DD S2W 18" Barrel Review?

[sevenhelmet]

I'm looking at a Daniel Defense 18" S2W barrel (mid-gas) to use in a build I'm putting together for 300-500 yard plinking and varmint hunting. However, in extensive searching, I can't find any reviews on this barrel. It's a DD, so I assume it's good, but before I plunk down cash, I'd love to have a first hand account. My alternate pick is the BCM 18" SS410, which has great reviews, but it's a 1:8 with a rifle length gas system, and I'd prefer a 1:7 middy on this gun.

Does anyone have experience with the DD 18" S2W CHF barrel?

[C-grunt]

Look under Trident82 posts. I think he did a test of that barrel.

[sevenhelmet]

Thanks for the tip, his review was on a 14.5" DD barrel. Information on the 18" S2W is precious little, if any, which concerns me somewhat. I may wind up going with the BCM SS410 for that reason alone. How much of the gas block would show if I put a rifle length gas system under a 13" hand guard?

[cemoulton]

I put one on my wife's S.P.R.ish build. It's pretty heavy but very consistant. I'll try to give you a mini review latter when I get home.

Any specific questions?

[sevenhelmet]

Mainly accuracy and consistency when it heats up, overall weight, balance, and long term wear (if you have the round count)

I appreciate any info you have!

[Marler5811]

My opinion may seem biased, but I shoot our 18" S2W barrel in one of my rifles. S2W stands for Strength 2 Weight. It's a very heavy profile with a slight taper from the chamber to the shoulder behind the gas block. the barrel profile maintains a .750" diameter from where the gas block attaches to wear the threads begin for your muzzle devise. The exterior of the barrel as well as the chamber and bore are Salt Bath Nitride coated. The SBN coating has proven in our testing to yield better accuracy than that of a chrome lined barrel.

Off the bench at 100 with a 6x optic and match grade ammo, I have consistently achieved 1 MOA groups and sometimes a bit smaller. I really don't get the opportunity to shoot the rifle as much as I would prefer, however, accurate hits on steel out to 500 have never been a problem.

S/F
Joe

[sevenhelmet]

Very nice. Thanks for the information. It sounds like this barrel might be a good option for me. A couple of additional questions:

1.) Does it seem better balanced than comparable barrels due to the taper?

2.) How much effect is there on group size as the barrel heats up? If we are talking a 1-2 MOA shooter, I'm sold. I already have a 2-3 MOA shooter in my 16", so something slightly more accurate would be welcome for longer range.

@cemoulton: If you have time for that review, it would be great! Also good for posterity, since there seems to be almost nothing out there for the S2W barrel.

[cemoulton]

I won't be able to do a full review tonight, I'm having internet issues so I'm posting from my phone.

The picture above is four, five round groups and one, ten round group at 100 yards, benched, off a Harris bipod by my wife. the first day she had ever fired a scoped rifle. Winds were 10-15 mph. The rifle is built on a VLTOR mur upper with 15" lancer carbon fiber tube and a leupold fixed 6x42 in a bobro extended mount, dd milspec trigger, dd bolt, magpul fixed rifle stock.

On the same day I was able to hold five sub 1" groups but i bagged the rifle. With less wind and a higher power optic I would expect half inch but that may be a little optimistic.

I'll try to take pics of the balance point tomorrow night if my internet is up. But with the nearly weightless feeling lancer tube it feels like a 16" hbar.

I cannot speak for longevity seeing as we only have 200 rounds through it.

We saw no change in poi with heat but our firing schedule was pretty slow, around one round every 5 to 10 seconds using 20 round mags with a few minutes between mags.

I'll try to get it to the range Monday and do a more thorough shake down.

[Marler5811]

Thank you for sharing. What type of ammunition was used on the target shown above?

[mkmckinley]

S2W is a great choice. I've had one for a couple years. It's an absolute tack driver. Although I don't shoot it for groups I was consitently getting less than 1" at 100m when I zeroed it using a quick-and-dirty handload (AA2230/69gr BTHP/new LC brass). I really like the balance that the tapered barrel has. It's subtle but noticeable. I don't see any POI shift due to heat but I don't shoot it crazy hot. I would expect the S2W profile to resist heat warping more than thin profiles just due to being a bigger heat sink. Besides the profile I believe DD has engineered some extra details into the design but I'll let them speak to that. I think the S2W profile is a grand slam and I'm suprised its not more popular. I think it would really kick ass in a 300BLK. I've been meaning to do a detailed writeup but haven't gotten around to it. This thread just reminded me that I need you build something with the 16" S2W I have sitting in the garage!