A healthy sample of ladies, teens, and IBOs do well with the Colt AR6520 and others built to the same overall profiles. I suspect the upcoming AR6720 from Clyde Armory will be newest favorite.
Such a gun with a T1/H1, BUIS, standard hand guards with a bolt-on rail with e-series light makes for a very handy carbine suitable for those above, and a hulking He-Man alike.
I’m neither a proponent or pundit of the mid-length, but I don’t bother with them.
You might find an H2 is too much buffer, especially if you use economy or import training ammunition.
You guys have all been great and I appreciate the info and clarification.
One question, the Magpul MOE handguard has been recommended by several since it is as light as standard hand guards but offers a little more modularity and it is inexpensive.
It is listed as being 0.39lbs (6.24oz - I suppose the mid-length will be slightly heavier when it is released this summer).
The DD light rail (9.5") is listed as 10.2 oz.
While I like the idea of very light, inexpensive rail, I have to wonder if 3.9 oz of weight savings is worth the loss of a “free float” set up? Perhaps is doesn’t have that significant of an effect…
Regardless, I do appreciate all the info everyone has chipped in. It has allowed my wife and I to get a much better handle of the options, and the pros and cons of each. Funds will allow me to order parts come May, and I am excited to get my wife and her AR out to some courses!
i didn’t read the whole thread, but i did Ctrl+F for “SBR”…
can you SBR? they’re not usually recommended for women because they’re loudy and scary and more difficult to control… but since she’s already a shooter, these things shouldn’t be insurmountable. you can easily get under 7lbs with rail in a nice compact, well-balanced package.
We have definitely discussed it and I think she would be fine noise/scary wise… I have never done it before, so it presents even more of a learning curve, not just in terms of the actual SBR/NFA process, but also more to learn regarding barrel lengths and other options.
It’s just a matter of do the pros outweigh the cons… and I’m not sure if they do or not.
I’ll end up like many of you I’m sure… with multiple AR’s. My wife has her Saiga conversion that we did and she likes it, I just want something a little lighter and ergonomical for her.
“Lost on them” as in they do not intellectually recognize or understand the benefits, or lost on them as in, most are do not have enough fundamental skill to truly maximize the benefit?
free floating rails really dont add any noticeable accuracy to a weapon inside 300m, unless you’re bench grouping. the m16a2 will give “hits” out to 500m, with plastic handguards and a chrome-lined bore.
as to the SBR question- i’ll just add that my 5’3" 110lbs (the brief few weeks out of the year when she isn’t pregnant) wife prefers my 10.5 over all both our guns, long and short. the weight and balance more than make up for recoil and report.
It is true the “benefits” of a FF rail are “lost” on most. The accuracy difference between the two on normal conditions is slight at best. It really shows when you start hanging crap off of them that is where the rail shows an improvement. I run rails more because that is what I like than because I “need” them, I like being able to move stuff around and place Items where I want them which while possible with a standard hand guard is not as easy. and no the 3.9oz is not really that big a chunk especially when comparing a rail vs a hand guard, its even closer when you add in the stock cap and delta ring which come off when adding a rail.
If you decide later that you need the utility of a rial, the Omega is a good stopgap, but in lightweight systems you’ll find yourself actually minimizing what’s on there, stock handguard or MOE will the be the option you settle on anyway - even a quartet of MagPul rail ladders will add a bit of weight. Still, if your budget accomodates a Lite rail or VTAC, go for it.
Given the availability of BCM 16" Middy Lightweights, that’s worth a consideration. If you later want to shorten it to a 12.5" or something, do that.