19114pat Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 hi everyone, am planning on starting to join my local 3 gun matches and i am planning on building my upper. As a buddy of mine have this 17" SS rifle length with 1:8 twist barrel, brand not known. I was looking for an 18" inch set-up,but none available at this time. any comment/s on going to use the 17" SS, rifle length, lightened barrel, 1:8 twist, not known brand? also planning to use are: 15" Lance handrail PWS muzzle brake 1-3x/20 weaver scope Warne scope mount still torn on what BCG to use, but definitely M16, auto style just a regular stipped upper- inexpensive thanks for your response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxshooter Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 You won't be able to tell the difference between a 17 and 18 inch barrel. Is the barrel the same as your buddy's? How accurate is his ? What s the price? A lot of unknowns you may be able to buy a name brand quality barrel for the same price. There are many good BCGs available , do you want to run a light weight BCG ? Give us more info regarding target distance etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 You won't be able to tell the difference between a 17 and 18 inch barrel. Is the barrel the same as your buddy's? How accurate is his ? What s the price? A lot of unknowns you may be able to buy a name brand quality barrel for the same price. There are many good BCGs available , do you want to run a light weight BCG ? Give us more info regarding target distance etc. the barrel is from my buddy. he had this one in his stash for a while. he was going to make me from a 20" and cut down to 18", but then he said that he has this one laying around. he is selling it to me for 180 bucks. targets will be somewhere 200 yards max...but i would like to have it shoot to 500 yards or so... as for BGCs- i have heard that the M16 styles that are auto are ideal. my main goal is to have an "all-around" ar15 that will also be good for 3 gun comp/matches... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushmeat Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 i would ask for a reliability/accuracy guarantee, if anything, just to maintain your friendship. $180 isn't that great a deal. there might be a reason that barrel is just laying around. while 16s and 17s work with rifle length gas, i know of a couple of instances where the gas ports had to be opened up a bit. if you intend to shoot to 500, you might find 3x marginal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 That seems to be a rather unusual length for a rifle length system, perhaps it was a longer barrel cut down. As mentioned, you may find it's a bit under pressured but you'd have to test that to see. The only real problem with a barrel that short is that you won't be able to get as much velocity. That's not a real big problem with 55gr bullets for shorter distances but if you want to go to 69gr or higher for the longer distances then you may not have enough barrel to get them up to speed. That said, it depends alot on what you are trying to accomplish. I've shot 69gr SMKs to 600yds with an 18" barrel and kept them under 2 MOA and 1" less won't make that much difference. It really gets down to purpose. What kind of targets at what distances with what degree of accuracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 thanks for your inputs... i will check on other options for this. what are some suggestions/recommendations for a good 18" barrel with a rifle length? does cutting its OAL recommended if there's an availability issue? and what do i need to look for, if i go that route? I mean, if it gets cut off and re-threaded? is it also necessary to have the gas port opened up? what is a good BCG to go with? or will i stay with an M16 style auto? or look for the Young Mfg BCG's? How about RRA's? or Daniel Defence? thanks again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushmeat Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 DPMS and Stag sell 3-Gun ready rifles with 18" barrels. You might inquire into buying just the barrel or even a complete upper. IMHO, the latter is a cost-effective and reliable way to go. If it doesn't work, you send it back and these companies will do you right. Yes, you can have a 20" chopped down to 18". Don't think you'll have a problem with the gas. That pops up when you go 17 and shorter sometimes. You can shoot 55s to 500 if there's not too much wind, but 69s will buck it better. However, can you see the target out to 500 with your 3x scope? In your post, you did say "definitely" with respect to an M-16 full auto bolt carrier group. And somebody else recommended a lightened bolt carrier. But, you also did say you wanted an "all-around" gun. I would caution that you to ensure that whatever BCG you purchase will work with the existing lower you have. Your hammer, springs, and buffer may pose compatibility issues. In my mind, too much tuning goes against the "all around" requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 You might be good to go with the 17" barrel, a lot depends on whether it started life at that length and profile and if not who did the work and what all they did. Also, was the barrel tested and who tested it, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 DPMS and Stag sell 3-Gun ready rifles with 18" barrels. You might inquire into buying just the barrel or even a complete upper. IMHO, the latter is a cost-effective and reliable way to go. If it doesn't work, you send it back and these companies will do you right. Yes, you can have a 20" chopped down to 18". Don't think you'll have a problem with the gas. That pops up when you go 17 and shorter sometimes. You can shoot 55s to 500 if there's not too much wind, but 69s will buck it better. However, can you see the target out to 500 with your 3x scope? In your post, you did say "definitely" with respect to an M-16 full auto bolt carrier group. And somebody else recommended a lightened bolt carrier. But, you also did say you wanted an "all-around" gun. I would caution that you to ensure that whatever BCG you purchase will work with the existing lower you have. Your hammer, springs, and buffer may pose compatibility issues. In my mind, too much tuning goes against the "all around" requirement. >Thanks Bushmeat! you have great points for me to consider. i mentioned 500 yardage, but eventually, i will have to get a different scope. I am just getting my build ready for a 3 gun set-up. i am also looking into just getting the M16 auto BCG...as things can get replaced too someday. so, if i can shoot it good around 300 yards- that would make me really happy (as we only would shoot around the 300 yards range). And i will be using my Stag varmint gun beyond 400 yards (but not on the 3-gun matches). I am just preparing for what pluses will i get for this 3-gun build. i also have a 16" stag carbine. But from what i have read- if i indulge with the 3gun matches- anything longer than the 16incher will be ideal in the long run...so that's i why i am going that route. but since- a friend of mine already have the 17", then, i was considering that...but if i can get a Stag 18" barrel- that would be great! i was also checking on the LOKI upper-profile. and so on. but for now- i will try to start it off with the 17" if i find out that the 17" barrel i have will be reliable. that is why i am asking what would be a good route for me go? or- shall i just buy the Stag 3G upper and call it good? as i have already a stag lower... thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 You might be good to go with the 17" barrel, a lot depends on whether it started life at that length and profile and if not who did the work and what all they did. Also, was the barrel tested and who tested it, etc. i have yet to find out if it was originally a 17"...and to find out who made them... :-) thanks for that reminder... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 You might be good to go with the 17" barrel, a lot depends on whether it started life at that length and profile and if not who did the work and what all they did. Also, was the barrel tested and who tested it, etc. i have yet to find out if it was originally a 17"...and to find out who made them... :-) thanks for that reminder... i just found out that it is a Delton Varmint stainless Steel and he had it turned down and made it lightened for the goal of having a rifle length light-weight barrel. now- my concern would be: would this barrel be accurate? what other problems will i encounter? or- will i just take it and build it and be the "guinea pig"? i am just now more confused and worried... :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Buy it. Use it. Don't worry. As Jaxshooter said...You won't be able to tell the difference in it from an 18" barrel. I think every 223 barrel I have has been turned down and shortened. With a recrown they are just as good as a factory..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Smith Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 i just found out that it is a Delton Varmint stainless Steel and he had it turned down and made it lightened for the goal of having a rifle length light-weight barrel. As long as you know it wasn't something from Fly-By-Nite-Industries but from an established company it should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChandlerSniper158 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Pual at MSTN used to use Douglas 17" barrels for his 3 gun uppers a few years ago. I had 3 of them and all shot very well out to 500 yds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
19114pat Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 thanks Guys! i am moving forward with this build- 17" rifle length gas system, 15" Lancer hand guard, M16 nickel boron BCG, PWS FN556 muzzle brake, Phase Five charging handle on a "non-fancy" stripped upper. i will update my experience with it as time goes by... Kudos to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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