So, you ruined your AR... 

Remember, if your gun feels too heavy, move to anabolic steroids

Nothing shaves weight off your rifle quite like being too poor for night vision

How many balloons can I tie to the front of my rifle to make it lightweight? Don’t worry about the balloons being seen either as they’re camoed

If you ever have to walk 12 miles with a rifle, you'll figure out how many pieces of equipment you could stand to lose

We have forgotten that short guns are supposed to be lightweight and maneuverable.

As someone who's carried a carbine on duty, you learn real quick what is/isn't important. All of my rifles are not necessarily "ultralight" projects but there are no chonky builds allowed. Sometimes you can tell from a simple internet post that someone has never shot a rifle standing...or has never carried it for more than 20-30 yards at a time.

Complaining about gun parts may be a secret flex, but Hop flexes on us with 7 seconds of Brass Facts footage.

Yes, keep the extra stuff to a minimum. Hang enough stuff on it to make it effective and hold back on the "Maybe, sorta, kinda, might need it"

Gotta give credit to the OG Nutnfancy for teaching me about SAWC (size and weight constraints) and POU (philosophy of use). Bring those two thoughts process into my builds and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.

I like the Colin Chapman philosophy of "simplify and add lightness". Start with what you need your rifle to do. Choose the absolute bare minimum, simplest parts that will meet that function without compromise. Then for every individual part, keep searching for lighter options until you start losing capability, then go one step back up and select the next-lightest part. Think of lightness as an additive feature, not weight reduction as a subtractive loss.

Heavier than necessary guns still perform worse in some ways even if you’re strong. An extra 2-3lbs around your neck and in your hands for 8hours adds up.

When are we going to hit the weight minmaxing stage where we dont paint rifles anymore

I’m by no means a Navy Seal, just a pog reservist. But one of the funniest things I have ever seen was this “instructor’s” rifle my buddy and I shot with soon after getting home. This monstrosity of an AR15 had two sets of backup iron sights, two foregrips (one for advancing one for retreating,) a peq, a flashlight, and a rail mounted sheath knife “in case I run out of ammo in cqb.” The guy was so proud of his 14lb rifle which was bulky and unwieldy and actually had several malfunctions because he had been messing with parts inside he didn’t fully understand. He was the ultimate representation of a wannabe, never served a day in his life and didn’t have a job that involved any chance of needing to use a gun of any kind, let alone his monstrosity. Yet he came up with “tactical” reasons for every outlandish attachment. Don’t be that guy!

If I am carrying a 10+ lb rifle. It better be in 308

Ask not for lighter burdens but broader shoulders

1:40 the only difference between men and women is that women collect trinkets & knick knacks while men collect gadgets & gizmos

Most people need a light, sling, and optic. That’s it. Maybe a foregrip/hand stop/etc.

Thank You Hop My first AR had a 16" HBAR and a carbine length quadrail. With magpul flip ups and a sling it was pushing 8.5lbs, and massively front heavy. Add an optic and light and it was well over 10lbs. Total new guy mistake. But it taught a valuable lesson. Heavy guns suck, unbalanced heavy guns suck exceedingly more. And the experience made me very conscious of weight and balance. A well balanced and weight conscious AR15 is truly a thing of beauty and a splendid tool! Your vids are awesome and always appreciated.

Every month or so I feel myself getting closer and closer to Nutnfancy's SAWC line becoming my entire personality.

Question to "just hit the gym" bros: why is reducing rifle weight and having a fit body mutually exclusive? Having both means you can magdump on garbage and larp indefinitely, so I don't get the smugness.

Solid video and good points. Capability is weight, and we live in the modern era where force multipliers are important. I also love my D2.

Victimized by yet another Hop video. Starting to wonder why I ever visit this channel just to get my dick kicked in. Love the content, always useful and purpose driven information!

With a quality pencil barrel your groups will open up when they get hot, but the zero shouldn’t shift. I’ve got a BCM CHF pencil barrel on a 16” rifle and I’ve been very impressed with it, shooting 10-20 round groups on NRA high power targets at 100 & 200 yards In Hatcher’s Book of the Garand there is a picture of a worker at Springfield Armory using a ‘barrel straightening fixture’ that they would put a barrel in and turn a big wheel to straighten it while eyeballing it. We’ve come a long way since then.

Heavier rifle isn't necessarily ruined if all that weight has given you increased capability that is worth the tradeoff to you. Is 10 pounds heavy? Yes. Can you manage to live with that weight if that rifle's ammo is also lightweight like 5.56? Yes it can be done. I'd rather take the AR as configured in this video than a milled AK, PTR 91, or M1A in most circumstances. Hanging those same mods (if you can even manage it)on virtually any other rifle platform will be much heavier.

Here is a thought. More than just overall weight, balance is in my opinion much more important. I would like to see a video on that angle.

when i start thinking about my heavy ar15, i remember my grandparents carried m1 rifle and a bar. so i think its best to train with what you got instead of just starting new builds. i think the extra weight from a holographic sight suppressor and ir laser is worth it, it keeps my crop safe from animals that would destroy them.

A good reason why tren should be part of your loadout

Considering how many ex military have gloated over the roughly 7lb m16a1 that they were given, there's definitely a lot to be said for keeping it lightweight.

My priorities are home/ranch property defense with a compact AR. Durability, reliability, accurate, common parts, compact, affordable were the attributes. The Weight was a passing after thought. I'm not giving up my optics, WL, or 30 rounds.

The heavier my rifle is, the more effective it will be as a hammer after I’ve missed all my shots

Solid Peggy Hill quote, iirc the exact quote was "...a scientific principle that I like to call 'leverage'"

Yeah you want to keep the weight of your AR below "10 boxes that you might be moving".

My rifles have an optic, sling, and white light. That’s really it unless the build needs a VG. Some of them have a QD flash hider for my can because why wouldn’t I. Yes, I already know, I’m “going to die” because I don’t have all the gizmos for night operation.

I built my kids two 16” 350 legends and got them under 6lbs.. it made me re evaluate every other rifle I have because they’re so fun to hold and shoot lol

Quad rail lovers be like "wow look at all this rail space I'll never use! Awesome! Why does my gun weight 20lbs?"

With smart parts selection, it's entirely possible to build a lightweight AR that's fully capable of doing what you need it to do. As I type this I'm sitting beside an 11.5" BCM that weighs 5.1 lbs. unloaded with optic, sling, and light. As mentioned in the video, a system-wide approach is ideal and the little things matter. Using an ACRO or Steiner MPS instead of a T-2, using an 18350 / single-cell 123 in lieu of a longer body and locating the light in such a way that you can forego a remote switch, and using paracord or the polymer Blue Force Gear UWL in place of swivels to attach a 1" sling all add up to significant weight savings with little to no decrease in capability. Of course, intended purposes vary for each person and situation but the process of choosing the best parts for the job still apply: Determine your intended purpose and assemble the lightest package that meets those needs, rather than trying to "maximize capability" against a weight budget that you are almost guaranteed to exceed. In a very real sense, lightness and handiness are themselves capabilities.

Man, this makes me realize how little I know about weapon systems.

I started out with a 20" DMR-style, free-floated AR with several accessories on it. After about 4 years of modifying it, it morphed into an A1 replica. Go figure!

Best ar experience I've ever had was an older dpms, broom handle foregrip, old eotech, carbine gas system. Light-weight out front, tucked into my shoulder nicely and easy to swing target to target; so simple. I've also shot a ddm4v7; cant say I enjoyed it much as there's just too much weight out front, even with minimal attachments...just doesn't have the same balance, feels off. So, this video really resonates, glad you touched on this topic.

My M16A2 clone is my favorite ar. So simple and streamlined. I don't have to worry about anything other than making sure it's sighted in and loaded. Definitely best rifle.

midfight "hang yall timeout i gotta change my batteries" wipes the glass* charges batteries because you know the battefield has madd electricity 😂

I've hauled around belt feds for untold miles. If your rifle is too heavy, do more pushups. Never seen anybody lean their rifle up against a tree and walk away because it was too heavy.

Good info, always helpful, thanks

I built out an AR pistol with a Rosco K9 12.5 barrel. That barrel is definitely a little chunky but it does shoot really good. I have a 16 inch pencil barrel upper on a KP15 monolithic polymer lower that weighs less than the 12.5 pistol. Both great shooters though. Great video as always

The real advantage to Pic rails vs mlok, is you usually don't need anything more than some pocket change to remove an accessory. That streamlight HL-X in a pic adapter means when you don't need it, you can take it off. Order of priorities always matters: Sling, Optic, Light, Bipod, suppressor, LAM, offset/piggyback/etc.

Your analysis of the build and build another cycle is very accurate LOL

My mom invited me out to the range two weeks ago, my arms were a bit sore from the gym the day before but I didn't think it would be a problem. Her husband hands me his AR-10 style rifle to shoot, I don't think he considered weight at all in his build, it had a light, laser, beefy bi-pod, and a vertical fore grip plus a quad rail, there was a magnified optic as well, but it wasn't a large scope, probably should have one it was practically a sniper rifle. I couldn't get through the third magazine they handed me. my arms were literally shaking with muscle fatigue. I didn't wanna put the bi-pod down because there were several handguns and ammo boxes on the table and I didn't wanna move them all. I thought I may shake some stuff off from the vibrations, not sure didn't wanna test that out.

Solid video. But I feel like it asked more questions than it answered. I guess the moral of the story is "train with your gear. Know what you need/don't need. And trim off weight from there, or ad capability based on need." There is no good answer.

Your nutinfancy reference make me want to see you two do a collaboration. You and brass facts running soldier boy with him would be quite entertaining.

Good vid. I swap out exps3 vs t1 from time to time. I notice a fairly significant difference , when handling, also 11.2oz eotech vs about 5-6oz for T1.

Thanks! enjoy ALL your content

More and more of this. I've always been into the lightweight yet "duty" shit. Maybe one on heat and barrel profile. Little sprinkle of "Hopisim" on harmonics and whip.

5 or 6 years ago, I started stripping "doo dads" off my guns, and went back to basics. Half of my ARs are running JUST irons, and some of those use a fixed front sight post/fixed rear/carry handle... Only one scoped AR in the whole bunch, and 4 or 5 with T1 sized red dots... I may have 2 with lights... Dumped quad rails for "slim" MLok or GI handguards... Even stocks and braces were simplified by going with SBA3s, and B5 SOPMODs on all but one; and its sporting an A2 fixed stock... Boonie packer "combat" slings with QDs or USGI nylon with tri-glides... Said all that to say this... I ENJOY shooting my ARs again. Not just because of weight savings ...they just shoot better. They get up faster, point easier, and just look cleaner and less busy. Its refreshing. I could probably take all the tacticool stuff I pulled off my ARs, sell it on eBay, and buy another rifle!

Whenever I think my stick is too heavy- I just play with a large caliber stick and then when I go back- it feels feather light

I felt I did well with this balance with my first build, which was a dmr AR-10. Making quite a rigid but lightweight platform.

I feel like I have been in the minority for a long time, but I keep my weapon lights on QD mounts. I don't need that heavy thing on my handguard most of the time. It can stay in my bag and be attached as needed.

Your barrel profile, handguard, and stock are the 3 biggest factors for weight in the actual AR15 weapon system. Accessories (lights, lasers, pressure pads, leads, mounts, optic, back up optic, suppressor, suppressor mount, handstop, mlok/picatinny covers, etc) will add the majority of your weight. Out of these, your optic choice will probably dictate the largest weight difference.

Digging the lightcaps! +1 for One Hundred Concepts

The opening of this video is basically the “why” behind the WWSD from InRange

A tip from someone who is currently running a 10lb 10.3" gun on the reg, lift more and QD everything short of your optic. Never skip shoulders (especially your support side), bicep curls are your best bud, and reverse grip chin ups...a lot of them. Your gun is only as effective as YOU are. So get out there and improve yourself my dudes! I know you can do it. The QD system will save so much weight when used right. Are you running CQB drills with buddies who have no cans? Detach that suppressor and pull that magnifier off. Always remember the ancient texts "Mission set dictates gear requirements".

Honestly its so true. I was new to the game and added all this shit to my URGI and it became soo heavy. The biggest thing was when I added a rc2. That changed completely how I handled my rifle

I feel personally attacked.

One of my faves is a 16" mid length with adjustable buttstock, A1 upper and 2 point sling. Light, simple, effective.

Back in 2002' I used to be able to throw a pigskin a quarter mile. Now I'm 40 like James, and I wonder what the hell happened?

I see you’ve met my son’s 10.5 BRN-180. Super front heavy but that gun and weight at the end of the barrel end up with the flattest shooting AR I’ve ever pulled the trigger on.

Recently revisited a 20” with a gov’t profile barrel. What a joy. Also quad rails seems to just be rugged as hell

Really enjoyed the video, love the content.

Does everyone need a flashlight on their gun? I mean a light switch works pretty good.

The lightest possible option for a stock/brace that I have found is a gear head works mod1c brace and tube. My V7 lower with the above brace weighs less than a ke arms polymer lower.

Hop makes a good little video drop, on Saturday morning, to go with your coffee

Lucky for me I’m too broke for night vision and actively protest the NFA so it’s all optics, white lights and vertical grips.

I don’t see what’s wrong with a simple rifle. In all reality a basic rifle with magpul handguards, sling, light, and whatever optic is literally ALL YOU NEED. I don’t even think you need an aluminum handguard. The magpul one already has mlok slots, you might as well save the weight. And before someone mentions accuracy with fReE FlOat all I’m gonna say is skill issue.

If I ever get nods, I might get an IR laser, but for now I'm good with a PA x1 prism and a white light. I also have a 3x prism on one of the rifles to give me better target identification at distance. All guns are 6.5 lbs or less.

The best handling Stoner-designed rifle I ever shot was the old M16A1. It weights 7.6 lbs and didn’t have anything attached other than a sling and the occasional brilliant idea to tape two 30s together. Nicely balanced. The M4 based platforms I’ve used since then have weight a lot more.

I am currently building a .350 legend AR for hunting hogs and deer, and its quite light even though it has a heavy barrel. For the upper, Its got an 18" heavy contour barrel, aero adjustable gas block, Stag arms left hand eject upper and bcg, Aero Breach charging handle, aero 15" ATLAS S, Aero light weight scope mount, and a Trijicon 1-4x Creedo. I haven't decided what bipod to go for yet. As for the lower, an Aero M4E1 lower, Trimney 4.5 Ib trigger, Timney ambi selector, JP silent capture spring, strikes extended bolt catch, Aero enhanced buffer tube, and a Magpul ACS stock. I chose the ACS for its storage mostly, and it was on sale. Those battery compartments will make great storage for a nice cleaning kit, with the side compartment holding some small tools and cleaning patches. I wish I could have gotten the 1-6x creedo, but 1-4x should be perfectly capable for the range of .350 legend, and I just didn't have the money for the 1-6x. All in all, i'm sure its not light, but it really doesn't feel that heavy, and I can hold it out with one arm. For hunting, it would be perfectly capable and not too bad. I'm getting a custom made break for it, but may one day, put a suppressor on it.

🍿

Depends on what your definition of "ruined" is. I wanted a cqb 5.56 that runs well suppressed. Not a DMR. I like mine just fine 😊

Thanks for sharing!

I feel attacked

There are ways to shed weight, depends if you are willing spend for them. For instance using a titanium barrel nut, fostech’s magnesium upper and/or hand guard (1/3 the weight, 3x the strength if you believe them,) carbon fiber fiber hand guards, polymer monolith lowers, and that’s not touching barrel profiles, skeletalization, or lightweight bcgs. You have to know what the rifle is going to be used and build to it within the budget. If you want a night fighter you use some of the tricks above to balance out the weight.

"Dude, you've got too much crap on your AR" videos from nutn changed how I build rifles. I try to keep all my non-NF rifles between 6 to 7 lbs.

Ultimate Urban Lightweight Pin & Welded Recce Style Rifle stays winning.

My main rifle is probably as heavy as a 16" can get, stainless heavy barrel and A2 stock. About 4 gizmos on it. But I got used to it and it's very accurate and very durable. I've got a couple middle weight ones and I'm working on a ultralight one. But if I had to pick just one it'd be the Bigboy. Best to just assemble the unit you think you need and get used to it.

I am currently building a rpk style ar build. 18" chrome heavy barrel with a 3.4x elcan and bipod on it. Weight has gone out the window with that one. My other ar is pretty trim though

Increased capabilities come at a cost. Weight reduction comes at a cost. Increased protection has a cost. In the world of defense acquisitions these are always true. There is a reason we have not replaced the M-1 tank and the B-52. Think about that when you are striving for that perfect “build.” The enemy of good enough is perfect.

Some flip up scope caps will fit the streamlight bezel perfectly, consider looking for one since i can tell you its a huge quality of life improvement over the tape jobs with bikini covers

I have the turbo T2 suppressor with the same QD system, and after receiving it I immediately bought a direct thread adapter. Saves so much weight

Most of my builds use gunner or hanson profile barrels as well as bcm or midwest industries handguards for this reason. I also try to stick with higher end quality scopes (when not using a red dot or eotech) that cut down on a few ounces but remain durable. My only exception is my 11.5, which has a government profile barrel. However, I chose a direct thread can to use with it because of its weight. I also built a super lightweight hiking rifle with a KE Arms lower, Aero M4E1 upper, Faxon Integral brake pencil barrel, Aero Atlas S handguard, Brownells lightweight bcg, SA adjustable gas block, and an Armaspec reduced weight buffer spring. Added on a single cell Modlight, Leupold vx5 2-10 on an Aero lightweight mount, and a set of polymer Diamondhead sights (I always have a multitool so I can take off the optic if need be) and it's basically like a bb gun in terms of weight. An the lightweight internals and brake make it like shooting a bb gun too. It's nuts and I love it.

This was my first AR. I test fired a buddies' bare bones ar and thought "wow, this is way lighter than mine" Then i realized my mistake of putting every possible accessory on it with no regard for weight.

I like the swivel stud bipod idea. It was the first bipod I bought. What I have gone to recently to achieve the same end goal is a picatunny bipod mounted on a QD rail section. Now there is no need to have multiple mlok sling eyelets or to have to move one from rifle to rifle. Just an idea.

Flashlight and red dot. That's all I need. I'm not some secret agent on a stealth mission lol. More power to you if you want 7 attachments but that ain't for me.

That's why I have a QD magnifier and QD suppressor. When I want them I can easily put them on but when I want to shave 2.5 lbs I can easily take them off

Basically the same Nutnfancy and InRange's WWSD preach.

Perfect no bullshit gun channel. My new favorite.

When I started, I put everything I could find on my rifle. Now I have irons and a dot on one and irons, a dot, and a light on my home gun.

I set out to build the lightest 16" barrel AR I could (at a reasonable price, meaning no carbon fiber). Faxon pencil barrel, Mission First minimalist stock, and only a simple 3x prism sight. No plastic/fiberglass anywhere. Venom hybrid micro brake/flash suppressor, NBS free float handguard. No lights or other weird shit. With slight installed it tips the scale at 6 pounds 7 ounces no magazine. Guess what it does? It shoots quite well. And it packs around easy all day. I guess one could say it is not a "go to war" rifle, but then at my age I don't plan to go to war. I've already done that.

“10 pound 10.3”” that describes my ding thanks hope this helps have a Great weekend all 👌

What's the general assumption behind the notion that one (not in an infantry unit) will need to hike a lot with a fighting rifle?

"Is it heavy"? Yeah "Then its expensive, put it back"

Dude that quad rail build is awesome