Heavy vs. Light Rifles

[CompleteJack]

I've heard a lot of folks touting 10" 14.5" or 18" rifles lately, not to mention skeletonized receivers, lightweight rails, and minimalistic stocks. What weight considerations have you made, and why? 

 

I have both a 20" HBar barbell, and a 16" pencil barreled AR, and I find myself exclusively using the 20" lately. While the 16" is much quicker to transition between close targets, I've found I make up a lot more time being steadier for far shots than I do on close range hosing.

 

Being out West I suspect I have to shoot long distance more than the folks out East, so it could be a function of terrain. But even locally there are shooters better than I rocking rifles that could blow away in a strong breeze. 

[TonytheTiger]

I'm with you. Not so much on length but on weight. My locals are more hoser than long range but I actually feel a heavier gun allows me to spray bullets a lot faster than a light gun will help me transition. But I still prefer a compact gun, they just end up being heavier than they look.

[NateTSU]

I like an 18" HBar barrel with rifle length gas, makes the gun run really smooth but not too muzzle heavy. I have a standard BCG and Magpul stock. I am in North Texas and our matches are usually a blend of bay and open terrain stages that stretch out to 500+. I think that the 18" barrel gives the best balance of transitions and long range performance in these kinds of matches. For the kind of multigun I shoot I see no advantages to an ultralight skelotonzed  rifle. I do have a 16" upper setup for limited division and I use it in matches that are straight up hoser  matches. My TacOps upper is used for 90% of the matches I shoot though. 

Edited September 8, 2018 by NateTSU

[HoMiE]

What weight is considered light or heavy?

[CompleteJack]

1 minute ago, HoMiE said:

What weight is considered light or heavy?

I'd say it's less about a specific cutoff, and more about whether you're purposely increasing or decreasing your rifle's weight. 

 

If you're adding weight, where are you adding it, and why? 

 

If you're cutting weight, where are you losing it, and why? 

 

I'm just interested to see what different folks' philosophies are and what they're doing mechanically to achieve their desired weight.

[CompleteJack]

2 hours ago, TonytheTiger said:

I'm with you. Not so much on length but on weight. My locals are more hoser than long range but I actually feel a heavier gun allows me to spray bullets a lot faster than a light gun will help me transition. But I still prefer a compact gun, they just end up being heavier than they look.

Yeah, I don't want to get into a debate over what barrel length is best, I feel like that's been played out elsewhere. I just prefer a heavy rifle, and am interested to hear what weight/distribution other people prefer. 

55 minutes ago, NateTSU said:

I like an 18" HBar barrel with rifle length gas, makes the gun run really smooth but not too muzzle heavy. I have a standard BCG and Magpul stock. I am in North Texas and our matches are usually a blend of bay and open terrain stages that stretch out to 500+. I think that the 18" barrel gives the best balance of transitions and long range performance in these kinds of matches. For the kind of multigun I shoot I see no advantages to an ultralight skelotonzed  rifle. I do have a 16" upper setup for limited division and I use it in matches that are straight up hoser  matches. My TacOps upper is used for 90% of the matches I shoot though. 

I actually prefer a muzzle heavy rifle because it keeps my muzzle down for close shots, and when I rest my rifle it's steadier than if it were back-heavy. The only time it hurts a little is on offhand distance shots, but even those are surprisingly steady lately for me.

[chenault]

I've played a lot with weight and have found a heavier barrel gives me faster follow up shots.  

 

Weight seemed to matter far more than gas length or barrel length. 

 

It did hurt transitions a bit initially, but a little practice fixed that

Edited September 8, 2018 by chenault

[blacklab]

My setup comes in @ 8lbs 6oz with at 18" rifle tube barrel. I have a 16" mid tube gun that comes in @ 6lbs 8oz but I just cant seem to do very well with it. The heavier one shoots softer and flatter and the difference in transitions is minimal between the two for me. Most of the stages are 200yds and under since I live in the northeast and space is a premium, but we do get the occasional 500yd targets and that is where the heavier gun is a plus, but it also works great on hoser stages.

[Steve133]

I don't really pay that much attention to weight in general. The approach I've always taken is selecting some core components based on parameters other than weight; weight becomes a consideration for other components in order to preserve good balance.

 

For example, I like a rifle-length gas system in a competition rifle, meaning an 18" barrel. Regardless of profile, an 18" barrel will probably tend towards front-heavy... meaning that I'll usually look for a lighter handguard and a heavier stock. Overall weight will be fairly heavy, but it's balanced pretty well, so it's not too noticeable. Same reason I don't mind the weight of the Vortex Razor mounted on top - it's a heavy tank of an optic, but it sits pretty much at the center of gravity, so it doesn't have much effect on how the rifle balances or points.

 

I'll get on my soapbox here and rant a little about people not doing their homework on lightweight components. The skeletonized receivers look cool, and the aggressive cuts shave some weight from the starting point... but "the starting point" in this case is a big, chunky billet receiver, so even with the skeletonized cuts, they're still heavier than forged receivers. Same for the ultra-lightweight small parts like pins and bolt releases - you can easily spend $400 over a basic LPK in order to save a grand total of 2 ounces.

[mpeltier]

I have rifles in 11.5", 16", and 20" (That used to be a medium weight 18"). I much prefer the 18" over all others for competition and have sent the 20" out to be shortened and given a medium weight profile behind the gas block. I feel balance is the most important aspect for a light shooting, easy transitioning rifle. I don't like a rifle that feels muzzle heavy. I prefer the bulk of the weight to be in the stock, and thats why I use a  Magpul PRS stock. Total weight with my old 18" bbl was a little over 8lbs but it felt in the hands more like a lighter rifle and shot very very flat.

[Paul-the new guy]

I built a short barreled rifle with a Faxon 11.5" big gunner barrel.  It was really light and I didn't like it.  It also didn't seem to group well... So, I decided to get a Black Hole Weaponry 11.5 heavy barrel. I had to change everything because the gas block was too big for the handguard etc... The 11.5" heavy barrel is really too heavy so I have barely shot the rifle at all. I think maybe standard weight would have been good... On a side note, it looks good... 

 

[Shooter116]

I have yet to feel the difference once the buzzer goes off. Dot movement should be the driver. My 14.5 moves barely more than my 18” because of the comp. light swings faster but you get a bit more bounce so just grip it tighter. 

[greerstyl]

i have 2 ars red dot lightweight and variable standard weight, i use them for the different courses we do but rarely do i shoot over 100 so east coast style i guess 

[GIO]

I have a 14.5 JP lightweight ( mot ultra light) and love it. Still has some heft to it but the weight sits right between your hands and feels super stable.  

The rifle was originally a 18 inch LW but it always felt front heavy to me so I had JP swap the barrel 

[GIO]

Just now, GIO said:

I have a 14.5 JP lightweight (not ultra light) and love it. Still has some heft to it but the weight sits right between your hands and feels super stable.  

The rifle was originally a 18 inch LW but it always felt front heavy to me so I had JP swap the barrel