ColonelColt
17 March 2010, 01:42
I've been visiting and reading these forums for quite some time and in that time, I have come to be very impressed with the quality of the posts and information compared to other more populace AR-15-related forums. That's why I'm posting this here. I have an extensive knowledge of firearms and machines and have quite a bit of experience in handling and working on them. I mostly lack the funds to experiment buying a lot of different AR-15 setups.
I currently only own one AR-15 type weapon. It started life as a Bushmaster ORC (http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_xm15_BCWVMF16M4ORC.asp) and currently has a YHM flip front sight (http://yankeehillmachine.com/store/product413.html) with bayonet lug and a few Magpul MOE (http://magpul.com/) accessories on it. I've done all of the hand tuning and reliability checks on it that I've come across and am mostly happy with the rifle.
What I would like to end up with, on this rifle, is an eighteen inch barrel with a midlength gas system from Osprey Defense, (http://gaspiston.com/) specifically the OPS-418. I've handled Remington's R-15 (http://remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15-predator-carbine-cs.aspx) with the 18 inch fluted barrel at work and really like the balance and feel of it, I'm also a big fan of the AR-18's setup. The problem I'm running into is finding an 18" barrel with a midlength gas port that isn't a custom made item and costs half as much as my entire rifle. I've been looking at Bushmaster, DPMS, Rock River Arms and the only company that seems to have 18" barrels readily available is DPMS with their mini-SASS (http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=5478&cat=1918) and Mark 12 (http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=5571&cat=1918) barrels. The only issue is the SASS barrel's profile won't work with the OPS-418 and the Mark 12 has a rifle length gas system.
My concern with simply going with a rifle length gas system is that with the shorter barrel I would lose gas pressure to reliably cycle the weapon when it becomes fouled. A secondary concern is being unable to mount a bayonet with the shortened barrel length. I would simply go with a 20 inch barrel and gas system but a lot of the barrels have heavier profiles ignoring the extra two inches of length; these don't seem to balance well with a collapsing stock on the other end. I also don't seem to be finding a lot of 16.5" barrels with midlength systems on them which is what, I thought, it was originally developed for.
What I would really like is the barrel off of the Remington R-15 (http://remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15-predator-carbine-cs.aspx) and simply have it threaded. If anyone knows who's making this barrel, I would be much obliged. Any help or advice you guys can give would be much appreciated. If I end up needing to go with a 20" barrel to get a proper gas system, so be it. In that case I'd prefer suggestions on a middle weight barrel. Thank you. - Colt
I currently only own one AR-15 type weapon. It started life as a Bushmaster ORC (http://www.bushmaster.com/catalog_xm15_BCWVMF16M4ORC.asp) and currently has a YHM flip front sight (http://yankeehillmachine.com/store/product413.html) with bayonet lug and a few Magpul MOE (http://magpul.com/) accessories on it. I've done all of the hand tuning and reliability checks on it that I've come across and am mostly happy with the rifle.
What I would like to end up with, on this rifle, is an eighteen inch barrel with a midlength gas system from Osprey Defense, (http://gaspiston.com/) specifically the OPS-418. I've handled Remington's R-15 (http://remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15-predator-carbine-cs.aspx) with the 18 inch fluted barrel at work and really like the balance and feel of it, I'm also a big fan of the AR-18's setup. The problem I'm running into is finding an 18" barrel with a midlength gas port that isn't a custom made item and costs half as much as my entire rifle. I've been looking at Bushmaster, DPMS, Rock River Arms and the only company that seems to have 18" barrels readily available is DPMS with their mini-SASS (http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=5478&cat=1918) and Mark 12 (http://www.dpmsinc.com/store/products/?prod=5571&cat=1918) barrels. The only issue is the SASS barrel's profile won't work with the OPS-418 and the Mark 12 has a rifle length gas system.
My concern with simply going with a rifle length gas system is that with the shorter barrel I would lose gas pressure to reliably cycle the weapon when it becomes fouled. A secondary concern is being unable to mount a bayonet with the shortened barrel length. I would simply go with a 20 inch barrel and gas system but a lot of the barrels have heavier profiles ignoring the extra two inches of length; these don't seem to balance well with a collapsing stock on the other end. I also don't seem to be finding a lot of 16.5" barrels with midlength systems on them which is what, I thought, it was originally developed for.
What I would really like is the barrel off of the Remington R-15 (http://remington.com/products/firearms/centerfire/model-r-15/model-r-15-predator-carbine-cs.aspx) and simply have it threaded. If anyone knows who's making this barrel, I would be much obliged. Any help or advice you guys can give would be much appreciated. If I end up needing to go with a 20" barrel to get a proper gas system, so be it. In that case I'd prefer suggestions on a middle weight barrel. Thank you. - Colt