Although the ARAK-21 caught the shooting public’s attention, it is the barrels from Faxon Firearms that have seem to have generated the company a lot of positive press in recent years. The latest addition to its barrel line is the sub one pound 10.5″ pencil barrel.

This new 5.56 NATO barrel is made completely in house for the AR style firearm, and would be great for either an SBR or pistol configuration. It uses a carbine length gas system and is made from 4150 steel. The barrels are individually magnetic particle inspected (MPI). The barrels are conventionally rifled with a 1:8″ twist and nitride finished. The barrels are threaded (1/2″x28) for the easy addition of your preferred muzzle device. They have an 11˚ target crown.

As previously stated, these pencil profile barrels are relatively light. As it ships, the barrel weighs 0.9 pounds. According to the company, the barrels are “the lightest in the industry.” It would seem that this might be the part you pick when building an ultra-light SBR.

The barrels are available immediately, and the company states it has begun shipping to OEM customers as well. It will be interesting to see what new guns these might wind up on in the future. The suggested retail price from Faxon is $159.