Originally Posted by
mtdawg169
I tried to find the thread, unsuccessfully. But the point remains that either the specs provided to the barrel manufacturer by PSA or the QC performed by PSA was inadequate or nonexistent. The question of "quality" is somewhat nebulous when discussing barrels sourced from one manufacturer or the other. As some of the SMEs have pointed out, the differences are really found in the drawings / specs provided to FN by the manufacturer and the QC processes employed to pass / fail the final product. In that particular case, PSA failed at some point. For me, that's a data point that affects who I choose to purchase from. Primarily because I want as much assurance as possible that I'm getting a good product.
The greater topic here has been "what makes one brand better than the other", assuming barrels are from a common source. The answer seems to be, "depends on who ordered it". We generally tend to look at the specs in a vacuum thanks to the "chart" which helped put the TDP requirements into layman's terms that we could use for a basis for comparison. The piece of the puzzle that is missing in that equation are the proprietary requirements spec'd by each manufacturer and what QC methods they employ to guarantee consistent quality within their product line. Some are better at it than others and hold their products to a higher standard. Those efforts are generally manifested in costs, both to the manufacturer and the customer. (refer to Grants post above). My example of the PSA upper with the wrong port size was merely an example to show that these specific requirements and QC processes are what differentiate good from great when all other "specs" seem the same.
One other thing to consider is that some manufacturers wish to mask the source of their products, proprietary specs & processes due to competitive factors. For example, BCM doesn't advertise the "machine gun steel / double chrome lined" aspect of their barrels. Further, no one discloses their QC processes. Why? Product differentiation and because as soon as they did, the competition would attempt to duplicate it in an effort to get a leg up. Which is exactly what happened when Noveske and then BCM began producing chf barrels in the first place.