Are you considering a carbon fiber stock to lighten up your rifle?

Smoke Composites, located in Minden, NV, designs and manufactures state-of-the-art, carbon fiber buttstocks, buffer tubes, handguards, and other parts for AR-15s, AR-10s and PCCs.

Why Did I Get a Smoke Composites Carbon Fiber Buffer Tube?

I had recently decided to reduce the weight of my POF Renegade Plus Rifle. To that end, I finally ordered a Smoke Composites, custom sized, carbon fiber buffer tube to which I could attach a lightweight, aluminum stock.

Smoke Composites Carbon Fiber Buffer Tube Features

• Made from 35-50 Carbon Fiber and 7075 Aluminum
• Fixed length Straight Tube – No “Boss”
• Commercial Diameter (also offered in Mil-Spec diameter)

Smoke Composites Carbon Fiber Buffer Tube Specs

• Length: 8.5″
• Diameter: 1.17″ (commercial diameter)
• Weight: 3.25 oz

Smoke Composites Carbon Fiber Buffer Tube Pricing

$139 + 35 for custom size

Smoke Composites Carbon Fiber Buffer Tube and Buttstock vs Other Buttstock Options

My Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube together with a lightweight aluminum buttstock weighs 5 oz according to my scale. This is approximately 4.625 oz lighter than the original POF Renegade Plus MFT Minimalist buttstock setup. It is also about 8.6 oz lighter than a Magpul MOE SL buttstock setup.

Here are the approximate weights of various buttstock setups (without castle nut and end plate):

• Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube and a lightweight aluminum buttstock = 5 oz
• POF anti-tilt buffer tube and the MFT Minimalist buttstock = 9.625 oz
• Mil-Spec buffer tube and the Magpul MOE SL buttstock = 13.6 oz.

General Impressions

The Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube is surprisingly lightweight and feels very strong. It also appears to be really well made with an attractive black and grey camo-like finish.

Installation

Installing the Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube is no different than a traditional, aluminum buffer tube/receiver extension. Just keep in mind that you may need to use a thin castle nut wrench to tighten the castle nut. Thicker castle nut wrenches may not fit between the castle nut and the collar that covers where the aluminum threads and the carbon fiber tube meet.

At the Range

Having shot just 140 rounds of 5.56 NATO 55 gr FMJ, I experienced no issues using the Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube.

As far as distribution of weight/balance, consider this. I was shooting a POF Renegade Plus (with a  Faxon 16” pencil barrel, Aero Precision adjustable gas block and Ballistic Advantage/Aero Precision, Atlas S-One 15” handguard, along with a 3.2 oz muzzle brake). As such, it did not feel front heavy at all and the Smoke Composites carbon fiber buffer tube helped (in conjunction with other lightweight parts) to reduce the weight of my POF Renegade Plus from 6.3 lbs down to about 4.9 lbs.

Final Thoughts

If you have been considering a carbon fiber stock set up (a carbon fiber buttstock or a carbon fiber buffer tube to which you would attach a third party stock), you may want to check out Smoke Composites. I definitely feel it is well worth the money.