carbon9

Just shoot it and buy another one in the finish you want. Pretty soon you will have enough spare parts to build a second gun in a totally different config. I have a JP Bolt Carrier with the QPQ process which is very slick and simply wipes clean. If you must coat the one you have I would have it Ion-Bonded. I have seen some of the Youngs MFG carriers people have had Ion-Bonded and they made me extremely jealous.

From what I can remember without doing all of my research over again and I could very well be wrong...... If you are going to Melonite a Stainless barrel it has to be done just right or it becomes very brittle. I remember reading on one of the Benchrest forums of cases early on of the rifling portion of the barrel basically shearing and coming out after firing a few rounds from a not perfectly controlled treatment. Also, Nitriding becomes the anti-corrosion treatment as Stainless when heated that much loses its own anti-corrosion properties. If you trust the facility you are sending it to you should be good to go. If it was Chromoly without chrome lining I would say send it ASAP, well worth the money. I'm sure you already know to make sure the barrel has just enough rounds through it to shoot well but not enough to be shot out before processing. You could firelap it or just put a 100 or so rounds through before sending it out. Keep in mind Stainless barrels are known for decent longevity and the amount of ammo it is going to take to shoot it out will far exceed the $$$ of a new barrel when that time comes. I would just buy more ammo with the money and shoot the heck out of it.

My custom AR-15 Lothar-Walther barrel took about a year to ship after ordering, this was about 18 months ago. It doesn't surprise me the lead times have increased, the barrel was worth the wait as I sold it for 100.00 more then I paid for it. I had built something else in the meantime. I have heard bad things about Meloniting Stainless barrels, do some research of your own before deciding. I do have a custom Lothar-Walther 17" intermediate length gas polygon rifled AR-15 barrel in chromoly which was profiled and Melonited by a great company which is no longer around:-( It is a very fast and very accurate barrel, may it last a very long time.

I have one on my build, feels and looks great. Very rigid, easy installation. I chopped about an inch off to make room for an A2 front sight clamped right behind the comp on a 16.75" barrel.

The JP Silent Captured Spring will work in a UBR, I have one in mine along with the JP .308 LMOS and it is working great.

I would just go with the clamp on JP A2 front sight or the Armalite version for a bit less $$$. Also, I personally wouldn't pin it. I have ran several setups like the BEnos pic and haven't had any of them shift even after getting tossed into dump bins or snagged on ports. The Armalite you may have to shim it with a beer can or other shim to avoid stressing the legs too much when you tighten it down. The JP you may have to grind the slot between the leg screw holes wider so it will clamp tightly enough on that thin of a barrel but it is solid and a bit better built then the Armalite. The JP can take the stress of being tightened without shimming. Realistically I would be comfortable with either one it just depends on aesthetics and your wallet. The JP is 1.88" long, I am not sure on the Armalite. You can run it right up the lip of the threads no problem and worst case scenario you can grind or notch your handguard a touch. Or get one of the CarbonArms.us carbon fiber tubes that fit the JP Barrel Nut and cut it to length. This is gonna be a good looking rifle. <thumbsup> ETA:http://www.armalite.com/ItemForm.aspx?item=EU0240NMPKIT&Category=07033031-2a2e-439c-a701-edf0d7327c93

Dave and I finished it up last night, turned out very nice. Went to the range this am to meet some friends and sight in, so much rain we didn't even fire a shot!!! Looks like I'll be using the .223 for the Annual Rio 3gun Team Match tomorrow:(

The AXTS Weapons stuff looks really nice. If I get off work in time I'm gonna try to get this thing built tonight, lower is already done just have to finish the upper. If I don't run into any issues I will try to get range time with it tomorrow. I will post updates as I can.

That is one good looking rifle <thumbsup>

My barrel returned from ADCO today, amazingly quick, great service and nice work. The barrel left weighing 3.55lbs and came back weighing 2.582lbs. The Titan comp, Syrac gas block, gas tube, barrel and 15" Carbon Fiber handguard weigh 3.83lbs combined. Not super light but very manageable. Now to find time to build it.....

Good routine and method, I will be adopting both in the future. I think your technique should be added to this sticky http://308ar.com/forum/index.php?topic=3312.0 as another tool for better gas block installation. Thank you

News Flash, really? Funny, I've always dealt directly with Dave on the SD-15 receiver sets I have bought and built in the past. But then I do see how an engineer/designer/machinist who still helps with his father's/family business would have somebody good with books and people run the front. I see him and Anita fairly often as they live a few doors down from my mother so I am sure either one of them will help me out with the exchange or additional purchase. I was hoping you would be more knowledgeable and have an actual ETA on the side charging upper so I wouldn't have to bug Dave with how busy he is. Thank you anyways for your help.

I just measured a carbine DPMS Pattern .308 buffer and it is about 2.5" long. This is shorter then an AR-15 carbine and rifle buffer. Sounds like you have a rifle buffer. The UBR buffer tube is the same length as an AR-15 carbine tube. If you look at the ads to the right and scroll down you will see the "Heavy Buffers" link, that's what you want/need.

Syrac provides you with 2 long allen wrenches, one to depress the pin(spring loaded) the other to turn the adjustment allen screw. The adjustment screw seems to have detents every 1/4 turn. This works out for easy adjustment of your gas block even with an extended handguard in place. I have the clamp on version and it works well.

survivalshop. I was under the impression most gas blocks needed .030" space from the shoulder to allow the old non-freefloat/delta handguard mount, an antiquated idea in my opinion. When was the last time you really saw or kept a non free float handguard? I like the BAD safeties but have seen so many fitment issues with the SR Gold in what little research I have done. Maybe I will try one after all, I'll give them a call tomorrow. I went with the 16.75" barrel length to allow any front iron sight combo I may wish to run in the future for 400yd and less courses. Had to keep the rifle length gas and I wanted the 1-12 twist for all the 110gr and 125gr bullets I will be using for Heavy Metal. I did hear Fulton Armory is working on another 16" .308 Criterion barrel in a lightweight profile, not sure of the gas length or twist, couldn't wait that long :D. Yes, I am envious of your 16" barrel ;D MikedaddyH. Any firm ETA on the SD side charging upper? That is something I would really like to see first. I'm sure Dave would let me exchange my upper towards the new one if I haven't built it yet. Of course, my lack of patience will probably force me to build one of each. Thank you for all the info and guidance. Also, has anybody owned and/or used a UBR and an ACS-L at the same time? What is the cheek weld difference or similarity between the two? I run UBRs and a PRS on my ARs . I actually like the UBRs best but am thinking a UBR with the JP SCS might be a little buttstock heavy and an ACS-L with the JP SCS might give me the same weight as a UBR with standard spring and buffer. Technically, I should just run the UBR I already have and see how it goes.