16" Barrel Recommendations for Solid Copper Bullets

[georgeib]

I would not take advice from markm. He has an opinion on everything and is quite often wrong. What are the barrel brands that you have tested the loads with, what accuracy were you getting, and what accuracy are you looking for?

Speaking for myself, even though I don't always agree with @markm, I often do, and I certainly enjoy his opinions. And his no bullshit approach. He and @DG23 bring up an excellent point, IMO.

To answer your thoughtful question, my Wylde chambered 1 in 8 is a 16" PWS that can do MOAish with IMI 77gr, and shoots Slovakian m193 at ~2.5-3 MOA. With the Black Hills and Barnes it was shooting 4-5 MOA. The 11.5" barrels are both Sionics, and I wasn't expecting a lot from them, but still got 4-5 MOA, whereas other stuff is approximately half that.

If Blackstone arms has the ARP 16" 3r barrels mine has done great with the 70gr tsx. I also have a 11.5 and 16" Triarc trac barrels that are sub moa with tsx. If you intend to suppress it the Triarc is the way I would go.

Thank you for that info. I looked and Triarc is backordered on the 16" barrels. I wonder if their unique rifling is making the difference with these copper bullets. What loading were your 70gr TSX?

My 16” is a 1:7 Wilson Combat fluted barrel. Easily. sub MOA ( five shot groups at 100yds) with anything from the 40gr varmint bullets, 62 and 70gr Barnes copper bullets, to the Barnes 85gr OTM BT. I think it is a Wylde chamber, but am not certain.

Thanks for that. What loading were your Barnes 70 and 85gr? I ask because the ammo I have is all 5.56 and as the bullets are so long, and I wonder if it would have insufficient jump to the lands wiyth a Wylde vs a true 5.56 NATO chamber.

I have not used all copper bullets, but the rainier 16"ultramatch mod2 has been a great barrel and has a 1:7.5" twist rate. Right around 30oz with flutes.

Thank you. I'll check that one out too.

I would not be inclined to buy a particular barrel to shoot a particular bullet like that unless I had several barrels full of them and they were given to me for free.

You should not be having to build a special rifle / carbine just to be able to get good hits on paper with a crap bullet.

You bring up a very good point, as @markm did. I did end up with a few thousand rounds at sub 50¢ per, so I couldn't pass them up. Certainly not a barrels full, but enough to satisfy my precision-ish AR shooting for a few years. I tend to go through a fair amount of m193 at a rapid ROF, but do enjoy going out to the 700 yard range a handful of times per year. Enough so, that I have been considering a more precision orientated upper (that will inevitably grow a lower, I know) for several years.

Not being able to satisfactorily shoot the ammo I bought doesn't preclude me from using in my loadouts for my short barrels, but I'd still like to be able to shoot it more precisely when/if necessary. And this adds impetus to my desire for a SPR type upper. Which can still be used to shoot other ammo, so it's not like I'm JUST building an upper/rifle around a particular bullet. As @SBRSarge pointed out, he were able to shoot several bullets accurately including all copper with his Wilson barrel. Ultimately, that's exactly what I'm after.

[gaijin]

I assembled a 16” Criterion barreled gun a few yrs back. It has been used at the Farm for predator control and shooting occasional Whitetail.
It shoots the Black Hills GMX 70gr quite well.

Add: it hasa Wylde chamber.

[georgeib]

I assembled a 16” Criterion barreled gun a few yrs back. It has been used at the Farm for predator control and shooting occasional Whitetail.
It shoots the Black Hills GMX 70gr quite well.

Add: it hasa Wylde chamber.

Interesting! And the Criterions are 1 in 8 IIRC. What kind of accuracy were you getting?

[gaijin]

Interesting! And the Criterions are 1 in 8 IIRC. What kind of accuracy were you getting?

7/8”-1 1/8” for 5 rds. This with an old 1-6X Accupoint.
More glass may have produced better results, but the 1-6X fit with purpose and expected range.

[georgeib]

7/8”-1 1/8” for 5 rds. This with an old 1-6X Accupoint.
More glass may have produced better results, but the 1-6X fit with purpose and expected range.

I'd be pleased with that. Those numbers are, from what I read, about as good as what one expect from this ammo. I'd be pleased with less than 1.5 MOA consistently. 4-5 MOA is just not right.

[grizzman]

Barnes' website specifies a 1:8 twist rate, so if your 1:8 barrel doesn't gives acceptable results with them, it's not due to the twist rate.

All barrels are individuals, so just because one barrel likes a particular ammo, is absolutely no indicator that one you buy will also.

Read some of the many other barrels requesting recommendations for SPR barrels, and it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a short list to look for. If you find one from your short list in stock at a decent price, then buy it and hope it works out.

I've also never looked for a barrel to pair with a particular bullet.

[SBRSarge]

Hi Georgeib,

I don’t roll my own so all of mine are factory loads. I’ve done the Barnes and Asym 70gr, and the 85 gr OTM BT is a 5.56 Barnes load.

I’ve found the Barnes loads to sometimes be a bit hotter than other loads with the same bullet, and the Barnes loads shoot every bit as tight. I ended up settling on either Barnes or Black Hills 62 tsx, both is 5.56 for general use. Both shoot MOA in my AR.

I get 2992 fps and moa with the Barnes 5.56 62 g loads out of the 16” Wilson barrel. I’ll take that any day! Out of the 10.5 Noveske I get 2638 fps.

Both barrels are suppressed. The 16” has a SIG 556 direct thread and the Noveske SBR has a SiCo Omega.

I just checked. My barrel is a 5.56.

[BufordTJustice]

Data point: my 16" KAC SR15 mod2 barrel shoots my Hornady 70gr GMX TAP (5.56) at just under a minute. But, it shoots basically *everything* well.


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[ST911]

I’ve found the Barnes loads to sometimes be a bit hotter than other loads with the same bullet, and the Barnes loads shoot every bit as tight. I ended up settling on either Barnes or Black Hills 62 tsx, both is 5.56 for general use. Both shoot MOA in my AR.

I get 2992 fps and moa with the Barnes 5.56 62 g loads out of the 16” Wilson barrel. I’ll take that any day! Out of the 10.5 Noveske I get 2638 fps.

Both barrels are suppressed. The 16” has a SIG 556 direct thread and the Noveske SBR has a SiCo Omega.

Point of comparison, unsuppressed the BHA 5.56 62 TSX is typically ~2900fps from 16" barrels. So your Barnes-loaded is +100fps with the suppressor boost.

[Todd.K]

It could be your individual barrels, or your suppressor, or probably the reason that ammo was a bargain.

I have an 1/8 that shoot a little brown tip well enough, but I’d pick 1/7 if that’s what I planned to shoot.

Just pick a good 1/7 barrel for a more precision/SPR type build. Nothing special needed to shoot brown tip, no need to go 20” or worry about chamber minutiae.