Looking for recommendations on lightweight mid-length barrels. I see Delton, Daniel Defense, and Bravo offer them. Anyone one else offer them? Any particular brands to steer clear of?

My Del ton barrel works well.

I just looking for an excuse to get one of BCM's new ELW barrels.

Del-ton should even be mentioned with the other two manufacturers.

I personally like BCM barrels, but a Daniel Defense barrel should do you well.
You are going to get a true 5.56 nato chambers, and correctly tuned gas ports with both of those companies.
Diamensional tolerances, material certifications, and HP/MP testing also come with the price of a BCM barrel.

BCM. Period.

/me no likey pencil barrel!



my PSA 1/7 CMV CL MP/HPT seems to do just fine.

The Ballistic Advantage Hanson is a very interesting barrel.  I like the profile being a little thicker before the gas block.

http://ballisticadvantagellc.com/?product=5-56-16-hanson-midlength-1-9-2

For a pencil, the Faxon is getting great reviews here.

http://www.faxonfirearms.com/p/124/ar-15-pencil-barrel-16-stainless-416-r

Black Hole produces a barrel that will meet your needs with  a mulitude of choices in finish . Accurcay is outstanding and the price is very good for the quaility.

Greg

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

So Delton is not so great?

This is part of what I posted in another barrel recommendation thread that will give you more info.
A poster earlier in this thread also suggested this barrel.

Now everyone has a barrel opinion but here is where I'm at.

Chrome lined bores: 1800's technology. Less accuracy. Chrome is applied after the bore is rifled
by electroplating which does not have the consistent precision of bare rifling. Military still specs it because
they are stuck on stupid or cheapness, your choice, and they believe 4MOA is good enough (not saying the barrels you listed won't do better).

Melonite/QPQ treatment. Better or equal to chrome in every aspect that matters to me.
Life, corrosion resistance, accuracy. Melonite is not deposited on top of the bore metal. It
changes the metal already there to a depth of around .008
The Melonite treatment is on the inside and outside of the barrel. No worry about rust or scratches on the finnish.
Depending on the base metal the whole barrel hardness is 70 to 80 rockwell.

I recommend this barrel:
www.faxonfirearms.com/p/124/ar-15-pencil-barrel-16-stainless-416-r

I bought one and as soon as I opened the box I ordered another.
$169. 416R Stainless. 1.19 lbs. Flawless construction and finish with buyer reported MOA's of less than 1.
Profile is taken from an original Colt SP1 except for the gas system length.
This barrel is also available for $149 in 4150 CMV.

Stainless is more dense for less barrel whip and gives a higher rockwell than 4150 when melonited
so I went with it. Both of these barrels/deals beat the pants off of the 3 you are looking at IMO.

Something for you to think about.

The Del-Ton LW mid-length I put on my wife's rifle is excellent. It is surprisingly accurate fit and finish is top-notch. She loves it. I use only Del-Ton on all 7 of my builds. Customer service is excellent as well

Are you looking only at 16" barrels?

If not, take a look at Voodoo's 14.5" with a factory pinned Manimal flash hider.

The Manimal is .74" OD so you gas block will install over it...no need to ever remove the flash hider to reconfigure your rifle (as many here are prone to do ).

Linkage

This is what I went with because it's BCM. (BCM Mid length ELWF )

http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-16-Mid-Barrel-ENHANCED-LIGHT-WEIGHT-FLUTED-p/bcm-brl-mid-16-elw-f-std.htm

There are many unknowns but this barrel is one of the lightest. (Voodoo UL)

http://www.voodooinnovations.com/16-carbine-length-evo-ultra-lite

This one weighs less then 20 ounces again, some unknowns and availability issues. (Magtactical)

http://www.magtacticalsystems.com/index.php/2013-07-29-03-32-36/barrels#specs

The only lightweight barrel I've put on one my ARs was a RRA chrome line barrel.  Skinny, light and accurate.  Oh, mid length gas system, too.

+1 for Faxon. I have not shot it yet, hopefully next week, but for what I paid the fit and finish is outstanding.

You give a +1 recommendation of a barrel you've never shot?
Based on "fit and finish"?
You realize how ridiculous that is?

I don't think the OP is asking for opinions on "fit and finish" recommendations.

A good question to the OP is, what does he intend to use this barrel for?
Bench shooting, hunting, range toy, training tool, home defense.......

It's the internet man, anything goes. I personally have never had a barrel that shot "bad" and I have been through a few in my day. 99.99% of the time, like most things people on here bitch about, it is pilot error. Most people don't step back and think that maybe they didn't do something quite right during assembly ot possibly the simple fact that they simply can't shoot for sh*t. To the OP, get what you want that is in your price range and have fun.

The Magtactical barrel you reference is the Faxon barrel I picture and detail in my post above.
I don't think we will see them that cheap again and as you say they don't have them anymore.

It has to be one of the lightest 16" middys available. Mine weighs 18.9 ounces. The front part of the barrel is .500 dia.

I have the Voodoo UL you list. Its over $100 more, weighs 23.6 ounces and has a .550 dia.
Heavier and IMO is no better barrel than the Faxon.

Noveske. And it comes with a pre pinned gas block.

I have two Daniel defense 14.5 mid length lightweights.  Accuracy is outstanding, and you know the quality is there with DD.  I got them from Primary Arms (awesome company also)

The faxon and voodoo barrels are almost half the weight of the Noveske and less than half the price if you shop around.

Can you post a picture of the barrel markings on the Faxon?

This barrel will be going on a retro build so I don't want something with obnoxious markings. I am only looking at 16 inch barrel length. I am also not looking for match quality accuracy. I will be taking it to the range, but I doubt I'll ever be shooting beyond 100 yards.

This is from their webpage, I'm sure sobieras can get something better off of his.

Tagged and a bump

How do the voodoo barrels shoot accuracy wise?

The only two markings on the barrel are in this picture. The Faxon logo at the breach end and the 1-8 416R mark just in front of the shoulder. The mark up front is a little bright since it is done after treatment but it'll be hidden under handguards in most cases.

What handguards are you planning on using?

"Can you post a picture of the barrel markings on the Faxon?

This barrel will be going on a retro build so I don't want something with obnoxious markings. I am only looking at 16 inch barrel length. I am also not looking for match quality accuracy. I will be taking it to the range, but I doubt I'll ever be shooting beyond 100 yards."


They stamp the barrel and then fill it in with silver paint. It could easily be touched up with black.
These melonited/QPQ barrels are Black, not very dark gray parkerized like original m16's and SP1's.
I'm not certain what retro you are doing but nothing I consider retro had mid length gas systems

I can only guess at others' "retro" interests, but I'm following the thread because I want to build an XM177 (approximate) clone.  A true clone would require a tax stamp, so many people build them as a 16" carbine and save the $200 hassle.  That, however, leaves a lot of exposed barrel between the faux moderator and the FSB.
Building the same thing, but with a mid-length gas system, eliminates most of that exposed barrel.  Some of us think the longer handguards look better than the bare barrel.

While the handguards and the moderator end up covering almost all of the barrel, even a small ring of gloss black will stand out like a sore thumb.  Hence the concern about the barrel finish.

I appreciate the opinions expressed so far in the thread!

I really like my DANIEL 16" skinny middy

( bottom carbine, top is a 6.8mm Wilson Combat LW )

I agree the Colt carbine with the short hand guard and 16" barrel looks like a freak, I guess that's why I never bought one.
The hand guard does look better than the barrel but it won't have the shape of a XM177 which I think is the best looking M16/AR15 ever made.
After I got out of the service in 71' I chose XM177 for my car license plate! I often wondered how many people who saw it actually knew what it meant.
My next plate was CAR15, I know folks thought my car was # 15.

I say bite the bullet and get the stamp, sounds like it's what you really want.

My original 1994 Bushmaster dissipator looks better than the Colt carbine.

Actually, I don't hate the look of the basic carbine (a la SP1).  And it took me a while to warm to the look of a dissipator (and I have to say I prefer them with old triangular handguards).  

As for buying a stamp, I'd gladly do it for an original XM177.  While the entire concept of a tax stamp to exercise a right offends me to the core, I bite the bullet (so to speak) and do the paperwork for machine guns.  But it just isn't worth it to me for a SBR--particularly a "clone" SBR.  It's not a matter of the $200.  I just don't like the legal hassle.

Sometimes an "almost-clone" is close enough for a fun gun.

I hear where you are coming from about the fun gun.
My definition of "Retro" is just different than others, causing my concern about the color match.

These are nice looking barrels and feather lite.

I'm going to be using cut down triangular handguards.

I'm using the 14.5" in an ultralight build, and I'm getting ~3" groups @ 100 yards using a Burris Fastfire 2 MOA red dot. It would probably do better if I put a magnified scope on the gun.