looking for Lightweight (A1) profile AR barrel

[Detritus]

due to weight and personal preference, for awhile now i have been contemplating either

• sending the barrel on my wife's AR off to someone to have it reprofiled to the lightweight/A1/"Pencil" profile (don't know who'd do that now that Kurt's kustom is gone)
• finding/buying a whole new A1 profile barrel and installing it myself

some time back (year or two, maybe more), i found a company that was offering a 20" A1 profile barrel with a 1-in-9 twist, including a headspaced bolt (not the whole BCG, just the bolt) for $300something. In the meantime i've lost the link ot that website, and after a troll of the various sponsor links at ARF.com cannot find a listing like i remember. plenty of LW 16inchers, but no thin 20's.

does anyone know of a current source for a 20" lightweight barrel? i prefer 1in9, so that i'm not dependent on 55gr WWB and handloads, but if a good deal on an original M-16(A1) 1in12 was found...

failing that is anyone offering the re-profiling services like Kurts Kustom used to??

basicly i want to make this rifle as close to an A1 config as i reasonably can. If i fail to find either of the above, i'll likely order one of the "Government profile" barrels from bushmaster and call it close enough. but i really would like to have a true A1 style pencil profile barrel on this rifle.

thank you for your time and any info you can share.

 

[Al LaVodka]

You saw the Bushmaster Gov't Profile (A2) -- not a 20" pencil, but not an HBAR either...
A BBL-20A2A
I used their 16" pencil on a project. Coupled with it's companion telestock it makes an amazingly light, balanced, handy arm. I mean the kind that makes you literally smile when you pick it up. Why not consider it? You lose 100 fps, a couple of inches of sight radius, the ability to mount a bayonet, and some wear on the gas port with 55 gr. or less ammo, but, OK...
Al

 

[Rokman]

Check Bravo Company, PkFirearms, or Ranier Arms.

 

[Detritus]

You saw the Bushmaster Gov't Profile (A2)

No I did not. I found a company that was NOT Bushmaster, that was selling brand new 20" pencil barrels of 1in9 or possibly 1in7 twist, fully chrome lined at that. I know the difference.

I beleive that the company selling them was at least partly advertising them as a way to get a faster twist replacement barrel for an SP1, without the HBar weight increase.

I used their 16" pencil on a project.... Why not consider it?

If this were a "just for fun, with no other real criteria" project I might. but this particular rifle was built (is still being really) for my wife to meet a desire She has. And what she wants is as close to an M-16A1 Rifle as she can legally get. and at this point the barrel profile and it's attendant weight is the only major thing reamaing thats out of whack with what she wants (the lower we can live with b/c most folks don't know the diffs between A1 and A2 lowers, and the shell deflector has to stay b/c my step-daughter is a lefty).
Pic


to be honest I am trying to undo what i consider to be my one major mistake in building the rifle above, i decided NOT to get one of the unissued M-16A1 uppers that were available at the time, because it's 1in12 tube would limit me to 55gr ammo. so i bought an Oly "Plinker Plus 20" with a 1in9 and wound up with an AR that weighs as much as my target rifle!! :banghead:

Check Bravo Company, PkFirearms, or Ranier Arms.

thank you , just checked all three no dice

I swear it was someone like CMMG that had these, but I've been back over most of the places i've thought of and can't find it.

thank you, and please keep the info coming

 

[14427H]

not chrome but...

20" Light weight barrel
Features:
Looking to build a light weight field rifle? If so this barrel is for you.
Lighter than a 16" M4 barrel. 20" LWT 1.11lbs vs 1.12lbs - M4
20" Light weight profile barrel
Parkerized chrome molly steel
1/9 twist 5.56 Nato chamber
.625 gas block area
Has M4 feed ramps
Stripped barrel with extension & gas port drilled
1/2 x28 thread pattern
$115 - Shipped

http://www.ar15hardware.com/citm4brl.htm


Oh and...
"Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."

-- (Terry Pratchett, Jingo)

 

[Detritus]

not chrome but...

while chrome lined would be a bonus, and a deciding factor between two otherwise identical barrels (if they were both reasonably priced, and not for a "target rifle"), the lack of a chromed bore would not stop me in my tracks by any stretch.

thank you for that link, that one i will definitely keep strongly in mind

 

[Rokman]

Del-ton.com appears to have one. I have no experince with this company, but Bravo and Pk are excellent sources so keep checking with them.

 

[Detritus]

Del-ton.com appears to have one.

thank you, i'd skipped over Del-Ton. Since they'd never had a LW 20" any time previous that i'd looked. now they're back toward the top of my list

 

[Rokman]

PKfirearms had a Sabre Defence that I think would fit the bill today. It is pricey, but should be of excellent quality.

 

[Detritus]

Update

went to the gunshow yesterday, in part to see if any of the local "AR guys" had inventory or info that might help with this issue. Not only did i get no further than I already had based on the info posted here, but now this particular project has moved to pretty dern near the bottom of my list of projects to keep in mind when browsing parts etc.

My wife, after 5 years of me repeatedly saying "are you SURE you want a full sized 20" barrel, fixed stock AR, with iron sights?? all the issues you keep mentioning to me would be easily adressed by going to an adjustable stocked optic equipped carbine.." FINALLY tried a nice lightweight, flat top 16" carbine with ACOG, and fell in love!

so it looks like at the first opportunity (meaning when we have aprox. $600 not otherwise earmarked) I'll be getting a lightweight carbine kit (plus RRA 2-stage trigger) from Del-ton. pulling the upper, butstock/buffer assembly, and trigger group off the current lower, swaping them out and setting the "retro rifle" parts aside to be resurrected (possibly after swapping to a pencil barrel) on a Nodak Spud retro lower.