I am working on a trade right now that may net me a SS Super 16 .223 Contender Barrel. While I will cut and recrown it at 14" since these barrels are somewhat tapered as is, I may taper it more.
I talked to one of my bosses (one of my City Councilmen is the head Tool & Die Instructor at a local college, and has a full blown machine shop behind his house here in town). Steve has done a lot of little jobs for me in the past, and has always been eager to try something new. I approached him about this project the other day and he seemed eager to tackle it.
Here is what I am proposing : Cut and Recrown the Super 16 Barrel at 14". Once that is done we would than taper the barrel. The taper would start at the front edge of the Weaver Scope Base and be a straight taper out to the muzzle.
I have had such a barrel once before, made by Bullberry and chambered for the 6mm-223 Cartridge. I really liked this barrel for hunting as it provide the cartridge performance I was after (due to the 14" length) but because of the taper it balanced like a 10" Bull Barrel. I really liked this barrel, but ultimately traded it due to a screwed up chamber.
Now for the QUESTION. I am thinking I will have the diameter at the muzzle end up at 5/8". Does this sound reasonable? or could a guy take it down to 1/2" at the muzzle ? I mainly want this barrel for Calling Coyotes, and the lighter muzzle weight may well be just the ticket for this use, easy to manuver, less muzzle for less than ideal rested positions, etc. As such to help keep weight down this barrel will more than likely wear a 2x7x32mm Burris LER Handgun Scope instead of a 3x12. Another reason is the larger field of view offered by the 2x7x in case they sneak into hand shaking distances.
This project probably isn't gonna happen till after the first of the year so I have lots of time to dream about it.
Thanks
Larry
...jim257