DPMS rebarrel to 6.5 Creedmoor for Hunter Lite Mod

[Bennybone]

Hey All -

I have been in the mood to try 6.5 Creed in a semi auto, I intend to use the gun for hunting between 100 - 400 yards.  I wanted a gun that could serve double duty for blind hunting and stalking/walking so a major factor I was considering is overall weight.

For the price, DPMS's LR65 has most of what I want except it has a heavy profile 24 inch barrel and weighs 10+ pounds empty.

What I decided to do was buy a host gun from the DPMS Hunter Lite line (RFLR-260L) and convert the gun to 6.5 Creedmoor using the lightest (budget friendly) 20 inch barrel I could find.

Below is some photos for tearing down the host gun, sorry if this has already been posted before - I searched most forums and didn't see a step by step for the Hunter Lite (Carbon Fiber handguard).

The Host Gun:

Weighs in at 8 lbs empty.  Has a lightweight upper receiver / gas block / and a lightweight profile 18 inch barrel with an integrated Miculek Comp, all DPMS factory options in the first run of Hunter Lite (2010).

The Carbon Fiber Handguard:

My research on how to remove the handguard revealed that others had tried torching the handguard at the barrel nut location and ended up melting the CF and/or disfiguring the design.  I called DPMS and they said to strap wrench it off, however others report marring from the strap wrench.

I setup the upper in a gun vice, and decided to place a space heater on high next to the handguard for 10 mins.

I have some MADGRIP gloves I picked up at PepBoys Autoshop a couple of months ago, they give you Super Human grip.  I grasped the handguard firmly and twisted it as though I was unscrewing it off the barrel nut.  Be sure not to work it side to side as you run the risk of deforming the mating surface to the barrel nut.

Viola! The seal of epoxy was defeated and off comes the handguard.

The Barrel Nut:

I learned on an AR15, that these aluminum barrel nuts can be broken very easily if you apply too much force on the holes.  What complicated this process is the epoxy application had filled the holes AND overlapped onto the receiver threads.  It took an hour of careful scraping and dremeling to prep for removal.

NOTE: When dremeling the epoxy out of the holes, you aren’t trying to hone out any surface area within the aluminum.  If you hear the bit hitting metal STOP and reposition so that you are only drilling out the epoxy.

Barrel Nut cleaned and ready for removal:

I used PRI's DPMS barrel nut wrench, it goes at half the cost of DPMS's wrench and has holes for heavier size wrenches.

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Success:

The replacement barrel:

For a little over 300.00 I selected a 20 inch Criterion Barrel from Fulton-Armory . I had it bead blasted and will run a Kies Firearms BlastMaster (levang style) brake on it.  I had the brake bead blasted locally.

This barrel weighs a pound more than the original 260 barrel , however based on the weight savings on the Hunter Lite platform I am still looking at a 6.5 Creedmoor that will weigh 9lbs empty.  I can't find anything on the market comparable for off the shelf purchase.

I will update the thread with reassembly and eventually range and field testing.

Thx,

BB

 

[hlee]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Did you shoot the rifle with the factory barrel before rebarelling it? I ask as DPMS has been turning out some really good shooters lately. I believe a DPMS SASS was the first to hit less than 0.5 MOA in the 6x5 shot groups contest...

 

[TenZero]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

PM me if you want to find a home for the 260 barrel

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

The gun was test fired with a mag of factory ammo just to ensure trouble free operation.

I realize the two calibers are similar and that I may be parting out a "shooter" however I wanted 6.5CM and I think it will be a unique gun once it is put together based on the barrel length, make, and weight.

As for the host barrel / bolt / block and tube, they sold in the options/accessories classified.

Thanks,

BB

 

[SD26]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Nice write up, BB! Great details! Are you gonna put up some groups in the 100 and 300 yard threads?

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Hey Super D-

First things first, I got an empty freezer that needs to be filled, then I can work on target shooting in the Spring.

Tonight I am blending the feed ramps of the barrel to the feed ramp of the receiver and then polishing the barrel ramps.

Heres the photos:

Test fit the new barrel to the upper receiver, in the photo below you will see that the barrel extension's feed ramps overhang the cut outs in the upper receiver. Since I will be shooting Berger VLDs and other projecticles with open noses I have to "blend" the ramps together to remove the rise between the upper receiver and the barrel extension otherwise failures to feed could occur.

There area being pointed at is the most critical when blending, you want to use a dremel and a light grade grinding stone ( i used the green tip) and slowly and with steady hands and EVENLY bring the ramp into line with the upper feed ramps.

The feed ramp on the left has been grinded down while the one on the right is untouched. Don't get wild in here

Progress on the left

Next is polishing, I use the standard brown dremel polish on the bullet head style felt pad. There is a video on youtube "polishing M4 feed ramps" that goes through this process.

Once blended and polished you should end up with this:

NOTE: When you are blending and polishing be sure to cover your chamber otherwise you will get a film inside that could result in stuck cases later and more work in cleaning the chamber.

BB

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

I learned on my last few builds that test fitting all the parts ahead of reinstallation pays dividends and I'm glad I took the time to do that today.

Here is the FA 20" barrel test fitted to the DPMS Hunter Lite frame.

Well my OCD is going to get the best of me on this one, the FA barrel's gas block seating area is a little further out than the original stock .260 barrel. Thus the free float handguard is just short of covering the gas tube. In reality it would probably won't be a functional issue but this isn't going to fly for me.

I am searching for a solution to the exposed gas tube and will post my remedy later.

As for the weight as it sits now with a heavier profile / medium length barrel. Well I'm happy to see that it weighs in at 9.5 lbs - A full 2 lbs less than the DPMS LR65.

BB

 

[dwtaylorpdx]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

I would turn a ring out of AL that OD matches the forearm, and has a smaller section that fits the ID of the tube, Have it Colored to suit your fancy, you could knurl or just polish then color.
It will protect the CF from chipping on the forward edge and if needed could have a rail bit for a bipod or some other toy...

Just a thought,,

Great writeup by the way... Always good to have some details even on the basics.

Dave

 

[Hummerdawg]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

If it bothers you call Clark custom and get them to cut one to the length you like

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

After test fitting here are some shot of reassembly for the Hunter Lite barrel nut and free float tube.

Apply Lithium Grease to the barrel nut and upper receiver threads

I bedded the barrel extension with blue thread locker, have a paper towel handy when you slide in the barrel to the upper receiver as the excess thread locker will spill out. Hand tighten barrel nut and then get out the torque wrench.

When tightening the barrel nut, tighten and back off, tighten and back off - I do this about 5 - 7 times until the ft/lbs is around 40 - 60 ft lbs.

I used this epoxy to rebond the carbon fiber handguard to the barrel nut, be sure to degrease the surface.

After you have set the handguard onto the barrel nut you want to keep two things in mind, even/level tracking of the hand guard to the upper receiver but most importantly, even gap around the front opening to the barrel. You have about 10 mins to manipulate the epoxy before it sets. Leave the gun alone overnight.

That concludes the rebarrel project. I will post back with final comments on functionality and additional parts needed.

BB

 

[Double-edged]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Very cool

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Thanks Double Edged

I shot some 120gr Hornady AMAX yesterday, 5 shot group at 100 yards was .77 with a cheapy 3-9x scope on top.

The gun didn't care for the 129gr SST handloads.

75 rounds fired total and no functional hiccups!

BB

 

[Bennybone]

Re: DPMS barrel conversion  From 260L to 6.5 Creedmoor

Final Update:

I finished out the gun with a PRI adjustable gas block and straight gas tube, I ordered a spare barrel nut from DPMS and cut it to length and used epoxy to set it in the front of the handguard as a "beauty ring".

Lastly I had a local shop water hydradip the A2 stock in carbon fiber to make the overall appearance flow a bit better. It isn't an exact match but it will work until I decide to Cerakote later.

In early load development the gun appears to prefer 140gr SST and shoots well !

BB