As you may already know, 16" 1:7 barrels aren't very common.  Colt and Bushmaster make 14.5" M4s and 20" A2s, and DPMS makes a 16" pre-ban M4 for CMMG.  But if you wanted an HBAR, or a plain-muzzled 16" 1:7, you had to track down an old Colt carbine barrel, usually for $400 or more.

Several months ago, I had posted a poll in the Bushmaster forum inquiring about interest in a 16" 1:7 BM barrel.  That thread is here:

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=2&f=28&t=139428

Jerrod took the poll to BM managment, and they've agreed to make a special run of these barrels IF we get orders for 200 barrels.

As always, everyone wants their own custom configuration, but this just isn't realistic.  We can't get enough orders for BM to make separate runs of every 16" configuration, so we selected a compromise.

The barrel configuration will be:

16" HBAR, 1:7, plain muzzle, standard carbine gas system (BM does not make mid-length setups).  Like all standard BM barrels, this will be 4150 steel, fully chrome-lined, forged front sight, etc.

Why this configuration?  Because this barrel configuration can be converted by a gunsmith into virtually any 16" configuration, including:

- M4
- SOCOM "M4 Mid-Weight"
- LW
- "Preban"/Threaded Muzzle

It can even be cut down to make an 11.5" or 14.5" 1:7 HBAR.

Please do NOT reply with "can I get [insert configuration] instead?"  The answer is NO.  You can have your barrel sent directly to your 'smith to be made into any configuration you like.  Bushmaster will be making ONLY the single configuration we're asking for, and it will be as listed above, for the reasons given above.


If you want one or more of these barrels, please CALL Bushmaster and place your order ASAP.  You will not be billed unless/until these barrels are made.  The sooner we get 200 orders in, the sooner they'll be available.  Lead time will be 30 days from the time the order is finalized.

-Troy

See the thread linked above, in the BM forum.

-Troy

It happens that, due to a combination of bullet construction and bullet length, that heavy (68-77gr) match bullets will fragment at much slower speeds than M193 or M855 rounds require to fragment.  This effectively means that heavy match bullets have a much longer usable range in which the bullets fragment.

For example, in an M4 (14.5" barrel), fragmentation range for M855 is only 25-50 yards, which means that beyond that distance, it creates MUCH less tissue damage.  Think "icepick" or ".22LR" here.  The 77gr Mk262-class rounds increase fragmentation range in the M4 to near 200 yards, a FAR less restrictive effective range.

This information has lead to an increased demand/desire for faster (than 1:9) twist barrels, as many folks are choosing these heavy match loads, especially from shorter barrels.

20" and 14.5" chrome-lined, 4150 steel, 1:7 barrels are readily available, but 16" 1:7 barrels are hard to get, despite being a popular length.  Thus, this drive to get them made for us.

-Troy