MarkCO Posted June 1, 2015 Share Posted June 1, 2015 Mick, the melonite is tempting for sure. I have 6200 rounds on one and I am still in test mode. IF it lasts even 50% longer than the standard one, staying sub MOA, then most definitely worth it, but as of today, I can not tell you for sure it is better. We cooked this barrel...turned the melonite brown and the EVO handguard brown and I boiled water off of it, running it in 2 quick carbine stages using it as a stage gun. I did not see a drop in accuracy. Having done similar things with stainless barrels, that did impress me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoflame Posted June 2, 2015 Author Share Posted June 2, 2015 i ended up going for an 18". the fluted melonite stretch does seem very nice and fast, but is unavail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimtrue0531 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, I am a new shooter to the 3g world and am looking to build a dedicated 3g rifle. Which would you recommend for my level the Nordic 18 or the Stretch 16? Thanks for your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Nothing is ever the best of both worlds, but the 16" barrel with rifle gas is pretty close. I bought an 18" rifle gas Mega Arms barrel and had it cut and re-threaded to 16 inches. Soft, not too heavy or too light, and has worked 100% from day one. Cut and re-threaded it came in right at 30oz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, I am a new shooter to the 3g world and am looking to build a dedicated 3g rifle. Which would you recommend for my level the Nordic 18 or the Stretch 16? Thanks for your help. That depends on your size, how you set up your guns and what ranges you plan to shoot at. The Stretch16 does everything for me that I can do with the Nordic. However, if your longer range AR skills are not great, you will be able to shoot the 18" a little better. Nothing is ever the best of both worlds, but the 16" barrel with rifle gas is pretty close. I bought an 18" rifle gas Mega Arms barrel and had it cut and re-threaded to 16 inches. Soft, not too heavy or too light, and has worked 100% from day one. Cut and re-threaded it came in right at 30oz. Spend a little time with a Melonite Stretch 16 and your opinion might be different. The problem with a 16" with rifle gas is that you have very little margin for tuning and the operational window is small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimtrue0531 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, I am a new shooter to the 3g world and am looking to build a dedicated 3g rifle. Which would you recommend for my level the Nordic 18 or the Stretch 16? Thanks for your help. That depends on your size, how you set up your guns and what ranges you plan to shoot at. The Stretch16 does everything for me that I can do with the Nordic. However, if your longer range AR skills are not great, you will be able to shoot the 18" a little better. I am 5'11" @ 180lbs. My long range game is nothing to right home about but I am looking to build a rifle to "grow into" so to speak. I am sure there in no wrong choice with these two barrels its more of what will be better over all as I go from beginner to...lets say experienced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 If I never shoot past 400, I would not own a 18 anymore. I shoot matches that go out to 750, so the 18 helps a tad with stability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterpuc Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, what are your thoughts regarding fluting an 18" Nordic, just for weight savings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, what are your thoughts regarding fluting an 18" Nordic, just for weight savings? If you want less weight, get the Stretch 16. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterpuc Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Mark, what are your thoughts regarding fluting an 18" Nordic, just for weight savings?If you want less weight, get the Stretch 16. Thank s Mark, I guess I should have stated I already own an 18" Nordic, and don't prefer the weight compared to my 16" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimtrue0531 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Mark, do you think the fluted Stretch 16 is worth the extra money for the weight savings? Do you think it would have any negative affect towards muzzle rise with a "newer" shooter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Mark, do you think the fluted Stretch 16 is worth the extra money for the weight savings? Do you think it would have any negative affect towards muzzle rise with a "newer" shooter Probably not, but I like it. If the gun is properly tuned, no. But a lighter rifle is going to be more "twitchy" and thus will amplify poor technique more. A miss on a 350 yard target (say 10 seconds) can't reasonably be made up for with speed on the closer targets in the rest of the match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 (edited) Mark, I am a new shooter to the 3g world and am looking to build a dedicated 3g rifle. Which would you recommend for my level the Nordic 18 or the Stretch 16? Thanks for your help. That depends on your size, how you set up your guns and what ranges you plan to shoot at. The Stretch16 does everything for me that I can do with the Nordic. However, if your longer range AR skills are not great, you will be able to shoot the 18" a little better. Nothing is ever the best of both worlds, but the 16" barrel with rifle gas is pretty close. I bought an 18" rifle gas Mega Arms barrel and had it cut and re-threaded to 16 inches. Soft, not too heavy or too light, and has worked 100% from day one. Cut and re-threaded it came in right at 30oz. Spend a little time with a Melonite Stretch 16 and your opinion might be different. The problem with a 16" with rifle gas is that you have very little margin for tuning and the operational window is small. I am aware of the potential issues some have had with a 16" rifle gas. Fourtunately for me there have been no problems, at least so far. I am using a Seekins Precision adjustable gas block and tuned the rifle the same way I did when it had a 16" mid gas barrel. I turned the gas down until it stopped locking open, then back the screw out half a turn. I did this with 55gr PMC ball, the lightest recoiling ammo I use. The gun has run 100% with the PMC, American Eagle 55gr ball, CBC 77gr OTM and 69gr Remington Match. Initially I did not plan on using an adjustable gas block but I had the Seekins and figured, what the heck, so I gave it a try. Edited August 26, 2015 by T Bacus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bacus Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 A miss on a 350 yard target (say 10 seconds) can't reasonably be made up for with speed on the closer targets in the rest of the match. About as true as it gets right there. You will never make up four or five extra long long range shots by hosing the close ones faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcloudy777 Posted August 27, 2015 Share Posted August 27, 2015 As I posted in another barrel thread, I'm really digging my 16" rifle length ultralight from Voodoo Innovations. However, I was somewhat remiss in my endorsement, as I (with my usual attention to detail ), should have stated more accurately that it's a 16.5" barrel. Voodoo/Adams did some testing and found that just that tiny bit more dwell time increased the size of the "tuning window" pretty dramatically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusbrew Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 If I never shoot past 400, I would not own a 18 anymore. I shoot matches that go out to 750, so the 18 helps a tad with stability. Per an earlier response in this thread, you said you run an 18 inch Nordic. Did you also do heavy testing of 18 inch barrels? If you did, what made you choose a Nordic over other 18 inch length barrels? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkCO Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 I do run an 18" Nordic at the matches with targets at 400 yards on out. I tested a lot of barrels before I worked with Nordic to design the Nordic Competition 18" barrel. My testing is what led me to want a barrel that was better than what was currently available and Nordic was willing to invest in the cost of bringing the barrel to market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
P.E. Kelley Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 (edited) Why not go L O N G Yes, this is for a Iron sight gun. Edited August 31, 2015 by P.E. Kelley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse Tischauser Posted September 11, 2015 Share Posted September 11, 2015 18" rifle gas all day long for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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