Ultralight Ultralight Rifles

[4090Sharps]

I know the Roam is more expensive but with the issues of getting a superlight lower. 5.4 oz and Magnesium for strength. I am going to try this one eventually. https://www.roamrifles.com/shop/r-15-platform/r-15-lowers/r-15-lower-receiver

Sorry if I asked already, but why Roam over Fostech?

 

[ProRoad]

Until now I did not know about Fostech but here is the $260 Lower in Tungsten color.. https://fostech.com/product/flite-stripped-lower. I think the Roam looks nicer and offers a few colors. I am not affiliated and have not used either product.

 

[Trackselk]

Not sure about the lower, but the roam upper is significantly lighter than the fostech upper

 

[Luke S]

I tried tightening up the barrel nut, I put the scope back on , made sure it was tight and I shot it again.
Handloads with 55 gr soft points were all over the place.
73 gr ELDMs printed a roughly 2 moa group with a smaller cluster and a few "flyers" I did another 5 shot group with what I had left. 4 shots would have been about 1 moa. There was a shot that felt wrong bringing it out to 2 moa again.
I was really working on my dry fires and my technique. I mashed the rifle down onto the rest instead of letting gravity hold it steady like I do with heavier rifles. Definitely seems to help.
My conclusion is I'm probably the limiting factor more then the barrel. The gun seems to be accurate but hard to shoot. I probably won't take super long shots with it. I'll probably take it on a hiking bear hunt this spring with a 2.5-10 scope and a suppressor. After that, I think I'll take the suppressor off and throw a smaller 1-3 Weaver scope or prism site on there and make it a "just in case" rifle to carry when I'm not really hunting but i might see a bear i want to chase.

My wife will be be with me on a moose hunt this year. In the past she carried a 22 Rascal for grouse. I think I'll give her the ULUL rifle. Light handloads for grouse and 77 TMK for bear or moose.

 

[wowzers]

Sent them a message on Facebook (last update from them was in 2025) - got an automated response with a new e-mail and phone number to reach out to. I sent them an e-mail at the new one provided, and I tried calling the number, but it has been disconnected.

I'm thinking it is time to try to cancel the transaction and see if I can find an alternative.

Maybe the Gorilla Machining Lightweight lower? It is advertised at 11oz, which doesn't seem that lightweight compared to the 4oz TNArms!

I tried contacting them every way but carrier pigeon and heard zip. Think I’m going to talk to my bank today.

 

[Thegman]

I tried tightening up the barrel nut, I put the scope back on , made sure it was tight and I shot it again.
Handloads with 55 gr soft points were all over the place.
73 gr ELDMs printed a roughly 2 moa group with a smaller cluster and a few "flyers" I did another 5 shot group with what I had left. 4 shots would have been about 1 moa. There was a shot that felt wrong bringing it out to 2 moa again.
I was really working on my dry fires and my technique. I mashed the rifle down onto the rest instead of letting gravity hold it steady like I do with heavier rifles. Definitely seems to help.
My conclusion is I'm probably the limiting factor more then the barrel. The gun seems to be accurate but hard to shoot. I probably won't take super long shots with it. I'll probably take it on a hiking bear hunt this spring with a 2.5-10 scope and a suppressor. After that, I think I'll take the suppressor off and throw a smaller 1-3 Weaver scope or prism site on there and make it a "just in case" rifle to carry when I'm not really hunting but i might see a bear i want to chase.

My wife will be be with me on a moose hunt this year. In the past she carried a 22 Rascal for grouse. I think I'll give her the ULUL rifle. Light handloads for grouse and 77 TMK for bear or moose.

I'm not clear on the issue. Did the rifle shoot well before and now doesn't, or is this the first time you've shot it?

 

[Luke S]

It seemed to shoot okay before but i never did a proper test. Then I mounted a new scope and got a 3 inch group at 100 yesterday from a bench rest when I zeroed. Been fiddling with it since.

Edit - The first time we shot it, a boy put all 10 rounds in a nickel sized hole from a field position at 25 yards. I figured that meant we were good, at least better then the 3 MOA I got later. We used it as a practice rifle for kids for a good while. Improving technique seemed to help but 55 gr bullets still seem noticeably worse.

 

[Thegman]

It seemed to shoot okay before but i never did a proper test. Then I mounted a new scope and got a 3 inch group at 100 yesterday from a bench rest when I zeroed. Been fiddling with it since.

I've been shooting really lightweight bolt rifles for a long time and these are almost half the weight of those bolt rifles, so probably benefit from the same techniques and then some for the really lightweight UL-ULs.

A few things to check off trying:

Make sure your rest is soft enough to dampen any potential to bounce. I put a folded towel on mine for the handguard to rest upon.

A rifle half the weight of another will move twice as much as the bullet moves down the barrel, all else being equal. No way around that.

Use your body to add weight to the rifle. For best shooting, I lean weight-forward into the rifle butt to help minimize any rearward motion of the rifle before the bullet leaves the barrel.

To "add more weight", try holding the handguard while leaning in to the rifle butt to gently lock the rifle in between your shoulder and hand.

Hold the grip very loosely, or move your thumb over with your other fingers. Too firm a grip can add torque to the rifle while firing.

All this is easy to do in the field as well. If shooting off a pack, they're usually pretty soft, and a hand under the handguard dampens bounce. A light grip on the handguard allows leaning in, weight forward.

Lots of dry firing using these techniques is helpful, I think.

Heavy rifles largely take care of themselves compared to these rifles...obviously why benchrest rifles are so heavy.

Last point I guess: It doesn't sound like you've actually confirmed that your barrel shoots either of your loads well. That would be a good place to start while you're working on other stuff. I know my Shaw has been pretty picky.

 

[Luke S]

Thanks for the tips. Before this my lightest rifle was 6.5 pounds all ready to go so it's a learning experience.

Funny you mentioned the rest. I think my bench rest is a bit hard and old. I tried a rag under the butt because it seemed to wobble side to side (and my groups are consistently wider side to side). That was when things improved.

I'll try your towel truck too under the fore end. Funny, we shot off a backpack and did pretty well in the past. Maybe it was actually better than my bench rest. I never saw much difference with 7-9 pound rifles either way.

I “added weight” by pushing down on the scope. I've heard of guys doing that with Kimbers. It worked but felt awkward. I'll try the forend idea, more in line with how I shoot in the field. Dry firing showed that the hammer strikes could bounce the rifle a hair if I didn't lock it down.

I'll keep experimenting with grip. I did notice I was holding it more lightly when I dry fired and stayed on target better that way

I loaded up some 77 TMKs last night. We'll see if those are any better. But I suspect I have a decent barrel for 73 gr ELDMs and better technique will improve things.

 

[C Bow]

I have found the secret to shooting these ULUL rifles is a really good trigger with O creep set around 1.5 to 2 lb max

 

[Trackselk]

I have found the secret to shooting these ULUL rifles is a really good trigger with O creep set around 1.5 to 2 lb max

What trigger setup are you running? I've got the "cheap" geissele and it's decent, but I'd like it to be lighter. Does anyone lighten 2 stage AR triggers?
-and, I agree. I had a smith set my extremely light kimber down to around that range, and I would surprise myself with how I could shoot that rifle.

 

[Thegman]

Thanks for the tips. Before this my lightest rifle was 6.5 pounds all ready to go so it's a learning experience.

Funny you mentioned the rest. I think my bench rest is a bit hard and old. I tried a rag under the butt because it seemed to wobble side to side (and my groups are consistently wider side to side). That was when things improved.

I'll try your towel truck too under the fore end. Funny, we shot off a backpack and did pretty well in the past. Maybe it was actually better than my bench rest. I never saw much difference with 7-9 pound rifles either way.

I “added weight” by pushing down on the scope. I've heard of guys doing that with Kimbers. It worked but felt awkward. I'll try the forend idea, more in line with how I shoot in the field. Dry firing showed that the hammer strikes could bounce the rifle a hair if I didn't lock it down.

I'll keep experimenting with grip. I did notice I was holding it more lightly when I dry fired and stayed on target better that way

I loaded up some 77 TMKs last night. We'll see if those are any better. But I suspect I have a decent barrel for 73 gr ELDMs and better technique will improve things.

For the 73 ELD-M, try 25.20 grains of AA 2520...easy to remember.

LC brass, CCI 450 primers, 2.280" COAL if you have stainless mags that allow that length. I usually settle at around 25.5 grains, but 25.2 is a good starting point and usually shoots well.

 

[Thegman]

What trigger setup are you running? I've got the "cheap" geissele and it's decent, but I'd like it to be lighter. Does anyone lighten 2 stage AR triggers?
-and, I agree. I had a smith set my extremely light kimber down to around that range, and I would surprise myself with how I could shoot that rifle.

Changing the trigger return spring and disconnector spring in a 2 stage trigger can produce a really light trigger.

I'm not sure if your Geissele has a captured disconnector spring like the Larue MBT or removable like a Schmid 2S. The Schmid 2S triggers are very easy to lighten. Most of the sub $100 or so 2S triggers are built by Schmid.