Thinking about going SBR route for my SCAR but would like to retain a factory 16" barrel assembly as well. Figured I would ask you guys what the best route is since you have plenty of experience with this.

Am I better off buying a FN factory CQC 10" barrel assembly (~$950-1000) or would I be ok sending off a 16" barrel assembly ($500-600 in EE) to someone like PMM to get cut to size (~$200)? Is there any difference in function that I should be made aware of? I guess purchasing the FN factory assembly would retain the warranty on the barrel while sending it off somewhere I would have to contact them for any issues or warranty for.

Tag

Ask yourself, are you really going to swap barrels back and forth? If so, tighten that belt and drop the cash for a factory barrel. Another reason is you won't have any down time while waiting for the barrel to come back (unless you timed your Form 1 and barrel to come back around the same time).

I am planning to send mine to Buhler Ballistics since they quoted me $125 plus shipping with a 2-3 weeks turnaround time. I heard really good things about them from many people so far. They will reattach and time your muzzle device while opening your factory gas port to 1.9mm. I already bought the PMM 1.9mm gas port in preparation of my form 1 coming back so I can send them my barrel and the gas port without them having to mess around with the factory one. My check for my Form 1 was cashed a few days ago so I might wait two months and send my barrel in so it can come back to me around the same time as my Form 1 (based on the estimation that it will take them 3ish months). If the barrel comes back before my Form 1, I guess I'll let one of my friends on my trust hold onto the barrel while the rest of the rifle is at my house.

PMM, which are pretty well reviewed, but has a 2+ month waiting time and is longer.

I found a new in box 13 inch barrel about a year ago for 600 shipped.  Deals can be had.  As far as cut or buy new?  That's up to you.  Most people would be fine with cutting.

I chose to keep the 16 inch for if I wanted to hunt with a full length gun and or go out of state easier without the need to submit a form 20 to cross state lines.

When I did mine I ran through the same thought process. For the price I just had PMM cut my barrel down. I have had zero problems with it.

13" 17S barrel for $600? Was that on EE or some online dealer? That's a fantastic deal.

Tacswap

Haha...once you put that 10" barrel in you'll never go back.   Cheapest route is to just send it to PMM.   They did a great job on mine.   Buying an OEM and selling your 16" will be more expensive in the long run unless you catch some crazy deal on the OEM barrel.

If you do end up cutting the stock one Morgan at Class 3 Machine did a great job on mine. Mailed it on a Monday got it back that Friday. He only charged $75 you can find thread in the EE

I went ahead and bought a factory 10" CQC barrel when I SBR'ed my SCAR 16. The gas system is tweaked at the factory, and I didn't want to mess with different gas jets for proper function. No since in compromising with a used barrel to save $200 on what ended up being a $3500 rifle.

I went through the same thing. Ended up getting a barrel off the EE instead of going the NFA route. Its literally only an extra inch. And I like the idea of not having to worry about it crossing state lines and stuff with an NFA item. Not to mention its a good bit cheaper.

I bought a lightly used barrel off the EE with the intention of sending it to be cut down to 10”. I kept dragging my feet and ultimately ended up buying a factory 10” barrel. I did this because I didn’t want to wait on a smith to do the work. And I like the idea of a factory short barrel.

Re: swapping gas jets, I ended up installing a 1.75mm jet to use with my SF socom 762 RC. It is a fantastic design attribute that one can tune the scar to their can and ammo.

I bought factory SBR barrels for my 16/17 and sold the 16” ones on the EE. I knew I would never switch back to the originals.

Nothing wrong with cutting your SCAR barrel, I keep meaning to send mine in for a pin and weld myself. Just be ready for FN to give you shit if you need warranty work and send it in any way other than factory OEM. A lot of people buy a second barrel for just this reason. It doesn’t discourage me, but it may be a factor for anyone reading.

Almost bought a oem cqb barrel but it would have been overgassed anyway, went with pmm chop and my only complaint is the wait time.

The very design of the SCAR gasport makes this a totally moot point. $30-35 on gas jets of various sizes and you dial in your SCAR gas system to your preferred ammunition and suppressor. It’s really simple. “Over gassed” on a SCAR is a $7, 2minute fix assuming you know the gas jet size you need.

I know this, and figured the jets into the price.

why spend 1k plus jets when you can chop and tune it yourself for 1/3 the price is what I was getting at.

Gotcha. I felt the same way, bought a gently used barrel for $400 and was dragging my feet in sending it for the chop. Then just got the wild hair to buy a factory 10” barrel.

It depends on what kind of money you have to throw at it I suppose. Myself, I would get a second factory barrel to keep my options open and utilize the ease of changing barrels that the SCAR was designed for, when and if I was inclined to do so. Just me though.