10.5" Barrel?

[huntercf]

I have an AR pistol with a 7.5" barrel and I was thinking about changing to a 10.5" barrel. Couple questions: Is changing a barrel a pretty basic task or a major undertaking and where would be a good place to get a barrel.
If this is the wrong forum I apologize in advance and feel free to school me.
Thanks

[Tier One Arms]

What kind of barrel are you looking for?

[tacticalcity]

Take it to a good gunsmith who has the proper tools and can get the correct torque.

Personally I wouldn't do it. Grass is always greener.

[huntercf]

What kind of barrel are you looking for?

5.56 for AR pistol.

[huntercf]

Take it to a good gunsmith who has the proper tools and can get the correct torque.

Personally I wouldn't do it. Grass is always greener.

Thanks for the advice, 'correct torque' is the kind of info I was looking for, sounds like there is more involved to switch out a barrel.

[ExtremeX]

Why not just build a second complete upper, and swap between the 7.5 or 10.5 whenever you want...

Sure its going to be more expensive, but the barrel is really the bulk of the cost... $150-200 more expencive depending on the handguard you use.

Unless there is a legal reason you cant do this, I would pick this route.

Changing the barrel is pretty much a complete de-construction of the upper.

[huntercf]

That sounds like the way to go. Thanks guys.
Any ideas of where the best place to buy an upper? I bought the 7.5" from marks armory.

[ExtremeX]

Lots of places sell uppers, Parallax Tactical, Rifle Gear just to name a couple.

Ive been paying $99 + tax for uppers, seems to be the going rate. You can just mail order it to your door if you like.

If you buy all the parts from a place like Parallax, they will help you build the upper. Regardless if where you go, I would advise bringing the pistol just to avoid confusion. Some places may think you are trying to build an SBR.

If you decide to make it at home, then just make sure you have the correct torque specs and the right tools for assembly.

Someone chime in just in case you are not allowed to build or have more than 1 pistol upper. Only thing that worries me about AR pistols is having multiple uppers, last thing I want is someone to think its going to be used with one of my AR-15s to create an SBR (constructive possession). OP, please do your own research too since I dont own an AR pistol nor am I up-to-date on all the laws.

[walmart_ar15]

Depending on what type of hand guard, it really is fairly simple task to replace a barrel on an AR type platform. You just need the proper tools, this can be a simple 20 min job.

You can get a complete barrel front end kit. You can buy the barrel pretty much all over the web now days (pick up a copy of ShotGun news, tons of ads). Barrels should be already head spaced and fits most standard 5.56/.223 bolts. Get the version with a removable gas block. You may need to adjust the gas port size.

You'll need the correct barrel nut wrench. If you have a float tube, then you may need a special wrench that fits the float tube nut.

You'll need a receiver block to hold the receiver properly inside your vise. A punch to knock out the gas tube pin.

Torque setting can be found on the web as well. Just make sure you line up the gas tube with the groves in the barrel nut.

The biggest problem is getting the timing correct. Short barreled AR is known to be unreliable and require tuning.

Or, you can just buy the entire 10.5 upper already assembled.

[morrcarr67]

Extreme - From what i understand about AR pisrols you are correct in saying that you should only have one upper of less the 16" for every pistol lower you have.

So, if you only have one pistol lower you should only have one upper.

[thenodnarb]

A barrel is not hard to change. Ideally you would have a vise, an armorers tool and a receiver block to protect the receiver when in the vise. You don't really need a torque wrench since you have to time the barrel nut with the gas tube anyway. Its pretty straight forward. When tightening the barrel nut, tighten it down good and tight, check for alignment. If its not aligned, back off the nut and tighten again until you get to the next alignment groove. I think the TM calls for a torque anywhere from 35-80ft lbs. but that just allows for timing of the gas tube. IMO the lesser the better for accuracy. I had an AR that shot pretty badly, something like 4MOA with my hand loads. For some reason, I removed the hand guard and reinstalled the barrel(IN the field!) but this time torqued it only until the first notch in the barrel nut aligned(previously I went to the next notch just because I thought tighter was better). I put the hand guards back on and IMMEDIATELY with the same ammo started shooting 2MOA groups.
The armorers tool can be had for like $20 and a receiver "clamp" is something like $40. Not too bad for the ability to change your barrel.

BTW my description of torquing the barrel is using seat of the pants type measuring. Its obvious when you tighten a barrel nut about where it wants to stop. At that point, its just about timing the gas tube.