AA Ultralight?

[stanc]

Anybody owned/fired one of these?

At a feathery 5.25 lbs, how does it rate for shootability and felt recoil?

Also, one photo on the AA site shows that the bolt carrier has been really skeletonized. Am wondering if that will have any adverse effects on durability/reliability?

[warped]

Stan, it will be fine, throw a WCI on it and there is no recoil at all.

use a standard carrier, the mere ounce or so will not matter, it is center of mass.

Unless you are going to hump it up to 14k summits.

[RStewart]

Nice looking rifle.

[stanc]

Stan, it will be fine, throw a WCI on it and there is no recoil at all.

use a standard carrier, the mere ounce or so will not matter, it is center of mass.

Let me get this straight. Spend $2500 for a carbine specifically because it is ultra-lightweight, then make modifications to it that INCREASE the weight???

How's that again?

Unless you are going to hump it up to 14k summits.

Yup. That's precisely why.

[stanc]

Nice looking rifle.

Indeed. On the old forum, a few members expressed an interest in it. I was hoping maybe somebody actually bought (and fired) one, and could give feedback on their likes/dislikes.

[Variable]

Indeed. On the old forum, a few members expressed an interest in it. I was hoping maybe somebody actually bought (and fired) one, and could give feedback on their likes/dislikes.

I was one of the interested ones, but not at that price point... I had thought about building my own for a lot less, but then Uncle Sam yanked all of my overtime. With no toy funds, it's been pushed to the back burner for now... Sorry I can't help.

[leopard6.5]

Stan: I'll jump in here even though I've got a horse in the race.

I've got the Ultralight Upper listed for sale in the classified section. It's actually the GDMR( Grendel Designated Marksman Rifle) rifle with an additional Ultralight Upper.
It's titled- 6.5 Grendel Rifle & Extra 6.5 Grendel Satern Spartan lightweight Upper- $2,500.00

I've got the rifle and extra upper priced at the same $2,500.00 which I thought is a great price compared to what AA is charging for the model you asked about. Basically you get the extra upper for free.

The rifle and extra upper I'm selling, I haven't shot the Ultralight upper and only shot the GDMR with 12 rounds when I was zeroing the scope but I had previously shot a friends Ultralight with the Satern barrel and it shot sub-MOA. That's the reason I chose to purchase that upper.

I bought the pair( rifle and extra Ultralight upper) so I could have the GDMR for benchrest target shooting and the Ultralight Upper for hunting so I didn't have to carry the extra weight. I felt it gave me a lot of flexibility.

Just so you know, I'm not selling them because I don't like them, I'm only selling because I want try building my own rifle which I have never done.

Hopefully this helps give you a better feel for the Ultralight and helps with your decision.

Good luck and if I can answer any other questions, please ask.

Lee

[leopard6.5]

Stan: I forgot to mention that I feel that Ultralight Upper is the lightest upper I've ever felt short of going to a super short barrel.

I added a Hogue overmolded handguard because the rubber overmolding would help keep my hands from getting cold when the temps. drop.

I also added an ACE buttstock to save weight because they are so light and I have found them comfortable to shoot with.

Good Luck again.

Lee

[warped]

Let me get this straight. Spend $2500 for a carbine specifically because it is ultra-lightweight, then make modifications to it that INCREASE the weight???

How's that again?

Yup. That's precisely why.

Stan, I would make you a Ti WCI brake, it weaighs only 101grams when it is a 5.56mm, the bigger the bore the lesser the weight.

The idea was to reduce the recoil so that you could easily shoot it one handed.

[LRRPF52]

If you want to shed weight, I would recommend using an upper without the Forward Assist (something I hate anyway), versus cutting weight on the bolt carrier. The lighter carrier weight could be balanced with a stronger recoil spring, but I prefer leaving things with the operating system as close to optimum and proven as possible.

You can get uppers that are in every way like a flat-top upper, with ejection port and brass deflector, minus the forward assist from Les Baer.

[mtn_shooter]

Stan, I would make you a Ti WCI brake, it weaighs only 101grams when it is a 5.56mm, the bigger the bore the lesser the weight.

The idea was to reduce the recoil so that you could easily shoot it one handed.

The 16" Satern barrel they're using on that upper has 14.5" of rifling, and a built-in 1.5" 3-prong flash hider. No way to mount a WCI without extensive work and/or possible paperwork.

[warped]

Cutting it down re-threading and pinning is not a huge deal

[stanc]

If you want to shed weight, I would recommend using an upper without the Forward Assist (something I hate anyway), versus cutting weight on the bolt carrier. The lighter carrier weight could be balanced with a stronger recoil spring, but I prefer leaving things with the operating system as close to optimum and proven as possible.

You can get uppers that are in every way like a flat-top upper, with ejection port and brass deflector, minus the forward assist from Les Baer.

The last thing I need is a stronger recoil spring.

I share your feeling about the forward assist, and in my research over the last week or so, I discovered the Les Baer upper you mention. I thought that'd be perfect, but then the "ejection port size" thread led to the note on the AA site that AA uppers have a "Grendel specific" ejection port.

http://www.alexanderarms.com/gtech.htm

That made me wonder if the LB upper, with its 5.56 ejection port, would be okay for use with 6.5 Grendel. But, some here say the 5.56 port is compatible with the fatter cartridge. If so, that'd certainly be my choice. The down side is that'd mean not only buying a bunch of parts, but finding a good gunsmith here to assemble them into a complete upper.

[leopard6.5]

Stan: The setup I have actually uses the M-16 bolt carrier as that's what came with the GDMR. I would have just switched it to the other upper if I had used it.

I see what you mean though about the one AA shows on their website. It sure looks like it is lightened.
I've always preferred using the M-16 bolt carrier as that is what it was designed with so even if I had received the lightened one when I bought the upper, I would have replaced it and saved weight other places( buttstock, handguard, etc.) like LRRPF52 said.

Good Luck.

Lee

[stanc]

Stan: I'll jump in here even though I've got a horse in the race.

I've got the Ultralight Upper listed for sale in the classified section. It's actually the GDMR( Grendel Designated Marksman Rifle) rifle with an additional Ultralight Upper.

It's titled- 6.5 Grendel Rifle & Extra 6.5 Grendel Satern Spartan lightweight Upper- $2,500.00

I've got the rifle and extra upper priced at the same $2,500.00 which I thought is a great price compared to what AA is charging for the model you asked about. Basically you get the extra upper for free.

Thanks, Lee. I appreciate the offer. But, although I agree that is indeed a great deal, I'll have to decline.

I've decided to postpone buying a Grendel, at least until I'm sure that it'd be worth the substantial expense. I haven't done any rifle shooting since about 1997, when I still had a fully functional body, and access to private land on which to shoot.

Now that I must not only learn to shoot left-handed, but also on controlled shooting ranges, I think it'd be wiser to take things one step at a time.

My plan is to start off with a low-cost, ultra-lightweight rifle that I know I can handle with my reduced physical abilities. If that works out to my satisfaction, then I can consider upgrading to a more expensive platform.