18 Inch AR Barrel Questions
I am in the process of building my first AR. I am looking at barrels and am having a hard time picking one. I think I want an 18 inch .223 barrel with a rifle length gas system that's got a 1/8 twist. I am planning on using a free float rail and comp. I'm not very experienced in this area and don't know which brands are better than others. If any of you have experience with this setup, what barrels do you like and recommend? I looked for threads on this subject, but didn't find many. If there are any that you think address this topic well, please point me to them.
18 Inch AR Barrel Questions
I’ll answer your barrel question first. But have some comments past the barrel response that I feel are even more important than giving you a good barrel recommendation.
I have had great results with my Ballistic Advantage 18” barrel. Sub MOA when I did my part. I’ve built more AR’s with BA barrels and they are a solid choice. They have a 20% site wide sale going on. If your military-LEO you’ll get an additional 10% mil/vet/LEO discount.
Here is the barrel I used on my SPR. It’s $164 not including any mil/LEO discount. Solid barrel and accurate.
https://ballisticadvantage.com/18-in...rel-ops12.html
There are other options out there, but at $164 for that barrel - you’d be hard pressed to beat that.
If you want an even more accurate rifle, I’d recommend this barrel. I’ve used their SS barrels and they were all tack drivers.
https://ballisticadvantage.com/18-in...rel-ops12.html
As far as your M4C “Google Fu”. Try different search criteria. Try searching for “SPR barrels” instead of (18” barrels). An AR with an accurate 18” barrel is often referred to as an “SPR” or Special Purpose Rifle and typically the focus is on accuracy.
SPR barrels search
https://www.m4carbine.net/google.php....y=0&sa=Search
One hit....
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...uot-SPR-barrel
Another hit...
https://www.m4carbine.net/showthread...-rifle-barrels
You said this is your first build so I’ll throw some more food for thought your way. This is just my opine on the matter though...
To me, the barrel is one of the big 3 when you’re building an AR. By that I mean the 3 areas where you don’t want to skimp. Period. (not saying you should in any area, but there are area where you can maybe get away with it.)
My Big 3
1. Barrel
2. Trigger
3. BCG
I’m sure other peoples list may vary, but those area are where I make sure I buy quality.
Also be careful to not fall into a “single part silo”. That’s where you focus on a single part, exclusive of other part. Instead look at the rifle from a purpose perspective. What’s the purpose of the rifle? Identify that and let that drive your parts selection. Thinking about parts you want from that viewpoint will also help you put together parts that are more complimentary.
ETA: I didn’t mention optics in my Big 3, because while purpose definitely impacts optic choice, I consider that separately. I’m strictly talking function and performance of the weapon itself.
So what’s the purpose of the AR?
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