Ultralight Ultralight Rifles

[The Guide]

Barreled? Sounds like he had raised the price pretty significantly either way.

Not sure where you are getting the idea that he has raised prices "significantly". I bought my bare upper (no barrel, no Cerakote) last November @ $275 plus $14 shipping. So that is $289 shipped a V1 upper. We are now on to the V2 upper and he is offering coating. Manufacturing costs are sky rocketing and he is selling them out quite frequently. Not sure if you've ever had anything made for you but each successive run of product seems to cost more than the one before. I believe the current base cost is $300 for base upper plus $30 for coating and $14 for shipping. I would bet that the $25 increase barely kept his margin equal with inflation and increased manufacturing costs.

Jay

 

[KyleR1985]

I got lucky…



If I want to build a straight pull 6mm to squirt the 95’s, what’s my best option to avoid extraction issues?

I’ve got a 6ARC upper on the way from a contributor to this thread. I’ll keep it set up for semi auto unless someone has solved the single shot problems.

Maybe I’ll just do the .223 in straight pull for the 77’s.



Either way I have a handful of bolt rifles that will be going up for sale. This thread has shown it’s too easy to get a no nonsense gun for the type of hunting I do. I think it may actually put money back in my pocket. Ok probably not but it’s a good line to try on the wife!

 

[StupidLightweight]

If I want to build a straight pull 6mm to squirt the 95’s, what’s my best option to avoid extraction issues?

Kyle, I'll send you a PM on this.

 

[PsRpOiGrRiAtM]

Kyle, I'll send you a PM on this.

Please send a PM to me as well--I was thinking about a .224 Valk, 22 ARC, or 6mm ARC but wasn't optimistic about the extraction after talking with @Thegman

Anything you can enlighten me on would be appreciated.

The 6mm MAX looks promising, and 95gr would be the sweet spot for that.

 

[The Guide]

Kyle, I'll send you a PM on this.

I'd be interested too.

Jay

 

[StupidLightweight]

Please send a PM to me as well--I was thinking about a .224 Valk, 22 ARC, or 6mm ARC but wasn't optimistic about the extraction after talking with @Thegman

Nothing secretive to share, but I believe the first step is to use a non-SOLO upper and carrier. I believe those proprietary parts are exacerbating the sticking issues with fatter cartridges. That said, I could be wrong.

Below are the parts I used to build a straight-pull 6 ARC. It's a standard upper and carrier that a gunsmith milled, chopped, and drilled and tapped for me. It wasn't easy to cycle as a 6mm ARC, but it also wasn't easy to cycle when I added a 5.56 barrel. I then removed the gas rings and O ring for extractor, and the 5.56 was much easier to use, so I assume the 6mm ARC will be easier as well.

Unfortunately, my father has that rifle now and Thegman has my 6mm ARC barrel, so I can't confirm if the 6mm ARC bolt with parts removed solved the issue. I think this will work, but if it doesn't solve the issue, we'll move onto the next phase of trial and error.

 

[Thegman]

I got lucky…

View attachment 780730

If I want to build a straight pull 6mm to squirt the 95’s, what’s my best option to avoid extraction issues?

I’ve got a 6ARC upper on the way from a contributor to this thread. I’ll keep it set up for semi auto unless someone has solved the single shot problems.

Maybe I’ll just do the .223 in straight pull for the 77’s.



Either way I have a handful of bolt rifles that will be going up for sale. This thread has shown it’s too easy to get a no nonsense gun for the type of hunting I do. I think it may actually put money back in my pocket. Ok probably not but it’s a good line to try on the wife!

So far, the only reliable extraction I've seen in the Solo are all 223-case based cartridges and 350 Legend. Anything larger than that has been sticky to the point of being impractical. I may try a couple of other things to see if it can work, but not super hopeful.

A similar set'-up with a full mass bolt carrier/buffer/spring -might- work IME, but starts approaching the weight of ultralight bolt rifles.

Best bet for now, in a Solo anyway, IMO, is going the 6x45 route for 6mm bullets. It's working really well for Taudisio, but he's running 87s, not 95s. I'm not sure what the 95TMK can do in that case. 6x45AI is probably the top of the heap Solo-able 6mm. When/if the 6mm MAX gets some legs under it, it may well be great; I'd like to try one.

223 and 77TMK etc. are capable enough and available enough that I think they're probably the most practical option.

 

[Thegman]

Nothing secretive to share, but I believe the first step is to use a non-SOLO upper and carrier. I believe those proprietary parts are exacerbating the sticking issues with fatter cartridges. That said, I could be wrong.

Below are the parts I used to build a straight-pull 6 ARC. It's a standard upper and carrier that a gunsmith milled, chopped, and drilled and tapped for me. It wasn't easy to cycle as a 6mm ARC, but it also wasn't easy to cycle when I added a 5.56 barrel. I then removed the gas rings and O ring for extractor, and the 5.56 was much easier to use, so I assume the 6mm ARC will be easier as well.

Unfortunately, my father has that rifle now and Thegman has my 6mm ARC barrel, so I can't confirm if the 6mm ARC bolt with parts removed solved the issue. I think this will work, but if it doesn't solve the issue, we'll move onto the next phase of trial and error.

View attachment 780760

Now just send me your bolt carrier and I'll check! Easy fix!

Is your carrier steel or aluminum? I'm trying to figure out what other variables there are between yours and a Solo that might make that difference. The only other possibe differences I can see are the spring at the back of the bolt in the Solo and the "detent key". Those are two things I want to check.

 

[StupidLightweight]

Is your carrier steel or aluminum? I'm trying to figure out what other variables there are between yours and a Solo that might make that difference. The only other possibe differences I can see are the spring at the back of the bolt in the Solo and the "detent key". Those are two things I want to check.

I used a steel carrier on the 6 ARC build. I wonder if an undersized bolt would make a difference on these fatties?

 

[Thegman]

I used a steel carrier on the 6 ARC build. I wonder if an undersized bolt would make a difference on these fatties?

That's another possible avenue.

The only difference I see with a steel carrier is more inertia at the end of the recoil impulse possibly breaking the case loose enough to aid extraction. That was my hypothesis why my fatter cases worked okay in a full mass steel bolt carrier ser-up, but I never really tested that idea further. I just decided there were enough good options with the 223 case that I quit before I tested other ideas.

There are definitely a couple of avenues worth testing.