Just curious, anyone buy an 18" 5.56 DD S2W and have if chopped? I’m playing with some ideas in my mind on what I want to do, with the melonite thread in the technical forum kinda had me thinking how nice it would be to have a CHF melonite barrel option from a quality manufacturer.
I am just curious how feasable it would be to chop that 18" barrel to 16" or 14.5" and possibly have it dimpled. Would there be any concerns about having a barrel like that sent to Nefarious Arms or ADCO?
You could do it, but the profile near the muzzle will not be the S2W profile. Plus the crown would not have the melonite treatment.
But what would it matter if the crown was not melonited? Would that somehow effect accuracy or durability?
Being that melonite is there to slow wear and prevent corrosion it would leave the crown less durable. Finding someone to cut it may be difficult too, the melonited part is very hard.
Honestly I wouldn’t do it. I think it would be more benaficial to push DD to do a 16" S2W barral. I swear I saw one at one point, but I guess not.
To further TMS951’s comment, the un-melonited crown will wear a lot faster than the rest of the bore. A worn/damaged crown really hurts accuracy. Not to mention the lack of corrosion resistance on the bare crown.
I have a DD S2W 300BLK barrel and I love it. It’s heavy, but is super accurate (.3moa). I wish DD would do a 16" melonited S2W 5.56 barrel. That would be t!ts!
i believe they did a 16" version for a while. i’m very sad that i didn’t get one.
If I wanted a light weight corrosion resistant barrel I would get the V7 poly rifled stainless barrel. By the time you dimple, cut and crown the barrel you have you would probably save $$$ selling it and buying something else. I have no doubt that melonite extends the barrels life but that means nothing to me considering what it cost to shoot out a barrel!
G&R carried DD 16" Gov profile uppers for a while:
I have less than zero use for the guberment profile, but thanks.
Polished or Bead Blasted stainless? Believe me, the answer makes a difference.
To keep it On topic, I would agree, don’t cut the S2W barrel. While it is Cold Hammer forged down the entire length of the barrel, the Salt Bath Nitride surface conversion is still critical to long term durability. I will say that in most cases the Gas port is a common weak link for all of these barrels, as there is no easy way to realign a pre-drilled gas port if you attach the extension after SBN.
If the barrel has a taper bore, accuracy very well could decrease.