after much lurking and investigation ive found that i want to build my gun with an 18" stainless fluted barrel.  i know its not going to be cheap, but so far i havent been able to find exactly what im looking for.  we got a rifle in the store last week (trade in) that was a sabre defence with an 18" fluted stainless barrel and was setup kind of like an SPR.  if i would have had the money and the chance, id have bought it, but our store owner decided he'd keep that one for himself, so i was out of luck.  i looked at the sabre website but i couldnt find a price on just the barrel, and im sure there is somewhere out there you can get one equally as good at a decent price.  somebody direct me to such a barrel please.

im going to go for an SPR type build with this one, but im not trying to make a replica.  ive got ideas of my own as far as rails/stock/grip and all goes.

if anyone has done an SPR build and would like to give me some pointers, please do.

I have a Sabre 18 inch barrel, but it did not come stripped.

I got mine from Rainier Arms

Though it is not listed on the Web site, shoot them an email and see if they have a stainless... I thought I saw one there the other day.

thanks for the quick reply.  

ok, so right now its looking like my options are in the $350-$500 range.  

ive seen Rainier Arms, Compass Lake Engineering (@ Denny's/GTS), White Oak Armament, and Sabre.  i looked at the sabre barrel on rainier's site and i didnt realize that it is a govt profile under the handguards.  i think i want something heavier than that.  im not sure at this point if i should go for the rifle length gas system or the mid length. . . what im seeing is the barrels cut for m4 ramps are mid length.  anybody have an opinion on this?

so far the cheapest barrel ive found is the White Oak Armament barrel from rainier arms for $275 w/m4 ramps and a mid length gas system.  if there is anybody with experience on an SPR build please feel free to chime in.

Adco have ss 18" White Oak Armament barrels at a good price... Adco also seem to have an excellent rep around here and offer custom services, flutes etc....

Midway has the mid weight, SS fluted Sabre bbls.  PK Firearms will build you an upper with a 18" Sabre bbl in any configuration you want.
www.pkfirearms.com/store/get_items.aspx?type=0&term=116

wow, i should have looked harder at PK the first time.  and thanks to the above posters for heads up on white oak barrels.  they seem to be the cheapest at this point.  

doing the sabre complete upper might save me some $$$.

keep it coming guys.

Try Superior Barrels - see what they have.  Beautiful barrels and that's an understatement.

Edit: spelling (it's early)

I have a WOA 18" SPR  good barrel a little heavy.
If you want a lighter rifle, go w/ a 18" fluted Sabre from PKFirearms.
RRA15

thanks for the help guys.  i went to my local "parts store" today (which is NOT where i work) and talked to the owner some.  he was kind of trying to lead me towards a 20" barrel for simplicity's sake, but he did have some 18"s in stock along with a whole lot of others, and they were CHEAP.  

he had a bushmaster 20" 416SS barrel for $175 that was .750 from chamber to gas port, which is kind of what im wanting.  would it be worth it to buy a cheap 20 and cut it down to 18?  rifling was 1 in 7 on that barrel, which is what im looking for.  gas system was rifle length of course and thats another thing ive been looking for.  somebody comment if im stupid for thinking of having a new barrel cut.

i dont know why i want the 18" so much. . . i think i just like the look of it.  its just a little different.

so far i did find the sabre upper @ PKfirearms for $685 and thats with the 18" SPR barrel in stainless (but not fluted) and a troy 12" monolithic rail.  so far that looks like the least expensive route considering i dont have to buy any tools or an action block to stick this stuff together.  the owner of the store i visited did have a complete bushmaster upper, with bcg and charging handle (which the sabre does not) for $525 but thats with a 20" SS 416 match barrel instead of the 18".

somebody give me some direction.  im weighing my options.

Just finished building my SPR-ish upper w/ a WOA 18" and I love it. With and fixed stock it seems to balance really nicely, but I don't plan to be carrying it around or shooting competitions with it. My friend has the fluted 18" Sabre in a midlength, and it is a great shooter, lighter than my WOA and perfectly usable for 3 gun competitions. I don't thing you are going to benefit any from the 20" bushy, especially as it sounds like an hbar, just more weight than it's worth unless you plan to shoot only DCM type competitions with it. If you really want a 20", look at the WOA SDM barrel, a fluted 20" match barrel patterned after the Army DM-R. With the flutes I think it weighs about the same as the 18" SPR profile.

Of the above choices I would probably get the fluted Sabre from PK Firearms or the WOA SPR from ADCO firearms. I'm sure you could get either company to build the complete upper for you, and Steve @ ADCO builds some really sweet SPR uppers, but they aren't cheap.

thanks for the suggestion.  if you have any pics of your SPR build link me or PM me.

I know you didnt want a clone .........

18" White oak SPR contour

SS coated

its not that i dont WANT a clone, its just that right now i cant build but one. . . and after seeing a buddy's SPR with a daniel defense 12.0 lite rail on it, i like that better than the mk12 forend with upper rail. . . its mainly for simplicity's sake.  you've got a really nice clone there man, im jealous.  thats something i definitely want to build after this one.