Choosing barrel [Archive] - M4Carbine.net Forums

The_Swede

08-26-17, 11:27

MegademiC

08-26-17, 14:24

In my opinion match barrel is wasted on m193/855. Colt, bcm, centurion, DD, etc Cr lined barrels all are about 2x as accurate as your ammo. Stick with a carbon steel barrel intruded or chrome lined IMO.

voiceofreason

08-26-17, 15:05

Unless you're shooting match ammo from your AR and needing the slightly smaller groups... save the $$$ like Mega says, and put it toward a good bolt gun like the Tikka T3x Varmint.

You can shoot cheap .223 from it all day long and it'll group better than pretty much any AR on the line. With the recoil/trigger/loose tolerances of most AR15s, a match barrel is wasted.

It's an overall system like an audio system, the weakest link is not made up for by the strongest/most accurate component of the system.

GH41

08-26-17, 16:04

I agree with the others. If all I shot was 855 I would get a hammer forged chrome barrel.

everready73

08-27-17, 10:04

The mountain series are chrome lined hammer forged barrels and would be a good choice over the ultra match for the reasons above. The mountain series get pretty good feedback on accuracy. Not sure how the gas port is sized though. BCM and Daniel Defense are options for chrome lined hammer forged as well

opngrnd

08-27-17, 11:19

Another vote here for a chrome-lined Barrel. BCM, Sionics, etc. But if you want to do something a little further in the direction of smooth shooting, I think you would like the OPTIMUM Barrel by Black River Tactical. I'm pretty happy with mine, and it was designed for the pressure curve of 5.56 ammo such as what you are using. I've put a couple thousand rounds through an OPTIMUM barrel this year and I'm very pleased with it.

ExplorinInTheWoods

08-27-17, 15:04

get a cold hammer forged barrel. I have great accuracy out of my spike's/fn 14.5.

09stanggt

08-27-17, 16:36

If you want an 18" rifle gas, chrome lined, I'm pretty sure Midwest Industries has a Criterion barrel on their website

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CriterionBarrels

08-30-17, 11:22

If you want an 18" rifle gas, chrome lined, I'm pretty sure Midwest Industries has a Criterion barrel on their website

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Thanks for the shout out!

We typically see barrel life in the neighborhood of 20,000 rounds with our chrome lined barrels. On the low side I have seen barrels shot out at 17,000 rounds (shot out meaning they were unable to consistently shoot sub-MOA groups at 100 yards). On the high side I have seen one of our chrome lined barrels reach 30,000 rounds before they were unable to meet that accuracy criteria (the gentleman purchased a replacement barrel because his original was getting difficult to clean).

Barrel life will be dictated by a number of factors including rate of fire, load selection, and cleaning procedures. The M855 will be the limiting factor on barrel performance with a Criterion barrel. The tolerances held on that ammunition will allow for mil-spec performance (sub 4 MOA groups), which is far larger than what the barrel is capable of (.5 MOA with handloads tailored to the barrel on an accurized rifle build).

Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about our barrels. I would be more than happy to help answer them!

Hammer_Man

08-31-17, 13:05

Thanks for the shout out!

We typically see barrel life in the neighborhood of 20,000 rounds with our chrome lined barrels. On the low side I have seen barrels shot out at 17,000 rounds (shot out meaning they were unable to consistently shoot sub-MOA groups at 100 yards). On the high side I have seen one of our chrome lined barrels reach 30,000 rounds before they were unable to meet that accuracy criteria (the gentleman purchased a replacement barrel because his original was getting difficult to clean).

Barrel life will be dictated by a number of factors including rate of fire, load selection, and cleaning procedures. The M855 will be the limiting factor on barrel performance with a Criterion barrel. The tolerances held on that ammunition will allow for mil-spec performance (sub 4 MOA groups), which is far larger than what the barrel is capable of (.5 MOA with handloads tailored to the barrel on an accurized rifle build).

Feel free to give us a call if you have any questions about our barrels. I would be more than happy to help answer them!

I was actually looking at your 18" chrome lined barrel the other day. In terms of accuracy, how do your chrome lined barrels compare to your stainless barrels? Lastly, would you say those round counts are more typical of your chrome lined barrels, than your nitride coated barrels? I ask because I'm trying to decide between your 18" hybrid profile chrome lined barrel, or your 18" hybrid profile stainless nitride coated barrel.

ScottsBad

08-31-17, 17:07

I'm currently in the market for a new barrel. I use my AR primarily for matches and some training. No serious duty use.
I almost exclusively use M855 and M855A1 since I can get those pretty cheap. I shoot approx 2000 rounds/year.

I've been looking at the 18" Mountain and UltraMatch barrels from Rainier Arms. The gun shop guys told med the Ultramatch should last 6k-8k rounds and Mountain at least double.

Shooting mostly cheap ammo is the UltraMatch worth the extra price? What kind of accuracy can I expect from both barrels shooting M855?

What type of matches? The reason I ask, is that some competitions require maximum accuracy with hand loads etc. Some are more of the 3Gun type that requires good practical accuracy? If you are shooting M855 in competition, my guess is that a good chrome lined steel barrel will work. I am no expert however.

There are also Nitrided stainless barrels. I recently took a chance on a new offering from Faxon that seems to work well. Its part of a new "Competition Series". Its a Competition Series Fluted Heavy 16", its a nitrided Wylde chambered 5R rifled barrel. They will be offering it in 18" too.

I've taken it out only twice. The barrel is much lighter than I expected and did not screw up the balance of the rifle with a NSR handguard, I only had a Trijicon TR24 1-4X triangle post scope available (not the best reticle for accuracy). First time out was just to zero four rifles at 50 yards, so I didn't have a lot of time. The Faxon gave me 7 rounds of Geco 55gr in one enlarged hole.

Next time out I re-zero'd at 100 yards with CBC 77gr SMK. I then put up a 3" paster and with a partial box of the CBC 77g I put the remaining 17 rounds into that 3" circle with most of the rounds clustered close center even though I couldn't see the center (old eyes). I was pretty happy.

I just received a bunch of IMI 69g Match which I want to try next. Anyway, I suspect the barrel will maximize the potential of M855 or M193 if that's what you shoot. But to get the best out of any barrel the ammo could be the limiting factor.

The price of the Faxon barrel was quite reasonable (which is why I bought it). This is my first nitrided barrel and so far so good. There are advantages to the nitride treatment, it'll be interesting to see if it holds up as well as they say.

The other barrels I have that you might be interested in (because of their accuracy) are; A BCM 16" stainless which shoots at least as well as the Faxon, but won't last as long. And another BCM LW 14.5" pinned CHF (BFH) barrel. This one is a miracle barrel. As in its a miracle that it shoots as well as it does given that its a light weight profile, its chrome lined, and has a pinned muzzle brake. This is my MOST consistently accurate barrel. With CBC 77gr SMK it will shoot 7 rounds into a 1 inch circle. Not 1 MOA, all rounds inside a 1 inch circle with an old 1.25-4 Trijicon one inch tube triangle post reticle (before the TR24).

The rest of my AR barrels vary from good to OK including some expensive steel CHF Noveske barrels which are not super accurate, but will last a long time.

YMMV - There are a lot of good barrels out there these days

FaxonNathan

09-05-17, 07:06

A pleasure to be mentioned. Let us know how we can help in any way!

user

09-18-17, 22:18

Scionics CL barrel here.

Hulkstr8

09-19-17, 15:35

Ballistic Advantage anyone?

ColtSeavers

09-19-17, 15:58

Green Mountain Barrels
Ar15Performance
Ballistic Advantage
Sionics Weapon Systems
Faxon Firearms

SomeOtherGuy

09-19-17, 21:49

Green Mountain Barrels
Ar15Performance
Ballistic Advantage
Sionics Weapon Systems
Faxon Firearms

Good list. I have used Ar15Performance, Ballistic Advantage and Faxon Firearms barrels with very good results. AR15 Performance makes a very high quality barrel with nice features (Wylde chamber, 5R or now 3R rifling) at a plinking barrel price. Faxon also makes a good product, and the Faxon "Gunner" barrels are very light but my 20" is very accurate nonetheless. Be aware that Faxon's 16" midlength seems to be overgassed based on both my personal experience with one and the stated gas port size (0.081"). I will probably end up using an H3 or H6 buffer to tame it. (To avoid any confusion, AR15 Performance barrels are NOT overgassed and I use an H buffer with them, but can use an H2 if I want to.)

Or any brand of quality chrome-lined barrel, which might include Green Mountain and Sionics, as well as BCM, Daniel Defense, and the various purveyors of FN-made barrels. Really, for OP's uses the barrel quality is not that demanding and many decent companies can meet it.

chrischoi

10-02-17, 01:12

I'd recommend Ballistics Advantage.

Artiz

10-04-17, 17:55

I'm a simple man, if it says LMT on it I run it. Don't have time to mess with wrong gas port diameters or wonder if my shit will work.