Two questions my good fellows;
Firstly, Does anyone make 14.5" bull barrels?
Secondly, If I was to get a 14.5 inch barrel, would my legality be compromised if I owned one, but did not have it on a receiver without having a Class II license? Also, would i be able to buy one without a FFL and or a Class II license?
Thank you for your time.
OTML,
In order to legally possess a short barrel on your AR you must complete the appropriate paperwork and pay a 200.00 tax to the BATFE. Take a look at the NFA section (where I have moved this post) and read around. The process has been explained pretty thoroughly. You do not need an FFL to buy one, but you do need to have BATFE approval before you use it.
There’s always the option of a permanently attached muzzle device, though I’m not sure if that’s what the OP had in mind.
Iraqgunz, I read this previously, thanks for the intel though. My original question was a little vague now that i reread it; what I really want to know is whether I can just buy the barrel without the license yet. I’ve looked at the BATF site and read what the have to say about SBR’s, but they are vague when it comes to owning the barrel. My assumption is that they can’t not let you buy one simply because it could be fore an AR pistol… I certainly don’t intend to use the barrel before I get the license, but I would like to order it and have it ready for when (and if) I eventually get the license back.
Yep, that’s what I had in mind BushmasterFanBoy. Regarding this, how easy is it to permanently attach a comp/brake? would I be running the risk of ruining accuracy if i did it myself?
Not worth taking the chance.
There is no license, it is a tax stamp on the lower receiver.
Why would you want a 14.5" bull barrel? I’m curious. For me, the point of a SBR is to drop length/weight in favor of a handier package. Going this route I’d just go with a 16-18" barrel to get a hair more velocity.
My father, uncle (both rather excellent metallurgists and very fine marksman), and I had a discussion over barrels, they both hate the idea of short barrels, but I don’t. After discussing barrel harmonics, steels, heat dispersion etc, they told me that if I was going to go for a 14.5 inch barrel, that I should get a fluted bull barrel…
whats the reasoning behind bull/flute? there’s some serious drawbacks to this, and very little advantages.
Light barrels aren’t as stiff as bull profiles are. Fluting allows you to retain stiffness and cut weight. Therefore, Bull barrels+fluting=relatively light extreme accuracy.
but unless the fluting is milled perfectly even/concentric, it’ll actually cause the barrel to bend as it heats and cools.
what kind of “extreme accuracy” do you want from a 14.5?
There is a reason why many competitors use bull barreled rifles (not necessarily on the AR); It works. show me some references on your claims and I’ll change my statement. If properly assembled, a short fat barrel will out shoot any lightweight barrel of the same length. Granted, all of these is based on what the user wants; if i was shooting 3 gun and trying to carry as little as possible, I would go for a light weight chrom-moly 4150 barrel that was 14.5" to 16". If I was shooting at a match, I would take a 20" heavy barrel that was a national match air gauged badass. As it is i don’t shoot 3 gun and I don’t shoot at marine corp invitationals. I don’t want a .5 MOA tack Driver or a 4 pound twig, I want a light, accurate, hard hitting, robust, compact carbine that will make first shot hits at a 6" inch plate at 300 yards. Welcome to the age of laser cutting, CNC machines, and dedicated gunsmiths…
uhm you can get this with this http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/BCM-BFH-16-Mid-Length-Upper-Receiver-Group-p/bcm-urg-mid-16%20bfh.htm
Your kinda going in circles wanting what you stated above yet wanting a bull barrel.
Light weight relative to lets say; m1 garand, m16a4 etc. i don’t see how that is going in circles.
6" at 300m is 2 MOA… that’s not really anything special. you can get that very easily by buying a quality, stock, govt 14.5 from any of the higher tier manufacturers… you can do two to four times better than that just by switching to stainless medium from the same.
no need to get all crazy with fluted bull(shit). 
Bravo company has a bunch of different barrels, at least one of which should suit your needs. You can get a 14.5 without the hassle of a tax stamp if you have the muzzle device permanently pinned. I have one like that and I don’t notice any accuracy deficiency. I use a Noveske chrome lined light series and upper it’s easily <2 moa, more like 1moa or a little above in my hands. I’m pretty sure you can get a factory pinned barrel from them on a 14.5" upper. The weld is on the flash hider, not the barrel, so I don’t see it affecting accuracy.
without getting into all that sbr/ tax stamp stuff- you can buy a les baer ar-15 with 16" barrel with a 1 MOA guarantee- that should do with minimal messing around
no… definitely dont do this.
BKB, kindly stop replying to my posts as you have absolutely nothing constructive to say. I realize that you are a site sponsor and I salute you for this, but kindly take your opinions (which aren’t constructive at all) off of my posts. Sorry for the out burst, but you don’t really seem to understand that I want to build that I want to build and your opinionated responses aren’t doing anyone any good.
P.S. Les Baur makes some of the finest AR gear available today. CAVDOC actually knows what he’s talking about.
If you’re hell bent on a 14.5" barrel, get a Noveske Afghan and call it a day. It will be more accurate than you need and will not weigh a ton, or forget about the NFA bullshit and get the Noveske Recon barrel. Don’t want SS barrel? Get a Centurion mid weight/recce or BCM BFH or Noveske Recce barreled upper. If you’re accuracy needs are only 2 moa, I don’t see the benefit in going with a bull barrel. They are absolute pigs to lug around and handle really awkwardly.