Shouldered barrel AR15?

[carbonbased]

Go easy on me here.

This is for me to learn why Stoner chose the barrel attachment system he did. Why not a shouldered barrel with internal threads, like on a R700 bolt gun? I mean, as they are, the AR barrel already has a shoulder?

I don’t know much about AR15’s. I do own one, an Armalite, and I like the platform. I’m more of a bolt gun guy.

Never changed an AR barrel, and my entire knowledge of how a barrel mates into the AR receiver is from smilin’ Larry Gdamn Potterfield lol.


Anyway, I couldn’t find an answer online, so I hesitatingly ask you folks.

Edit: is it because of the need to independently orient the gas system? This just occurred to me.

 

[oldrifleman]

I believe it was an attempt to create a fast easy way for “un-Skilled” maintenance teams to easily change barrels. Remove hand guards, unscrew the barrel nut knock out barrel, insert new one, install barrel nut “tighten”, install hand guard, done. The only thing other than bending a gas tube is messing up the barrel nut but that is fairly tough. A screw in barrel you have to break it free, unscrew, insert new one “Torque it down, check headspace and hope. The AR is just more “idiot proof “ with less chance they booger either the barrel threads or receiver threads and mess up headspace.
Not sure how good that worked but it likly ticked off a box on the list of government requirements.

 

[WeR0206]

I believe it was an attempt to create a fast easy way for “un-Skilled” maintenance teams to easily change barrels. Remove hand guards, unscrew the barrel nut knock out barrel, insert new one, install barrel nut “tighten”, install hand guard, done. The only thing other than bending a gas tube is messing up the barrel nut but that is fairly tough. A screw in barrel you have to break it free, unscrew, insert new one “Torque it down, check headspace and hope. The AR is just more “idiot proof “ with less chance they booger either the barrel threads or receiver threads and mess up headspace.
Not sure how good that worked but it likly ticked off a box on the list of government requirements.

I'm not sure if this makes a difference or not but one other reason for the current setup might be because the receivers are aluminum and the barrels are steel and I wonder if the barrel nut approach is a better way to secure those two different metals together without galling etc.? I've never seen a steel AR-15 upper but if they did make them a shouldered prefit barrel would make sense.

 

[LRRPF52]

It’s the easiest design to change a barrel on of all military rifles, with very few exceptions. It got away from trunnions, which was a major step in firearms development that many countries still have not embraced. You can’t compete with the AR-10 and AR-15 when it comes to lightweight and ease of armorer serviceability.

XCR and LMT MRP come to mind, both of which are either AR-15 inspired variants or AR-15s, and weigh more.

 

[MO Fugga]

An armorer can be trained in weeks, while it takes years to be a competent gunsmith.

 

[hlee]

An armorer can be trained in weeks, while it takes years to be a competent gunsmith.

Are you saying that I need to send back the certificate I received from YouTube?

 

[LRRPF52]

An armorer can be trained in weeks, while it takes years to be a competent gunsmith.

Oh the stories we could tell.

I’ve seen ones where the customer’s eyes bulged out of their head upon the “gunsmith” sheepishly revealing the monstrosity to them.

I felt so conflicted with an overwhelming urge to bust out laughing, true mournful empathy with the customer who just witnessed their prized Mauser turned into a colossal abortion, and utter embarrassment for the “gunsmith” who just dropped a deuce in front of his customer.

It’s utterly brutal trying to keep a straight face in such scenarios.