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Posted: 9/6/2010 5:14:58 AM EDT
I have a Rock River Arms 16in. AR with a advertised mid-weight barrel. I removed the plastic hand guards a couple of weeks ago to install a Omega hand guard and discovered the barrel under the guards is the thickness of a bull barrel, it measured .955. The barrel from the gas block to the flash suppressor measures .750. I was wondering how much weight I could shave off of the gun by having the barrel turned down from .955 to .750. It would basically be the weight of a tube of stainless steel 9ins. long with a I.D. of .750 and a O.D. of .955. And for those who have had barrels turned down did it affect the accuracy any, I would have Adco do the work if I decided to have it done.
Thanks alot,   Steve
Link Posted: 9/6/2010 9:01:59 PM EDT
[#1]
I thought of having ADCO turn mine down but then I just bought two BCM uppers and teh RRA is just sitting to the side. I figure you would lose at least a lb but better yet the ballance would be better on the gun.
Link Posted: 9/7/2010 7:42:34 AM EDT
[#2]
It might be more cost effective to just buy the barrel assembly you want in the proper contour, then sell the used barrel.  You should be able to get $150 for the used barrel, maybe more if it is in pristine condition.  The cost of machining/finishing plus shipping both ways would easily be another $100 - $150.  The sold barrel and the projected cost of the machine work gives you a budget of around $300 to work with; you can get a decent midweight barrel for that.
Link Posted: 9/8/2010 4:23:10 AM EDT
[#3]
I don't have the spec/weight differences of before and after but I did the very thing you are thinking about doing. I sent my RRA 16" heavy mid length barrel to ADCO. Had it shortened to 14.5, re threaded, government profiled under the hand guards, and refinished. Cost was right at around $175 shipped door to door from Tennessee. I also purchased a YHM Phantom FH and did the perm attach myself (not included in that $175 btw) The balance and handling benefits I could feel were well worth it in my opinion. Accuracy didn't change at the ranges I shoot at. Looks wise for my build - it just looks right with the shorter barrel. This thing was heavy as shit before.

Also, I don't know how long of a rail you bought so I'll say this much. The rail you see here is a 12" Daniel Defense Lite Rail. You can see in the first pic that I had a cheapo Promag vertical foregrip mounted before and now the rifle sports a Magpul AFG. THAT makes a HUGE difference in how the rifle feels and handles IMHO if you are in to that sorta thing.

Would I do it again if needed? Oh yes!
Will I consider things like that first before I buy my next upper so I don't have to drop money into a barrel again? You bet!

Hope this helps some. If I were you I'd just keep it and send it to ADCO. Thats the deal with building ARs, you always change things, new products come out and sometimes you have to go backwards.  

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AFTER

Link Posted: 9/8/2010 5:24:35 PM EDT
[#4]
you would lose close to a pound





http://www.ar15.com/archive/topic.html?b=2&f=130&t=167058





there are a lot of threads in adco's section about weight reductions.


you just need the right keywords to search
as mentioned before, you need to take into consideration the cost benefit.


if you can sell your old barrel and buy the one you want for roughly the same price as sending yours out to get worked on,


just buy a new one





I sent mine out because it was having a laundry list of work done.


If I just wanted a LW barrel, I would have sold mine and bought a new one...




ETA: the reprofile wont affect accuracy of the barrel




 
Link Posted: 9/9/2010 5:10:35 AM EDT
[#5]
I didn't state in my post that the barrel is stainless and beside having it turned down I want to paint it black. One reason I would not want to sell it is the time and money I've spent working up loads for it, I have a load for coyote hunting, a 55 gr. load for range and defense use and working on a load for the heavy bullets 68-77 grs. I thought if I could reduce the weight by 1/2 lb. it would be worth it, a pound would be great.
Thanks your help,    Steve
Link Posted: 9/19/2010 5:44:16 PM EDT
[#6]
I had Adco turn a Rock River heavy barrel down to govt. profile. Saved right at 10 oz. BTW...Adco did a great job.
Link Posted: 9/19/2010 5:51:49 PM EDT
[#7]
I've had ADCO recontour several barrels and each was much lighter and balanced out better.  One was a RRA stainless and I had them KG coat it black...turned out awesome!
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