Bravo Barrels - SS410 vs BFH - Objective Measures?

[samuse]

IME BCM's CHF CL barrels shoot really well. Better than they oughta.

I shot this the other day at 200 yards with bulk pack XM193, a 14.5" mid BFH bbl, QMS trigger and duplex reticle at 5X.

They'll shoot, I'm gonna try out some 77 grain after the 1st and see how it does.

[elephantrider]

Thanks for all the replies, and especially the few data points.

Is it terrible that what's also factoring into my leanings is that I'm not fond of a shiny SS barrel? I don't think the world is going to blow up tomorrow and we'll all be Red Dawning it, but I keep those types of considerations in the back of my mind, just in case. I think if BCM had complete uppers listed with Keymod and their black ion bond SS barrels, I'd be pulling out the credit card right now.

Is bead blasting, or abrasive blasting and painting not an option for you? That is my plan once I get my upper all shaken down. I realize it may not be feasible if you don't have the tools and the blast cabinet.

[MeanStreaker]

Is bead blasting, or abrasive blasting and painting not an option for you?

Unfortunately, not an option at this time.

[sinister]

Generally speaking a stainless barrel will shoot better than a chrome-lined GI barrel. You're on a blaster's forum vice somewhere like nationalmatch.us where guys are trying their damnedest every weekend to improve their shooting for the National Matches every summer for shit-talking/bragging rights.

A stainless barrel generally advances its throat .001 inch every thousand rounds. Heavy 80-grain bullets generally generate more heat at the throat as slower powders take longer to work up the pressure curve to generate the muzzle velocity to push the projo as opposed to a 55-grain ball bullet.

There are very good chrome-lined and plain barrels that shoot exceptionally well -- but they're harder to find than a stainless barrel set up for competition shooting.

Define exactly what it is you want the rifle or carbine to do and build it to your standard.

A well-built National Match or DM M16A4 usually shoots better with a custom stainless barrel than a grab-and-go buttoned stainless or chrome-lined GI barrel. If you buy a stainless barrel from a mass-production outfit like E.R. Shaw or a chrome-lined under a house name like Brownells you might tie score with a shooter from a service or civilian state team -- but I wouldn't bet a truck or mortgage payment on it.

If you don't like bright or bead-blasted grey stainledd get it coated or spray-paint it. Again, define what you want the weapon to do, not how it looks.

I've shot a number of rifles that looked like hammered dog-poo that would consistently shoot sub-minute. It's a point of pride for some guys to have guns that look nasty shoot incredibly well.