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16-18" 223 MTU contour barrel weight??

Curious as to why you'd want an MTU contour barrel for a .223, particularly in that short a length. That's a pretty thick pipe for a shorty .223, especially if you feel the need to have it fluted to reduce the weight. There wouldn't be a great advantage in MTU contour for that purpose and you'd be much better off weight-wise with an M24 (or similar) contour for a .223. In any case, I have 30" MTU barrels in .308 that weigh a tick over 8.3 lbs. You can call Bartlein directly and they can give you a very good estimate of what your 16-18" MTU barrel would weigh, before and after fluting. Alternatively, Google "barrel weight calculator" and you'll find a variety of online calculators that can also give you some weights based on your dimensions.
 
0.8 lb difference in a 26" barrel, a pretty substantial increase in weight:

Bartlein Barrels, Inc. - Contours


In a 16-18" barrel, obviously somewhat less of a weight differential. My point was that a .223 bore in an M24 barrel ought to be reasonably comparable in stiffness to a .308 bore in an MTU barrel. An MTU contour barrel in .223 that needs to be deep fluted to reduce weight doesn't make a whole lot of sense IMO.
 
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