Anatomy of a rifle for the wife.
Low volume recreational plinking steel out to 100yds.

Main criteria
Light weight
Soft shooting
Simple to operate
Not too hard on the wallet

Palmetto had an upper I thought well fit the project. Pencil barrel mid-length gas system with 13in light weight handguard. $219 delivered. They also had a blem lower for $129 delivered. Already had a BCG so I'm only into this thing for $350. So far so good.

To soften recoil and keep the muzzle down I went with a Lantac brake only because I already had one and am satisfied with it-- Joe Bob Oufitters $105 delivered.

Sending quarters down range with a GI trigger? Nah.... but the wife doesn't need a Wilson TTU either. Settled on a Timney 668-S 4lb single stage from Primary Arms-- $180 (price matched with an obscure Net dealer). I like doing business with Primary Arms.

The good folks at Weapon Evolution offered a heads up that Cabela's was selling a Trjicon RMR 3.25moa for $261 delivered. Always on and auto adjust, that well fit the criteria for simplicity. And at 2.8oz with included AR riser mount that well fit the criteria for light weight. Thank you Weapon Evolution.

Ammo... I had some PMC Bronze .223 that I've found exceptionally soft shooting. The velocity tests I've seen from a 16in barrel show it to have a muzzle velocity of 2700-2800fps... so that explains that. In this rifle it reliably operates with an ejection pattern at 3:30. All good.

The wife's rifle... Light weight, simple and soft shooting. And at under $1k it wasn't too hard on the wallet. Mission accomplished.

ps. The wife thinks the 'shiny barrel is pretty'. Perfect.

Nice build.
I set up a "range rifle" to be as light weight as possible for doing repetitive drills without tiring--Colt lower, Daniel Defense upper with mid-length 14.5" lightweight pencil barrel and welded PWC brake, Magpul MOE stock and handguard, and Aimpoint T1. I can shoot that gun all day.

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John

That turned out very nice. And Mrs. is right, that shiny barrel is pretty!

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America First

Nice upper. Been thinking about a mid-length for the same reason as you, softer shooting for my girl. It's one thing that annoys me about 300 BO uppers, most have a pistol length gas system.

I would have cheaped out on the trigger and got an ALG Advanced Combat Trigger. Advanced Combat Trigger (ACT)

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Release the Kraken