204 pencil barrel??

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desert_rider

New member
Is there any place out there that still makes a thin (standard) AR barrel in 204? I have two heavy barrelsalready.... but looking for a threaded 20"-24" that I can swing a little faster.
 
Is there not a possibility that a 24" pencil barrel could be "whippy?" I'm not opposed to pencil barrels - I'm actually working on load development for a 16" .223 Wylde I just built. I've just always figured those longer barrels needed a little more material on them to make them rigid and help control muzzle movement.
 
Yes, there are plenty of manufacturers that make different profiled barrels. Some manufacturers have different opinions on what the profiles are, but in general you have the bull barrel, which generally has a diameter at the gas block of 0.930in, but can be over an inch at the chamber. The heavy profile, which measures 0.875 at the gas block, and generally will be under an inch at the chamber. The medium profile, which measures 0.750in at the gas block and is under an inch at the chamber. There are variances on this though. Some manufacturers will also offer tapered profiles as opposed to straight profiles. There are also "government" profiles like the M4 or SOCOM profiles which mirror the profiles of certain military firearms like the M4 carbine barrels that have cuts on them to accommodate things like bayonet lugs. The pencil barrels are yet another profile that some manufacturers offer, which are smaller than the medium profile and can measure 0.625in at the gas block. Some will jump back up to 0.750 to accommodate more readily available gas blocks.

I run an 18in medium profile barrel on my personal .204 while Bushman is running a fluted medium profile on his. I ran a 24in bull barrel when I first started using the .204 and it was just too heavy and not necessary. We found that the accuracy out of the 18in was as good as the 24in so if you are looking for a faster swinging gun, I would look at 18in instead of 24.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks Snomanmo, my problem is I WANT IT ALL! ha ha ha A medium profile fluted barrel would be fantastic. These Arizona coyotes can be tough to put down, and my experience tells me that speed kills, so I'm looking to gain/retain as much velocity as I can. That extra 6" equates to another ~250 fps, and matches my bolt 204, so the almost non-existent bullet drop would be similar between guns. I run a suppressor so add that weight onto a .9" bull barrel that is 24" long and the gun is so front heavy it throws the entire balance off on the gun.

I've got a buddy with a lathe, so I'm wondering if I machined 0.125" off the barrel (.25" total reduction) if that would screw something up on the harmonics or anything....
 


I do something to keep myself in shape.
Like exercises with my rifle.
I learned in boot camp.
The M1A SOCOM is great to workout with.
 
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