DPMS Barrel Nut Question

[Skeld1]

Hi guys. I'm trying to install a Troy 308 Battlerail on my DPMS Recon. I picked up a Tapco Armorer's tool but as I figured, that was too simple, and the barrel nut is different on the LR-308 than an AR-15. I need to remove the stock barrel nut somehow and get the Troy one on (which is different from the original DPMS nut also). Any ideas how to do that other than going to buy 2 different wrenches? Any idea if the Armorer's tool might actually work on the Troy barrel nut?

It seems like I always get involved in these jobs without the proper tools.

 

[ORD]

The Troy Battlerail for the DPMS/308 pattern rifles uses the stock AR-15 barrel nut wrench if memory serves, so you should already have the correct wrench for that job (assuming the Tapco tool doesn't break from looking at it the wrong way or for some other inexplicable reason).

You WILL HAVE TO BUY an LR-308-specific barrel nut wrench to get the stock DPMS free-float barrel nut off the gun though (if I'm recalling the Recon correctly, it has a FF tube and NOT the delta-style, basic handguard setup), so technically, you'll only need one more wrench. Here's a relatively inexpensive option (compared to the $45+ models) that'll get the job done using your torque wrench without breaking the bank and will work with any DPMS/KAC free-float tube:

Precision Reflex - Product Detail - DPMS / KAC 308 Barrel Nut Torq Wrench - $25.50

MidwayUSA, Brownells and many other shops also carry that wrench just in case you are nervous about ordering direct from PRI (their S&H can be a little slow sometimes, especially these days).

Good luck!

 

[Skeld1]

Thanks. Glad the Tapco won't be totally useless. The Recon does have the free float handguard so I need that wrench. I'm going to try to remove it with a strap wrench first but I'm not overly confident it's going to work. It seems to be on there pretty tight.

 

[ORD]

I'm going to try to remove it with a strap wrench first but I'm not overly confident it's going to work. It seems to be on there pretty tight.

Don't bother with the strap wrench. Unless it is a strap-wrench-from-hell capable of feats I have never witnessed from a strap wrench before...it won't work as it just won't get at it with enough torque in the right place to get the job done. The nuts are generally torqued on VERY tightly from the factory (generally far tighter than they need to be) and you'll need the teeth on the actual bbl nut wrench to break it free in my experience dealing with them over the years.

Good luck and God speed!

 

[Skeld1]

Strap wrench didn't work, but we heated up the nut a bit with a torch, and then used a pipe wrench on the barrel nut. Surprisingly this worked and it dinged the threads a little but the old foreend will still thread onto the old barrel nut. In the near future it didn't matter much to me if the nut was wrecked since the whole setup was replaced by the Troy system. Thanks for the help, the Tapco tool worked great on the Troy barrel nut, torqued it to about 40 lb-ft. on the first try and the gas tube lined up. I'll get a picture later, not that anyone cares too much.