I am planning to order a barrel contour from ADCO tonight (Wednesday, March 5) to have my 20" HBAR Bushmaster turned down to a 20" Government Profile. These were the steps I was planning to take:

1. Select AR Barrel Contour from ADCO's shop services and submit all of my billing/shipping information. Type "Standard M16A2 Government Profile" in the Special Instructions box.
2. Send my entire Upper Reciever (not sure how to remove barrel and I am willing to pay the $50) to ADCO.......not sure how to ship this.....USPS? Please advise bigbore.
3.Wait several days and eventually recieve my contoured barrel and Upper Reciever.

Is this how it works?

I am not sure how to go about sending my Upper Reciever out to ADCO. I have a large box which barely fits my Upper Reciever if I place it in diagonally. I can fit plenty of padding in there to protect the Upper though. Do I just take the box to my post office and ask them to send it?

as long as its not a complete firearm, then USPS will take it, no problem--just pack it, secure it, and ship it
no need to declare it or anything

USPS will only take long arms; HGs and SBRs, etc must be shipped from an FFL

i would get the delivery confirmations and insurance;also, i would not mention "firearms" on the box
--i'd mark it to "ADCO"

also, its real easy to remove your bbl and $50 can be used to buy the armory tools (armory wrench (~$20 at DMPS, action block ($30), and 4 in vice ($20 at Lowes) needed to do so for this bbl and any other bbl work in the future

Send your barrel to ar15barrels.com for turning.

I sent two bull barrels to ADCO and specified .69 under the handguards.
They came back at that diameter, but there was a steep taper from the chamber to the .69” diameter section. I was expecting it to have the same taper as a GI barrel.

The barrel tapers from .975 diameter to .683 diameter in only .38 inches!
And on both barrels there’s a groove where the steep taper meets the smaller diameter.
It should be a smooth transition. And one barrel was returned without its flash hider. Got it back after a few phone calls and emails.

Im not impressed with ADCO. Placed an order and it was missing parts, no packing slip. So I had to make a long distance call to find out why all the stuff wasn’t there. Supposedly ‘backorder’.

USPS has long three sided boxes that might fit your upper, and they're free.  Check out the boxes on their website.  They're six inches on a side and I think one is over 3' long.  I shipped an upper in one (with lots of bubble wrap and tape).

Were the steps that I listed correct? Can I just order the Barrel Contour tonight and then send the package either tommorow or Friday?

Any other shipping tips? This is the first time I've ever done something like this so I really have no idea if I'm doing everything correctly.

bump

Quoted: ...Any other shipping tips? This is the first time I've ever done something like this so I really have no idea if I'm doing everything correctly.

Go to the post office and get a couple of those 3 sided document boxes.  You'll need one about 30" long.  They are free and work the best with the least amount of padding (remember you pay to ship the padding as well).

Securly tape the ends.

Get the insurance

oh yeah package the upper before going to the post office.

DO NOT ship with the bolt carrier group or the charging handle.

Quoted: Quoted: ...Any other shipping tips? This is the first time I've ever done something like this so I really have no idea if I'm doing everything correctly. Go to the post office and get a couple of those 3 sided document boxes.  You'll need one about 30" long.  They are free and work the best with the least amount of padding (remember you pay to ship the padding as well). Securly tape the ends. Get the insurance oh yeah package the upper before going to the post office. DO NOT ship with the bolt carrier group or the charging handle.

+1

Exactly.

HS1

Quoted: Quoted: ...Any other shipping tips? This is the first time I've ever done something like this so I really have no idea if I'm doing everything correctly. Go to the post office and get a couple of those 3 sided document boxes.  You'll need one about 30" long.  They are free and work the best with the least amount of padding (remember you pay to ship the padding as well). Securly tape the ends. Get the insurance oh yeah package the upper before going to the post office. DO NOT ship with the bolt carrier group or the charging handle.

How about the handguards? Keep em' or send em'?

I just went through this last week with ADCO and a RRA mid upper. Have not been able to fire gun the again yet, but the work was fast and top notch! The difference in balance was pretty dramatic, and just what I was looking for.

I left the handguards on my upper, to give extra protection for the gas tube just in case. They don't add much weight.

Everything is sounding good so far. I think I'll place my order tonight. What can I expect to pay for shipping and insurance with USPS?

OK, I just placed my order, what am I supposed to print out to tape to the box? The e-mail that is sent to me?

Quoted: How about the handguards? Keep em' or send em'?

Anything you put in the box makes it weigh more and is one more thing that could get misplaced along the way.  If you've got the tools and time I wouldn't even include the front sight base or the barrel nut.