AR barrel chop

Nectarp

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I have an M&P 15 T with a 16inch melonite barrel, i am considering chopping it down to 14.5 a perm attaching a AAC brake as well and firing supressed, i have a reliable smith who can cut, re crown, re thread concentrically so I will have no issues with the can like baffle strikes, my main concern is the melonite treatment of the barrel, does anyone have experince cutting down their melonited barrel and are there any problems i might have because of the melonite
 
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May I ask......WHY? The barrel works well at 16", and you really don't gain ANYTHING, as you are going to stretch it back out to 16" all over again with a pinned flash hider, or in your case, a muzzle brake.

First off, the muzzle brake on a 16" is very overrated. You are really close to the blast with this setup. My son has one, and he is happy to shoot every other rifle in the crate rather than deal with the excessive noise and blast. Further, the brake would need to be pinned permanently- so I am assuming you know of a supressor which will slip over a muzzle brake and function correctly? I have seen them slip over a small flash hider, but never on a real, honest to goodness working muzzle brake.
Stick to the 16" barrel, and you won't lose any of the benefits of the threaded front end and the ability to swap fixtures out front.
If you cut it, yes, you expose the barrel where the melonite is removed. It's not much, but it is exposed. It would not matter unless you habitually get the nose stuck in the mud.
 
the most popular supressor manufactures make great muzzle brakes that are designed to work with their cans AAC, surefure, ops inc and any good brake is gonna be loud, almost all companies recommend you use a brake that the supressor threads on to because it saves the baffles from some of the blast, i just want to know if the barrel would be ruined by chopping it because of the melonite treatment
 
You won't ruin the barrel.
Plus, if it is an M&P T from 2012 or earlier, the barrel is not melonite coated. S&W was meloniting the sport, but not the regular models. They started meloniting them and switching over to the factory 5R rifled barrel only in the last year. Before the switch, the barrels were not even chrome lined. They were the same 1/9 twist barrels that are on a DPMS Oracle carbine.
 
My barrel is definitely a 1 in 8 twist 5R rifled melonite treated barrel
 
Another thing to think about is that 14.5" barrels use a different gas port size than a 16" barrel.

Probably a better idea overall to buy a second barrel the way you want it and have that installed.
 
I thught this is an issue only when running a mid-length gas system i think with a carbine length gas system it should be ok
 
I would definitely buy a second barrel....you could sell the present 1:8 5R barrel pretty quickly!! :D
 
I thought it was a federal law, but maybe it only applies to New York. A 16" barrel is the minimum allowed for a rifle. Cut it shorter and just like a sawed off shotgun, its illegal!

Surprised nobody mentioned that yet...
 
I'm with oneyeopn, get another barrel and sell the 1/8 to one of us! Better yet keep it in case you decide to build another or find out you want to use it again.
 
I thought it was a federal law, but maybe it only applies to New York. A 16" barrel is the minimum allowed for a rifle. Cut it shorter and just like a sawed off shotgun, its illegal!

Surprised nobody mentioned that yet...

Its not illegal even in NY because you are permanently attaching a muzzle device to bring it up to an overall length of 16" surprised more people dont know this;). I kinda want to keep the melonited 5r barrel because i feel its somewhat superior to chrome lined barrels but i would consider selling it if the price was right especially because it only had about 200 rounds through it
 
Why ? Why do people do this ?

Why do people do what? The OP is talking about putting a different type of flash suppressor on his rifle, one that he can use a suppressor with. He is also trying to keep his barrel length as short as legally possible. Suppressors extend the length of the barrel and overall length of the rifle so it is not uncommon for someone to modify their rifle in this manner to keep from having a 24" barrel/suppressor combination.
 
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I know exactly what he is talking about doing ,why chop off the barrel then add a comp to bring it back to sixteen inches . Cans that go on comps don't slide very far onto them , so the overall savings will be around two inches with the can attached . Seems like a lot of work for very little gain .
 
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