Fightlite lowers?

[fatdog]

I have a friend behind the iron curtain who wants to purchase a 5.56 semi. One option is the Mini-14 with all its drawbacks, but another apparent option is the Fightlite lower with an AR upper and a non-threaded barrel.

I have never even seen one of these things. Just wondering if some member here has one, or has significant rounds down range with one. It would seem to offer a better accuracy/durability/reliability package than the mini, which is not hard to do.

Thanks

[JRB]

The Fightlight lowers are neat but IMHO they're best left to tinkering enthusiasts. If your friend is a tinkering gun nerd, by all means I'd go Fightlite.
If your friend simply wants a useful 5.56 semi then I'd go Mini-14. Really the Mini-14 is a better choice just for the 'regular people' looks and Ruger's generally good warranty support.

[sickeness]

Avoid.

Fightlite has always been a half-assed company with spotty availability and suspiciously high pricing. The quality of their individual parts has always been a bit suspect as well.

FWIW, CMMG also now produces a standard stock AR rifle as does Sig, if given the option I would buy a ready made gun from a reputable manufacturer.

https://cmmg.com/rifle-dissent-br4-5-56mm-14-5-p-w
https://www.sigsauer.com/mcx-r-regulator.html

[DDTSGM]

Here's a couple of reviews:

https://www.americanhunter.org/content/review-fightlite-scr/

https://www.guntweaks.com/fightlite-scr-review-and-build-tips-ares-scr.html

https://gununiversity.com/fightlite-scr-review/

The reviews, as well as a previous poster, point out the Fightlite rifles and/or lowers are expensive. That may true in comparison to a basic AR, but that's not what we are talking about. In comparison to the competition, CMMG Dissent and Sig MCX Regulator, the Fightlite is relatively inexpensive.

In terms of accuracy, the Fightlite in the American Hunter review was reportedly 1 to 1.5 moa, and unlike the CMMG or Sig offerings, custom uppers are readily available from a multitude of vendors if you don't want to build your own.

In my case, I'd put this upper on a Fighlite lower, and have a sub-moa rifle for less than 1900.00 - I know because I have this upper on my service rifle - https://www.whiteoakarmament.com/a4-service-rifle-optic-upper-with-ratchet-rifled-barrel-post-ban-1751.html

All that being said the Mini is probably the better option for a guy on a budget, who isn't going to build his own upper.

JMO

[OlongJohnson]

I have a lower from the 2016 era, probably, before they had the big dip in availability and then came back selling only complete rifles for several years. It has the old-style black poly stock. The trigger is long and gritty compared to my ARs, which all have Geissele triggers. The reach to the mag release is far less ergonomic than on an AR.

I have a bunch of parts to build out the complete rifle, including Remington take-off wood furniture and CZ Scorpion iron sights, but the whole mess is still sitting in storage. My idea was a ban-legal rifle, but that's turned out to be a low priority.

[Suvorov]

Kali legal fin-grip rifles really are not that limited in functionality. That is where I would start.

A Mini14 is always an option, especially if all he wants is a basic rifle.

[vandal]

My Fightlite SCR lower. Yes it required tinkering to get the Magpul stock on (just an adapter from a guy on IG). Then some tinkering to fit a BRN-180 upper to it. It has an ambi mag release on it which is my primary way of dropping mags due to the strong side release location. In this older pic, sights are CZ Scorpion BUIS usable through an old Holosun dot. But currently it has a P4Xi low-mounted on it as that just seems more versatile for a trunk gun.

I haven't put a lot of rounds through it because I have some pre-ban fully-functional options, but this is a nice slightly-less-threatening looker, and "trunk gun legal". Breaks down into a Grey Ghost Apparition backpack.

I don't know about the CMMG dissent but I assume the MCX Regulator being an MCX is a heavy beast. This is relatively light and handles M1 Carbine-ish. Reliability has been 100% but since the BRN-180 upper is completely self-contained I attribute the reliability to that. All the SCR lower has to do is drop and reset the hammer and it hasn't failed to do that.

Only thing I don't prefer is the cross-bolt safety

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49779111916_5d9322914e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iQNXGh)

[Suvorov]

My Fightlite SCR lower. Yes it required tinkering to get the Magpul stock on (just an adapter from a guy on IG). Then some tinkering to fit a BRN-180 upper to it. It has an ambi mag release on it which is my primary way of dropping mags due to the strong side release location. In this older pic, sights are CZ Scorpion BUIS usable through an old Holosun dot. But currently it has a P4Xi low-mounted on it as that just seems more versatile for a trunk gun.

I haven't put a lot of rounds through it because I have some pre-ban fully-functional options, but this is a nice slightly-less-threatening looker, and "trunk gun legal". Breaks down into a Grey Ghost Apparition backpack.

I don't know about the CMMG dissent but I assume the MCX Regulator being an MCX is a heavy beast. This is relatively light and handles M1 Carbine-ish. Reliability has been 100% but since the BRN-180 upper is completely self-contained I attribute the reliability to that. All the SCR lower has to do is drop and reset the hammer and it hasn't failed to do that.

Only thing I don't prefer is the cross-bolt safety

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49779111916_5d9322914e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2iQNXGh)

Please keep us posted on your experience! Ain’t going to lie, that looks like a great ban state setup!

[kuruk881]

I haven’t used a Fightlite lower myself, but from what I’ve heard, pairing it with an AR upper could definitely give better accuracy and reliability than the Mini-14.