Light vs Heavy pcc

[Vargr]

What are most people's preferences when it comes to weight on their pcc? 

 

I know a lot of it comes down to personal preference, but on other long gun games most people seem to prefer a slightly heavier rifle in the 8-9lb range. However, in pcc I am seeing a lot of people going for the lightest build possible. 

 

Why is that? Is it because the 9mm recoils that much differently than 223 so the weight doesn't help much? Or am I missing something? 

 

My gmr-15 is running about 8lbs right now and at my local club it is by far the heaviest one. So it got me wondering what are the advantages one way or another? 

 

Just looking to see what others have found and try to build on that knowledge. 

[lacivilian]

I have a heavy pcc and after shooting local guys light weight builds I definitely prefer a heavy gun with the blowback of a 9mm. If you can tote it around from position to position fine it will shoot and feel better. The main thing I found is a heavy stock helps balance it out and not feel so front heavy when running with it in one hand. 

[MemphisMechanic]

Heavy guns are stable on long shots

 

Lighter guns transition faster, and are easier to maneuver & snap back up to your shoulder after rounding a corner at a full sprint.

 

USPSA PCC doesn’t feature 40+ yard shots (outside of PCC-only matches.) You’re shooting handgun targets, placed handgun close.  

You can get a light gun (mine is 6lb 0.5oz) to shoot more than flat enough. Yes, it recoils more than a heavy gun... but so what? Forget about chasing soft and build a fast flat shooting one. 
 

Edited December 2, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[ToneEasy]

From my experience, a heavy rifle will experience less dot bounce when using a heavy recoil system, such as the JP SCS with all tungsten weights. So the tradeoff is weight for less hassle with loads and recoil systems to get that super minimal dot movement. 

 

A lighter gun will feel faster in transitions and allow you to one-hand the gun much easier, the tradeoff being you need to tune your loads and recoil system in a way that doesn't add enough reciprocating weight for the dot to bounce. 

 

You said it best though, it's mostly personal preference. At the top level, Max's gun is probably much lighter than Froelich's, but it doesn't seem to be holding either of them back. 

[BlackBuzzard]

Dont forget the 28 ounce  (1 lb 12 oz) loaded magazine thats inserted in front of trigger  guard for those long stages.

 

The pcc handles much differently on round one versus last shot.

 

So how much difference does that  +/- 4 oz on the handguard really make?     Not so much IMO.

 

 

 

 

[egd5]

I too think a lot is personal preference. Memphis pretty well sums it up too. IMO balance plays a big part in maneuverability. As long as it's not too front heavy overall weight isn't as important.

[nso123]

For me, shooting PCC in Steel Challenge only, I have found that I was able to cut time every time I made a change that lightened the rifle.  My load is about a 130 PF, and I have very little dot bounce.  Using an ultra light weight barrel moved the weight between my hands and made transitions much faster.

[jaques]

I have a JP GMR15 and I was good with it, till I got my better have a Leadstar. I liked the weight of Leadsrar so much, that I got me one as well. The JP will be a good backup gun, if need be. When shooting them both I can't tell any difference between dot movement. The Leadstars are lighter and easier to move around with. She will not shoot the JP, due to the weight of it. 

[zzt]

I don't intend to shoot my Leadstar for USPSA, but I will try it for one match just to see.  With the SS barrel it weighs 5 lb. 3 oz.  I like my Wiland 11 oz. LLW barrel so much for RFRO in SCSA that I plan to get one for the PCC.  That will cut another 4 oz. off, but the real value is lightning fast transitions and velocity reduction.  The 5.5" rifled section will give pistol velocities, so less recoil.  Also, the Blitzkrieg buffer and spring system work with 109PF loads.

[cecil]

4 hours ago, nso123 said:

For me, shooting PCC in Steel Challenge only, I have found that I was able to cut time every time I made a change that lightened the rifle.  My load is about a 130 PF, and I have very little dot bounce.  Using an ultra light weight barrel moved the weight between my hands and made transitions much faster.

 

 

+1 on the above statement... 

 

[assaultthesalt]

7 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

Heavy guns are stable on long shots

 

Lighter guns transition faster, and are easier to maneuver & snap back up to your shoulder after rounding a corner at a full sprint.

 

USPSA PCC doesn’t feature 40+ yard shots (outside of PCC-only matches.) You’re shooting handgun targets, placed handgun close.  

You can get a light gun (mine is 6lb 0.5oz) to shoot more than flat enough. Yes, it recoils more than a heavy gun... but so what? Forget about chasing soft and build a fast flat shooting one. 
 

This

[Bwillis]

Everyone’s strength and weaknesses are different. I think having the weight balanced is key to have a top preforming pcc. My preferred weight of pcc is 7ish lbs unloaded. I’m also able to balance the pcc on the magwell without it tipping either direction.
 

Raw speed on transitions aren’t everything more speed lends to over/under transitioning. Be more efficient in the direction of travel on transitions and the timing of the shooting to be faster not necessarily raw speed. 

Edited December 3, 2019 by Bwillis

[Wvaughn7]

I like more weight in the gun for USPSA due to almost always having a follow up shot, and the added stability of the gun. This gun runs around 8 pounds and I don’t feel that weight too much while actually on the stage. For steel challenge as light as possible makes the most sense for me, but that gun is only down around 6 pounds right now and I haven’t tried anything lighter yet. 

[fbzero]

There are +'s and -'s to each and you have to be the ultimate decider on what makes the most sense for you.  I have a super light AR9 and an MPX.  I can zip through the stages slightly quicker with the AR9, but consistently hit more alphas with the MPX.  In the end, the types of target arrays at a given match probably make the most difference in which one is "better".
 

[avastcosmicarena]

If anyone thinks they've made their gun too light and wants to experiment, MDT makes mlok weight attachments for their MDT ACC (precision rifle chassis) that you could use to add some weight back in where you want it if you have an mlok handguard.

I haven't committed to it yet but I'm thinking about maybe getting some to test making the muzzle area of the gun a little heavier. I have a carbon fiber barrel and handguard, so it's pretty light right now... I'm curious whether or not some added weight on the nose would benefit followup shots.

[travail]

I run mine pretty heavy, makes a gmr-15 feel light. Helps with dot movement and is the same as my 223 for easier cross training.

[JsK]

I would say somewhere between 6 and 7.5 is where 90% of PCCs fall. Any heavier and your movent suffers and any lighter and tracking suffers.

[zzt]

On 12/8/2019 at 7:36 PM, avastcosmicarena said:

I'm curious whether or not some added weight on the nose would benefit followup shots.

 

Added weight on the nose makes it transition more slowly.  Since I've come to the conclusion that requirements are different for SCSA and USPSA, etc., two guns are required.  So I'm going with two barrels for the same gun.  A Wiland LLW barrel for SCSA and the stock 16" pencil barrel with efficient comp for everything else.

[avastcosmicarena]

2 hours ago, zzt said:

 

Added weight on the nose makes it transition more slowly.  Since I've come to the conclusion that requirements are different for SCSA and USPSA, etc., two guns are required.  So I'm going with two barrels for the same gun.  A Wiland LLW barrel for SCSA and the stock 16" pencil barrel with efficient comp for everything else.

That's true, but you also get more muzzle rise. I have a BSF carbon fiber barrel (same barrels that Leadstar uses) and Coda Evolution carbon handguard with a good comp (APA The Answer), and I still get more muzzle rise than I'd like. I can keep the dot in the window & track it the whole way on a Holosun 510C, but it rises quite a bit.