmax82]

Scale says around 8lbs like this. Have a TBAC Ultra 5 on order.

 

[grebski]

Faxon Barrel looks like it's performing nicely! Been waiting to see some results before pulling the tiggger on a ligh weight build. Thanks for posting your build sheet

 

[KYAggie]

jda2631 no problems with the titanium carrier as of yet, but I only have 150 ish rounds down range so far. I have not heard of anyone having problems with them for what it's worth. And yeah, that 2A Xanthos is really light, actually, it's the lightest receiver set I know of.

LA260. Nice rifle! I hear ya on getting derailed on a lightweight build; I almost used that same JP barrel. I bet it's a nice shooter. Any idea what it weights? Gotta love those Zeiss Conquest scopes, I now have three of them with the Rapid Z-800 reticle. Wish one of mine had those target turrets; how well does that 6.5-20 track? It's a fly under the radar wonderful hunting scope. Picked up my 3rd from Hide member ScottyS yesterday in person in Reno, what a nice guy. I was out there for work. I used my 4.5-14 on this build to do initial testing. I'll probably use the 3.5-10 on it for hunting and pick up a Cronus BTR, AMG, or used 624i for range fun. The Tijicon RMO worked great for hogs up close and after dark with a PVS14.

dinmax82 That's a really nice set up at 8# with the Reap IR. Wish I had $7000 laying around to pick up one. I guess if I stopped building new guns I could probably afford one eventually. How's the battery life on it?

grebski. Pull the trigger and join us, these lightweight AR10's are making my M1A Scouts very jealous as they getting all the attention right now. They are great shooters, recoil is light, and you carry them around all day and mounting different optics on the a lot easier than a M1A.

 

[grebski]

From all the research I've done the most weight savings vs cost seems to be the barrel, handguard. I'll weight my receivers when I get home to see how they compare to the 2A. I'm leaning towards the midwest industries mlok rail. Super light and under $200. Also leaning towards the faxon heavy gunner or fulted heavy barrel in 18" and maybe a magpul SL or MFT stock.

 

[jda2631]

From all the research I've done the most weight savings vs cost seems to be the barrel, handguard. I'll weight my receivers when I get home to see how they compare to the 2A. I'm leaning towards the midwest industries mlok rail. Super light and under $200. Also leaning towards the faxon heavy gunner or fulted heavy barrel in 18" and maybe a magpul SL or MFT stock.

Just FYI about large frame AR receivers. Most are gonna be around 24 ounces for the set. So the 2A xanthos is about half a pound lighter.

 

[dinmax82]

Hand guard an easy one to save weight.

Receiver set as mentioned is half pound, bsf barrel lighter then proof, and stock. Expensive one is big for a few ounces titanium expensive.

 

[KYAggie]

Yeah, that Tool Craft titanium bolt carrier is expensive, but it sure helps reduce recoil since it only weights 11.8 oz; that's a lot less mass moving around which allows the use of a very light buffer which reduces the weight even more. Handguards around 10 oz and less ar not hard to find, but they usually cost north of $250. Going light is not inexpensive, but worth it when you pick it up. If it's just a range toy, then it might not be worth it.

 

[grebski]

I can't seem to find the toolcraft ti ar10 carrier. The only ones I can seem to find are the JL Billet

 

[KYAggie]

It's sold by Cryptic Coatings:

http://www.crypticcoatings.com/coated-titanium-bolt-carrier-group/

If you go to the Toolcraft website you will end up at the link above.

https://www.toolcraftinc.com/shop/

 

[KYAggie]

V7 also sells one. I'm under the impression these are all made by the same manufacturer, but I'm not certain.

https://www.vsevenweaponsystems.com/ti-bcgar-10/

 

[dinmax82]

Rainier Arms had the V Sven for $45 but OOS now.

 

[grebski]

It's sold by Cryptic Coatings:

http://www.crypticcoatings.com/coated-titanium-bolt-carrier-group/

If you go to the Toolcraft website you will end up at the link above.

https://www.toolcraftinc.com/shop/

I kept thinking that was a titanium nitride coated one. Thanks for the link. I'm also looking at the brownells titatnium bcg. If you stack a coupon might be able to snag it for $350.

 

[LA260]

jda2631 no problems with the titanium carrier as of yet, but I only have 150 ish rounds down range so far. I have not heard of anyone having problems with them for what it's worth. And yeah, that 2A Xanthos is really light, actually, it's the lightest receiver set I know of.

LA260. Nice rifle! I hear ya on getting derailed on a lightweight build; I almost used that same JP barrel. I bet it's a nice shooter. Any idea what it weights? Gotta love those Zeiss Conquest scopes, I now have three of them with the Rapid Z-800 reticle. Wish one of mine had those target turrets; how well does that 6.5-20 track? It's a fly under the radar wonderful hunting scope. Picked up my 3rd from Hide member ScottyS yesterday in person in Reno, what a nice guy. I was out there for work. I used my 4.5-14 on this build to do initial testing. I'll probably use the 3.5-10 on it for hunting and pick up a Cronus BTR, AMG, or used 624i for range fun. The Tijicon RMO worked great for hogs up close and after dark with a PVS14.

dinmax82 That's a really nice set up at 8# with the Reap IR. Wish I had $7000 laying around to pick up one. I guess if I stopped building new guns I could probably afford one eventually. How's the battery life on it?

grebski. Pull the trigger and join us, these lightweight AR10's are making my M1A Scouts very jealous as they getting all the attention right now. They are great shooters, recoil is light, and you carry them around all day and mounting different optics on the a lot easier than a M1A.

Thanks, the Zeiss tracks good as far as I can tell but I haven't done any tests to it. The only issue with it is the limited adjustment range so I'm not able to zero at 100yds with a 20MOA rail. I'm actually using another conquest (HD5-25) with the Z1000 reticle on the rifle now. Both conquests have great glass and have been trouble free and I agree that they are perfect hunting scopes.

The JP barrel weights, 3lb 5oz. It does shoot great with 39.4Varget and 123 AMAX/ELDs. The rest of the weights are as follows:
2A upper/lower. 16.5oz
JP Heatsink 5.2 oz
JP large comp 5.6 oz
JP handguard 17.25" with nuts etc.. 17oz
Gas Tube 1.1oz
JP SCS with spacer 6 oz
JP LMOS w HP Bolt 14oz
SLR GB 1.5oz
ready to shoot with PRS stock/Ergo grip no scope/rings/bipod/rails it's 10.2lbs
I could've def make it a lighter weight rifle but really wanted the 17.25" JP handguard so decided to just go all JP except GB. Between the PRS stock,ergo grip and JP heatsink i can easily drop another lb but its mostly a range toy so it hasn't bothered me so far.

 

[KYAggie]

LA260 thatnks for the parts list and weights! Yeah that's a lot heavier, but different application and I bet a pleasure at the range. That JP low mass BCG is only about 2oz heavier than a titanium one and it's a bit cheaper. There's a lot of places you could have dropped weight, but if you are not lugging it around, there's no reason to.

Grebski that's a great deal on a titanium BCG! With all the stuff I've bought from Brownelles, you would have thought I knew they had their own BCG, but I didn't. I bet it's the same carrier with a different coating.

 

[Coffee_and_Pipes]

Your build sounds a lot like mine!!!
2A Xanthos upper lower
Carbon fiber Proof 22" 6.5 Creedmoor Barrel
JP Vmos and bolt
Silent capture gen 2
Luth AR Stock
2A titnium gas block adjustable
Slr titanium Break
2A rail
Titnaium take down
Ambi safety
Elfman trigger

Hey Bowhntr4life, how do you like your rifle? Your parts list is almost exactly the same as what I'm wanting to build. I hope you don't mind a few questions:

• How is the fit on the Xanthos receiver set? I've been considering an SP10 receiver set because it seems like there wouldn't be a need for a tensioning screw. How much play was in it before using the tensioning screw?
• Did you order your JP bolt from Proof, or go with the complete bcg?
• How well have the +2 gas system/JP bolt/SCS system worked together?

Thanks for sharing your build info!

 

[Potss]

I'm curious if anyone ITT has completed accuracy testing? Something in the 5 shot+ group range?

I ask because I was/am considering a very similar lightweight .308 build with the 2A Xanthos set, but I'm a little worried after seeing the responses here. Granted they are discussing AR15s, but it seems like a lightweight upper is asking for MORE problems with POI shift when the handguard is loaded.

 

[Earnhardt]

 

[Earnhardt]

Holy !@#$!
I cant believe I finally figured out how to post pictures!

 

[Earnhardt]

Next test pic...left target 6.5CM Savage TA vs. right target 6.5 CM Xanthos (same pic as above) all groups are 4 shots.
Xanthos has a 24" CF Christensen barrel. 140 grn Hornady ELDs with RL-16 powder. I had to change out the bolt and firing pin to HP, because the RL16 @ 2800 fps and up was popping primers.

 

[Earnhardt]

Ok...I cant figure out how to edit posts (frickin newbies...)
But the question was asked earlier if contact with the Xanthos forearm caused the groups to move...When I was shooting factory Hornsdy 140 eld's at 500 yards I noticed if i really put alot of pressure on the forearm I could get the groups to move. The reason the groups on the right target are moving is these are different amounts of RL16 and I was changing the seating depth...but I cant find that info for the life of me...I normally add it to the targets like I did with the Savage TA target on the left...
D'OH!

 

[Potss]

Earnhardt those are some damn good results. You say you noticed you can shift POI by really loading the bipod. About how much would you say you have to load it to really notice a difference in POI? Would you ever load it that much under field conditions is basically what I'm curious about.

Also, edit is on the bottom left of your posts .

 

[Earnhardt]

On my phone the edit button isn't there...on my desk top computer the edit button is there....weird...

I was shooting from a Lead Sled with no weight.
I just wanted to try and see if I could get the groups to move...and I could but I really had to crank on the forearm and grip.

Would that happen in a real would hunting or target shooting scenario...I don't think so.

But if I was put in some of the every day scenarios some of you guys operate in...maybe.

For me it probably would, cuz I'd be curled up in the corner sh!ttin' purple Twinkies, and squeezin' that AR like a Teddy Bear...

 

[breastroker]

Most of my posts on Ultra lite AR308s are over on the 6.8 forums and the ultra lite thread at ARFCOM. Using a Faxon 16inch pencil 308 barrel @ 28.3 ounces and an Xanthos upper receiver, JP VMOS aluminum carrier and JP bolt, and my own 11 inch custom CF hand guard @ 2.8 ounces with aluminum barrel nut, the entire rifle without scope weighs 3.9 pounds. Using a Tennessee Arms polymer lower.

 

[breastroker]

Most of my posts on Ultra lite AR308s are over on the 6.8 forums and the ultra lite thread at ARFCOM. Using a Faxon 16inch pencil 308 barrel @ 28.3 ounces and an Xanthos upper receiver, JP VMOS aluminum carrier and JP bolt, and my own 11 inch custom CF hand guard @ 2.8 ounces with aluminum barrel nut, the entire rifle without scope weighs 3.9 pounds. Using a Tennessee Arms polymer lower.
View attachment 7021359View attachment 7021360

Here are some of the groups from the pencil barrel

 

[breastroker]

Starting my first 6.5 Creedmoor AR build, using the 39.4 ounce Faxon 18" Match barrel. Got another 2A Xanthos upper receiver (9.0 ounces) coming Monday 2/22/19. Using my Toolcraft carrier and a JP bolt, the carrier has been cut down some total weight with Ti firing pin is 11.18 ounces. Will be using one of my custom CF hand guards @ 2.9 ounces complete. Hoping for under 5.5 pounds. Only have the one 3D printed titanium pistol grip at 0.75 ounces, so will be using a Hogue grip at 1.1 ounces

 

[KYAggie]

Breastroker, you rule in making AR10’s lightweight! Your posts on M14forum in 2017 set me on my path and really took my eyes off the M14 platform. Looking at your groups, I wish I had gone with the pencil weight barrel instead of the 16” Gunner; I would have saved a few oz. I don’t have my 308 put together yet, but I’m estimating it will be 5.9# which seems like a boat anchor compared to yours. That grip and CF hand guard really make a huge drop in weight! I do love my Faxon Fluted 5r 6.5 CM barrel. Hope to get it out and see what it can really do this spring/summer with good match bullets. Got sidelined the second half of last year going through the bid D and I don’t mean Dallas. Hung onto my guns at least. Man when a woman goes crazy they go full on damn the torpedoes. At least my life is considerably less chaotic these days, my home has never seen this level of peace.

Nice job on the 3.9#er!

 

[KYAggie]

What’s that Frontier lower weigh? Just wondering how many ounces you drop with a Xanthos upper and Frontier lower compared to a Xanthos upper/lower set.