Anyone seen or heard of these? Seems like it might be a good idea to save a little weight.
They were originally sold by Professional Ordinance, which was bought out by Bushmaster. Bushmaster still sells the CF rifles, which feature CF uppers and lowers. I have a CF upper on an alloy lower and it is a very light rifle.
Cav Arms also sells a polymer lower with integral buttstock which is very light.
Cav Arms also sells a polymer lower with integral buttstock which is very light.
Are they any good? Is the material up to the task? Any drawbacks?
I use mine for competition, but it wouldn't be my top choice for SHTF work. Bushmaster isn't well regarded these days regarding specifications. You can build a very light weight yet tough & durable rifle with alloy uppers and lowers. An example here: http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=39599&highlight=project+featherweight
Colt, Bravo Company, Daniel Defense, Magpul, Troy Mfg., J.P. Enterprises and some other manufacturers you can find info on over there on M4carbine forums would be good places to look for lightweight components that will stand up to hard use.
Colt, Bravo Company, Daniel Defense, Magpul, Troy Mfg., J.P. Enterprises and some other manufacturers you can find info on over there on M4carbine forums would be good places to look for lightweight components that will stand up to hard use.
Is there somewhere that compares the weights of the hand guards and stocks?
Carbon fiber in general is a hard light weight glass product. Drawbacks? Not good in the UV stability area and is prone to chipping and flaking when bumped.
Well coming from composites bonding in the aircarft field......... I'm not quide sure how CF would hold up. I mean yea its great stuff but for making uppers and lowers out of, well not so sure about. Main this is if there happens to be any air pockets between the layers of cf and how many layers they use in critical areas as well as how they attatch or bond the metal pieces needed to it. For me there are way too many things there to go wrong rather than getting a forged/ billet upper or lower. Yes it'll save a ton of weight but like GTG said only a match rifle i wouldnt put it up against an alloy gun for duty use or putting your life with it.
The last ones I saw were injection molded, which would do away with any concerns of separation between the layers, as it is effectively all one layer. An epoxy is mixed with carbon fiber strands (often cut to .25" or so) and forced into a heated mold where it sets up. Being that most carbon fiber composites are stronger than most aluminum alloys (one of the early selling points) it should hold up better than aluminum, but it won't continue to bend or give at all if stressed beyond its maximum, which is very high, it will break. In use they don't seem to be as durable for guns that will be shot much. They are light weight, but swapping that HB for a pencil one will loose more!
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