Monte, What if you modified your nut by cutting the smooth part off the front of it. That part being non-threaded to start with would not weaken the nut much and holding power would remain the same while giving you between a 1/4 and 1/2 inch of barrel accessibility that was previously hidden at least on a small shank barrel. I believe i would put a full size nut back on after testing but it is just a thought.