So let's talk barrels...

[lordkyleofearth]

I am in the process of modding my AT10 to accept first strikes (same platform as jjron) and I have started the long process of looking for a barrel. The downside is that the AT series is obscure enough that there are, essentially, no aftermarket barrels for it. The upside is that-because I already expect to rethread any barrel I buy-I can consider any barrel on the market.

The punkworks tests seem to suggest Hammerhead as the leading option, ideally in a 14-16" length. However, I know that the SAR12 comes with a 20"er, and I wonder if the longer length, with closed porting, might increase dwell time (the ATS markers are nelson based) and give a little more consistent fps.

I am not an airsmith, so I don't know if that is even a thing. I also know that this custom barrel road will be costly and require lots of finagling, so I'd like to do it right the first time.

What are yalls thoughts? What barrel should I cut down?

[nessy]

I would recommend messaging Carmatech on facebook. They explained to me that the SAR 12 has a long dwell time, (i.e. they explained that the rifle gets the round up to full speed at about the 17" point of the barrel) so the longer barrel makes sense. There are some markers that cant use the longer barrel simply because of their short dwell time. I would recommend the Battlestixx barrel by hammerhead. That one is 16" with tip, 13.5" without. Plus, Carmatech wont sell the barrels separately until they are caught up on all their orders, which would be around December time frame. Even then, I still dont think you should cut down the 20" barrel if you went with that choice.

Question. What is the threading type used for the AT-10? Hammerhead makes a huge variety of backers in various threads. I am sure they have one that would fit your marker. Also, I would recommend against cutting down a barrel. They make barrels from 8" out to 16". I dont see why you would want to cut anything down.

[lordkyleofearth]

The ATS threads are, unfortunarely, unique. The Major thread is .835"-20TPI and the minor or threads are .760"-56TPI. Plus the lengths have to be perfect in order to get a good seal at the bolt. While there have been some custom barrels made since the markers introduction in 1994, they are hard to find, expensive, and not rifled. I have given thought to a custom adaptor, but that would require custom tooling and minimum order quantities.

So I am instead looking into having a custom thread die built. That way I can cut the back off of anything and thread it to fit ATS threads. While it won't be cheap, by any means, it will allow me to have new barrels in the future, with minimal investment.

Sept 24, 2013 19:20:13 GMT -5 nessy said:

I would recommend messaging Carmatech on facebook. They explained to me that the SAR 12 has a long dwell time, (i.e. they explained that the rifle gets the round up to full speed at about the 17" point of the barrel) so the longer barrel makes sense. There are some markers that cant use the longer barrel simply because of their short dwell time. I would recommend the Battlestixx barrel by hammerhead. That one is 16" with tip, 13.5" without. Plus, Carmatech wont sell the barrels separately until they are caught up on all their orders, which would be around December time frame. Even then, I still dont think you should cut down the 20" barrel if you went with that choice.

Question. What is the threading type used for the AT-10? Hammerhead makes a huge variety of backers in various threads. I am sure they have one that would fit your marker. Also, I would recommend against cutting down a barrel. They make barrels from 8" out to 16". I dont see why you would want to cut anything down.