AR Barrel Gunsmith

[BIG_G]

Do we have any Gunsmiths in California that are highly skilled and capable of producing custom AR Barrels?

If you know of one, or are on, please contact me via PM on this forum.

Thanks.

[CRTguns]

depends what your'e really after... Target Match grade, varmint, 3 Gun, Backpack... what recipe you need? there are many out there. Getting a barrel made custom is $$ more than a buyout part... may not be worth it unless you need supreme accuracy, or certain features of caliber you cannot get form an online store.

For example...
We make a lot of extended length target and varmint killin barrels- that is, say, a 223 AI or a .17 Rem with a 13" gas tube and up to a 26" barrel,
We make really, really lightweigt backpack guns- We can make en entire functioning AR weigh 4.75 lbs- with no plastic.
We make odd stuff... 6x45, 7.62x39, 358 Spectre(9x39 Soviet), 338 and 300 subsonic chamberings. Working on a 4.5x30 right now.

We also do barrels for 3 gun competition... where light weight and rearward balance help your speed on close in human sized paper targets. But you need length (for velocity/trajectory) and accuracy for long shots on steel- out to 400 yds.

Now remember, a special order AR barel is not necessarily a custom AR barrel. Custom is one-of-a-kind made for you just like you want it; The many items to consider:

Barrel brand: Should be a premium BBL MFG- Lilja, Pac-nor, Sneider, Broughton, Kreiger, etc...
NO douglass, shilen, wilson... These are not premium barrel MFGs

Barrel material: SS is most common, CM is actually a measurable amount heavier and denser and CAN last longer if maintained.

Caliber: intended use- hunting, target, action shooting,

Twist rate- specific to the bullet length/weight you intend to use.

Length: Bullet velocity.

Contour: weight and stiffness

Trim items: Flutes, Dimples, fins, Muzzle brake, Surface coatings,

[freonr22]

Crt, I have ZERO knowledge about barrels, but with that said. I thought (wrong concept) that @ one time Douglas "air gage" barells were held to within .0001", was it their rifling process, or did they sell out, or was that a gimmick, ? again, I only ever saw one, and was a 30" blank, kinda looked like my 1919 barrel .

thank you for your knowledge

[VaderSpade]

To this day the best shooting rifle I have ever had is an old Model 70 that I shot out and put a Douglas "air gaged" barrel on. That was back in the 80's but I can still put five shots in one clover leafed hole at 100 yards.
Best barrel I’ve ever owned, so unless they have sold out I have to put them into the premium barrel class.

Now some of those other high dollar barrels on your list I have and I’m lucky to get 1 MOA.

[BIG_G]

I will purchase this barrel,

A lightweight barrel:

Chamber: 5.56mm NATO
Length: 18" ***not 20, 16, or 14.5 inches***
Gas system: rifle-length
Twist: 1:8 button rifled
Contour: .650 under hand guard and in front of gas block
Diameter at gas block: .936
Muzzle threads: 1/2-28tpi
Crown: 11 degree
Chrome lined bore and chamber, heavy black parkerized finish.

Let me know if you're able to build such a critter. Thanks.

[CRTguns]

Crt, I have ZERO knowledge about barrels, but with that said. I thought (wrong concept) that @ one time Douglas "air gage" barells were held to within .0001", was it their rifling process, or did they sell out, or was that a gimmick, ? again, I only ever saw one, and was a 30" blank, kinda looked like my 1919 barrel .

thank you for your knowledge

Air guage is just a Quality control method... for volume inside the barrel- so, at a known length, you can determine the exact size of the bore inside. You can precisely "air guage" your kichen cabinets, but they won't shoot well.

The metal they use, and the rifling process is the issue- they wear out really, really fast in certain shooting applications. For a hunting rifle- probably never going to see the negative side... any semi auto or varmint shooter- you'll burn it a few hundred rounds.

[CRTguns]

I will purchase this barrel,

A lightweight barrel:

Chamber: 5.56mm NATO
Length: 18" ***not 20, 16, or 14.5 inches***
Gas system: rifle-length
Twist: 1:8 button rifled
Contour: .650 under hand guard and in front of gas block
Diameter at gas block: .936
Muzzle threads: 1/2-28tpi
Crown: 11 degree
Chrome lined bore and chamber, heavy black parkerized finish.

Let me know if you're able to build such a critter. Thanks.

PM sent.

[BIG_G]

Thank you for your reply on the thread. I read it and I understand it.

This is what I will purchase:

A lightweight barrel:

Chamber: 5.56mm NATO
Length: 18" ***not 20, 16, or 14.5 inches***
Gas system: rifle-length
Twist: 1:8 button rifled
Contour: .650 under hand guard and in front of gas block
Diameter at gas block: .936
Muzzle threads: 1/2-28tpi
Crown: 11 degree
Chrome lined bore and chamber, heavy black parkerized finish.

[kendog4570]

The metal they use, and the rifling process is the issue- they wear out really, really fast in certain shooting applications. For a hunting rifle- probably never going to see the negative side... any semi auto or varmint shooter- you'll burn it a few hundred rounds.

Have seen many, many, MANY Douglas M14 barrels go 4500+ rounds accross the course before they wore out. They are buttoned, just like 3/4 of the "match, premium" barrels being used today. Set a few records over the years, too. They also made a couple hundred thousand or so 1919 30 cal barrels for Uncle too.
Douglas, like Hart, make fine barrels. They just dont enjoy the bling factor like some of the others. They were too busy making barrels, instead of blinging.
Is that a word??

[CRTguns]

Have seen many, many, MANY Douglas M14 barrels go 4500+ rounds accross the course before they wore out. They are buttoned, just like 3/4 of the "match, premium" barrels being used today. Set a few records over the years, too. They also made a couple hundred thousand or so 1919 30 cal barrels for Uncle too.
Douglas, like Hart, make fine barrels. They just dont enjoy the bling factor like some of the others. They were too busy making barrels, instead of blinging.
Is that a word??

"blinging can be your contribution to mankind- as to its part of speech- A gerund is a verb used as a noun- done the opposite.

I used to use Douglass bbls for LR rifles we used to shoot at Sac Valley Sniper shoot. I had to replace the barrel for myself, My brother, and my boss once a year. The bore scope does not lie. We would fire no more than 800 rds in the course of fire, and maybe another 4-500 in practice and load development. The shooting required a 50 rd to be fired inside of about 1 hour- in rapid 3 shot strings. In calibers like 300 WM, 6.5x284, and .22-250 AI. They died- quickly.

You have to believe that I am not a guy that goes around repeating stuff he hears on the interweb- with no real experience. I build rifles for a living.

[freonr22]

so, with a Bartlein or whatever other brand, with those barrel burning calibers above listed, how does the other ppls barrel life compare?

[CRTguns]

so, with a Bartlein or whatever other brand, with those barrel burning calibers above listed, how does the other ppls barrel life compare?

I have a .22-250AI that now sports a pac-nor polygon, just turned over 2500rd- still shoots 1/2 moa. 6.5x284 not so lucky- at about 1600-1800 they're redy for repalcement. 300 WM will get over 2000 and retain top accuracy. Keep in mind that your barrel life depends on how you shoot- a 6.5-284 barrel could in theory fire 1 bullet a day, for the next century with no wear. The same gun, if fired 200 times as fast as you can reload, will die completyely inside of 200 rds maybe.

The trend of barrel mfgs to make things like 5R, 5C, polygonal lands, etc... the geometry of the barrel generates less bullet distortion, less friction, and fouls less, in turn, keeping accuracy more consistant. These brands also tend to offer better QC steps- They have more stringent "pass/fail" requirements.

Broughton pours a lead slug in every barrel, and drags it to find the mean groove and bore diameters, and writes this on the barrel- then locates the constrtiction at the muzzle, and includes where the muzle crown should be for optimal results. Hell, look at the best gun builders around- the good ones do not use shilen and douglass.

Kreiger cuts the rifling in no less than 300 tool passes- one groove, 1 ten thousandth at a time, So there's no stress in the steel- no tearing, no tool marks.

And the premium makers all stress relieve or normalize their steel- before ar after rifling, either hot or cold.

[freonr22]

WOW! that was a fantastic lesson! thank you for the time you took to share your knowledge! Merry Christmas