3lbs 4oz Rifle.

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J Batt

J Batt

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Sep 13, 2018
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She took her first blood. Seems to shoot good at the range too, at 450Y it shot a 3 shot fist sized group. I need more practice on the BDC reticle since the rifle ballistics don't quite line up. But I made a nice hit on this little blacktail at 200Y. First buck I saw in 20 days of hunting. I'm about ready to retire from early season SoCal hunts.[
 
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Loper

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She tool her first blood. Seems to shoot good at the range too, at 450Y it shot a 3 shot fist sized group. I need more practice on the BDC reticle since the rifle ballistics don't quite line up. But I made a nice hit on this little blacktail at 200Y. First buck I saw in 20 days of hunting. I'm about ready to retire from early season SoCal hunts.View attachment 449665

Congrats! I love that the rifle isn’t just a novelty but gets actual field use and now has its first kill.

How many days or hours have you hunted with it? Is as nice to carry as you imagined?
 
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J Batt

J Batt

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Sep 13, 2018
Messages
444
Congrats! I love that the rifle isn’t just a novelty but gets actual field use and now has its first kill.

How many days or hours have you hunted with it? Is as nice to carry as you imagined?
Yep I built it specifically to carry into the woods. I love hunting but hate carrying all the gear/weight thats required to do it. I used the rifle to fill a California Southern A-zone tag. Half of the time hunting was early archery, but I spent about 10 combined days with that rifle in the field. Every day was around 90degrees and 4-6 miles a day. In that photo the rifle weighs 5lbs exactly.
All I can say, is that I have never been so happy about any rifle. Zero buyers remorse. Only wish I could make it look like a M77. It definitely exceeds my expectation of what it would feel like to carry. Allot of the time it felt like I wasn't even carrying a rifle. That was the goal.
I carried around M4s in the marines for years and this thing feels like half an m4.
Thats what I should have titled this thread HALF A RIFLE.
 

bbell

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That’s a great build. My 7 1/2 pound AR seems like a giant now. This might be a silly question but how did you handle the gasport? Are they plugged or do you use adjustable gas block?
 
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Yep I built it specifically to carry into the woods. I love hunting but hate carrying all the gear/weight thats required to do it. I used the rifle to fill a California Southern A-zone tag. Half of the time hunting was early archery, but I spent about 10 combined days with that rifle in the field. Every day was around 90degrees and 4-6 miles a day. In that photo the rifle weighs 5lbs exactly.
All I can say, is that I have never been so happy about any rifle. Zero buyers remorse. Only wish I could make it look like a M77. It definitely exceeds my expectation of what it would feel like to carry. Allot of the time it felt like I wasn't even carrying a rifle. That was the goal.
I carried around M4s in the marines for years and this thing feels like half an m4.
Thats what I should have titled this thread HALF A RIFLE.
What ammo are you using? I built a 6.5GR a few years ago to replace a 7.62x39 AR when they banned lead ammo but then couldn’t find lead-free 6.5GR ammo. I assume you are reloading? Ended up building a “light” AR10 in 6.5CR since I don’t reload.
 

trogers861

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Jul 12, 2022
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She tool her first blood. Seems to shoot good at the range too, at 450Y it shot a 3 shot fist sized group. I need more practice on the BDC reticle since the rifle ballistics don't quite line up. But I made a nice hit on this little blacktail at 200Y. First buck I saw in 20 days of hunting. I'm about ready to retire from early season SoCal hunts.View attachment 449665
That's a sweet light weight rifle! Nice buck too. Whereabouts in A-zone are you? I typically fill my A-zone tag in the lompoc area each year. Though--not yet this year!
 

ShootOkHuntWorse

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May 23, 2020
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I guess I don’t know much about side charging. Do the lugs stay locked until you pull the charging handle?
 
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Nov 20, 2014
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Washington
Just finished screwing together my new hunting rig in 6.5 grendel. Gonna be a bolt action AR. No gas system.
3 lbs 4oz unfurnished.
4 lbs 8oz with a SWFA Ultralight scope, aero mount, and 8 cartridges in a 10rd mag.
I hacked some parts up in my caveman fashion to fit my needs.
Milled a slick side upper into a side charging upper. Modified an aluminum bolt carrier to receive a side charging knob. Made a hand guard out of carbon fiber tube. Drilled out a titanium 223 brake to clear a 6.5 bullet, Etc…
Might paint it…
I’m pretty proud and excited to carry it, or more like excited to not carry my other, 3lbs heavier rifle. Wasn’t going to post but couldn’t help myself. It’s my favorite gun of all time, don’t even care how accurate it is. Perfect rifle for my kids to start deer hunting on as well.

The parts list is long and sourced from a hundred different websites.
But I’ll list most.
Xcaliber spaghetti profile 16” barrel.
Aero slick upper
DSA aluminum low mass bcg
Vseven titanium micro brake
Polymer LPK
FMK polymer lower
Smoke Composite stock assembly
Hogue 15degree grip
Any steel part that could be were swapped for titanium or carbon fiber.View attachment 390499
Can you please provide information on handguard? Thanks
 
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J Batt

J Batt

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Sep 13, 2018
Messages
444
I might be selling this little rifle if anyones interested. Had a lot of fun with it this season, but I've got some new plans on the horizon...
PM me if your interested.
 
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