USAF_Vet
Member
I've got a DPMS upper on my AR, came with a 16" bull barrel with no muzzle device, or threaded for a muzzle device.
It's accurate, but HEAVY, and LOUD. Too heavy to comfortably run and gun, too heavy to swing from target to target, and too loud to even consider shooting indoors without hearing protection. It's available to use as an HD rifle, but due to the weight and noise factors, It's tertiary to my 9mm pistol and 12 gauge shotgun.
It's a great target barrel, but as a carbine length, it doesn't compare to a 20" bull barrel designed to shoot from a rest. Plus, I'm not a long distance shooter. I'm a sub 200 yard shooter.
I want less weight. I am leaning toward just buying a new barrel (maybe even another upper, but not as likely), but I've also considered fluting and threading the current barrel if the difference in price is significant.
Now, I'm not looking to spend a ton of money on what realistically is only a casual plinking rifle. I've had this Del-Ton lightweight barrel in my bookmarks for awhile now (things continue to creep up and take priority over buying a new barrel), but I've recently considered the fluting and threading as an option and keeping my current set up. If I do buy the lightweight barrel, I'd end up selling the DPMS bull barrel since I really don't foresee ever using it in a future build.
I'm sure I can find any number of machine shops to mill out some flutes, and thread the muzzle, but should I look at run of the mill machine shops, probably dedicated to tool and die work for the automotive industry, or find a competent gun smith, and would it be even be less expensive to go this route versus buying a new barrel at $172 with shipping?
I'm also going to need a muzzle device, but I can find those all day long on Amazon for dirt cheap. The rest of the parts I need to finish the build I have in stock already.
Can anyone recommend a good machine shop or gun smith who can do this work and keep it under $200? I'd prefer them to be in West Michigan to save S&H costs.
It's accurate, but HEAVY, and LOUD. Too heavy to comfortably run and gun, too heavy to swing from target to target, and too loud to even consider shooting indoors without hearing protection. It's available to use as an HD rifle, but due to the weight and noise factors, It's tertiary to my 9mm pistol and 12 gauge shotgun.
It's a great target barrel, but as a carbine length, it doesn't compare to a 20" bull barrel designed to shoot from a rest. Plus, I'm not a long distance shooter. I'm a sub 200 yard shooter.
I want less weight. I am leaning toward just buying a new barrel (maybe even another upper, but not as likely), but I've also considered fluting and threading the current barrel if the difference in price is significant.
Now, I'm not looking to spend a ton of money on what realistically is only a casual plinking rifle. I've had this Del-Ton lightweight barrel in my bookmarks for awhile now (things continue to creep up and take priority over buying a new barrel), but I've recently considered the fluting and threading as an option and keeping my current set up. If I do buy the lightweight barrel, I'd end up selling the DPMS bull barrel since I really don't foresee ever using it in a future build.
I'm sure I can find any number of machine shops to mill out some flutes, and thread the muzzle, but should I look at run of the mill machine shops, probably dedicated to tool and die work for the automotive industry, or find a competent gun smith, and would it be even be less expensive to go this route versus buying a new barrel at $172 with shipping?
I'm also going to need a muzzle device, but I can find those all day long on Amazon for dirt cheap. The rest of the parts I need to finish the build I have in stock already.
Can anyone recommend a good machine shop or gun smith who can do this work and keep it under $200? I'd prefer them to be in West Michigan to save S&H costs.
