SHOT16: The MEGA Arms .308 Small Frame

MEGA Arms is a manufacturer built from the aerospace industry. Take that ingrained sensibility of weight reduction, affinity for tight tolerances, and high degree of quality controlled manufacturing facilities and it is no wonder that MEGA Arms is releasing and exciting new lightweight .308 they affectionately call the Small Frame.

As most folks that carry any level of .308 rifle know, with increased power comes increased weight. MEGA stripped excessive weight from a typical .308 frame, reimagined the components, reengineered the design and came up with a rifle where the only thing that is “normal” .308 sized is the magwell.

With an upper and lower machined from 7075 T6 billet aluminum, the Small Frame also has a 6061 T6 extruded hand guard in the MEGA MML style (M-LOK) and a 1/10 twist barrel that will be included in the initially offered 16″ and 18” configuration. Added to that are a Syrac adjustable gas block and an oversized ejector. Recoil is controlled with an H3 buffer and a brake that will be redesigned by MEGA in the near future.

The lower has full ambi controls for the magazine release and bolt release and an ambi safety selector made by Battle Arms Development. The slide lock and Slide Lock charging handle are proprietary to MEGA and are also proprietary in length to the small frame. The skeletonized trigger is their single staged match tactical trigger, breaking at 4.5lbs and meant to be more applicaple to combat than competition.

The rest of the furniture will consist of a Magpul buttstock and grip, and possibly Magpul BUIS.

So with all of the new components, there will be a lot of .308 shooters that will want to get their hands on a separate upper or lower. According to MEGA, they will be available at some point in the future when the parts are more readily available.

The weight reduction that MEGA has achieved was noticeable in the unit we handled in the booth, which included an Aimpoint Patrol Rifle Optic and carbon fiber bipod.

Available in the mid to late summer timeframe, the Small Frame will have an MSRP right around $2500.

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What is the NSSF SHOT Show?

The NSSF SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show) and Conference is an annual event held by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Typically attended by thousands of people from all 50 states and over a hundred countries, it is (quite rightfully) described as the “…world's premier exposition of combined firearms, ammunition, law enforcement, cutlery, outdoor apparel, optics, and related products and services.

Imagine the Worlds' Fair, but packed with everything from mini-guns and every breed of body armor, bows and boots; from eye pro and ear pro to optics and ordnance, socks to swords…you get the idea. If you'd like to see a sampling of the companies who will be showing at this year's SHOT, there's a live map right here, though it doesn't reflect the organizations set up elsewhere, in hotel suites, etc.

View imagery from our coverage of last year's SHOT Show right here.

2016 SHOT Show

January 18 — Media on the Range (numerous shooting facilities in and around Las Vegas)
January 19–22, 2016
Sands Expo and Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nevada
Hours:
Tuesday, January 19 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 20 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 21 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Friday, January 22 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

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