SEEKING HELP FROM THE BLACK GUN GURUS

[quicksylver]

I find myself lost in this new world , back IN '97 I bought a couple of BushMaster AR's so I would,n't appear to be so out of place at my clubs NRA matches,one was a Varminter H bar with a 24 " barrel . now I find myself back in the same situation, to remedy the problem I would like to replace the barrel with a 20" none threaded stainless, 1:8 twist Wylde chambered bull barrel if anyone can suggest a brand and do the work I will be happy to pay shipping both ways and pay for the work , the current barrel has a riveted front sight base, suggestions and comments are more than welcome , after finding pieces of guns at my gun club that were put together by our local inexperienced "armorers, i am in no hurry to go to the local shops that are hiring these people.. Dan s dsylver48@comcast.net

 

[popper]

http://www.x-caliber.net Many other competition quality barrel makers with DIY packages. Make about anything you want. Why have someone else build it for you? Easy to do with just a few hand tools anymore. You do need a receiver 'block' to do it right. Most barrel nuts are flats anymore so armorer wrench is not needed, just a torque wench. Pull the old barrel completely, get new block & tube - unless you have to use Mil front. It comes off easy - tapered drift pins. You can get HSd bolt from most good barrel makers.

 

[Matt]

As Popper says there are a lot of excellent vendors of barrels and associated parts. A quick internet search will identify them. On the inexpensive end you can look at CBC, Anderson, Bear Creek, on the other end Wilson has great stuff. Another search on how to build an AR 15 upper will show you there is no need to send the work out. You’ll need some tools, but they will cost less than shipping and a barrel install will. You’ll need the tools because assembling cheap AR is kinda addicting. My own HB 5.56 is a Wylde chambered CBC barrel and shoots MOA with 69 gr Federal factory all the time. I paid about $90.00 fir it 3-4 years ago. My .224 Valkyrie has an Anderson stainless HB and shoots 1.25 MOA with the cheap Federal 75gr FMJ ammunition. When I get around to loading for it I’m sure it will be a sub MOA rifle.
When you build your .300 Blackout and discover its one of the best cast bullet rifles available you’ll be really hooked.

 

[popper]

Yea, watch out for the BO, it's addicting! That's for the pistol (11$/100), carbine next (13$/100).

 

[Ian]

You’ll need some tools, but they will cost less than shipping and a barrel install will.

This, pretty much. I have all the tools including the spendy internal locking lug backup tool and receiver face lap. I'd be happy to put it together for you but even a non-serialized group of parts and doing it for free sort of qualifies as "in the business of" in the ATF's eyes.

All you really need is an armorer's wrench and the counter-torque wrench. The upper receiver block that's supposed to keep the receiver from collapsing is always too small to be any help IME. The lapping tool put in backwards works well, but the counter-torque tool eliminates all the issues. Torquing to a spec is internet fun time, just give it a honk and try to make the next flat for the gas tube hole. 35-70 ft/lbs is about the range, best if you stay on the low end. You'll need an armorer's wrench to REMOVE the GI barrel nut, and whatever wrench is required to install the new nut/fore-end you put back on. I'd buy all new stuff and not take of the front sight gas block to re-use the barrel nut if it were me, but if you want to keep it GI you can drift the tapered pins left to right and heat/beat the old FSGB off to re-use the nut and delta ring/spring assembly.

I'd get an aftermarket full-float handguard from a GOOD maker like Midwest Industries. It will come with barrel nut/shims and hardware. Then you need a low-profile gas block of the correct diameter to fit the barrel you choose. Get a NEW gas tube and don't forget the roll pin. If you need a front sight that is the height of the carry-handle aperture, such are made that clamp to the handguard's 1913 rail, otherwise if you have a flat-top receiver you can run and optic (I HIGHLY recommend the $99 Weaver one-piece scope mount).

Premium AR barrels often come with a bolt that's headspaced to the barrel individually. I'd look for one of those if you want the best accuracy and guaranteed no problems with headspace. I've never had a headspacing problem with any of my AR builds where I just put random parts together, but you may not be so lucky.

 

[Brad]

White Oak Armament | Quality Parts for Competitive and Casual Shooters

Looking for parts or accessories for your rifle? White Oak Armament is the destination for quality parts for competitive and recreational marksmen.

www.whiteoakarmament.com

I can’t say enough about how good John is to deal with. He is a hell of a good shooter and I know many who shoot rifles and uppers he built. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.

 

[RBHarter]

I have an AR Performance 20" heavy rifle gas barrel I'm pretty happy with .

The pinned gas block/sights can be a little bit of a pain to get apart .
I did mine with a barrel vise and the armory wrench . They're pretty easy to do right and pretty hard to get really wrong . It's pretty much a one way assembly . Nil contact on the gas tube is the hardest part .

ARP is about 250 with a bolt .

 

[Hawk]

I bought my last AR15 barrel from Wilson Tactical in one of his wildcat chamberings.
A bit pricey, but very accurate!
I bought the upper, BCG and handguard from other companies and everything went together without a hitch.
I did buy a small, breakover style, torque wrench to try to set the barrel nut torque. Not necessarily require, I was just trying to do it right.
IIRC, you can buy tool kits that have everything you need, reasonably priced.
Once you start and find out how easy it is, you'll be hooked.

 

[fiver]

for like another 100 bucks you can just get a whole other upper with bolt and charge handle.
the Wylde chambering your gonna have to look around for though, it seems to be kind of wandering off towards left field to see what the Valkery round is doing.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

 

[popper]

If changing barrels, I wouldn't bother removing sight, just pull the entire barrel with cut tube and all. I'm liking the Aero Smod stuff, hand guard really locks onto the upper. No FA but place for door if you want.

 

[Ian]

For cast bullet shooting, especially with suppressors, I wouldn't be without a FA.

 

[Kevin Stenberg]

If you do change the barrel. I would be interested in buying your old barrel.

 

[Tomme boy]

I would suggest a good trigger while you are at it. Larue has the MBT-2 and -1 for about $87 delivered. I have a couple of the -2 they are 2 stage and they are AWESOME.

Don't discount a factory upper. RRA Predator Pursuit is a good upper that is a lighter weight barrel. They use Wilson blanks like WOA uses.