Well this one has been a long time coming for me but I was finally able to make it happen thanks to the awesome guys at Range Warrior Accessories.
To keep a long story short I've had the MRA barrel sitting around ever since the WK180-C was announced. Word was that production rifles would come with a mid length gas system but as we all know they decided last minute to stick with the carbine length gas system like in the test rifle.
So I've had this barrel sitting around hoping that one day I'd still be able to get it on my WK. Well thanks to RWA I was finally able to make it happen. My WK finally looks just as awesome as I had originally hoped to make it look.
View attachment 251437
View attachment 251438
I owe a HUGE thank you to the guys at RWA for listening to their customer base and manufacturing top quality parts for the WK180-C platform. The op rod was machined exceptionally well and fit in and functioned perfectly.
The barrel swap was super easy. I drilled the gas block pin through the new barrel with a 3/16" carbide end mill. The gas port in the new barrel needed opened up because the WK requires more gas than what an AR barrel comes ported for. I used a #42 drill bit to open the gas port enough to get it functioning proper.
If someone doesn't have the carbide end mill or a set of numbered drill bits that's no problem because a regular 3/16" bit and a 3/32" bit will still get the job done. The end mill is just a little nicer when drilling the gas block pin because it doesn't try to walk like a regular bit wants to.
I put 150 rounds through it today without a hiccup. If anyone is looking to upgrade to a better barrel on their WK180-C I highly recommend getting an op rod from the guys at RWA and doing the swap. I even think they have barrels with mid length gas system that should work.
Once again, thanks RWA