I'm looking to get a lightweight, fast handling AR to tote around with me while living out of motels for work. I have a 16" BCM ELW-F with the original magnesium 13" KMR handguard, which I really like, but don't want to take a chance on getting stolen while traveling. My other knockaround AR went to a relative who wanted to try out the platform.
My first thought was to simply buy a Colt 6720, but then it occurred to me that I could just buy a barreled upper and use my current BCM bolt carrier group, charging handle and lower. Eventually I can piece it together into another complete rifle as sales happen. I have two more semesters of trade school coming up in the fall, so I'm trying to be somewhat thrifty for the time being. After that I'll probably be back on the road for a while and money will be much less tight.
So I started looking at the options available. Everybody makes 16", M4 profile, carbine length gas systems. Quite a few 14.5", M4 profile, carbine length gas options. Many 16", lightweight, middy gas options. Some 14.5", lightweight, middy gas. But no(that I could find) 14.5" lightweight, carbine length gas options.
Why can't I get a barrel and gas system length equal to that of the proven M4, but with a lighter barrel profile? Is there something I'm not understanding about why this is a bad idea?
And does anybody know how much weight savings there is between a 14.5" M4 profile barrel vs a 14.5" lightweight profile barrel vs a 16" lightweight profile barrel?
I could just buy a BCM 14.5" pencil barrel with mid length gas and a welded bcm comp, but I'm a little sceptical of reliability with this configuration.
What is your preferred configuration for a light, handy AR?