Just thought I’d share as it’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for a while.  I always have my CC Glock 19 and some reloads with me when traveling, but I’ve been wanting something chambered in a rifle caliber but still in a small enough package to travel with.

To point out right here at the start.  This isn’t meant to be an EDC concealed PDW.  Immediate access and the ability to quickly employ the gun were not top tier considerations.  I wanted something that was both easy to transport and would give me more firepower should I absolutely need it while away from home.  I also wanted something that wouldn’t immediately stand out as a bag containing a rifle.  Many “EDC” carbine bags appear to be well though out, but they’re all a bit longer than I wanted and they all stand out a bit (at least to me) as potentially containing a rifle.  That might be because I spent a lot of time looking at basically everything that’s currently available, but I can’t be the only one who’s done so.  

Anyways, It’s not the lightest package, but it’s small enough that I don’t think too many people would think “rifle” when looking at it.  Others needs may be different, but with the type of travel I do these days, these requirements work for me.

In any case, details are as follows:

-  Haley Flatpack Plus
-  Haley D3CRM Micro Chest Rig w/Multitool/SF G2X/Knife
-  Ferro Mini Dangler w/IFAK and TQ
-  3x 30rd Mags w/110gr TAC-TX
-  1x 20rd Mag w/110gr TAC-TX
-  2x 19rd G17/G19 mags w/147gr HSTs

PDW/Pistol:

-  Poverty Pony Lower/Aero Upper
-  5” SLR Micro .300BLK barrel
-  7.25” MI SP Handguard
-  G ACH/Aero BCG
-  G G2S/FCD Safety
-  SB HBPDW Brace
-  AP ACRO on a UT FAST Mount w/fixed DD Front f/BUIS
-  SF X300T
-  Griffin Brake w/Griffin Flash Can or Plan A/SiCo Hybrid depending upon concealability/OAL requirements

Overall it works well.  The Haley Flatpack main compartment is lined with loop Velcro, so some carefully cut strips of double sided Velcro was all I needed for secure mounting of the Upper/Lower.  

All the pouches are equipped with hook Velcro and can be mounted around the main compartment as needed.  D3CRM just sits on top of it all.  I may add some long strips to wrap around the entire package to keep any shifting from occurring, but it’s tight enough in there, so that doesn’t seem to be a huge concern at the moment.

I’ll likely add an X300V as an option in case I decide to bring along NODs.  It’s not an IR laser, but should be an easy swap for the X300T and offer decent enough IR illumination for passive aiming through the RDS.

Just thought I’d share in case anyone was looking for a similar project.  

Attached File


Front Pouch:  20rd Mag, small GI cleaning kit with lube, spare CR123/Batt case.
Attached File


Fully packaged.
Attached File


Laid out.
Attached File


PDW assembled.
Attached File


ETA:  Broke down and bought a Rattler upper and Vertx pack.  

Attached File
Attached File
Attached File
Attached File

Nice!

That's pretty slick. I've been thinking about setting up the same thing, when I get a short .300 upper.

Only difference is I'd like to keep the rifle assembled, which means either a purpose built pack or retrofitting some Velcro or other straps into an existing pack. I have a beat up Patagonia climbing pack that might be perfect for this. Long enough for a carbine with folded stock, big enough to fit a chest rig and some other kit. It will need some sewing work on the inside to make it happen.

Plus nobody would suspect a supressed SBR in an old granola pack

Attached File

I like it. Maybe look at Streamlight VIR, it has a laser.

Slick!

Cool

??????

Bass ukelele bag will fit a small rifle pretty easily.  Some hot glue and some foam in key areas will ensure the bag looks like a musical instrument.

My concern with something like that would be retaining zero being attached and removed.  Due to size and overhang, I need to remove the light with the gun packed up in the bag.

Also, not sure how the TLR-VIR mounts, but if it requires a tool, it’ll be quite a bit slower than X300 w/the little spring loaded tabs.  Not a huge concern, but potentially a factor.

Yeah, there’s some decent stuff out there for doing stuff like this and many ways to skin that cat.  I like the idea of an older hiking pack.

If you’re looking for fireable while packed up, I’d be looking at something with a foldable stock.  My 6.75” MCX is shorter when folded (with a short handguard) than this 5” AR with collapsed brace.  There are some other AR specific options that can offer similar OAL, but those are generally relatively expensive anyway and nowhere near as compact/slim.

Sadly, the MCX isn’t really setup for a shorter handguard, so it’s not really an option at this point, but I may look at a Rattler in the future for that purpose.  If I can have a PDW ready to roll in the same pack without giving up anything else, that’s obviously a benefit.

Fpni

The VIR 1 has a tightening knob with notches to torque with a flat head screwdriver. The VIR 2 is flat head screwdriver only.

Quite bluntly, almost no one else out there is making anything comparable in compactness to the Rattler. A PLR-15 maybe... My distrust for Sig regarding getting one was tempered with the depressing realization that no one else is addressing that market space at all these days. Get a Rattler.

I carry a pistol and an extra mag or two. If traveling a distance I carry a rifle and some extra mags.

Nice set up. I did similar but like the idea of a chest rig.

Mine is a rattler in a VERTX bag. Bag has soft armor too, and it’s my edc/work bag. Travel just gets the laptop out and rattler in.

This is a kindergarteners bag. Super discreet in my minivan. Attached File

Neat!

I'd love to do similar with an MPX-K

My MPX Copperhead fills that role pretty well.

@WUPHF

That is a set up I have been having in my head for a long time now....very nice.

What are the velocities for 110gr supers and 220 subs from a 5 incher? I thought 8.5 was the ultimate compromise.

What optic is on yours? I always wonder if I should’ve gotten the 300BLK version instead of the 556. I know I can by the conversion.

@steviesterno16

Ive got a MP5K in my laptop backpack when I travel

Generally throw a small rig in there too thats holds some mags and few other goodies

Its small enough I can just pull it out ready to go. No need to assemble anything

I could actually throw a plate or soft armor in this bag, too.  It’s got a pocket on the rear of the main compartment.  I have an old plate pad in there right now mainly for padding while bouncing around in the Pelican 1700 beneath the plane, but I may look at some type of armor in the future.

I like the kids pack, too.  Doesn’t get much more “this is not the rifle you’re looking for” than that.  

@Digger440

At 14* F ambient temps and ammo cold soaked for an hour+ at those temps, It’s running at 1830fps suppressed with Barnes 110gr.  Im gonna guess a bit closer to 1900fps when temps warm up, but I haven’t done any testing on this load and temp sensitivity, so I can’t say for certain.  Either way, it puts me at about 200y before I cross the generally talked about 1300fps expansion velocity cutoff.

Unsure on subs as I don’t have any quality stuff to test yet and the Hornady 208gr AMAX I did pick up would not cycle in the gun, which is I guess fairly common with that load in semi-autos.  Im going to pick up some 190gr SUB-X after the holidays to test out.

I’ll be interested to see if that’ll work out.  I think a buddy may have one rolling around in his parts box so I may try it out.

I use a penny to tighten mine.  Works great.

That's pretty cool, OP. I've wanted to put together something similar for a while now.

Yep. I just went down this road with a build and now need to setup a bag. @WUPHF was in my build thread and helped push me to this with barrel length. I ended up with a 6.5" barrel and a Dead Foot Arms SCW2.5 stock kit. The stock kit is the expensive part. It included BCG, but has a retail price of $600. I found it for $515. However, it is very compact and my gun works collapsed or extended. They also make a brace version of this and a 4" version. This stock only adds a little over 2.5" to the length of the lower. Got out to the range this weekend and it works well! You could cut more length by changing the muzzle device and/or picking a shorter barrel. This is JUST shy of 18" collapsed from the tip of the brake. The brake is pretty rough on this things, but hopefully my Resonator K will get out of jail soon. Probably not though.

Great idea. I have a Gerber Compact Multitool that stays in my general purpose bag (in my range bag) that I use.

I’ll be interested to see some longer term reliability.  I’ve never been a huge fan of the shorter recoil systems, wasn’t really sold on the shorter spring/buffer of the HBPDW, but it seems a number of them have figured out the formula here semi recently.  I really like the extreme short OAL of that DFA stock/brace.

That brake does look a bit brutal.    The brake/flash can setup on mine is still pretty brutal, it throws massive fireballs.  I’ve been considering some ear pro for the kit because I’d have to imagine touching any rounds off from it unsuppressed in an enclosed space would be a bit disorienting.  

Nice compact setup…… I like it

An 8” blackout barrel with a shorter can (Omega 9k) will cycle most factory subs without the can and be a similar overall length to a 5” barrel with a typical 7” can.  Something like a Thunderbeast Ultra-5 would be another suitable short blackout can.

I’d like to see Foxtrot Mike make their bufferless, side cocking upper in an 8” 300 blackout. That would give the Rattler some competition. Side-folders make the folded package fatter but shorter, so it might not be an improvement over a short buffer set-up.

My covert travel gun is a sub2k with a pile of 24 round mags. It lives in cheap walmart camelback type bag. I have a few 10 round mags for it if I need to go somewhere that over 10 rounds is a no no.

I can hit a silhouette out to 200 with it, maybe not center but can hit it.

Ear pro is a good idea. I need to come up with a setup like yours! Time to start hunting for backpacks.
This won't ever be a high round count rifle, but long term reliability will be interesting to see. It is a dual spring, bufferless system.

@davidb1982 right now it's a cheap Primary Arms micro dot. I want to replace that with a prism sight but it's been running well for years so no rush to mix it up (and re-sight in, which I'll need to do when my can gets here anyway).


Thanks, yeah I mean molle and visible tac gear is cool but a grump dad with a grey beard and 2 young kids in a kia minivan is PERFECT suburban dad PDW camo.

I'm gonna need to get some of that Barnes ammo, sounds solid. where do you buy?

How long does it take you to get the bag, get it assembled and firing accurately on target?
Have you timed yourself?

Nice setup. I did something similar but used a Northface bag to be a bit more low profile.

My local Scheel’s inexplicably had all of their Barnes ammo on sale for stupid low prices.  The 110gr TAC-TX was $31/box, so I bought every box they had.  

If you take a look at ammo seek, there are quite a few retailers with it in stock.  Haven’t looked in a bit, but I think most are around $2/round though.

Nice setup OP

I haven’t timed it, but I think roughly 30 seconds would be a good conservative estimate.  This is without attaching the sling/light/suppressor.  I only need to extend brace, pop pins, pop the cover off the upper receiver and optic, pop them together, then insert mag.  Add another 30 seconds for the other accessories.

Most of my travel has me visiting family and family owned property, staying in one location for longer periods of time, so immediate accessibility wasn’t a huge goal as I can assemble when I get where I’m going and it’ll stay that way unless we go somewhere else for more than 24hrs.  My needs more revolve around a) something compact enough for air travel in a single hard sided case while staying under “oversized baggage” limits and b) something that is easy to toss in a car for travel at my destination alongside all the other crap that comes along with a 10 month old baby.  

I’ve got a Vertx & First Tactical pack.  I like the First Tactical pack but the Vertx pack is really nice.

It's a nice setup, but practice, practice, practice with setups like that.
Adrenaline dumps and confusion throw huge curveballs at putting stuff together to use it.

Do push-ups to muscle failure, sit in your front seat and time yourself to see how long it takes to get bag, assemble the necessities and hit your target at 25 yards.
Not only is it fun, and great practice but it will open your eyes.

Nice work OP!

I've done various things like this over the last 10 years with various guns. 5 years ago I settled on a folded up Scorpion Evo then went 300 BO a year later. I finally got an AUG so I need to build one for that.

This pack will likely never be stored in a place for easy accessibility like that.  My G19 and single reload is getting the job done in that situation or I’m dead.  If I do go that route or decide I want that capability, I’ll likely re-examine my pack and firearm choice as there are a lot of better options out there if immediate accessibility becomes a primary concern.    

Nevertheless, still good advice.  I’ll likely work on it a bit but with limited free time and no plans in place to utilize this setup in that manner, it’s probably going to take a seat on the back burner for the time being.

Good to know. I have a Holosun on mine. Feel weird having a $200 red dot on a $2400 gun

Recently did something similar, but with a Sig Rattler.  Your setup is nicer.  I did not disassemble the gun but rather used a Mystery Ranch Urban Assault bag.

This is where my line of thought for this would be as well. Not for immediate contact, but for getting home and etc. In which case I would likely recognize shit just got real and get it out before running into trouble.

I took the same path as you and do a Rattler in a VERTX bag for travel. I'm looking at getting an even smaller sling bag for it too, sucker is just so damn small.

yeah its's deceptive. I've been chasing backpack sized rifle round pistols/SBRs for a while with a lot of different options. Even doing an SBS. The rattler is small as fuck, fires folded, and hits with 3x times the energy of 9mm. Yeah it's not cheap but none of the other things I've found were much cheaper or as powerful. I may do a different bag eventually, I think this will fit with my Rex mg7k direct threaded. No idea how long it will actually be, because I'm 8 months into the "90 days eForm 4" adventure

Even fits in a bag while fully extended.
Attached File
Attached File

Cool. I didn’t read all the replies. Can you stick a plate in there?