Bullet Keyholing

[Tornado_Racing]

I've got a Spike's Tactical SL-15 that I built from the ground up. The gun has roughly 6k through it. 3k Tula 55 grain steel and 3k various 55-75 grain brass (XM193, M855, M856, 5.56 Winchester, .223 Federal, .223 TAP). The gun has a 14.5" lightweight chrome molly 1/9 barrel, carbine gas system w/DD low pro GB, Spike's M16 BCG, ST-T2 buffer, Tubb flatwire buffer spring inside a MilSpec buffer tube. All parts are still stock factory with no replacements added and has been flawless since day one.

Up until last weekend all brass would eject around 2 o'clock and steel would eject around 4 o'clock with no issues related to the build. While at the range Saturday I noticed my steel was ejecting at 2 o'clock and the last 10-15 rounds started keyholing (400 fired) at 25 yards. The keyholing was after a 30 round mag dump as well.

The week before I did some hot/cold barrel testing on various brass to test grouping. 75 grain TAP would group very tight with a cold barrel and XM193 would spread. When the barrel got hot (2x 30 round mag dumps) the results were just the opposite. TAP was showing a larger group and XM193 produced a very tight group. Steel was spreading hot or cold regardless.

I have read that a worn out barrel will case keyholing, but with only 6k fired and the unusual 2 o'clock case ejections I wonder if it's ammo related or if it's something else in the gun. I am very concerned about this so by all means please post your experiences/opinions. You guys are the pros here and have always looked to ya'll for advise.

Tony


ETA: Spell Check

[Blankwaffe]

Read gotm4's post at the bottom of this thread.May be of assistance to you.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=53390

[Tornado_Racing]

Read gotm4's post at the bottom of this thread.May be of assistance to you.
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=53390

Awesome..............and thank you for the link. I'll try that and see what happens. Been looking to swap the FH to a FSC 556 anyway!

[HelloLarry]

6,000 round through a plain chrome moly barrel?

That barrel is toast!

[Tornado_Racing]

6,000 round through a plain chrome moly barrel?

That barrel is toast!

Does this mean my barrel is shot out and has to be replaced after only 6k?

[5pins]

If you do a lot of mag dumps then yes a barrel can where out a barrel after six thousand rounds.

I would give it a deep cleaning and than try it with different ammo.

[ForTehNguyen]

I would give the gun a huge cleaning first to make sure its not grime related.

if it indeed is worn out, a hammer forge barrel might be worth changing to since it seems you do a lot of shooting. However tho theres been some midlengths that have shot over 30k in non hammer forge barrels with no keyholing.

[Tornado_Racing]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm gonna put it through a serious cleaning and then head back to the range this weekend.

[ralph]

It is indeed possible the barrel is toast..I did the same thing with my first AR,(bushmaster) lots of mag dumps..5000 rnds later accuracy is gone, keyholing, yup, just a few mag dumps too many. In my case, a new barrel and I was back in business..Now, to the OP..you said in your post the barrel in question was a chrome moly barrel. If it's not chrome lined, you may be able to save it..you'd have to pull the barrel and have it rechambered..very probably the throat is toast,Usually the rifling itself is in good shape, If the throat it self is gone, rechambering/rebarreling are your only options. I don't know how much this would cost, But if it was me,I'd use this opportunity to upgrade to a higher quality barrel if possible. I'd consider either a CHF barrel from DD, BCM, or a Noveske barrel, and maybe back off the mag dumps..

[sinister]

If you've been doing magazine dumps your barrel's probably toast by 6,000.

Any keyholing at all at 25 meters means the barrel's gone. If you shoot at 200 and 300 yards you'll either see bigger patterns or groups, or have un-called flyers and misses.

The are two ways to check -- one cheap, the other requires some work.

Clean the barrel well -- barrels wear at the throat where the bullet ogive first meets rifling grooves. You can find a throat erosion gage which drops in from the rear or has an angled handle and fits in from the ejection port. It'll go in a certain distance depending on how it was originally chambered. You won't know what it gaged as new, but it'll give an idea of how far the bullet jumps smoothbore from the case mouth until it touches or engages the first rifling land.

Throat erosion:

http://accurateshooter.wordpress.com/2008/01/02/barrel-throst-erosion-revealed/

Simple gage:
http://www.fulton-armory.com/T-gage.gif
http://www.militarymorons.com/weapons/img/bad20.jpg

A little more accurate but more expensive:
http://www.dillonprecision.com/uimages/missingimgs3/14670_stoney_point_bullet_comparator_w_inserts.jpg


The most effective way is to get a gunsmith to borescope your barrel so you can see with your own eye (if it's a good borescope record it on tape or CD/DVD) how the heat from gases pushing the bullets out of the case mouths have eaten away your rifle's throat, smoothed the beginning of the land, and if GI how much chrome has been worn away from both lands and grooves.

Stick the borescope in from the muzzle and you can see how much of the gas port hole has been worn away. Gas port erosion will give you an idea of how many rounds have been down your gun and does not affect weapon functioning -- kind of like looking at tooth and gum wear on a dog, horse, or deer carcass.

Borescoping:

http://www.gradientlens.com/precisionshooting.asp

http://www.stevekershawfirearms.co.uk/problembarrels.html

Borescoping a Remington hammer-forged factory barrel:

http://www.6mmbr.com/f/Lilja_BoreScope_VID.wmv

[HelloLarry]

Does this mean my barrel is shot out and has to be replaced after only 6k?

Yep.

I know your accuracy standards are probably different than mine and you don't consider a barrel shot out until it keyholes, but I would have, for my target shooting purposes, considered it a tomato stake probably around 3,500 round when it probably wouldn't have held a 3.5 MOA 10 ring.

Mil Standard is what, about 5MOA?

[5pins]

If it were me I would just clean it and shoot it with new ammo and see if that fixes it.

If you are still getting keyholes, than I would buy a new barrel. I would not speed a lot of time and money trying to fix a chrome molly barrel with 6K down the tube.

[Tornado_Racing]

Would I loose my grouping and noticed keyholing in a week or should it develope over time?

Last week I was grouping well out to 50 yards just pending hot/cold barrel and ammo used. The XM193 (hot barrel) and 75 grain TAP (cold barrel) grouped within a half dollar (no magnification as my AR has an Aimpoint H1).

ETA: Sorry for the half dollar comparision as I do not fully understand 1-3 MOA, sub MOA, etc.

[Tornado_Racing]

If it were me I would just clean it and shoot it with new ammo and see if that fixes it.

If you are still getting keyholes, than I would buy a new barrel. I would not speed a lot of time and money trying to fix a chrome molly barrel with 6K down the tube.

When you suggest new ammo, do you mean steel or brass? I try to alternate between steel and brass hence the 3k each.

[SteveL]

Would I loose my grouping and noticed keyholing in a week or should it develope over time?

Last week I was grouping well out to 50 yards just pending hot/cold barrel and ammo used. The XM193 (hot barrel) and 75 grain TAP (cold barrel) grouped within a half dollar (no magnification as my AR has an Aimpoint H1).

Sorry for the half dollar comparision as I do not fully understand 1-3 MOA, sub MOA, etc.

In a nutshell 1 MOA (minute of angle) is basically a 1 inch pattern at 100 yards. That's rounded off of course. For a more detailed explanation read here (http://riflestocks.tripod.com/moa.html).

[Tornado_Racing]

In a nutshell 1 MOA (minute of angle) is basically a 1 inch pattern at 100 yards. That's rounded off of course. For a more detailed explanation read here (http://riflestocks.tripod.com/moa.html).

At 50 yards it would be .5 MOA or sub MOA and my grouping would roughly be 3.0 MOA @ 100 yards?

[Tornado_Racing]

It is indeed possible the barrel is toast..I did the same thing with my first AR,(bushmaster) lots of mag dumps..5000 rnds later accuracy is gone, keyholing, yup, just a few mag dumps too many. In my case, a new barrel and I was back in business..Now, to the OP..you said in your post the barrel in question was a chrome moly barrel. If it's not chrome lined, you may be able to save it..you'd have to pull the barrel and have it rechambered..very probably the throat is toast,Usually the rifling itself is in good shape, If the throat it self is gone, rechambering/rebarreling are your only options. I don't know how much this would cost, But if it was me,I'd use this opportunity to upgrade to a higher quality barrel if possible. I'd consider either a CHF barrel from DD, BCM, or a Noveske barrel, and maybe back off the mag dumps..

If indeed I need a new barrel I will go with the DD CHF 14.5" Lightweight (http://www.danieldefense.com/?page=shop/detail&product_id=253), VLTOR .625 Lo Pro GB (http://www.vltor.com/lpgb.htm), and a PWS FSC 556 Comp (http://www.primaryweapons.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=&idproduct=9).

[JSantoro]

More like inside a 3" circle with good ammo.

A gun that shoots greater than 3MOA is a failed gun that will not be accepted by gov't, so 3MOA is what's called the threshold (minimum performance level), with 1MOA being the objective (ideal performance level). Most fall well inside the spec, and the median for fielded gov't guns is around 2MOA.

Quality of ammo will affect your print. If you're testing, spend the money to use match grade ammo in the 55-62gr range.

Quality of the shooter affects it even more, so there's that....:p

Your barrel still may or not be ganked. I'm sorta wondering if shooting ammo over 62gr in a 1-in-9 barrel may have contributed to what you're seeing. I don't know enough to say that shooting the heavier stuff will wear the barrel faster, but bullets longer/heavier than 62gr don't stabilize well in your twist rate.

[Tornado_Racing]

More like inside a 3" circle with good ammo.

A gun that shoots greater than 3MOA is a failed gun that will not be accepted by gov't, so 3MOA is what's called the threshold (minimum performance level), with 1MOA being the objective (ideal performance level). Most fall well inside the spec, and the median for fielded gov't guns is around 2MOA.

Quality of ammo will affect your print. If you're testing, spend the money to use match grade ammo in the 55-62gr range.

Quality of the shooter affects it even more, so there's that....:p

Your barrel still may or not be ganked. I'm sorta wondering if shooting ammo over 62gr in a 1-in-9 barrel may have contributed to what you're seeing. I don't know enough to say that shooting the heavier stuff will wear the barrel faster, but bullets longer/heavier than 62gr don't stabilize well in your twist rate.

Gotcha............Most of what I have run through is 55 grain. Only 200 rounds of 62 grain M855, 10 rounds of 64 grain M856, and 10 rounds of 75 grain TAP.

[JSantoro]

Yeah, that's negligible. Unless you coated them with sandpaper!

WHAT AREN'T YOU TELLING US!?!? :D

[5pins]

When you suggest new ammo, do you mean steel or brass? I try to alternate between steel and brass hence the 3k each.

Something other then the stuff it was keyholing with. If it was keyholing with the Tula then something like Winchester Q3131 or XM-193 should work.

I could be just the ammo you were using.
I was shooting some handloads with a 50gr Remington HP that was keyholing but none of the other ammo I was using was doing it, so it was just a case of bad ammo.

[Tornado_Racing]

I'm learning here so thank you guys for all of the posts.

When I get to the range this weekend and:

I don't notice any keyholing with brass but start seeing keyholing with last weeks steel then I know it ammo?

If I see keyholing with brass and it steadily get worse, time for a new barrel?

If I shoot steel and brass with no keyholing then it was just a really dirty barrel?

[Tornado_Racing]

Something other then the stuff it was keyholing with. If it was keyholing with the Tula then something like Winchester Q3131 or XM-193 should work.

I could be just the ammo you were using.
I was shooting some handloads with a 50gr Remington HP that was keyholing but none of the other ammo I was using was doing it, so it was just a case of bad ammo.

Is the Winchester or XM193 match grade ammo? Local WallyWorld has Winchester Q3131 in stock and local gun shop has AE XM193 as well.

[Cincinnatus]

Is the Winchester or XM193 match grade ammo? Local WallyWorld has Winchester Q3131 in stock and local gun shop has AE XM193 as well.

No. Match grade will usually say "Match" on the box, such as Hornandy Match ammo, etc.

[fdxpilot]

Is the Winchester or XM193 match grade ammo? Local WallyWorld has Winchester Q3131 in stock and local gun shop has AE XM193 as well.


Q3131 is Winchester's version of M193. M193 is the original 55gr FMJ military M16/AR15 round from the 60s.

[Tornado_Racing]

The gun is cleaned and ready to test this weekend, but I think I'm gonna order a DD Lightweight barrel anyway.

Thanks to all who have posted!

[5pins]

The gun is cleaned and ready to test this weekend, but I think I'm gonna order a DD Lightweight barrel anyway.

Thanks to all who have posted!

Let us know what happens, I’m curious.

[Tornado_Racing]

Let us know what happens, I’m curious.

I just got back from the range and I'm still keyholing. So I just ordered a DD 14.5" CHF Chrome Lined 1/7 5.56 NATO Lightweight Carbine Pencil Barrel From Grant.

[ralph]

I just got back from the range and I'm still keyholing. So I just ordered a DD 14.5" CHF Chrome Lined 1/7 5.56 NATO Lightweight Carbine Pencil Barrel From Grant.

I'm sure you'll like it..I had Grant build me a rifle using a 16" DD CHF pencil barrel...it's a sweetheart..

[5pins]

I have the DD HF 16in lightweight and like it a lot. Good choice.

[CAVDOC]

regarding if keyholes would slowly start to appear or be an all of a sudden thing- I have seen it happen both ways- an M1 with a nm barrel that we used for years- for a time the only "service rifle" we had for high power matches- was used by 4 shooters on different realys of 88 round matches- so the rifle would see 352 rounds a day including rapid fires- and we'd do this a few timesa month for like 15 years- won't even bother with the math-lots of rounds and WAY beyond expected life- the bore erosion gauge would drop all the way and its handle would bounce of the reciever-that rifle would still hold 10 ring of a 100 yard (600 yd reduced) target. then one day in the middle of a match it suddenly would not hold the paper or backer!

[Tornado_Racing]

2 weeks ago I was grouping very tight and then last week it started keyholing. I cleaned the gun and after the first 20 rounds it started keyholing again.

Learn something new everyday so thanks to all who offered advise/suggestions.



ETA:If you don't mind me asking, what's a 10 ring?

[ForTehNguyen]

the next ring on a target that's just outside the bullseye

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/1697207772_bf158ef03b.jpg

[Tornado_Racing]

the next ring on a target that's just outside the bullseye

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2163/1697207772_bf158ef03b.jpg

Thank you. I don't do much target practicing as I mostly point-n-shoot to see if I can group tight out to 25 yards. I feel if I can hit paper then it's a mass body shot and would hit anything coming through my front door.

[Mac5.56]

Thank you. I don't do much target practicing as I mostly point-n-shoot to see if I can group tight out to 25 yards. I feel if I can hit paper then it's a mass body shot and would hit anything coming through my my front door.

6,000 plus rounds of just point-n-shoot at 25 yards?

Man get out there and live a little with that amazing piece of equipment you have. Challenge yourself! Make sure that by the end of the next 6,000 rounds, "pointing and shooting" consists of getting you into the ten spot without so much as a second thought.

[Tornado_Racing]

6,000 plus rounds of just point-n-shoot at 25 yards?

Man get out there and live a little with that amazing piece of equipment you have. Challenge yourself! Make sure that by the end of the next 6,000 rounds, "pointing and shooting" consists of getting you into the ten spot without so much as a second thought.

I also practice alot of left hand shooting which I trully need more practice at. Not sure if point-n-shoot is the correct wording. I do alot of standing in a ready position and then point-n-shoot as quickly as possible. I have a hard time with target aquisition from a ready position. It feels like it takes me forever to "put the dot on target". Once on target I can double and triple tap a tight group.

It's just getting the gun there to pull the trigger.

Sorry if my terminology is incorrect.

[Robb Jensen]

Did you try removing and thoroughly cleaning the flash hider and crown and shooting it like I recommended in the other thread?

[Tornado_Racing]

Adding to the above post, I practice alot of different things. One day at the range I'll dump 200 rounds either:

Practicing safety on/off with a double tap right and left handed.
Mag changes with 3 to 4 rounds per mag.
Transitioning from right to left.
2-3 30 round mag dumps.

When I shoot left handed I have to slow down as I have NO weapon control or coordination and need alot more practice.

[Tornado_Racing]

Did you try removing and thoroughly cleaning the flash hider and crown and shooting it like I recommended in the other thread?

I did not remove the FH as it was pinned (14.5" barrel), but I did clean it (dremel with many differentbits, cleaning fluids, and patients) and did notice alot of carbon that came out.

[Tornado_Racing]

I cut the FH off this morning so here are some pics:

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/9227/dscf2387d.jpg
http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/1218/dscf2390o.jpg
http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/3289/dscf2402n.jpg
http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/8093/dscf2408.jpg

[JSantoro]

A dremel tool!? What KIND of bits?

If you used anything harder than a brass brush (did you?), your barrel's crown stands a good chance of being ganked up in some way, maybe uneven, maybe even chipped, so if you were keyholing from any buildup before, you may now be doing it because you used a rotary tool to do a job that takes a long carbon-cutting fluid soak and nothing harder than pipe cleaners or toothpicks.

You may want to take it to an AR 'smith to get the barrel scoped and have the crown checked; diagnostically, the whole kit & kaboottle. Just to be absolutely sure what state it's in.

Not being one, I'd have still put the thing past a 70% chance it was toasted BEFORE you got out a blankety-blank dremel tool. Now.....


Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

[Tornado_Racing]

A dremel tool!? What KIND of bits?

If you used anything harder than a brass brush (did you?), your barrel's crown stands a good chance of being ganked up in some way, maybe uneven, maybe even chipped, so if you were keyholing from any buildup before, you may now be doing it because you used a rotary tool to do a job that takes a long carbon-cutting fluid soak and nothing harder than pipe cleaners or toothpicks.

You may want to take it to an AR 'smith to get the barrel scoped and have the crown checked; diagnostically, the whole kit & kaboottle. Just to be absolutely sure what state it's in.

Not being one, I'd have still put the thing past a 70% chance it was toasted BEFORE you got out a blankety-blank dremel tool. Now.....

LOL...wire & polishing bits were used after I soaked. No hard grinding bits were used at all. I cleaned the FH as best I could without removing.

[Robb Jensen]

This is the number 1 reason why I dislike perm. attached flash hiders. Just pay the friggin' $200.

[Tornado_Racing]

Another newby question. Can someone tell what/where the crown is? Is it the angled part directly at the end of the barrel?

Please don't be upset, I've learned some info in this thread alone about MOA, 10 ring, about match ammo.

So again thank you for all of the patients and posts.

[Robb Jensen]

Another newby question. Can someone tell what/where the crown is? Is it the angled part directly at the end of the barrel?

Please don't be upset, I've learned some info in this thread alone about MOA, 10 ring, about match ammo.

So again thank you for all of the patients and posts.

The crown is the very end of the muzzle end of the barrel. It's the last portion of the barrel that the bullet is contacting as it leave the barrel. If its off even a little and can highly effect accuracy. Carbon here allows uneven gas pressure pushing against the bullet as it leaves this can cause uneven/unstable bullet flight.

[Tornado_Racing]

The crown is the very end of the muzzle end of the barrel. It's the last portion of the barrel that the bullet is contacting as it leave the barrel. If its off even a little and can highly effect accuracy. Carbon here allows uneven gas pressure pushing against the bullet as it leaves this can cause uneven/unstable bullet flight.

Thank you, can this be seen from the pics I posted? Carbon buildup etc.?

[bobbo]

Yes, the crown of the barrel is the cut at the end where the bullet last touches the rifling as it leaves the barrel. If the crown is damaged or worn it can introduce instability into the flight of the bullet as it leaves the grooves unevenly.

[Robb Jensen]

Thank you, can this be seen from the pics I posted? Carbon buildup etc.?

Yes there's a pretty big ridge of carbon on the inside of that flash hider. The crown on the barrel also doesn't look very good.
If it's a carbine gas length barrel you could have it cut to 12.5" and rethreaded and crowned and use it on a registered SBR or machinegun. If it's a midlength it'll work at 13.7" with a perm. mount Noveske KX3 and still be 16" overall.

[Tornado_Racing]

Yes there's a pretty big ridge of carbon on the inside of that flash hider. The crown on the barrel also doesn't look very good.
If it's a carbine gas length barrel you could have it cut to 12.5" and rethreaded and crowned and use it on a registered SBR or machinegun. If it's a midlength it'll work at 13.7" with a perm. mount Noveske KX3 and still be 16" overall.

Would the barrel really be worth saving? Chrome Molly 1/9 carbine .223 rechambered to 5.56 with 6k through it?

Maybe used for a spare parts build? I am thinking of an SBR 10.5" KISS as my next build.

[Robb Jensen]

Would the barrel really be worth saving? Chrome Molly 1/9 carbine .223 rechambered to 5.56 with 6k through it?

Maybe used for a spare parts build?


It's hard to say without measuring throat erosion and headspace.
6K rounds of mag dumps or full auto would wear out a barrel. General shooting wouldn't. I'd probably just replace it with a chrome lined hammer forged barrel.
If it failed throat erosion or headspace I cut it up and throw it away.

[ralph]

Would the barrel really be worth saving? Chrome Molly 1/9 carbine .223 rechambered to 5.56 with 6k through it?

Maybe used for a spare parts build?

I don't think I'd be worth it..cut the threads off, rethread, new FH, pinned, and since it's already got 6k through(lots of mag dumps from what I've read) it I'd seriously consider recutting the chamber as well. I'm thinking you'd have almost as much money wrapped up getting it into shape for reuse, than what a new barrel would cost already to go.

[Tornado_Racing]

Thanks guys, my DD CHF Pencil will be here tomorrow. I should have gone with the better barrel from day one.

[mtdawg169]

Good choice for a new barrel.

Those pics of the cut up flash hider & barrel are priceless! :-)

[JSantoro]

LOL...wire & polishing bits were used after I soaked. No hard grinding bits were used at all. I cleaned the FH as best I could without removing.

Heh, having seen the chopped muzzle device shots, it'd be ineresting to see if it is/was the muzzle/crown doing you in, or a combination of factors. I'm curious, since I haven't slugged a barrel (yet!).

Hope you get it looked at by someody and type the results.

[JSantoro]

This is the number 1 reason why I dislike perm. attached flash hiders. Just pay the friggin' $200.

One doesn't HAVE to go pinned, right? Isn't there a high-heat solder method that is sufficient to make the device considered permanent and doesn't have the removal headache of a pinned device?

Or am I succumbing to errornet info?

[Robb Jensen]

One doesn't HAVE to go pinned, right? Isn't there a high-heat solder method that is sufficient to make the device considered permanent and doesn't have the removal headache of a pinned device?

Or am I succumbing to errornet info?

You can silver solder but the heat of installing, removing and reinstalling is taking a pretty bad toll on the temper of the barrel steel. Pinned/welded over is better...if you choose to perm. attach, attach at flash hider which doesn't have a tapered down aperture inside the flash hider. Something like the PWS FSC556 comes to mind. It's easier to clean the crown on these.

[JSantoro]

You and your damned science....

[Tornado_Racing]

You can silver solder but the heat of installing, removing and reinstalling is taking a pretty bad toll on the temper of the barrel steel. Pinned/welded over is better...if you choose to perm. attach, attach at flash hider which doesn't have a tapered down aperture inside the flash hider. Something like the PWS FSC556 comes to mind. It's easier to clean the crown on these.

I've got an FSC556 on the way for my new barrel. To keep up with easier PM, how often should I clean the crown/comp?

[Robb Jensen]

I've got an FSC556 on the way for my new barrel. To keep up with easier PM, how often should I clean the crown/comp?

Depends on the ammo. I find PMC, Prvi and some others very dirty.
Even some of the newer XM193 is pretty darn dirty. M855 is pretty clean as is Win Q3131a. Clean when you can't see a clean crown. It's easy with a FSC556, put some Kroil/Shooter Choice mixed 50/50 in there with a Q-tip and it set for a 10-15min. Then try wiping it out. The foaming Hoppes gun cleaner is very good too. I use the foaming Hoppes to clean my handguns plus it doesn't stink and isn't too hard on the hands.

[Tornado_Racing]

Depends on the ammo. I find PMC, Prvi and some others very dirty.
Even some of the newer XM193 is pretty darn dirty. M855 is pretty clean as is Win Q3131a. Clean when you can't see a clean crown. It's easy with a FSC556, put some Kroil/Shooter Choice mixed 50/50 in there with a Q-tip and it set for a 10-15min. Then try wiping it out. The foaming Hoppes gun cleaner is very good too. I use the foaming Hoppes to clean my handguns plus it doesn't stink and isn't too hard on the hands.

Gotcha!

[Mac5.56]

This is the number 1 reason why I dislike perm. attached flash hiders. Just pay the friggin' $200.

What $200 dollars are you talking about???

[JSantoro]

The tax stamp for registering an SBR.

[HelloLarry]

You did the right thing.

That barrel was toast and it certainly wasn't worth the time or the money to try and squeeze out an extra thousand rounds by shortening both ends and rechambering. There probably isn't enough meat on it to shorten the chamber end anyway.

I believe that DD barrel you are getting not only chrome lined, but hammer forged as well. It won't surprise me if you get 20,000 rounds out of it.

That old flashhider looked almost new! A little dirty, yes, but little or no erosion.